Anatomy is a classic case of thinking the book will be one thing, then discovering that it is not. I am not, traditionally, a historical romance girl, but the promise of grave digging and dramatics drew me in. Historical fiction only ever compels me when something more interesting is happening, and I hoped that would be the case with Anatomy.

Sadly, it was not, as I was bogged down with the thick, historical fiction feel that permeated the text. It's a very well written book, and will no doubt be beloved by historical fiction fans. I do plan to recommend it to individuals who I think it would appeal to.

I was intrigued to pick this up due to the Edinburgh setting, the gothic atmosphere and a girl trying to become a surgeon in 1817 in a make dominated society. However it fell a bit flat for me. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the gory descriptions of the surgeries and autopsies but this was all that really worked for me. I figured out the ‘big bad’ pretty early on and I didn’t really feel connected to the characters. They felt a little one dimensional for me and I didn’t connect to the relationships of the main character. The romance felt too insta-lovey and I personally don’t like that the trope in my novels so I was not very invested in them. The ending, sadly, did not grip me enough to pick up the sequel.

Excellent YA historical fiction with a romance twist and LOTS of gory medical detail! What a refreshing read! Even though it's a story about a privileged young woman with a desire to be a surgeon in the early 19th century-this one could have appeal to guys as well, with the medical lessons, the grave robbing, the plague spreading... The romance is fairly predictable, but that could be another angle-readers who want a historical romance and get swept up in Hazel's desire to be independant and choose her own future.

a young woman who wants to be more than what is being presented to her and more than what her family and society wants her to be. I loved that the mc pushed those boundaries and I loved her love for science, finding the truth and pushing back on those stupid expectations.
Hazel is 17 years old and she know exactly what she wants and she plans on making her world better in the process. This was fun, cute, and something I would highly recommend to my students

A beautifully crafted love story set in nineteenth century Edinburgh. The city leapt from the page and I felt transported back into the historic cobblestone streets. The prose felt like poetry and the characters' motives, emotions, and personalities were and real and believable. This book is perfect for fans of historic fiction and romance.

I am glad I looked this up right before reading it, because I thought it was a standalone. It is not. And it ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger. It could have been a standalone and that would have been okay... but I would have been desperate for some answers.

This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be. A little spooky and fascinating. The love story was absolutely refreshing.

The hero wasn't described like the perfect man, which you see in most YA. My favorite part was his hook nose. I imagined him as lanky, but interesting looking. I was 100% here for the love story, but for a good half of the book the two barely interact. Which didn't really bother me (most of the time that would). I was too enthralled with the separate journeys the characters were going on to be concerned with their love story. Which is Ironic because their love story is so important that it's in the title.

But the romance was a secondary focus, because I was too busy concentrating on both of their struggles. Particularly Hazel. She is such an interesting main character. She was the definition of "I'm not like other girls" but it felt genuine. She wasn't playing a part. She was genuinely unique and enticing.

The book wasn't fast paced until the last 10%. But if you are looking for a fascinating read, definitely look here.

I'm a little late to the party, but now that the second book in this duology is about to be published I finally got around to reading Anatomy. This is a gothic romance with strong characters and an interesting story. Maybe I'm biased because I'm Scottish, but I loved it! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I don’t know how I missed the fact that this was historical fiction, but I just could not get in to this because of it. I will update my review if I try in the future.

I loved this! I was so upset at the ending but thrilled to know the second book is coming out soon. Very interested to see where the story goes and what becomes of Hazel and Jack.

3.5 stars

I love this cover and the synopsis and was ready to dive in after hearing Dana talk about it.

I really liked Hazel. She's smart, knows what she wants, and is kind. Jack is tender hearted, wants more for his life, and is absolutely smitten. Together these two have an unlikely friendship and it was fun to read them figure things out.

Plot wise, it was a bit of a struggle. With all of the murders and random deaths, you'd think there would be some tension, but it felt like an afterthought. The entire story has a meandering pace and the third person tense coupled with the long long long passages without dialogue had me skimming here and there. I will say that the last few chapters absolutely changed my opinion of everything and really delivered.

Overall, I loved the idea, but expected more of a murder mystery feeling. I'm excited for the next book.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

I'll be honest that I didn't quite know what I was getting into with Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz, but I ended up really loving this historical fiction/fantasy book following the adventures (and misadventures) of Hazel Sinnett in her pursuit to become a surgeon in 19th century Edinburgh.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This was a decent YA debut! I had a good time reading it and the atmosphere was well executed; I could feel the gothic vibes. I love a strong female character who doesn't let society get to her. I had a good time reading it but it's not something that will stick with me and I probably will not read the sequel.

I wanted to love Anatomy, I really did. It has all the gothic and gory things I enjoy. But mostly I was bored and waiting for something to happen. And something didn't happen until the end of the book. I do like Hazel, she's tenacious, but I still struggled to connect with the characters and the story. Maybe the sequel will be better?

I felt so bored throughout this book. I just didn't feel very connected to the story or characters. I felt like the plot was more half formed through the book. The romance was so-so.

I liked the overall idea of the book, but kind of wish she would have stuck with historical fiction instead of putting in the magical element with the immortality elixir and the one that let him do the transplants. I will probably still read the second one when it comes out.

This book was incredibly interesting, and I think that the best way I can describe it. The book follows Hazel, a young woman from the 1800's who desperately wants to be a doctor. Unfortunately, that's was not a possible career for women back then and she must resort to wearing her dead brother's clothes to disguise herself during classes.

I found myself really relating to Hazel throughout the novel. While it isn't the 19th century anymore and there certainly are women doctors now, as a nurse I am aware of how male dominated the medical field truly is. Unfortunately, women are looked down on often as worse doctors or thought of as being less qualified. It can be so frustrating to want to do something, but not be able to due to your gender. I'm proud of Hazel for going after what she wants and working hard to get there.

Even though I enjoyed the premise of the book, I did feel like it took a while to get going. It was just slow in the beginning. However, the end was action packed, almost too much. I didn't feel as if the conclusion of the story had enough closure for me. It felt a little bit rushed. But, overall I enjoyed the story and thought it was well written.

Anatomy: A Love Story was sent to me by St. Martin’s and is not a book I would typically be drawn to based on the synopsis. The cover is a phenomenal piece of art and would definitely have drawn my eye. I ended up listening to this on audio and loved it. I found myself totally rooting for Hazel Sinnet and Jack Currer. I liked that the love story was an undercurrent running throughout the story and not the main focus. Hazel is longing to be a female surgeon who discovers the cure for the Roman Fever, despite it being extremely frowned upon for women in this era to even have half a brain. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am so glad I was just approved for the second book so I can find out what happens next as this one left on a sort of abrupt cliffhanger.
Thank you to St. Martin’s and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Given the premise, I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to love this book so badly. It seemed so wonderfully gothic and perfectly set up to be a creepy ambiance to get me ready for Halloween. But instead, while I enjoyed it, it just didn't deliver in some important ways. Although, this is 1000% a book to buy if you are looking for an aesthetic bookshelf -- I mean, just look at that gorgeousness of a book cover.

Plot:
I loved the plot and the setting of the story. I don't know how much of Edinburgh specifically was really coming through the pages, so much as general Great Britain vibes, but the time period and the medical understandings for that period were fantastic. It is the perfect opportunity to have a very earnest desire to believe these fantastical beliefs about science -- things that we know today to be wrong, but back then were illusions that could reach tangibility if you could figure it out. Using this foundation, I also loved the story of a young woman trying to become a physician or surgeon. That aspect of the story never once wavered, and I think it was developed wonderfully. We see the build to finding education, the obstacles that organically are put in her path, and how she creatively carves her own way to achieving what she wants. It was excellent.

Characters:
Hazel -- Hazel is a rich girl, but incredibly intelligent not just naturally, but through constant and consistent self-education, which I think was a great aspect to her character. We find out how she used to sneak into her dad's study past bedtime to read medical text books, and that tenacity in her pursuant of knowledge is exemplified in her actions throughout the course of the story. She's a bit single-minded when it comes to becoming a physician, but I think that's just par for the course for her. I wouldn't expect anything else, and I think her character was well-developed.

Jack -- No idea who Jack was. There are the basic facts about where he comes from, what drives his actions, and what he looks like, but there weren't enough nuances about personality quirks, deeply emotional reveals, or otherwise extended development of his character. Overall, he was kind of just there to serve a purpose to Hazel? Which, if this were a story solely about Hazel, I would still not like it, but I wouldn't mind it as much. As it is, there is a romance between them, and it just feels like Jack is underdeveloped.

Writing:
Sadly, this is where I think I struggled with the book. The writing overall wasn't bad, but it also was difficult to get through at times because it felt choppy. It wasn't a smooth reading experience. There were moments when the language was flowing really nicely, but it was inconsistent. Because of the evidence that there can be really good passages of writing, I don't know how the book as a whole came to have those choppy parts in them, but it makes me wonder what the entire writing process looked like for the author.

Also, I don't think there was any need for there to be actual fantastical elements to this story. Like, at all. This is my biggest pet peeve with the book and why I only gave it three stars on Goodreads. The fantasy piece was so minimally there, that it was a huge distraction when it came up. This should have remained a historical fiction and that's it. I'm not even going to add a "fantasy" label to this review. Like I said earlier, the great thing about this time period is that science and medicine was still so unknown and exciting it already felt fantastical. To try to mix in actual fantasy with that felt so out of place. I don't think it's impossible to fantasy books written in this time period, but I think the presence of fantasy needed to be much, much stronger in order for it to be properly incorporated into the story.

Thanks for reading!

While I enjoyed this book, I felt the prose and the plotting were clunky. I would utilize it in class for a critique, It was so hyped and I was so enthusiastic about it but it felt about two edits away from being where I wanted it to be as a reader and an educator.

The book was great up until the ending. I was thrown so through a loop. The magic was so random! And that she would just accept it? It was really out of character and I just had a hard time accepting that was how the book ended. It felt like the author did know how to end the book and chose an easy way out. Don't think I'll be reading the sequel.