Cover Image: Anatomy: A Love Story

Anatomy: A Love Story

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Member Reviews

"Anatomy: A Love Story" by Dana Schwartz is a captivating exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of the human heart. Set against the backdrop of a medical school dissecting lab, the novel follows protagonist Bea as she grapples with the challenges of navigating relationships and finding her place in the world. Schwartz's writing is poignant and evocative, drawing readers into Bea's emotional journey as she confronts her own vulnerabilities and discovers the true meaning of love. With its blend of humor, heartache, and raw honesty, "Anatomy: A Love Story" is a poignant and unforgettable read that will resonate with readers long after they've turned the final page.

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A unique and beautifully written novel that blends historical fiction with fantasy and paranormal elements, Anatomy follows Hazel as she pushes boundaries to become a surgeon. The parallel plot line of Jack, a grave robber procuring bodies for the medical schools, is a great way to explore more social dynamics of the time. The ending was a bit disappointing for me but I look forward to reading the next book in the duology.

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I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Note: I ended up purchasing a final copy to read in the future.

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There was a lot I loved about this book, but I think I enjoyed the setting most of all. Edinburgh in the 1800s was such a dark, gothic place for this mystery to be set, and I ate it up. I will say, for a book with "Love Story" in the title, I thought the romantic subplot was just that: a subplot. That said, I think it worked really well and I'm glad it didn't take over the entire plot of the story. I'm so glad I can run out and pick up the sequel now!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review. This book was highly enjoyable - until the ending! But there is hope as a sequel has been released! This book is dark, quirky, and has such amazing gothic vibes. I am also all for a female lead going to medical school being from a STEM field myself. Loved this and can’t wait to read the final installment!

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I loved nearly everything about this book. A headstrong female lead. the Edinburgh streets, the mystery. Just everything was beautiful.

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This was a beautiful blend of medicine, gothic slow burn romance, mystery, and horror. It took me a couple tries to get into it, but once I was in I didn't want to put it down. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the duology. This showcases a strong and driven protagonist with the drive to be become the first female surgeon. The story was interwoven with anatomical texts and medical journals which was a great detail.

I think this one also has decent ya/adult crossover appeal.

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Anatomy is a story of contrasts: it is sweet and bitter, light and dark; It gives hope and in the next chapter it snatches it away, it hypnotizes the readers and traps them, forcing them to want to know the outcome of the story, but when you get to the end, you wish the book didn't end.
In Anatomy, the author gives us the story of Hazel, a girl from Scottish high society who wants to be a surgeon, and Jack, a lower-class resurrectionist man. A forbidden love with a life that can be ephemeral or immortal. A wonderful story worthy of becoming a movie.
I think it goes without saying that I loved it!
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

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To be perfectly honest, this book was what I had always hoped Wuthering Heights would have been. (Don’t even get me started, and I’m sorry for all of you who love that book.) Filled with a dark, gothic romance, mystery, and a dah of fantasy, I’m ashamed it took me so long to read this. Once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down except to sleep.

Thank you to the publishers who granted me an Arc of this book…nearly 2 years ago…

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4.5 ⭐️

This was a feminist, gothic infused, mystery set in Edinburgh in the 1800s with a FMC determined to become a surgeon. I loved the setting, themes, characters, and the mystery all involved. I feel like some things came without trial for the MC and would’ve liked to see her have realistic failed attempts with some of her endeavors, but I think book 2 is set up for some of that. Love Hazel & Jack. Hate Bernard. Supppper curious about Dr Beecham

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I really wanted to love this one. I thought maybe it would tickle the feminist in me to see a woman succeed in a male dominated field through her own steam. I am an avid lover of pretty much all things medical and found a lot of the descriptions to be fairly spot on. This was appealing because a lot of authors do not make it a point to research. It is evident that this author did. I really liked Hazel and found her to be a strong character, however did not buy into any sort of romance or love story with Jack just because of a couple moments in the book. This aspect of the book really seemed to be reaching at best. This book ended up just being OK for me. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

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I liked the story it was dark and the Edinburgh setting was interesting. The romance was okay but really we were more invested in the story than the romantic connection. I wasn't thrilled with the ending but I was really intrigued and enjoyed the rest of the story.

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I cannot wait for the sequel to this.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

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I enjoyed this book a lot! I loved that the characters were strong and their personalities developed. I will say the ending was a little... Underwhelming. I wanted more information for that wrap up, and I am a little dissatisfied with the ending. But overall good and I would recommend it.

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The theme of so many of my 2023 reads is: "I regret waiting so long to pick this up." And that's absolutely true for this book. I don't know what took me so long, but once I dove into this one, I didn't come up for air until I was done. It was especially appropriate because I was on vacation in New Orleans when I read it and I'd just been to the pharmacy museum, which covered a lot of the same topics this book does.

This book centers around a young, wealthy woman in Edinburgh in the 1800s who is determined to become a surgeon, something unheard of for women in at the time. Through a series of shenanigans, she enrolls in a surgery course pretending to be a man and starts her journey (which is soon thwarted, but no spoilers here). At the same time, she befriends a "resurrection man" (aka someone who digs up corpses to sell to surgeons for cash) and of course, they fall for each other, despite the very gory and morbid backdrop of their relationship.

Some of Hazel's secrets are discovered -- and she discovers the secrets of some of Edinburgh's high society -- as she runs a charity hospital out of her massive estate and works to become the first female surgeon in Edinburgh.

I'm already on the wait list for the sequel!

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This was such a unique perspective. I loved this book so much. It was also ahead of it's time. It got a little long in parts, but I will for sure be reading the next one. I can't wait to read what happens to the main character to see where life takes her since she is an up and coming WOMAN doctor during the time when a woman's only job was to have babies. Also the cover is amazing!

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2.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed the start to this YA. It had so much promise with it's 'Frankenstein' retelling with 'The Alienist' feels, but the ending and overall story left me feeling underwhelmed.

Things I really loved:
- Samantha's passion for science, anatomy and surgery in a time when women weren't allowed in the profession.
- Possible love interest with a shady body snatching profession
- Bit of a mystery in a historical fiction setting

Things that weren't for me:
- Too many plots going on. It felt like this story couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be or what it wanted to tell the reader.
- The romance wasn't much and it was definitely left on a cliffhanger
- The story just ended. So many things were happening and then it just stopped. It was awkward.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I would've hoped. The love story was not an actual romance and after all the plots stirring around slowly coming to a head, it made the ending seem very abrupt. I realize now that there is a sequel, but at the time of publishing there was no mention of a second story, which left me feeling frustrated as a reader.

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It took me a little while to get into this one but I'm so glad I did! Hazel, a 17th century lady of Scotland, turns away from the idea of marriage in favor of studying the up-and-coming theories and practices of human anatomy, medicine, and surgery. To practice, she enlists the help of Jacob, a "resurrection man," to procure bodies to study. Part historical fiction, part love story, I loved this book more than I thought I would and am looking forward to getting into the sequel!

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A little bit of a mystery and a little bit of a gothic classic feel with a few sprinkles of romance all wrapped into one. Hazel was quite an interesting character and I really enjoyed watching her not give up and keep on doing what she wanted to despite stupid men trying to convince her otherwise. Following her journey and Jack's come together was satisfying and quite a good read. I won't lie and say this book didn't give me a bit of the creeps but I feel that comes with any good gothic novel so I will give it a few extra points for that. Overall, greatly enjoyed and looking forward to reading book two soon!

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