i loved the cover, it was a unique cover. The story was really well done with great characters in it. It was a great gothic novel and was invested from beginning to end.

Fans of Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper will love this book. From the on point concept of its cover art to its characters and plot, there's a lot to love about this novel. Atmospheric and mysterious, the reader can't help but be drawn into the world of Jack and Hazel. The period touches are apt and nicely done, and the romance is gentle and understated. The ending gives off its own little wow moment, and I'm happy to have this in our collection.

We join Hazel in her quest to become a female surgeon, while working through the struggles of 1800s Scotland. While studying for her goal she will have to work through what is expected of a woman in that time, while also trying to solve a mystery of disappearing townspeople.

Hazel is an interesting character to follow. She's extremely determined and I very much appreciated how she went after what she wanted and was not afraid of "the dirty work". It made it fun to root for her as she walks a delicate line.

I did however feel the storyline progressed a little too conveniently. We're also kind of just told a lot of things happen instead of watching relationships or some events occur. I think I also expected a little more realism with the mystery's conclusion.

As Hazel is studying to be proficient in the medical field, there ars some slightly graphic depictions of surgeries and injuries. Heads up if that's not your thing.

All in all an enjoyable read!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

I'm usually not a huge historical fiction fan, but this was something else. It was so dynamic and gender role defying, plus set in Scotland! I loved following Hazel through her journey to become a surgeon - even if it means dressing up as a man to go to school. The pace of this book is just perfect - I could definitely find this book dragging without it. Though there were some supernatural elements that felt a bit off, I was ultimately quite satisfied with the book.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

"Anatomy" is a unique and engaging YA Gothic romance. Hazel Sinnett is a young woman from a wealthy family; she aspires to be a physican, despite it being not the kind of route a girl like her takes. Jack Currer is a ressurrection man--he robs graves to sell bodies to people in the burgeoning field of surgery. A deadly fever has struck their town and Jack and Hazel must work to achieve their dreams and stay alive. The opening is slow going--this might just be because I am not the best with history so I had to take the exposition very seriously--but things progress into a lively plot full of drama and romance. Throughout there is dense description of everything from luxurious estates to pus filled wounds. I appreciated Hazel's tenacity as a character and Jack's charisma. I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for something a little different.

Hazel Sinnett has a downright scandalous fascination for a young lady in 19th century Scotland: The human body. She doesn’t want to be a beloved belle of society and a wife, despite being practically engaged to a viscount’s son. She wants to be a surgeon. Hazel indulges her whims by posing as a man and attending lectures at the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, but when she’s caught, she strikes an intriguing deal with the professor. Dr. Beecham cannot allow a woman in his class, but he’ll allow Hazel to take the physician’s exam. She’ll just need to study on her own. That’s where Jack Currer comes in: He’s a resurrection man who steals bodies from their graves and sells them to scientists. It’s not strictly legal, of course, but it pays pretty well and Hazel is a very willing customer. But when resurrection men begin disappearing and sometimes turning up dead, Hazel and Jack find themselves in the thick of a new kind of scandal around town.

Dana Schwartz’s novels have always had intriguing descriptions, but I never actually got around to reading one until Anatomy: A Love Story. While there were definitely enjoyable elements, it fell a little flat for me overall. But let’s start with the good!

Hazel and Jack are both really interesting individual characters. Schwartz did a great job showing their distinct place in their respective “worlds,” how their personalities sprung from that, and how the divide in experiences affected them. The secondary characters were effective as well, though not all were necessary. The worldbuilding is really solid and the descriptions of the surgical procedures, which are meant to make the average reader squirm a bit, did their job well. And the cover? To die for!

I think a lot of my disappointment is my own fault, because I expected a different tone. What I know of Dana Schwartz + the description = Me believing I’d get something creepy and charming and very camp. The book itself plays things very straight and clinical. I wanted to be whisked up in a weird, morbid world and that isn’t what I got. I have no one but myself to blame for that. But if you’re going to call a book BLANKITY BLANK: A LOVE STORY, there damn well better be a love story. Hazel and Jack are co-conspirators and you root for them, but there’s not a substantial amount of chemistry, even after they've kissed for the first time. They start declaring their love for one another pretty quickly at the end of the novel and it doesn’t feel organic, because they barely even flirt for the first three quarters. One could argue that Hazel’s love for anatomy is the reference, but I don’t think the novel was punchy enough to even convey that.

Unfortunately, the pacing is all over the place. The novel starts slow with some unnecessary filler, gets a little more streamlined, then flies into warp speed in the last 25% or so. Those final moments also featured a “twist” that was used as deus ex machina to get to the desired ending and served very little purpose besides. A strange supernatural element is hinted at in the prologue, but from there it isn’t seen again until the very end and just feels thrown in. It’s intriguing, but ultimately not satisfying. I think this was also meant to be the “gothic horror” element of the story (I know dissecting bodies and surgeries may cover that enough for some people, but not for me,) so that’s another tone issue I struggled with. The ending on the whole came off as very rushed and didn’t give readers time to dig into the big emotions presented.

Anatomy: A Love Story is an entertaining read, but with various pacing and tone issues, it felt like the author wasn’t quite sure what she was going for or perhaps wasn’t given the time to flesh things out as much as she could have. This is just an ARC, so we may see substantial changes before the true release.

As an Anatomy teacher, I was very excited by the title, cover art, and synopsis of this book. I found the beginning very interesting, I loved the aspects of Hazel learning about the human body through experimentation and live demonstrations. I also enjoyed learning about resurrection men and the grisly tasks they performed. I thought that this would easily be a 5-star book for me. But then I got to the end and it fell flat. I found the resolution to be a complete deus ex machina and extremely unsatisfying. The mystery was so easily solved that I am not even sure if it was supposed to be a mystery, but it seemed extremely obvious. I am so disappointed because it was such a great book until the last few chapters, but if just felt rushed like the author just wanted to be done. I would still recommend for the first 80% of the book, which was great! I will just make up a better ending in my head.

I’ll admit, I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. Historical, dark, and a little bit supernatural, Dana Schwartz created a perfect, quick read that I became totally engrossed in.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this title. First off, the cover is exquisite and totally caught me eye. The story itself, I have to agree with another reviewer's observations, tries to do too much. The story of a girl desiring to become a surgeon during a time period where girls shouldn't want such things always makes for an interesting story, but then a mystery is layered in, and then a love story is layered in as well, so the story never really gelled and became fully fleshed out in any of those categories. An interesting concept, but I wish it was a little bit better realized.

This book was so original. Odd and original. Hard to describe because the heroine is trying to become a doctor during a time when women are not allowed to become doctors, and she befriends a grave robber to help her acquire dead bodies. It's Gothic and atmospheric, and you really root for the girl. The romance factor was pretty adorable, and there's some witty back and forth between Hazel and Jack. There's also a lot of description of surgery and cutting up bodies. The only part that I am not so sure about is the pretty unbelievable ending. If you need a really strong resolution, you're not going to get it here.

The cover of this book is stunning. The description/synopsis is amazing. I was so excited to read this book. But it just did not live up to my expectations. At all.
The first part of the book seemed to be about a young girl trying to fight the strictures of her society in early 1800s Scotland and pursue a career in the medical field. It was very atmospheric, describing resurrection men moving about misty and gloomy cemeteries in the dark of night and the grimy realities of surgery and medical practices at the time. But then it changed directions and kind of got lost in the vague details of Hazel's family and her mother's aim to ensure Hazel marries her cousin ASAP. The story lost focus and some things that had no bearing on the story were described in excruciating detail, while other things where skimmed over in such a way that ended up just making me confused. When, almost halfway through the book--after meeting for about the 3rd time and actually having a real conversation for the first time--Hazel and Jack fall into insta-love, the pacing of the story got even more jerky and disjointed. And I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a YA romance, a creepy mystery about grave robbing and nefarious "doctors," a coming-of-age story, or what... I found myself skimming over large portions, not really caring to come back to the story when I put the book down, and not at all interested in what became of two rather boring characters in Jack and Hazel. (And all of this on top of glaring anachronism, inaccurate historical detail, and continuity issues.)
I really wanted to like this book, and was excited to read it. But that excitement soon dwindled. I would not recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book, however it didn't fully capture my attention. The premise and the characters were amazing though. I loved the setting. It reminded me of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series a bit!

Dana Schwartz is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Noble Blood. When I heard on a recent recording that she had a book coming out, I knew I had to read it, even though I hadn't read any of her other work.
Anatomy: A Love Story is an interesting combo of historical fiction and science fiction. It's story of an 1800 era well-off girl with dreams of science and a life other than that of a lady in a fine house, and of a poor boy selling bodies as a "resurrection man" to earn a living. Naturally, their paths intertwine, and with an unexpected twist akin to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein! (Although, with a title like "Anatomy" some macabre should be expected.)
Is it the most historically accurate? No.
Is the twist ended a little much? Yes.
Is it still a worthwhile read? I think so!
While I received an ARC of Anatomy: A Love Story for free, this had no bearing on my rating and review. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I would like to start off by stating that I could not put this book down! Hazel wants to be a doctor more than anything but during this time in history, females were not allowed to work in the medical field. Hazel decides to dress up as a man to attend an anatomy seminar but once she gets kicked out, her new friend (future lover interest) helps her to study by bringing her patients and corpse. And let me tell you: the plot twist at the ending had my heart racing! Definitely a must read and cant wait to read more from this author!

Dana Schwartz creates a fascinating premise in her debut novel, but unfortunately that is where the dazzlement in the novel stops. The writing itself falls flat in living up to the plot - for a novel that I expected to be atmospheric judging from the synopsis and cover, it lacks finesse in creating a gothic atmosphere. I will say that I enjoyed the historical aspect of this, but overall this fell short of my expectations.

I’m not quite sure what I’d expected from this book, but what it is is mostly…wistful. It reminded me a little of Stalking Jack The Ripper, but not like in a copycat way. Just a similar theme of a girl who wants to be a surgeon.
It’s a nice debut and a good read, though I’d definitely add some trigger warnings if you’re bothered by gore or graphic medical descriptions.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

**Rounding up from 3.5 Stars**

Anatomy: A Love Story is a compelling and well-researched gothic novel about Hazel Sinnet, a Victorian socialite who would rather take the anatomist exam and become a surgeon than follow her prescribed path of marrying her Viscount cousin Bernard. After she is kicked out of anatomy lectures for being a woman, she is determined to pass the exams and teams up with "resurrection man" (body snatcher) Jack Currer to procure corpses to practice on herself.

Hazel and Jack's relationship is sweet and its clear that a lot of research on the medical field in the Victorian era went into the novel. However, I found the main cast of characters in the book to be fairly flat and one-dimensional and almost took off two whole stars because the book contains my least favorite trope, the "not like other girls" girl (there is a passage where Jack LITERALLY says Hazel is amazing because she is "not like other girls" including his last crush who wore too much makeup, BARF). But if you can get past that and are a big fan of gothic horror then I would recommend reading this novel!

Anatomy: A Love Story is a gothic, historical romance with a Frankenstein-esque twist. Hazel wants nothing more than to become a surgeon, but in 19th century Scotland, that wasn’t really an easy option for a women. So she makes a deal with the surgical instructor at the university, if she can pass the exam and get her surgical license, he will open up the course to women and allow her to follow her dreams. Hazel is more than capable of learning the basics in her anatomy books, but to pass the test she’ll need practical experience as well- they type of experience that she can only get through dissection. So Hazel is force to hire Jack, a resurrection man, in order to get corpses to examine.

I really enjoyed this gothic YA romance. It was interesting, paced well, and just creepy enough. Also, can we talk about how gorgeous the cover is?!?!? I’m obsessed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a honest review!

That was so quirky! Gothic, educational, dash of romance, slightly magical and self awareness.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I first started reading it but I fell in love! Hazel is kicked off to the side in her well known and wealthy family; even though there is plague going around that is killing people off every day, including her older brother. She is betrothed to a man who is not a fan of her…well, habits.

Hazel is obsessed with the human body; obsessed enough that she will do anything it takes to learn more about it even though she is not allowed to because this novel is set in 19th century Scotland. Luckily, she meets a body snatcher that may help her learn so that she may become a surgeon. However will he really help her? Or hurt her?

Fantastic book and would recommend. I would have wanted the ending to be more drawn out instead of having a feeling of being cut short. Still loved it!

So I was able to finish this one relatively quickly.
It was an enjoyable read. Hazel was a really great MC. But it felt rushed to me in a way. A lot of it felt one dimensional. I wasn't able to really be invested in a lot of the story, or the characters. I was intrigued by the doctor although I guessed his secret early on, due to the way he spoke about himself and his grandfather.
So, a little predictable, a little shallow but the romance was cute and the setting was great. There was a lot of potential for a really great story, it just missed the mark for me. But I will definitely be on the lookout for more of the authors work in the future!