Historical fiction is not my go-to genre, but the touch of paranormal and romance piqued my interest, and I really enjoyed this story.

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!

I fully enjoyed this book. The atmosphere was great, I like the characters and loved that Hazel was so driven to reach her dreams. I like the creep factor and that Hazel the mystery. It was Stalking Jack the Ripper but with its own uniqueness. I love stories like this.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was its moody, atmospheric quality. The setting and time period had mystique and gravitas, and I loved the main character's drive and stubbornness.

I've never reviewed an audioARC before so this was a different experience for me, I just really wanted to get my hands on this book.

So, let me start with the actual story. I loved this and I don't usually love YA. The historical fiction/mystery elements were perfectly matched. I'm not a squeamish person but sometimes medical stuff can really get to me, but I actually found that really compelling in this story. I'll be picking this up in paperback and probably rereading it because I want to experience it without the audio.

Which brings me to the problem I had: the audio. I don't know if it was because it was an ARC so it was incomplete, but the narration was just not good. There was something robotic about the reading. It also just felt incomplete. Again, I've never gotten an audiobook from NetGalley, so I'm not sure if that's typical in the way that eARCs are often uncorrected and unformatted, but it really took away from the reading experience.

I thought that this was a nice mix between historical fiction and sort of a mystery. Not going to lie as a reader these two subjects separately aren't always my favorite, but I think that this book did a good job of making them compliment each other. It took a little while for the story to pick up for me, but when it did I was hooked and I cannot wait for the second one. Overall, I think that the cover design, the plot and the writing were all beautifully done.

I absolutely cannot get into this narrator so I'm going to have to put this audio ARC down for now. The story itself seems fine, and I may even pick it up physically later, but the narrator is really throwing me off with the audiobook. I have a tough time listening to Irish/Scottish narrators though, so it's very personal and nothing against her at ALL!

I couldn't get into this story at all. I didn't like the way the audiobook sounded - I don't think it was one of those robo-reading ones, but it didn't sound finished. I also just think I was confused about what this story actually was...

Love the author’s podcast so thought I would check this out!

Solid narration, loved our MC, did not expect a couple of the developments and enjoyed this one overall!

I’m squeamish but I did not find this grisly I know others did but I wasn’t bothered while listening at all.

Two things irked me:

•This could’ve been billed as a thriller and I would have like it just as much if not more. There was romance but it wasn’t my main focus.
•Hazel was wildly naive and I found VERY unrealistic that she would be so shocked by her “duties” as a woman of the time. Seems relatively impossible that she wasn’t more aware…


Other than that I did enjoy it!

I always forget how much body horror and imagery gothics can have and this one was no different. That being said, I really liked this story and loved that it harkens back to the medical basis and ideas of pushing medicine that Frankenstein was built around. The audiobook narrators were particularly good!

I am hoping that there is a sequel to this after the way it ended. Possibly wishful thinking, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really good, i wasn't sure about it being a romance and had hoped it would be a bit more, thrilling, but it was still a really great read. would buy.

Synopsis:
Set in Edinburgh in 1817, Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a young man who makes his living by digging up the dead and selling the bodies to medical institutions for educational purposes.

The two meet outside the Edinburgh Anatomist's Society by chance and when Hazel is kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham's lectures for being a girl, she realizes that Jack might be more helpful than she once thought he was. Hazel makes a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination without official lessons, the university will allow her to enroll. This means Hazel will need bodies to practice on and study.

This is where Jack comes into play. But, he has his own problems. There have been strange men seen around cemeteries and his friends are disappearing off the streets. Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried in the graves Jake digs up, and in the Edinburgh society.

Thoughts:
-I liked this one more than I thought I would.

-Some scenes are crunchy worthy. I am such a baby with medical procedures and the descriptions in some parts of this novel grossed me out…in a good way.

-I really enjoyed Hazel’s character and enjoyed watching her pursue her dreams.

-Love the cover and didn’t realize how cool it is until I got the audiobook.

-Some elements of romance some of a gothic feel but not completely either. There was more focus on Hazel’s life and journey to accomplish her goals.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
3.5 solid stars for this one which is a lot better than what I was expecting from this novel. I think it would get a positive review from a younger audience as well.

I did not enjoy this story. I found the narrator really hard to follow. I had a difficult time following the accent. I also found the story not super interesting. I found the story not as romantic as it could have been. I did not like the technical jargon that was used and there was a lot of it.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
Publication date: January 18, 2022

Date read: March 13, 2022



Set in a slightly alternate version of Edinburgh in 1817. Hazel Sinnett has always wanted to be a surgeon - but as a woman, it’s all but impossible. She is supposed to marry well and not get her hands dirty, especially not in such a gruesome profession. After she gets kicked out of surgical lectures for being the wrong gender, she becomes determined to pass the physicians exam all on her own. Meanwhile, resurrection man, Jack Currer, is trying to make enough money to survive, buy digging up bodies and selling them to the medical schools. But he’s got troubles of his own. In addition to the new outbreak of Roman fever, and the general problems of being caught digging up graves, Jack learns that the poor seem to be be disappearing. What’s going on in Edinburg? And can Hazel and Jack figure it out in time to stop it?

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mhairi Morrison and Tim Campbell.

I first want to say that this is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen in years. Props to the people who created the cover art.

I enjoyed this one. Hazel is a great character. A little naïve about what can be accomplished, because she has money and is used to things just getting done, but she also works really hard for what she wants. Her belief that she can accomplish the impossible is actually endearing in this case. She’s tough as nails, but also seems to fit in with the times and not feeling too idealized.

I did like Jack, but I felt that Hazel and Jack’s relationship fell a little too close to the YA insta-love trope. This aspect, plus the age of the characters (Hazel is supposed to be seventeen or eighteen), are really the only reasons this book is classified as YA.

As mentioned at the top, this book is set in a slightly fictionalized version of early 19th century Scotland. It reminded me a little of the Pendergast books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which are police procedurals, but which often have a somewhat fantasy twist to the mystery. I wasn’t expecting this when I first started, but I didn’t mind it.

Overall, this was a fun read. Great characters, interesting science, and a creepy mystery all rolled into one. I’d recommend for any fans of historical mysteries, as long as you can handle a little bit of medical gore. The author also said she may write a sequel, which has me intrigued.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: death of a sibling, desecration of corpses, blood, surgical procedures, autopsies, misogyny, kidnapping, forced medical procedures, hanging

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Narration: The narrator did an awesome job at distinguishing between characters and telling this story

Rating ⭐️⭐️/5 Stars

I had to DNF this book around 42%. I just really struggled to get into this one. I thought the gothic setting and romance would be more interesting, but I was just board. Not a book I liked personally.

I am a huge fan of Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper and this book reminded me so much of that. I really enjoyed it and having a main female character that does not want to conform to what is expected of her and instead goes for what she wants even though it defies all expectations of her. This is definitely a trope I enjoy and that I would recommend to others.

Y’all I was enamored with this book - I loved the setting, the storyline, the characters, EVERYTHING. The ending even had a twist I wasn’t expecting - that I can see people either loving or hating 🤪 but thankfully I was in the loving category!!

This book takes place in Edinburgh, 1817. It follows Hazel, betrothed to a viscount, who wants nothing more than to be a surgeon in a time where women were not allowed to perform surgery. She makes a deal with a world-renowned surgeon, Dr. Beecham, that if she can pass the medical exam on her own, she can pave the way for other females to sit for the medical exam and become surgeons as well. Enter Jack Currer: a resurrection man who makes his living by digging up bodies to sell to those who practice medicine. In order to pass her exam, Hazel will need more than just her books - cough cough *bodies* - to study 👀

But something shady is happening (yes, shadier than people stealing corpses) - Jack’s friends are disappearing, and strange men are stalking cemeteries. Bodies are turning up with organs missing…and with no explanation behind it.

This book is NOT for the squeamish but it is for those who love gothic historical fiction. It discusses the tainted ethics of practicing medicine, as well as gender and class disparities, all in one compulsive read that has the underlying tone of a well written mystery. I absolutely LOVED it and the author knocked it out of the park.

Link to my review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaDBwzKrgJO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I really enjoyed this book! It wasn't exactly what I expected but in a really good way. The twist at the end was very surprising and although I was afraid it was going to end badly, all turned out well, thankfully. My students will also like this one a lot!

This is the type of romance I enjoy. Anatomy: A Love Story was the ideal small gothic love story with great characters that stole my heart. This story's pace was excellent. Everything was not just engrossing, but it also made sense. It wasn't an instant-love narrative, but rather a sweeping romance that left you feeling warm and a touch melancholy at points. It had a number of parts that shocked me, and I'd want to see another book that delves more into some of them. The entire novel seemed like a tribute to Mary Shelley. I was surprised by the finale and hoped it had gone differently. I understand why things ended in the manner they did. Logically, everything makes logic, but I couldn't help but want for a bit more.

4.5 stars - rounded up to 5 stars! Thank you Netgalley for the arc. I absolutely loved this audiobook! It has amazing atmosphere and I adored the story. Hazel is working against the expectations of society to become a wife when all she wants to do is become a surgeon. Throw in a Resurrection Man and pretending to be her dead brother to take medical classes and obviously the stakes are going to get higher. Absolutely loved this and can't wait to read more from Dana Schwartz.