Really interesting book all about science, rob graving and a wonderful historical framework along with a touch of romance. This was a really different book compared to books that I usually pick up, but I’m glad I did! I would recommend this story to those who enjoy themes relating to dark academia and historical mysteries with a splash of romance. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Edinburgh, grave robbing, love, and science! This book has it all! The themes and excellently balanced and create a wonderful vivid atmosphere for the story. Loved it!

Loved this book! It appealed to my Frankenstein loving heart so much! I loved the romance, the setting, the look at grave robbing and medicine during this time in Edinburgh and I LOVED Hazel’s strong character.

I will be thinking of this book for a long time to come!

When you love a book but just want to talk to the person who approved the title with "A Love Story" in it and gently shake them.

In 1817 Edinburgh, Hazel Sinnett wants nothing more in life than to be a surgeon. Marriage has little appeal to her, even though she's been betrothed to her cousin since childhood. At home, her eldest brother died of a terrible sickness a few years ago, leaving her mother to lavish all her attention on Hazel's youngest brother. But Hazel uses this to her advantage by sneaking out of the house to enroll in an anatomy course, disguised as a boy. And surprise surprise, she's good at it. Also surprise surprise, secrecy only lasts so long. When she is discovered, Hazel accepts a wager: pass the physician's exam at the end of term, and she'll be given a prestigious apprenticeship with the top surgeon of the era. Fail, and no woman will ever be accepted to the field.

I do not know why the title has "A Love Story" in it ... because it's not. Like, not even close. And it's really the only beef I have with this book. I saw the author caught some well-deserved flack over an article about subverting romance tropes where she talked about how she wrote a romance she wanted to see, but this is not a love story. I don't know how else to say it. Is there a romance? Absolutely. It is the centre of the story? Nope. It doesn't really crop up until halfway through and has little bearing on the plot itself, so, reader beware if you're coming into this thinking it's some star-crossed lovers thing.

As much as that confused me, it did not take away from how much I enjoyed this book! While not a romance, I did ship the couple that formed in the end. I thought they were super cute and balanced well. Now, what this really was is a gothic novel, and it was more than I hoped it would be. Atmospheric, seemingly well-researched, and surprisingly gruesome. This did not hold back from the anatomical side of things. There are descriptions of surgeons cutting off limbs and sticking their hands inside decaying chest cavities from Hazel's POV, and people sneaking into graveyards and digging up freshly buried corpses to sell to surgeons on Jack's POV. It was gross, but weirdly well executed. Like, I dig it—PUN INTENDED.

What struck me the most about this book is how much I loved the main character. Hazel is absolutely one of those "I don't want to be like the other girls" characters. Especially when we consider the time period and that women don't really get to follow their dreams. Hazel is one of so many characters out there like this, but she felt refreshing. Maybe it's because she's willing to buy a corpse and crack it open on her own to study. I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but the girl has my utmost respect. I was rooting for her to absolutely smash the patriarchy from almost the first page, and couldn't have been more thrilled to follow along with her.

I think part of the reason why I enjoyed this so much is because of the excellent audiobook narration. Wednesday Books was kind enough to provide me with an audio copy, and Mhairi Morrison absolutely killed it. Her accent was so soothing to listen to and she really brought the story and its characters to life!

I will admit, I'm a tiny bit disappointed in the ending. It was a little rushed and honestly, I wanted more closure. Still, the rest of the book was so entertaining that I'm willing to brush aside five minutes worth of grumbling on my part. It was a good ending all the same, and I would totally read more from this author in future.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Gruesome descriptions of surgery, exhumation of dead bodies, kidnapping, dismemberment

Edinburgh in the 1800s with resurrection men snatching bodies for Victorian operating theatres, men of science performing grotesque surgeries, and a strong young woman who has career dreams above and beyond her role in society. ANATOMY: A LOVE STORY has a lot of great things going for it. I think some readers are confused by the title, expecting this to be a romance plot between two humans. And while there is some romance, this really is about Hazel's love of becoming a doctor and being able to help people.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Hazel and Jack, and Hazel with the servants at Hawthornden Castle (which is a real castle in Scotland 7 miles outside of Edinburgh by the way). When Hazel could have so easily been your stereotypical wealthy privilege young woman, she treated them with respect.

The villains were interesting and evil. The overall plot was intriguing and entertaining. Mhairi Morrison and Tim Campbell do an excellent job with the audiobook narration. The ending is a satisfying conclusion while still leaving the door open for more story to be told (I've heard hints that there will be a sequel).

Schwartz also does a great job of making the city of Edinburgh a character and not just a location. The descriptions made the city come alive and added to the story. And can we talk about how gorgeous the cover art is?!

Overall this was a great gothic tale that hooked my interest early on and easily held my interest until the very end. I look forward to seeing what Schwartz has in store for readers next.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for allowing me to preview this audiobook!

In Anatomy: A Love Story, a young noblewoman dreams of becoming a surgeon in early 19th c Scotland, and recruits a resurrection man to help her achieve her goal.

I found this story to be very engaging: the writing was strong, the narrative well-paced, and the characters likable.

The plot was perhaps slightly meandering, but it never totally lost itself--i could tell the author was trying to keep a lot of different elements in play.

The audiobook performance and the very charismatic narrator did the book a lot of favors as well. The book had a really satisfying twist at the end too, though some elements certainly felt unresolved at the novel's conclusion. I think writing YA in the historic space poses some challenges which Dana Schwartz handled very elegantly. She made the history accessible and relatable. I also loved the setting of Edinburgh.

I LOVED this book though I kind of figured I would. It had all the makings of a fantastic read. This book is perfect for the fans of Dark Academia like myself.

Our story follows Hazel Sinnet, a young girl, growing up in 1800 in Edinburgh. Hazel is desperate to become a surgeon but unfortunately during those times, there was no place for women in the medical field. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Hazel is desperate to learn, and the only way she can is by studying a corpse so she makes a deal with a local resurrectionist by the name of Jack.

I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrator was great. Her voice fit the story perfectly. I also enjoyed that the parts by Beecham were read by a man but I occasionally found him a tad hard to understand and a little boring.

The title may be a little misleading to some because I think at its core this book is a love story between Hazel and her desire to become a surgeon and the length she will go through to achieve this goal. Hazel was an amazing MC. She was extremely intelligent and clever, sometimes even overtly so she could come off as a bit of know-it-all which weirdly I enjoyed. I think those little flaws help flesh out the character and make them more relatable.

It shows that the author was fascinated by this period and a lot of research went into this book. I'd say my only real complaint about this book is that it is a little slow-paced. The plot doesn't pick up till the 50% mark. Thankfully the pace of this book didn't bother me too much because the author painted an eerie disturbing setting that I just couldn't get enough of. This book is perfect for the fans of Dark Academia.

Things this book has going for it: a good audiobook narrator and a gorgeous cover. Unfortunately for me, that was about it. Obviously, many people are loving this book, so it has its audience, but for me this wasn't it. I knew I was in trouble when I hit the 60% mark and didn't know what the plot of the book was supposed to be. I've seen Anatomy pitched as a love story, a mystery, and a horror novel, and I found it to be none of those things.

The plot was trying to do too many things that it ended up doing nothing, and the final reveal came so out of left field it almost made me laugh. Additionally, I understand what Schwartz was trying to do with Hazel, but I found her so obnoxious and she didn't really feel like a historical character, she felt very modern and therefore unrealistic in the story. Also wow - the instalove between two people who barely interact for the first half of the book.

This book will find its readers, but for me, the cover was the best part.

Anatomy A Love story
by Dana Schwartz
5 stars
Hands down I loved this book I was able to get the advanced audio edition and I couldn't stop listening. I am not a history person at all, never really have been but so good. Hazel's character comes to life over and over you see her drive and passion. She promised to her cousin which back in 1817 that was common which is gross but in that time frame, it's what they did. Then you have Jack who is a resurrection man who helps Hazel out in any way he can. The way Jack supports Hazel is something most guys don't do often but so great to see in books. The whole book was so good for me in all ways. The love story was perfect, the ending was abrupt and ended way too fast for me. I did enjoy it but it wasn't enough for me after such a big build-up throughout the whole book it ended way too fast, I hope there is a squeal to it, to give the ending we're all hoping for.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz was one of those books that I just devoured. I listened to this one on audiobook and I didn’t want to stop. The narrators brought this book to life for me. It was so well executed and the story was so beautiful!
I don’t know how I couldn’t fall in love with a character that has so much hope and belief in making her dreams come true. Hazel was so young, but so strong and determined. And Jack! What a beautiful souls he was. This is an unconventional(in my opinion)love story at its core and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook for an honest review.

Most times, when I hear a book is historical fiction, I will leave it right on the shelf. But this time, I just couldn't. There were so many "me" things that have come up in this book. The grave robbers thing. And then the romance part. And ugh it just sounded so good. So I gave it a shot. And I was correct. It was a me book.

Hazel is a woman who wants to be a surgeon. In the 1800's. All the men in her life have told her not to even dream of it, but she knows she can do it. Jack is a resurrection man (grave robber). They meet when Hazel is kicked out of the famous Dr. Beecham's lecture because she's a girl. She gets in touch with him again to see if he can help her out. Add on to this the fact that Hazel has to try to stay involved in society and make sure her (hopeful) husband to be is happy. What can go wrong?

Normally I don't like historical fiction because I don't find myself enjoying them. I look too much into the events or things they're talking about and I have to do research into them. I of course also did this with this book too. But it was on the resurrection men. I didn't know they were a real thing. (Whatever lol) But I found out this was a large thing. I was able to learn a lot from this book. It was pretty cool to see Hazel taking charge of her interests and doing whatever it is she wanted. Hazel was a boss and I loved getting to know her character.

As for Jack, he seemed super quiet. But it was obvious he was into Hazel. I was cheering for them from the beginning. Which was weird because there was already someone that Hazel was supposed to be with? I ended up hating them. (You'll understand why when you read it!) I also was super scared for Jack. He was so sweet and trusting. It opened him up to so many bad things.

The plot was what I didn't care for about this one tho. There was WAY TOO MUCH going on. There was a mystery on who the men that were coming for the bodies were. Then there was the mystery on the missing people. There was the romance between the person she was supposed to marry. The budding relationship with Hazel and Jack. Jack's POV with getting the bodies and getting the money for them. It was a lot. I know it was setting the tone for the 1800's, but listening to this as an audiobook made it hard to keep some things together.

Speaking of the audio, I really liked the narrators. They didn't try using any overly dramatic accents or anything like that. They sounded legit and I loved that. I also liked the way it was atmospheric. They made it dark and it seemed scary in certain parts. And of course, any time there is two different POVs and there are two different narrators, it's always better than just one person doing both with a terrible voice for a male character.

The ending tho? EPIC. I knew where it was going at a certain point, and I got a bit upset. But then once I finally read it, I had to go back and re-listen. It was so sweet. I hated that it meant that it was separate, but I was also happy that it all came together. Definitely wasn't what I thought it would end on, but it was amazing nonetheless.

This ends on an "opening" for a sequel. If not a sequel, more like a companion. Especially on this person's next location. I think it would be cool to see. So Schwartz, here's my formal ask for another lol Let's see what she decides!

Anatomy: A Love Story. A gothic tale full of mystery and romance about a willful female surgeon, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, and the buried secrets they must uncover together. Edinburgh, 1817. Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.


this was a good one, I think it wasn't my favourite or my least favourite. I had issues with the audiobook but I will be reading again

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
I have been hearing raves about this book, so I was thrilled to get my hands on the audiobook galley. It did not disappoint, at all. I devoured it in 24 hours. The narration was excellent, and really added to the overall quality of the book. I truly hope Mhairi Morrison is on deck for the sequel that was leaked in the post book interview. This discussion between the author and narrator, was also a great touch, and gave some great insights into the book itself.
On that note, back to the actual book. Anatomy: A Love Story was amazingly crafted. I loved the full character of Hazel and her growth through the story. I loved the relationships and the struggles she faced as a woman, and the realistic portrayal of the difficulties of the time period (although somewhat assuaged by her rank/status is society). I could tell Schwartz had really thought about all of these things, but just used her preparation to tell a beautiful story.
I do think this book stayed true to ya, that is actually appropriate for a ya audience. I would not personally recommend to my daughter, because she wouldn't like the medical descriptions and they would be to graphic for her taste. However, that is purely a personal issue.

I was not expecting much from this novel but really ended up loving it! I think it's a fantastic YA novel. For those who have a hard time with gore, this might not be the one for you since it describes surgeries in great detail, but if that doesn't usually bother you, it should be fine. I didn't find it to be excessive. I really enjoyed reading about the main character and her drive.

I quite enjoyed thie advanced copy of Anatomy:A love Story. This is the first book I read from this author. I found it very mysterious right until the epilogue! I liked the narrator too for the audiobook!

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for providing me with the arc audiobook.

“A gothic tale full of mystery and romance about a willful female surgeon, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, and the buried secrets they must uncover together. Edinburgh, 1817.”

I loved this book. It was such a cute, gothic, creepy love story. A twist you wouldn’t expect! Absolutely fell in love with both main characters! The author’s descriptive writing is brilliant and I cannot wait for what’s next!

Sidenote: the hardcover is gorgeous! Under the hardcover is red foiling of an anatomical heart! The cover design is amazing. I bought the book just to display because I loved it so much! I might just have to back for the b&n edition!

How frustrating would it be to be told you couldn't go after your dream? That you could never do the things you wanted to do and had to marry well or else risk being an outcast and always being at the mercy of your family. Hazel Sinnett wants to be a surgeon, but her mother tells her she must marry her cousin, to whom she has been betrothed to since she was very young. I couldn't even imagine this choice being made for me. I was impressed with Hazel, as she didn't let this get her down or get in her way but instead continued to move forward with her studies and plans, plotting and scheming to find her way to ensure she becomes a surgeon in a time period where only men are allowed to pursue this profession. Along the way she meets Jack and they form an unusual partnership, a very beautiful friendship, and a deep love for and commitment to the other. I appreciated Jack for supporting Hazel in her quest to be a surgeon. He was not overbearing and didn't try to sway her to settle or be something she was not. Their nighttime escapades to dig up bodies made my heart race with anxiety and fear.

I don't want to give away anything for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Hazel's journey in this book as she deals with some very disgusting and quite horrific scenarios. I felt calm in her, like she had a maturity well beyond her years or that she was a wonderful old soul and not easily riled up by the people who tried to dissuade her from her passion. Will there be a sequel to this book? I hope so. I found the ending to be quite unexpected , and I really liked that aspect of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook version in exchange for my honest review. The primary narrator, Mhairi Morrison, did a fantastic job with all of the characters. At the end of this book there was a bonus discussion between Mhairi Morrison and Dana Schwartz that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Happy publishing day to @danaschwartzzz new novel, Anatomy: A Love Story 🫀

I am obsessed with Dana Schwartz from her podcast Noble Blood (a personal favorite of mine) so naturally, I had to get my hands on this beauty 🫀

Hazel is a lady in 1817 Scotland who dreams of being a surgeon. She disguises herself as her deceased brother to attend lectures and school to learn how to be a surgeon but is kicked out when they find out she is a girl. She teams up with Jack, a resurrection man who digs up bodies for doctors. Together they not only help each other but also uncover why so many people are going missing…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 This is a fantastic read that is full of mystery, romance, and of course history. This is definitely a must-read 🫀

Disclaimer: I work for a bookstore, all thoughts and opinions are my own and not affiliated with the store or company.
Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for providing me with an audiobook version of this book.

I would like to start this review mentioning that my rating is 3.5 but rounded up. My rating might change over time.

First I will discuss the audio element and then the story. I loved Mhairi Morrison as the narrator, she did an incredible job bringing Hazel to life within this story. Her voice portrayed Hazel as the confident character she was written to be. The audio aspect is why I chose to round up my rating as it was really well done. I listened at various speeds ranging from 1.5x to 2x.

As for the story, I will discuss what I loved followed by what I did not afterwards. I fell in love with the setting and premise of the book. I adore books with darker themes and the anatomy aspect of this book did not let me down. All of the surgeries and following Hazel to her lessons is truly what enticed me to keep going. I kept picking up this book because I loved the element of mystery that tied into her current work.
Unfortunately there were two elements that I did not enjoy as much as the rest of the book. The first being, the romance. While I do not think this book needed more romance, I wish it was not labelled a love story as it was more of a side plot and they hardly interacted for the majority of the book.
My next surprise was the ending. This took me by complete surprise. While I will try to avoid spoiling it please tread carefully in this next paragraph if you want no slight hints to what happens. I wish there were more clues throughout the book to hint that the big twist was a possibility. It personally felt very out of nowhere and removed me from the setting we had spent the whole book building in our minds. There also felt to be very few consequences for the villain of this book, and felt as if no one cared about what they had done- including Hazel. I went into this book thinking it was a standalone, which might be another reason the end caught me off guard.

Overall this book was a lot of fun and for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend the audiobook as this was an element that I truly loved and was what kept bringing me back to this world.

Anatomy: A Love Story is a decently written historical (with a bit of magical realism) set in 1820 Scotland (The Romantic era - post Regency and pre Dickensian). The Scottish milieu is well represented here and I highly recommend listening to the audio version to really get a feel for the location. The narration is well done and represents the book well.

Story: Scottish aristocrat Hazel is a young woman whose future has been carefully planned: marry her nice but somewhat boorish handsome cousin and inherit a viscountess role eventually. But Hazel's heart and soul belongs to medicine: she pours over the medical journals left by her father as he oversees the guardianship of Napleon on St. Helena. Hazel has plenty of time to study her medicine: her fiance is distant and her mother is too busy doting over the prized surviving young son of the family to care about her daughter. But Hazel needs to study surgery if she wants to be able to actually practice and that means disguising herself as a man to attend lectures while also securing bodies to study at night. It is in that pursuit that she meets a resurrection man - Jack. Together, they make progress but her gender and some very strange occurrences could cause both their worlds to come crashing down on them.

Admittedly, I had read a similar story a few years ago called the Resurrectionist of Caligo that also dealt with a woman of influence who needed dead bodies and the desperate young gravedigger who procured them for her. That isn't to say this book wasn't original and didn't have a different focus. Here, Hazel's frustration with the limits of her gender is the primary driving force of the plot. To that end, she sort of steamrolls over the various men in her life and pursues a very self centered set of actions. Ordinarily I'd applaud a bit of anachronistic feminism but here everything she does is really at the risk of others and I became a bit frustrated by it.

The story is grounded and bleak - the old world of Scotland's capitol is well represented and adds to the gothic atmosphere. Most of the book takes place at Hazel's family's gothic castle with some scenes in old downtown Edinburgh. The tales of surgeries and medicine are fairly graphic with the author not sparing any details from boils to amputations. As well, there is the social commentary beyond the feminist aspect with scenes of the poor being used and the injustice of the peer system of the day.

Admittedly, this was a bit too dreary for me. Yes, there is a love story here as Hazel becomes closer to Jack, a person who actually believes in her rather than tries to box her in. But the magical realism aspect felt wrong with all the science and I did become weary of the dead bodies and forensics. But the book is definitely well written and has a definitive end.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was excellent. There are actually two narrators: one for the book and a male voice reading from the prefaces (journals, news bulletins, etc.). The production is well done and immersive and I highly recommend that option. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.