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lightltup's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Anyone who says “Don’t judge a book by its cover” has never met a reader. I bought this book because I absolutely loved the cover. I didn’t read the description or anything. Just saw the cover and immediately added it to my cart on Barnes and Noble. It is absolutely without a doubt gorgeous but maybe I’m biased as someone who works in healthcare and has always loved medicine.
The book is a gothic romance set in the 1800s in Edinburgh where modern medicine was definitely not as its finest but we were trying our best and women were not allowed to be surgeons. The poverty is vanishing, people are sick with the Roman fever. Times are not looking great. Hazel wants nothing more than to be a surgeon but when the renowned Dr. Beecham kicks her out of his class, she strikes a deal with him. If she can pass the Physician’s Exam without his help then he will allow her to be a surgeon and he will allow females join the class from now on. From there, she teams up with Jack, a resurrection man, who digs up the deceased and sells them to doctors to do an autopsy on and they try to figure out what the hell is going on in the town of Edinburgh.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a little harder to get into for me as most historical fiction set in the 1800s are but I was hooked about halfway through. After all who doesn’t love a book about a woman breaks society’s norms? I know it’s only the 9th day in 2023 but this book will definitely be in my top reads of the year. If you love a quick gothic historical romance read, go check this book out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Medical content
abookdork's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Medical content, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Violence
plantsbookscoffee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Terminal illness, Sexism, Classism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, and Grief
alite428's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Terminal illness
sundayray's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This wasn’t a bad book, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but good grief, I was bored out of my skull. Also, the fact that I read and fell in love with the Stalking Jack the Ripper series earlier this year and thus went into this book expecting something similar was my downfall. I kept comparing Hazel to Audrey Rose, Jack to Thomas, [whatever the hell Hazel and Jack’s ship name is] to Cressworth, and every time, I was disappointed. SJTR is superior in every way. In comparison, Anatomy offers characters that aren’t as fleshed out, a romance with considerably less build-up and hardly any chemistry, a story that drags, and a mystery introduced far too late that took far too little effort for me to solve. The ending didn’t clear things up, only muddle them further, and although I’ll read nearly any book at this point, including sequels to books I wasn’t the biggest fan of, I have no interest in the upcoming sequel to this one. All this book did was intensify my desire to reread SJTR, sorry not sorry.
If I had more energy, I could write about how disappointing it was to see Hazel scoff at the other girls her age for being feminine when Audrey Rose embraced both her femininity and her love for forensics. To see Hazel and Jack go from accomplices that didn’t care about one another to wanting to kiss each other nearly fast enough to give me whiplash when Audrey Rose and Thomas had one of the best slow-burns I’ve ever read, with lots of yearning and lingering glances and stolen kisses.
But I don’t have the energy for that, so I won’t. And maybe that’s better, because I really don’t think I’m supposed to be comparing the two books so strongly anyway. I just can’t help it. Sorry, Dana Schwartz, but Kerri Maniscalco did it first and did it better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
((I briefly debated giving this a lower rating, but I couldn’t bring myself to be mean. If SJTR hadn’t already taken over my life, I probably would’ve liked this more. Maybe. We’ll never know. So, three stars it is.))
If I had more energy, I could write about how disappointing it was to see Hazel scoff at the other girls her age for being feminine when Audrey Rose embraced both her femininity and her love for forensics. To see Hazel and Jack go from accomplices that didn’t care about one another to wanting to kiss each other nearly fast enough to give me whiplash when Audrey Rose and Thomas had one of the best slow-burns I’ve ever read, with lots of yearning and lingering glances and stolen kisses.
But I don’t have the energy for that, so I won’t. And maybe that’s better, because I really don’t think I’m supposed to be comparing the two books so strongly anyway. I just can’t help it. Sorry, Dana Schwartz, but Kerri Maniscalco did it first and did it better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
((I briefly debated giving this a lower rating, but I couldn’t bring myself to be mean. If SJTR hadn’t already taken over my life, I probably would’ve liked this more. Maybe. We’ll never know. So, three stars it is.))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Blood, Gore, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death and Incest
Terminal illness - a plague spreading through Edinburgh. Death - said plague killed the protagonist’s brother prior to the story. Incest - protagonist is supposed to marry her cousin. Also contains a scene where the protagonist delivers a baby, though it’s not especially graphic and both the baby and the mother survive.bandysbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I was a bit torn about reading this book. I’m not the biggest romance reader, but I do love historical fiction…particularly when it’s set in Edinburgh (one of my real life favorite cities). I decided to go in with an open mind and give it a solid try.
I was mostly pleased with this story and particularly enjoyed the bits about medical practice in Scotland. I recognized bits about the development of “ether” as this also features prominently in The Way of All Flesh which I’ve read prior. I will say that some plot points struck me as a bit similar to that story as they both feature the poor of Edinburgh being murdered in horrific ways and with possible links to medical practice.
That said, I loved the main character in Anatomy. She is spunky, resilient, clever, and determined. She finds loopholes for everything that could potentially stand in her way. I appreciated that although she does have an innate talent for medicine, she also literally grows up studying it and continues to be studious throughout her career. Her talent helps, but she earns her reputation through hard work.
The romance was fine. I felt it was fairly realistic and not overly sweet. Both characters seem authentic for their ages, class, and the situation.
The only major downside in this book for me is when it deterred from reality. The magical reveal made what was an engaging plot seem silly and cheapened the ending. I wish it had been edited out honestly.
All in all, a good read most of the way with an ending that just didn't quite get me there.
I was mostly pleased with this story and particularly enjoyed the bits about medical practice in Scotland. I recognized bits about the development of “ether” as this also features prominently in The Way of All Flesh which I’ve read prior. I will say that some plot points struck me as a bit similar to that story as they both feature the poor of Edinburgh being murdered in horrific ways and with possible links to medical practice.
That said, I loved the main character in Anatomy. She is spunky, resilient, clever, and determined. She finds loopholes for everything that could potentially stand in her way. I appreciated that although she does have an innate talent for medicine, she also literally grows up studying it and continues to be studious throughout her career. Her talent helps, but she earns her reputation through hard work.
The romance was fine. I felt it was fairly realistic and not overly sweet. Both characters seem authentic for their ages, class, and the situation.
The only major downside in this book for me is when it deterred from reality. The magical reveal made what was an engaging plot seem silly and cheapened the ending. I wish it had been edited out honestly.
All in all, a good read most of the way with an ending that just didn't quite get me there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Murder
sailormegan's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Review For Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
Writing 4.5/5
The writing portrayed the Gothic, early 1800s Edinburgh vibe perfectly. Loved the detail and research Dana put into early nineteenth century medicine and the history of medicine. She didn’t shy away from describing bloody scenes which I would say requires a bit of a more mature audience. The romance was well done, however, I would have liked more clear direction with the timeline. I can see an influence of Jane Austen.
Characters 4.5/5
The characters were unique and all had a purpose to the plot. Hazel’s determination and interest in medicine helped to propel her story forward and I wanted to see her succeed despite the restraints put on her for being a woman.
Plot 5/5
I loved the plot. It was something I haven’t seen in a YA novel before. We get to go on a journey with Hazel on her hopeful pursuit of becoming a surgeon, finding love outside her social standing, and solving a mystery surrounding the deaths of fellow citizens. The combo of prime and proper with macabre, gothic scenes was fantastic
Post-Reading Rating 4/5
The ending was definitely not a happily ever after but it suited the tone of the book very well. The main characters got the best outcome for their circumstances.
Who Should Read This
-Fans of Mary Shelly and/or Jane Austen
-Interest in gothic victorian vibes
-Those who don’t mind a lil gore and death
Final Rating 4.5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, Body horror, and Gore
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Sexism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit
marareading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
A gothic, mystery and love story. This has a slower plot, and a wonderful main character. Set in the early 1800's, Hazel wants to be a surgeon. As a woman she isn't allowed to learn or dream of becoming part of this man's profession. She finds her way in, but she has to aquire her own eay to study. Enter Jack, a resurrectionist. He sells bodies to surgeons and doctors for a living and meets Hazel.
On top of this plot which is well worth my interest, there is a mystery happening. The city has strange goings on. Something is off and people are dissappearing.
I loved this. I wish the scenery was more elaborate. However, the characters are great, and I lived the story. The last 1/3 was *chef's kiss*
On top of this plot which is well worth my interest, there is a mystery happening. The city has strange goings on. Something is off and people are dissappearing.
I loved this. I wish the scenery was more elaborate. However, the characters are great, and I lived the story. The last 1/3 was *chef's kiss*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Sexism
blackinkonbluelines's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
This was an excellent examination of the oppression of women and the working class. Being set in 1817, the depiction of entitlement should have felt antiquated, but it felt so relevant even today. There were moments when I had to sit back and admire Hazel's restraint in the face of such sexism. Every character felt so vivid and individual. My main complaint is that "Love Story" is part of the title, and yet we get very little love story. At least in the romantic sense. In a way this could also be the love story of a woman's love of education, helping others, and making a difference.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, and Terminal illness