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ramreadsagain's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
I liked this! It was an anticipated read for me and while it wasn’t what I expected (ngl I didn’t even read the blurb until i picked it up, i just loved the cover) I did enjoy it.
I liked the characters and the overall plot, and I have just found out that it’s a duology with the sequel coming in 2023 so I will definitely be reading that - the cliffhanger ending was done well but I would also like some closure.
I did find it very predictable though, guessing pretty much every “mystery” apart from the one in spoilers below which I do want to highlight because I think it’s a pretty big plothole.
Spoiler for major plot point.
I do not understand why they were capturing and experimenting on resurrection men when they could have just grabbed people from streets and hospitals. Resurrection men are the people getting their dead bodies for them. Targeting them was making resurrection men scared of resurrecting, which would cut off their dead body supply. Yes they wanted live people too for transplant experimentation (and yes this was done even more secretively and kept from most doctors presumably) but taking those who are providing their supply of dead bodies felt like it didn’t make logical sense. Anyway yeah.
I liked the characters and the overall plot, and I have just found out that it’s a duology with the sequel coming in 2023 so I will definitely be reading that - the cliffhanger ending was done well but I would also like some closure.
I did find it very predictable though, guessing pretty much every “mystery” apart from the one in spoilers below which I do want to highlight because I think it’s a pretty big plothole.
I do not understand why they were capturing and experimenting on resurrection men when they could have just grabbed people from streets and hospitals. Resurrection men are the people getting their dead bodies for them. Targeting them was making resurrection men scared of resurrecting, which would cut off their dead body supply. Yes they wanted live people too for transplant experimentation (and yes this was done even more secretively and kept from most doctors presumably) but taking those who are providing their supply of dead bodies felt like it didn’t make logical sense. Anyway yeah.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Classism, Gore, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical trauma, Murder, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
waybacknaveen's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Classism, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexism
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
lizgriffinwords's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 stars rounded up. While there were some elements I enjoyed and there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this book (except the head-hopping and the ending out of left field), I was left feeling dissatisfied. My favorite aspect of the book was how tangible and sensory the setting of Edinburgh felt.
The pacing was a bit off, not picking up in what felt like the main plot until 45% of the way in. I could have done without Jack’s POV altogether — his chapters were sparse and short, felt like a late-in-the-process insert. Hazel had a good balance of realistic nativity and feminist ambition, but altogether… a book that didn’t live up to its amazing cover.
CW: Medical horror (including eye horror), gore/blood, disease, parental abandonment, grief, pregnancy/childbirth
The pacing was a bit off, not picking up in what felt like the main plot until 45% of the way in. I could have done without Jack’s POV altogether — his chapters were sparse and short, felt like a late-in-the-process insert. Hazel had a good balance of realistic nativity and feminist ambition, but altogether… a book that didn’t live up to its amazing cover.
CW: Medical horror (including eye horror), gore/blood, disease, parental abandonment, grief, pregnancy/childbirth
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Gore, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Abandonment, Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy and Child abuse
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
exorbts's review
dark
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
screenings: kisses by an unmarried couple, oppressing of females, horror body, medical content, death.
this book is not perfect by any means, it has strong YA feels to it, and there were some ridiculous moments that gave me a not-like-other-girls vibe.
most characters (including jack-so basically all characters-) except for hazel were flat...like she wasn't even fully fleshed out.
the ending was quite rushed though I loved it honestly.
nevertheless, the book has strong dark academia vibes, an ambitious and strong-willed medical student(of sorts), which was precisely what I craved for so long.
finished it in two days with 75% in one sitting, which is -as a tortoise-slow reader- is an accomplishment.
maybe it's due to the fact that I actually listened to the audiobook who knows.
overall, this was such a quick lighthearted read, I went into it expecting some things and it delivered, so, a solid book.
this book is not perfect by any means, it has strong YA feels to it, and there were some ridiculous moments that gave me a not-like-other-girls vibe.
most characters (including jack-so basically all characters-) except for hazel were flat...like she wasn't even fully fleshed out.
the ending was quite rushed though I loved it honestly.
nevertheless, the book has strong dark academia vibes, an ambitious and strong-willed medical student(of sorts), which was precisely what I craved for so long.
finished it in two days with 75% in one sitting, which is -as a tortoise-slow reader- is an accomplishment.
maybe it's due to the fact that I actually listened to the audiobook who knows.
overall, this was such a quick lighthearted read, I went into it expecting some things and it delivered, so, a solid book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Body horror
Minor: Death
merle_bookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book at the beginning but I've heard good things about it. I must admit the start felt a bit slow for me and I was struggling a bit with what I have termed the "trope fest" because this was one of the most young adult YA novels I have read in a while :D
While it took me a bit to get into it I was really enjoying myself once I did. I think for me it started after Hazel had her talk with Dr. Beecham, agreed on the wager, and started taking matters into her own hands. This felt like the story was finally progressing a bit more. I really enjoyed following Hazel's story and development and I loved reading about the medicine! I am not very well verse in historical medicine so really I would not be able to tell if it was accurate but I really liked that the information was given to us through Hazel's eyes.
I really liked her relationship with Jack and really disliked Bernard (quelle surprise). I am also very destroyed by the fact that for me Bernard is such a Hans character (from Frozen) and so now his face is burned into my brain. It was a very typical "men are better than women and i will indulge you for a while but you really should stop this childish behavior now" kind of situation, which made it really easy to "choose" between the love interests. If there was ever even an actual choice lol.
All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot, it was a relatively easy read, it was the right amounts of romance and mystery to keep me entertained and I'm interested to see where book two will lead!
While it took me a bit to get into it I was really enjoying myself once I did.
I really liked her relationship with Jack and really disliked Bernard (quelle surprise). I am also very destroyed by the fact that for me Bernard is such a Hans character (from Frozen) and so now his face is burned into my brain. It was a very typical "men are better than women and i will indulge you for a while but you really should stop this childish behavior now" kind of situation, which made it really easy to "choose" between the love interests. If there was ever even an actual choice lol.
All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot, it was a relatively easy read, it was the right amounts of romance and mystery to keep me entertained and I'm interested to see where book two will lead!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, Body horror, Classism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Pregnancy
queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
3.25
This book is probably more than a 3.25 compared to previous reads, but I'm trying to re-calibrate my ratings (they've been getting increasingly higher).
This book was... fine. Very predictable and a bit boring. All of the interactions I wanted to see were skipped most of the time, yet it still felt unnecessarily long. It's frustrating when the MC female protagonist just seems to consistently make obviously wrong choices. I did, however, try to keep reminding myself that she was only 16. But my biggest issue with the story was The ending. She could have easily asked for two vials if she promised to be apart of the Doctor's life while still saving Jack. Hell there was probably enough in the one vial for Hazel and Jack to split it! Titanic all over again. And then him not even coming to find her. Just being like 'meet me in America. Honestly smdh.
I'm being harsh. I'm writing this after binging The Atlas Six, which is all I can think about. I took some time before writing this summary because the ending emotionally wrecked me, but now my opinion has still been warped. I'm not sure if I'll ever think if this book again, much like other romances I've read (outside of Naomi Novik, the queen of slow burn).
This book was... fine. Very predictable and a bit boring. All of the interactions I wanted to see were skipped most of the time, yet it still felt unnecessarily long. It's frustrating when the MC female protagonist just seems to consistently make obviously wrong choices. I did, however, try to keep reminding myself that she was only 16. But my biggest issue with the story was
I'm being harsh. I'm writing this after binging The Atlas Six, which is all I can think about. I took some time before writing this summary because the ending emotionally wrecked me, but now my opinion has still been warped. I'm not sure if I'll ever think if this book again, much like other romances I've read (outside of Naomi Novik, the queen of slow burn).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Blood, Gore, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexism, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
belleden's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Trafficking, Body horror, Medical content, Gore, Blood, and Pregnancy
soswiin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Death