Scan barcode
jen0788's review
- 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
I felt it was not as well rounded a narrative as the first and a little superficial at points but still well worth a read
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness and Chronic illness
priscillarobock's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Grief, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Violence
laffi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Outing, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Stalking, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Abortion
Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, and Mental illness
teawitchontravel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Gore, Misogyny, Outing, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gun violence, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Stalking, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Abortion, Classism, and Hate crime
Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, and Mental illness
ellenigrace's review
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Abortion, Chronic illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic
celestialg's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
ncoletti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, and Body horror
bandysbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read the first book in The Anatomy Duology last year and was left feeling unsure if I would read the second book. While I really enjoyed Hazel, I found the magical elements sprinkled in at the end of the book to be frustrating. Finally, my curiosity about whether or not Jack survived and if he reconnected with Hazel won out and I requested a copy of this book.
This book was an enjoyable enough continuation of the first book. It definitely provided the closure I suspect that most readers will crave after the cliffhanger in book one.
At the start of the book, we see Hazel, grief-stricken, unsure of what happened to Jack, and throwing herself into her work as a way of coping. One day, a woman shows up on her doorstep near death from overuse of abortive herbs. Hazel sets off to save her life and ends up accused of providing an illegal abortion. She is locked in a prison cell and from there the story really starts to take off.
First, the strongest part of this book was once again Hazel. She is a strong female lead who is determined, clever, and unafraid to rock the boat. I love her continued passion for medicine and being able to treat medical problems. While her heart is hurting from the loss of Jack, she does not grow despondent, but instead keeps moving forward with her practice.
The new side characters in this book are also quite enjoyable. I won't say more than that for not wanting to spoil the book.
That said, I felt like the plot was a bit meandering and unnecessarily windy. There were several plot points that literally had no affect on the story and only seemed to make the book a bit longer. Maybe there was a specific page count to be met? While I did like parts of the story, I felt like some of this book could've been trimmed and it still would've been essentially the same story.
I did listen to an audiobook of this and I really enjoyed both narrators. I thought they did a great job with the different characters and I could easily distinguish between voices. I did speed this up to 1.5x speed as it felt a bit slow, but that is typical to my audiobook listening habits.
All in all, if you were very invested in the first book, I think it doesn't hurt to continue on. You'll get some resolution and a pleasant read. I still wish the magical element hadn't been introduced, but I did love the look at medicine way back when.
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Police brutality, Medical content, and Sexism