Anatomy: A Love Story, by Dana Schwartz, was really enjoyable! I will say the big “reveals” were easy to piece together early in the book, which diminished a lot of the suspense for me. Still, getting there was fun.
A synopsis:
Edinburgh, 1817. Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.
Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.
When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, the university will allow her to enroll. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books – she’ll need bodies to study, corpses to dissect.
Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living, then.
But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets. Hazel and Jack work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.
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.
I really enjoyed Hazel and Jack, and though it was nearly insta-love between them, they were still charming together.
I loved Hazel’s story as an individual and the smattering of commentary on class, gender, and even family issues and injustices.
I admit there was a second in the end when I wasn’t sure which way the story would go. And although there’s not really an “ending” ending, it was satisfying. I would definitely read more if this continues as a series! (side note: THE COVER IS GORRRRRGEOUS!)
BOOK:30 