amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

a wonderful little love story of castles and cadavers set in 18th century edinburgh 

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sydn3ycx's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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? Yes

3.0

I read for the feminist and gothic aspects, not the romance. I’m also not big on history. However, I do appreciate the amount of research the author did and I find that the story was adorable, at least in the middle of it all. The pace seemed too slow for me and I used quick reading techniques to bulldoze through it after about page 80. The reflections on class are wonderfully written. I did feel that the feminism fell short at the end of the book with a certain life-saving method, and found myself on the villain’s side, despite the protagonist being a genuine hero, regarding a choice that she’d made that concludes the book. I feel that both that and the pacing are what are putting me to 3 stars. I’m interested in the sequel, to see how things go in relation to women’s oppression and medicine within Hazel’s story and further exploration of class issues with a person close to her. 

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deebee223's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0


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maggies's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

A great 100th book of the year! Hazel and Jack were adorable, clever, and ahead of their time. The plot is well-paced, with plenty of ups and downs for both Hazel and Jack, and the final conflict was perfectly tense. I really enjoyed the audiobook narration as well.

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akswhy's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

Come for the spooky premise, stay for the feminism, romance, and mystery.

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lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

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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

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yomireads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

A quick and fun read that blends science in magic with YA prose. Each character feels well formed, though theres little emphasis on emotional growth or turmoil in spite of the heavy topics of death and abandonment being at the forefront. There are a lot of under explored concepts that could have been expounded into very compelling books on their own, which gave the pacing a bit of a chaotic feel, so when plot twists come it feels somewhat rushed.
And it was a big letdown that the climax ignored its promised buildup to the test only for her not to go.
I ate this book up, and really enjoyed the prose style in spite of these short comings though.  

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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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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. 

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frantically's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

As a fan of both women's and medical history, I was so excited to read this book!

Hazel was really a character you could feel for and with — she's got her goals and she's trying so hard to get to them but the world around always makes that harder. She gets frustrated, she makes stupid decisions but it's all really understandable.

I wasn't really feeling the romance — I liked the characters individually but I didn't see enough chemistry between them. I don't like how their story ended, which is one of my few complaints. I was happy enough, though, to ignore the romantic aspects, as long as I got my history 😉

The ending was a bit rushed imo, there were just too many conclusions in to little time, which is why this isn't a clean 4 stars.

P.S.: The audiobook was amazing, so if you can, please listen to it!

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