Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Girl in His Shadow

The first thing I'll say: this book is exceptionally graphic, so much more than I thought it would be. There were a few times I found myself feeling a bit sick.
The story itself interested me more than I thought it would. I loved Nora and Daniel, although Daniel was controlling in a way I didn't like. I think he has a lot of personality flaws that I wish were addressed, and weren't.
The feminism was a bit outdated at times too, but I do bear in mind that it's a period piece. However the phrase "I'm not like other girls" was said one too many times, in reference to the main female, who was into surgery instead of dresses.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

The Girl in His Shadow is really, really, really hard to rate. There were parts of it that were excellent and other parts that were very much in the 'why bother reading or even writing this book.'

The book was very well-written and engaging, and gave a really good look at the time period. I found some of the medical scenes a bit too accurate. As it was period-accurate, there was a lot of misogyny directed at Nora, who was only trying to better herself professionally.

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miggyfool's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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hownoveljo's review

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adventurous informative relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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mayukiiq's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative 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? No

3.0

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jenna36's review against another edition

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I really tried to finish this book because I liked the story, but it was much too gruesome for me.

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msjk427's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've been in a historical fiction mood lately, plus, having recently read The Other Einstein and Half Life (about Marie Curie) this drew my attention. While the content is highly technical (the authors include a lot of 1840s medical procedures) and blatantly anatomical, I enjoyed the character development of Nora, Daniel, and even Horace. It was also interesting to see how primitive medicine seemed at the time. And while there was a slight lag in the middle and I'm not a huge fan of enemies to lovers, overall, I really enjoyed this book.

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