Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Girl in His Shadow

This was a really interesting read. The main character Nora, is a brilliant scientist and naturally gifted surgeon in a time when women were not allowed to be either in English society. She struggles with the morality of remaining silent and safe versus using her knowledge and potentially facing prosecution.

The characters and overall story were beautifully written and captivating. It was not a fast-paced book, but I still felt pulled in to the story. Definitely worth a read if you enjoy historical fiction, with a very realistic approach for its strong female character.

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alyssapusateri's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

3.0

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meganpbennett's review

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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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hownoveljo's review against another edition

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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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feverdreamhigh's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.0

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plantybooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

Better than expected.

I've been burned by historical fiction, and I initially scrolled on by this book, but seeing it was the book for the Big Library Read- a global book club, I decided to give it a second look. (https://biglibraryread.com)

This book gets really 3.75 stars from me, it is a good, engrossing read, but had some flaws.
The story revolves around Nora Beady, a child who survived cholera and was essentially "kept" by the Doctor who nursed her back to health. Dr. Croft, is an unusual sort- painted as wholly dedicated to advancing the field of medicine and assisting people, he essentially uses that reputation to ignore many victorian social dictates and obligations. Nora is trained at his clinic and become adept in many areas of medical knowledge at the time. She is satisfied with assisting to run his clinic, dissection and painting illustrations. One day a dashing younger Doctor appears on the doorstep with no warning - invited by the absent minded Dr. Croft to learn and assist in the clinic. Since practicing medicine was not permitted for women in this time period, Nora is aghast at having the stranger invade her careful and protected world. Eventually she wins over the stranger, and this culminates in a successful surgery performed by the pair which then threatens to ruin her reputation, and the reputations of all those associated with the surgery. Nora's situation becomes precarious, and she faces judgement from physicians as well as people in her daily life- such as market women where she is purchasing parsley. Eventually a solution is presented by another somewhat mysterious Doctor from abroad, and it seems that Nora may be able to pursue both her romantic dreams and her medical ones. The books leaves off at the beginning of a new journey, and I see now that a sequel is planned. I enjoyed the book, but wasn't so enamored with it that I feel I need to read the second, but also, if the second were to fall into my hands, I'd probably read it. Characters were semi well developed, the plot moves the story along at a nice pace, and the author adds enough details from victorian era life without overwhelming the story with random bits of information.
what irked me entirely was this odd insistence on the characters all calling each other Dr. At that time, these British Docs would have all been called Mister. While that might confuse readers, a small entry noting that the Royal College of Surgeons only granted Diplomas, and thus recipients weren't able to use the Dr. title would have been sufficient. I found it especially unusual when an entire scene is dedicate to one of the Doctor's noting "that's Dr. so and so to you" when in reality, it would have definitely been Mister. (I feel like there might be a point of research that I have missed not being an expert!!) I also found Nora's romance situation to feel just wrong, I guess I felt she was better suited to her first, and not her second suitor, but alas, I did not control the narrative!
If you enjoy historical fiction, especially with a medical theme, you will enjoy this read. You can pick it up now at the library, via the Libby ap and have it read by July 26 when there will be an interview with the author via webinar! #BIGLIBRARYREAD

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