Scan barcode
kelly_e's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
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
4.0
Title: The girl in His Shadow
Author: Audrey Blake
Series: Nora Beady #1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: May 4, 2021
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Unique β’ Interesting β’ Detailed
π S Y N O P S I S
After a cholera epidemic claims the lives of her entire family, the orphaned Nora Beady is taken in by Dr. Horace Croft. Being raised in the home of a surgeon, Nora takes a keen interest in the world of medicine, eventually developing an extensive knowledge base. 1840s London had no place for women in medicine, and the consequences of a woman practicing were very grave. For this very reason, only a selective few are aware of Nora's work as a medical assistant. The Girl in His Shadow follows Nora's journey of pushing boundaries, and self-discovery
π T H O U G H T S
I've never read anything quite like The Girl in His Shadow! This novel opened up a whole new world of medical history I know very little about, and offered a storyline that was so entirely different. This book felt like a breath of fresh air in the historical fiction genre.
Audrey Blake's writing offered vivid descriptions, to the point I often felt like I was in the room with the characters. There is no denying the plot was extensively and carefully researched, although it did seem long winded and overly scientific at times. The cast of characters were well-round, and Nora is a heroine unlikely any other.
It came as somewhat of a shock when I learned that Audrey Blake is the pseudonym for a writing duo, and that this was co-wrote. There is absolutely no way of knowing it was penned by multiple authors while reading. The Girl in His Shadow is a fascinating account, and I look forward to writing book two in the Nora Beady series, and will be curious to know if there will be more.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ historical fiction lovers
β’ readers who love a strong female lead
β’ fans of medical dramas
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"That is the great benefit of being a man, with every opportunity in the world before you. You cannot understand."
Author: Audrey Blake
Series: Nora Beady #1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: May 4, 2021
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Unique β’ Interesting β’ Detailed
π S Y N O P S I S
After a cholera epidemic claims the lives of her entire family, the orphaned Nora Beady is taken in by Dr. Horace Croft. Being raised in the home of a surgeon, Nora takes a keen interest in the world of medicine, eventually developing an extensive knowledge base. 1840s London had no place for women in medicine, and the consequences of a woman practicing were very grave. For this very reason, only a selective few are aware of Nora's work as a medical assistant. The Girl in His Shadow follows Nora's journey of pushing boundaries, and self-discovery
π T H O U G H T S
I've never read anything quite like The Girl in His Shadow! This novel opened up a whole new world of medical history I know very little about, and offered a storyline that was so entirely different. This book felt like a breath of fresh air in the historical fiction genre.
Audrey Blake's writing offered vivid descriptions, to the point I often felt like I was in the room with the characters. There is no denying the plot was extensively and carefully researched, although it did seem long winded and overly scientific at times. The cast of characters were well-round, and Nora is a heroine unlikely any other.
It came as somewhat of a shock when I learned that Audrey Blake is the pseudonym for a writing duo, and that this was co-wrote. There is absolutely no way of knowing it was penned by multiple authors while reading. The Girl in His Shadow is a fascinating account, and I look forward to writing book two in the Nora Beady series, and will be curious to know if there will be more.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ historical fiction lovers
β’ readers who love a strong female lead
β’ fans of medical dramas
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"That is the great benefit of being a man, with every opportunity in the world before you. You cannot understand."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault
tina_reads's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.75
A bit too much about medicine for me, but I still enjoyed it. But I thought it was a standalone so I am pretty upset with the ending and I donβt think Iβll read the next one, at least not right now. Overall, I would say this deserves almost four stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Vomit
plantybooklover's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood and Vomit