Anatomy A Love Story

DNF It's just... really... uneventful? Idk, maybe I've outgrown my ya phase now that I'm *cough cough* 20 (ik soooo old), but I didn't quite connect with the characters, and everything felt so linear. I found myself reluctantly picking the book up to keep on reading it, and knew I had to put it down once and for all. A round of applause for my first DNF of 2024, everyone.

I don’t know what YA is, but this is great. And it’s not a love story like you probably think it’s a love story.

I'm not a fan but I don't really like gothics. I do acknowledge that it was a good book...just not for me.

** spoiler alert ** stalking jack the ripper meets frankenstein, set in edinburgh? sounds *chef's kiss*. sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations. apart from a better internal conflict, the book also lacked a proper romance - which is funny as the title suggests otherwise. jack x hazel were way too random for me? they worked together for only a couple of weeks and immediately fell for e/o? give me yearning, more conflict! - especially since hazel is obviously cheating on her fiancé with him. also not a fan of the cheating trope, but i'm also not a fan of cousin x cousin - marriages, so... i really expected more, considering that two of my favourite books were (somewhat) used as inspiration,,,

** spoiler alert ** My only wish is they did not have to have their first kiss in a grave with a rotting corpse just above them.

A true love story, and finally, one I have loved!

A great gothic romance, Hazel wants to be a surgeon even though the expectation for a woman of her status is to get engaged and marry. She continues her journey to become a doctor. Hazel meets Jack, a charming resurrection man, and the two become close. I can't wait to read the sequel when it comes out.

Good story. Good writing. And a very remarkable plottwist in the end.

I did however get a reminder why I am not studying medicine

An aristocratic lady surgeon in 19th-century Edinburgh? Yes, please. This is a love story for medicine and for, well, love. And I really liked it.

This book takes you back to the 19th century and draws you into a story of mysteries, love and cruelty. It made me feel like i travelled back in time and was overall very exciting.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I LOVED THIS!

I had high hopes for this book and it didn't disappoint! I'm not always the biggest fan of historical novels, but this was perfectly done - modern without being unbelievable for the time period. Hazel is a realistic but captivating MC that you root for, and the way the story wrapped up was perfect. The audio book was even better due to the talents of some Scottish narrators. Absolutely recommend as a Valentine/Halloween/any-day-of-no-particular-importance read!

4.5 what a nice dark gothic story. i'm so happy i picked up this book. i basically read it in two sittings, it was just such a fun ride. excited for the sequel! we've got badass women, 18th century Edinburgh bringing all the gothic vibes and a side quest of a forbidden romance. what more could you ask for?

I loved the book, but the ending was a bit random😅

who knew both gore and romance would be the most fascinating pair. 4.5 stars.

I have loved young adult novels since I was…well…a young adult. I recall, after having already devoured a Stephen King novel, my 6th grade language arts teacher guided me towards Lois Duncan, a supernatural young adult author. I read every word that woman had ever written, in an alarmingly short period of time (those words are from that same teacher’s mouth…). Since then, regardless for what I read or why I read it, I always went back to young adult books on a regular basis. They provided the basis of my love of reading and have provided me with hours of literary entertainment since. I feel strongly that those same books (and my significantly younger siblings and their love of books) that drove me towards becoming a middle school language arts teacher. Years later, I fully admit I was never cut out to be a teacher, but I have always cut out to read AND enthusiastically cram my love of reading down anybody’s throat that will listen. I resisted following Reece Witherspoon’s young adult book club. I felt like I would become completely engulfed in the world of not-adult fiction (it’s unfortunate that not a lot of non-fiction is aimed at the young adult age group). But I finally caved, and here we are. I’m finally reviewing one of her YA picks. Full disclosure: I purchased this book on a wicked sale at Meijer, otherwise I might have never known what I was missing. This book follows a young woman who finds a huge roadblock between her own curiosity and what society deems appropriate for a woman of her age and stature. She should only be focusing on finding a husband to provide her with children, there is nothing else for girl in that time period to aspire towards. I appreciate that she gave the proverbial middle finger to society and chased her interests anyway. She is an encouragingly courageous female character, and I applaud the author for that. I wish there was a little less of the romance, but I also understand that, in that period of time, that was the priority for women (girls?). I loved so much about this book that I sincerely recommend it to pretty much anybody with a pulse.

THE ENDINGGGGG WHATTTT OK I REALLY NEED THE SECOND BOOK

I feel a little let down. And a lot ambivalent. I had been hoping for more, especially when the title says it’s a love story. The pacing was weird. And the love story was dull and took over 50% of the way to be introduced. There were great ideas and I think with different pacing and fleshing out of the story and relationships this could’ve been a much stronger story. I did love Hazel and I love how strong willed she was.

This book was written very seamlessly. I don’t normally like books set in historical context because often the main character is too modern and acts in ways that are not accurate for the time period. This one did a fair job of making the main character grounded. I read the book in conjunction with listening to the audio book in the car. Such a wonderful voice for the audio!! Helped me get right into the storyline.

This book was a bit of a slow burn for me, but it still was hard to put down. I loved the main character, I loved her ambition and how she felt so real. I loved that the romance didn’t overshadow her personal journey. It was a great fast read, nice short chapters. I think there was also some very beautiful dialogue between the main two characters. I loved this.

J'ai ADORE ! L'écriture était vraiment agréable, fluide et rythmée. L'ambiance générale du livre était glauque et c'est quelque chose que j'ai de suite apprécié ! Les personnages étaient bien construits, touchants, efficaces. L'intrigue en elle-même était un peu simple, j'ai assez vite deviné le plus gros du plot et c'est ce qui fait qu'il ne s'agit pas d'un coup de coeur. Mais au delà de ça, les valeurs féministes, le rythme du récit, l'ambiance générale ont fait que j'ai réellement adoré cette lecture.

Los personajes me han gustado mucho pero creo que el final ha sido muy precipitado (además de doloroso). No han explicado, a mi parecer, bien las cosas y podría haber sido mucho mejor.

Trigger Warnings: animal death, gore, body horror, misogyny, death Anatomy: A Love Story is not really a love story. It's not really any one thing and in trying to be a romance, mystery, gothic horror, it manages to be none of them. Nothing really happened for most of the book. The synopsis gives away something that doesn’t happen until about 40% through the book. It just felt like a really long prologue before the story can actually begin. The second half wasn’t good enough to make up for all the boring parts of the first half. The mystery was poorly constructed and not that mysterious. The romance doesn’t start until over halfway through the book and then there wasn’t enough time to properly develop it. The characters were fine. Hazel behaved like a typical teenager, I suppose and I can’t really fault her for that but I found her really annoying. Jack, the love interest, came in way too late in the story and they fell in love almost immediately. They had a couple of grand romantic scenes but it felt rushed and unearned. The side characters had their own stuff going on but I was so bored I didn’t care about any of them. The things Hazel could and couldn’t do as a woman in the 1800s were convenient to the story. I’m not an expert but it wasn’t consistent or believable in my opinion. I really wanted to like this book because the cover is stunning but sadly, that’s the only good part of this book.

Forgot about this one but it was really good!!! Hazel is so well written and I SOBBED at one point iirc - the only judge of an author's talent I'll swear by. Loved it, loved the shifts, loved the progression and the characters and the plot. A bit slow, though.