Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana SchwartzMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I received an ARC of this book.
The cover of this book is stunning. The description/synopsis is amazing. I was so excited to read this book.
But it just did not live up to my expectations. At all.
The first part of the book seemed to be about a young girl trying to fight the strictures of her society in early 1800s Scotland and pursue a career in the medical field. It was very atmospheric, describing resurrection men moving about misty and gloomy cemeteries in the dark of night and the grimy realities of surgery and medical practices at the time. But then it changed direction and kind of got lost in the vague details of Hazel's family and her mother's aim to ensure Hazel marries her cousin ASAP. The story lost focus and some things that had no bearing on the story were described in excruciating detail, while other things were skimmed over in such a way that ended up just making me confused. When, almost halfway through the book--after meeting for about the 3rd time and actually having a real conversation for the first time--Hazel and Jack fall into insta-love, the pacing of the story got even more jerky and disjointed. And I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a YA romance, a creepy mystery about grave robbing and nefarious "doctors," a coming-of-age story, or what... I found myself skimming over large portions, not really caring to come back to the story when I put the book down, and not at all interested in what became of two rather boring characters in Jack and Hazel. (And all of this on top of glaring anachronism, inaccurate historical detail, and continuity issues.)
I really wanted to like this book, and was excited to read it. But that excitement soon dwindled. I would not recommend this book.
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The first part of the book seemed to be about a young girl trying to fight the strictures of her society in early 1800s Scotland and pursue a career in the medical field. It was very atmospheric, describing resurrection men moving about misty and gloomy cemeteries in the dark of night and the grimy realities of surgery and medical practices at the time. But then it changed direction and kind of got lost in the vague details of Hazel's family and her mother's aim to ensure Hazel marries her cousin ASAP. The story lost focus and some things that had no bearing on the story were described in excruciating detail, while other things were skimmed over in such a way that ended up just making me confused. When, almost halfway through the book--after meeting for about the 3rd time and actually having a real conversation for the first time--Hazel and Jack fall into insta-love, the pacing of the story got even more jerky and disjointed. And I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a YA romance, a creepy mystery about grave robbing and nefarious "doctors," a coming-of-age story, or what... I found myself skimming over large portions, not really caring to come back to the story when I put the book down, and not at all interested in what became of two rather boring characters in Jack and Hazel. (And all of this on top of glaring anachronism, inaccurate historical detail, and continuity issues.)
I really wanted to like this book, and was excited to read it. But that excitement soon dwindled. I would not recommend this book.
View all my reviews
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