Review: Immortality by Dana Schwartz

Immortality by Dana Schwartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both a digital and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Young Listeners for the opportunity to read this early. As always, all opinions are my own. This book will be publised on February 28, 2023.

The audiobook was well narrated by Mhairi Morrison. She did a good job with the various characters in the story as this is not told from multiple points of view. The second narrator Tim Campbell has a small part and narrates the news articles that are found at the end of chapters. This is a nice touch to let the listener know that you've exited the story proper and are reading a different form of media related to Hazel's story.

This is the second installment of Schwartz's gothic romance following Hazel Sinnett and her pursuit to be a doctor. I would highly recommend reading Anatomy: A Love Story first as it will give you much of the backstory that leads up to the events that take place in this book. This takes place several months after Anatomy ends, Hazel has a steady stream of patients and she is still holding out hope that Jack is alive, though logic tells her he must be dead. After treating a particularly tricky case, Hazel finds herself in jail, but the Crown interjects and hopes that a lady doctor might be just what the sickly princess needs to get well and perform her royal duties. This is how Hazel finds herself as the personal physician of Princess Charlotte and entangled with a secret society that know about Dr. Beecham and his sinister work.

I loved the mix of historical fiction, horror, gothic romance, and a little bit of sci-fi. Much like the first book Hazel finds herself mixed up in things that call into question her own morals and values. At the end of the day she has to follow her heart and do what she feels is right. I really appreciated that she always valued her patients over fame and fortune, and stuck to her moral compass. The book progresses at a slow to medium pace then it picks up toward the middle of the book as new characters are introduced and things start to happen. Hazel finds herself torn between doing what is right and doing what is convenient and right for others. While some of the plot points (I don't want to spoil any of them) wrap up perhaps conveniently or predictably, I don't think I would have wanted them to go any other way. While Anatomy could have stood as a standalone, this answers many of the questions we had at the end of the first book. I know I was completely satisfied with the ending and couldn't stop smiling at the conclusion.

I really loved this book and the duology as a whole! I loved seeing Hazel as a confident and competent young woman in a society that did not allow women to be doctors and scientists. She is a great example for young women who want to pursue careers in STEM. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

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Review: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. This is set to be published on January 18, 2022. Thank you to SMP and Wednesday books for the early copy, I really enjoyed this.

Initially I was expecting this to be more on the horror side based on the cover, but it is more on of a historical fiction and sci-fi story. It is set in 1817 Edinburgh, Scotland where the thought of a female doctor, let alone a surgeon is unheard of, so when Lady Hazel Sinnett has her heart and mind set on taking the Physician's Examination everyone thinks she it is a joke. Hazel is brilliant, but her father is a distinguished Navy man away on an important assignment and her mother is the sister of a Viscount. Her station insists she follow the rules of propriety and get married, but no one really pays Hazel much attention. Her mother is drowning her her grief over the loss of Hazel's older brother George from the fever that has been plaguing the town for months, so she puts her efforts into protecting her other son and ignores Hazel most of the time.

Jack is a resurrection man, his main source of income comes from what he earns from the physicians at the local Anatomists society who pay good money for the recently deceased. Jack delivers the corpses so the doctors can learn from them, but technically it is against the law so he's good at not getting caught. When a chance encounter brings Hazen and Jack together, she enlists his services to help her learn anatomy from a real specimen as she has been dismissed from the courses she was taking the the Society. Despite her aptitude in the courses, she is not permitted to continue, however she makes a bet with the head that if she passes the examination on her own they will allow women to enroll in the future. Hazel is determined to become a doctor despite her station as a Lady and what it might mean for her future inheritance. She also wants to find a cure for the fever that is making everyone sick. Unfortunately Jack isn't able to bring her more bodies to study because local resurrection men keep disappearing, and if they do turn up they are missing vital parts of themselves.

This has a bit of everything. The historical aspect speaks to the very real and still true fact that the poor are seen as less than and those with status and money get what they want. It also speaks to the fact that women were and sometimes still are seen as fragile and unequal to men. They were supposed to be seen and not heard. The sci-fi element ties nicely into the mystery element. The title indicates that this is a love story, and there is a romance, but I felt that Hazel's love of medicine was the main plot and the actual romance was a smaller part of the story. This is definitely a little on the darker side, but if you like something with a more gothic feel this is for you.

I really enjoyed this. If you liked Stalking Jack the Ripper, I think you'd like this. This has similar vibes to that, so if you enjoyed that you might like this. They aren't the same by any means, but I was reminded of that series while reading this.
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