Add the Roman Fever and you have a Gothic tragedy.
Song Vibe Check:
"R. E. M." By: Mothica
"Bring me to life" By: Evanescence
"Afterlife" By: Hailee Steinfeld
I entered reading this book, reading the jacket flap and thinking:
"Oh, this is going to be like Stalking Jack The Ripper series!"
And I was WRONG. On so many levels. So.. onto a hopefully less disappointing review, I promise I won't bore you all too much with this one.
Short Summary: Wannabe Surgeon girl falls in love with a guy who steals corpses for a living (ironically, they call themselves Resurrection Men AND I CACKLED!) and become the perfect partners in crime until the Roman Plague makes an entrance.
Longer Summary: Hazel Sinnett has always been interested in being a surgeon. But, being a woman interested in medicine in the Victorian times is not ideal for a lady who should be hunting a husband down, not an anatomy lesson by a famous physician. Her life changes when she meets Jack.
Yes, a guy named Jack. He should have a simpleton life, right?
WRONG. It turns out our love interest steals dead corpses to sell to the University students who study surgery and forensics. Of course, I wish I could say this is the worst part of the book, because HELLO RESPECT THE DEAD EVEN IF THEY HAD NO FAMILY OKAY?! But No. IT GETS WORSE. We go from sexist men to a lukewarm romance that was DRY until the second half, and then the Roman fever rolls in. Add an immortality potion that gets somehow created and this book ends up feeling like you're in a fever dream because you finish and the only things I remember are:
Her love is definitely still alive.
THE AUTHOR LEFT AN OPENING FOR A BOOK 2 and it is horrible that this story continues because it was fine to stay as a standalone.
Dana Schwartz really said THERE WILL BE MORE MADNESS TO COME IN FEBRUARY.
So, I am disappointed. It was not what I was expecting and while the ripping apart of bodies may be gruesome for some, being someone who has seen a real cadaver and has seen (and weighed!) actual organs, it is not as gruesome as I would expect it to be. After reading the summary for the second book, I may or may not be reading it.
It depends if I remember when it comes out and if I really want to read a book where Hazel's dress is in the shape of a brain.
Overall: 2/5 Stars
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