“Every woman marries into their own obsolescence”

Here I am, 2 weeks after finishing the masterpiece that is Immortality: A Love Story, convinced I had already written this review 😂

I really loved Anatomy and while I came to terms with the ending, I was so excited to see a sequel come out. Hazel is one of my favorite MC’s and it was interesting, and equal parts terrifying, to see her navigate territory we unfortunately find ourselves in again.

I say this loosely, but it was hard not to get a gothic Bridgerton vibe from this. From outright mentions to the Ton, to her being dropped into the royal court, there are little threads fans will love. But that’s just part of the story.

Of course, I can’t say much about the other part of the story without ruining it. But let’s just say there’s a lot of focus on a woman’s right to be her own person, where that right meets duty, which takes precedence, and what it means to fight for a good cause even when your actions in pursuit of that are less than moral.

I highly recommend reading this duology. Especially if you loved Stalking Jack the Ripper or just love gothic period pieces with a strong female mc that doesn’t let the world’s biases impact her goals.

A sequel that improves on the first book and had me even more enchanted with the characters and story.

When we left off at the end of book 1 in the duology, Anatomy, the story felt complete but also unfinished. What truly happened to Jack, and how would Hazel go on without him? So to get answers to both of those questions and more in the second book was so satisfying, and the way the author expanded the plot and world was great. I loved the alternate history aspect, of the Companion to the Death secret society, which included real historical figures. Moving Hazel to the court of King George and London society helped to build the stakes and make it even more fun to read.

Immortality; A Love Story is a well crafted mix of so many things that I enjoy in YA fiction. Hazel Sinnett is a strong female character who jumps off the page. The character of Dr. Simon, physician to the king, gives Hazel an equal to interact with and a potential love interest. Without giving away spoilers, I can say that the romance and unanswered questions about Jack from book 1 are resolved (and handled with tension but resolved the way I'd hoped). This book has more action and seems to move at a quicker pace than the first book.

I'd happily read more books about Hazel and her life, and recommend this duology to a variety of readers. I really enjoyed the narrator and her various voices of the characters. The Scottish lilt was easy to understand, but added so much to the atmosphere of the story.

In honor of the stunning cover, I'll begin my review with a shout-out to the artist. I did not know there was a first book when I requested this, so now I will have to go back and read that one. The second book's action-packed tale captures you like its stunning cover. After Hazel Sinnett behaved like a man, attended the medical academy, and became an anatomist, her family disowned her. She moved in with her husband and the pregnant chef at the family mansion Hawthorden. After giving her beloved Jack the medicine that may have made him immortal, she watches him hang on the gallows and weeps. There was no attempt at communication on his part. Will he make it? Some hope that Dr. Beecham, the one who blamed Jack, is still around. After being wrongly accused of murder and betrayed by a patient, Hazel is given the death penalty. Instead of being executed, she is brought to England to cure Princess Charlotte of Roman fever. Hazel fears Princess Charlotte may have an undiscovered ailment because she recovered from Roman fever. She will put her family in danger if she doesn't get her help and figure out what's happening. Despite her sadness over Jack's absence, she finds comfort in the company of Simon, a charming and charmingly flirting Swedish doctor who values her input and needs her help treating the mad monarch. In addition, she has become a member of the Companions of Death, which includes Lord Byron and Voltaire, and is led by the renowned chemist Marie-Anne Lavoisier. (their get-togethers brought to mind the artists' pub scene in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. As Hazel spends more time with the mysterious gang, she learns that not everything is as it seems. Her life is made more difficult by love triangles and potential death threats. She knows the gravity of the choices she must make for her family's future. Generally speaking: I couldn't put this book down. The feminism, plot, and characterization were all superb.

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books sent this fantastic electronic review copy to me in exchange for an honest assessment.

Hazel Sinnett isn’t certain if her beloved Jack is alive or dead, but either way she feels the loss of him. She once again submerges herself in her work and her studies and her patients, but when saving someone results in her arrest, Hazel find herself locked in a jail cell with so much uncertainty about her future. When her service is requested by the King himself to care for his sick daughter, Hazel is quickly submerged into the drama and politics of the royal court.


Honest opinion? I’m actually pretty disappointed with this one after how much I enjoyed Anatomy. I wish this book had started at the 55% mark because everything before that felt like pure filler and didn’t seem to relate to the story much at all. I missed Jack and I wanted to know where Dr. Beecham went off too but we didn’t get anything to further the first story until WELL past the halfway mark in Immortality. Immortality featured Hazel continuing her studies and her treatise with a whole new cast of characters and it just felt so disconnected from the first story. I really enjoyed from about the 65% mark and on… but that’s leaves a whole lot that I didn’t enjoy.

3.5 stars rounded down

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

Immortality was a beautiful addition to Hazel's story and the perfect end to this duology! Hazel's story expands and shifts as she is taken to London to treat the beloved Princess Charlotte. Every new character in this story felt very well done, though I did miss some of the characters from book 1 that we didn't see much of in this story.

After just returning from a trip to London myself, I was very excited to see places in Immortality that I had visited just weeks before! I almost wish I got the arch before, or while on my trip so I could have explored the setting of this book a bit further.

I shelved this book as LGBT+ since there is a subplot in the story reflecting new characters, though I cannot say too much without being too revealing! Though I will say, I loved every minute of it!

The narrators Mhairi Morrison; Tim Campbell did an amazing job brining this story to life! Morrison expertly brings to life all of the different accents of each character.

I loved this duology so much and will definitely be keeping Dana Schwartz on my new release radar. I cannot wait to purchase this story for myself! (:

I liked this book better than book one, it did finally dive in a little bit more about the immortality tincture.. however, it still lacks something.. something about it feels underdeveloped and therefore it feels unbelievable...

It's almost like everything else has such a realistic history to it, that the immortality just doesn't feel plausible...

Also, I was just not fan of Hazel's ending, though I was very much a fan of one of the society members being read to haha.

Overall, it was an entertaining story.

Specific to the audiobook: I enjoyed the narrators voice, she had good tone and inflection and listening at 2x speed was pleasant.

The male narrator for portions was a little harder to understand in comparison with the lower voice,.so I found I had to increase the volume during his bits.

LOVED LOVED LOVED!!

I wish a third book was coming that how much I loved it! Although it ended perfectly.

Dana Schwartz very quickly became an insta buy author for me!!

I was so looking forward to reading Immortality: A Love Story after I read Anatomy: A Love Story in just 2 days! I thoroughly enjoyed both and want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen!

Continuing the story of Hazel's attempt at becoming a surgeon had me up into the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't stop listening! I also feel as though a thorough review will give away so many spoilers so all I will say is this sequel did not disappoint. I went from being elated that Hazel had made a name for herself doing what she loves regardless of societal pressures, then heartbroken upon her unjust arrest and trial, to immense relief of being saved from her fate and sent to look after Princess Charlotte and her mysterious illness.

And the emotions didn't stop there...she meets likeminded and determined peers that aim to make a difference in the world, Hazel finds out the truth about the immortality serum, and there's a famous and handsome doctor that if it wasn't for her feelings for Jack that never went away, I would have been WAY more excited for his pursuits of her...AND THE ENDING! Gah!! I highly recommend this novel. You all just have to read it.

That is all.

5/5 stars!!

Hazel is finally able to practice medicine and help those in need but she’s left unsettled by the previous events the year before: Dr. Beecham’s immortality serum and Jack’s disappearance.

This YA is the second book in Dana’s “Anatomy Duology.” The first book, Anatomy: A Love Story, I enjoyed but was left hanging and slightly annoyed at the allusion of a love story and didn’t get much (I didn’t know a sequel was gonna happen). But this one, we get some love interests (plural) and tension and a HEA. We follow Hazel Sinnett as she navigates life as a female physician in 1818. There is a lot of drama and twists and turns that kept the story moving along. I appreciated the wrap up at the end and that everyone gets a happy ending.

Add to your TBR if you’re into
-medical drama
-gothic romance vibes
-girl power
-secret societies
-a side serving of fantasy

Pub date: February 28
Narrators: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧/5
Spice: 🌶️

Thanks @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this audiobook ARC.

I would like to thank NetGalley & Wednesday Books for allowing me to listen to this uncorrected copy of the audiobook.

Synopsis: Hazel Sinnett is a practicing doctor skilled in surgery. Of course in her attempt to successfully thwart a murderer she never actually completed her examinations, but to those, she treats that does not matter much. As Hazel tries to pick up the pieces of her heart and move on with her life she is thrust into more danger than ever before. At the heart of English society can she find her way back to love while keeping the parts of herself she holds most dear?

Thoughts: I read the first book in this series because I am a fan of Schwartz's. However, I did not like the ending because it felt too open-ended. At the time I was not aware that there would be a sequel to that book. Thankfully, this beautiful book came along.

I love Schwartz's writing style. The book packs in a well-constructed narrative while providing many twists and turns. The pacing is good as it allows for events to flow without making you as the reader feel as though you are getting whiplash from the plot.

I particularly loved the subplot surrounding Princess Charlotte. It is a great alternate history for a woman on whom so much hinged and whose story ended so tragically.

Although I was rooting for Hazel and Jack in the first book and many of my frustrations with that book's ending came from the fact that so much was unresolved between them. I felt that in this novel it took a great deal too long for him to make an appearance. However, when Jack did the same dynamic that captivated me in the first novel was just as present. I loved the resolution that came with their storyline and I particularly enjoyed how Schwartz kept the reader guessing until the very end if there would be a happy ending. In the end, I appreciated how all the relationship drama that unfolded between them even though both Hazel and Jack's approaches frustrated me at times.

I will say that I was a bit confused by the snippets at the end of some chapters from other newspapers or books. I think that they were meant to provide context for some of the club members, but as I was listening to the audiobook they felt a bit like they came out of nowhere. I had to rewind a few times to try and follow why that information was important. Although, it is possible that had I seen these written that it might not have felt so disjointed. Also, the very last snippet made me laugh.

I loved Hazel and I am so glad that Schwartz's love of history and imagination led her to write these books. Although this is changing in many ways seeing a young woman follow her dreams and actually accomplish them without getting waylaid by the plot or love interest is a rarity. The fact that Hazel defies all the standards of her time, but still manages to have friends that support and love her and finds a man who supports her dreams was just so heartwarming. If Schwartz wrote ten more of these books I would read every one of them. The integration of mystery, fact, and alternative history in Schwartz's work is addicting.

I enjoyed last year's Anatomy where we followed Hazel as she pretended to be a man to learn to be a surgeon in early 1800's Edinburgh. She is practicing medicine now, as well as she can as a woman who has not qualified, often helping those who can not afford a "real" doctor. When she helps a young woman, she is accused of murder and thrown in jail, left to hang for her crime without a chance to defend herself. In a twist of fate she is plucked from jail and thrown into the royal court, with hopes she will help Princess Charlotte when all the male doctors have failed. Quickly she is drawn into court politics and realizes not all is what it seems. 

I liked this story infinitely more than the first one. Hazel was much more savvy and confident in herself and her skills. The brushes with the monarchy and some other famous literary and scientific folks of the time were really fun and well done. We finally got some answers about the tincture and I loved how that was weaved into the story.

Thanks to Macmillian Audio for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

Haunting, a little gory, and spooky with heavy dark academic vibes - Dana Schwartz is back with "Immortatlity: A Love Story". What incredible work!

What a lovely follow up book! First off, I really enjoyed the first one and I was thrilled to be able to read this before it was officially out on shelves, mainly because I go a little bonkers when I'm waiting for a book to come out when I desperately NEED to know what happens next.

This book was, to me, very unique. It's historical fiction in a parallel world with a lot of familiar elements (this book went even more into historical figured which I LOVED) but also solid supernatural elements and chemistry and (obviously) immortality and it's a love story it's just a LOT. But in a wonderful way. Like a stew, you can see and taste all of the individual elements but it all really does go together somehow and I'm all about it.

I can honestly say this gets my 'wrapped up happy ending' seal of approval, although I can also see room for a sequel, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be a duology. I haven't heard either way, but I'd be more than happy to see more from these characters or even just the world! All around, this was a fantastic follow up and didn't feel like a 'middle book' at all, which is a VERY GOOD THING. I actually liked it MORE than the first one, also something that I feel is uncommon especially for such a popular first novel.

The narrator (I did have the audio version as well) was absolutely lovely and is the same narrator from the first book (YAY! I love her accents, just beautiful) and I hear she does some romances, so I'll have to look into her in the future!

Thank you again to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to listen to this and it did not disappoint!
Immortality starts off where we left off in Anatomy. I just love Hazel! She is such a strong and brave character and it was so nice to see her character continue to develop and grow.
I don’t want to say too much about the story- don’t want to spoil anything- but I highly recommend this one, especially on Audiobook. Mhairi Morrison is perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I loved this sequel. It was interesting and I loved the secret society aspec! Would definitely recommend this duology

Hazel is a practicing surgeon and has lost the love of her life, Jack. She is accused of a crime she did not commit-timely for the modern news cycle-and is tried and convicted.

She receives a commuted sentence if she goes into the service of the Prince Regent, King George (yeah that one), and Princess Charlotte to cure the Princess of all that ails her.

Frankensteinien salons of time in the backdrop of the tonne with all its rules….this gothic novel is sure to evoke the imagination of the reader, have us rooting for our heroine, and setting the stage for the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC and the ability to honestly review this book.

Hazel is back and more curious than ever.

Between jail, royals, a new doctor, a sailor(!), disease, travels, forbidden love and so much more, you will not want to put this book down! Go on this journey with Hazel. From start to finish this book does not disappoint! Love this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book

Ok, so I gave the first book 4 stars, but I had a really hard time with the sequel. I forgave several things in Anatomy and just chocked it up to the book being a quick read with historical flavor. But nothing was fixed the second time around, and so the grains of sand became a huge stones that irritated me throughout Immortality. I just feel like a lot of times and locations are vague - and not in reference to the writing style but to the actual content. Like one place will be a walkable distance one time and then it will be a horse ride away another. There are frequent historical inaccuracies, which I originally just shrugged off, but it kept happening, so now I'm annoyed. And I'm all for inserting modern feminist ideals into historical fiction, there absolutely were women who chaffed against the constraints of their time, but Hazel has consistent disregard for just about every social convention. I don't really understand why, instead of having empathy for or seeking to understand the other women trapped by family, or class, or the conventions of the day, she just seems to be baffled that no one else has dared to strike out as she has (ya know, just leave their family castle behind)...I guess that isn't totally true since she does end up helping a woman in the end, but that whole thing is kinda rushed and wild and a bit baffling.

I don't really understand what the first part of the book had to do with the second half and I do think that editing could have alleviated the time I spent being annoyed by things. Look, there are some good ideas in here, and I know some avid YA readers who really enjoyed the duology. I will still recommend this book because it is an interesting concept, it features a strong female character, and I don't think that the details that grated on me would bother every potential reader. I do love Mhairi Morrison's narration, so it's almost worth checking out the books just to hear them read out loud. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Immortality: A Love Story picks up where Anatomy: A Love Story left off. Several months after Jack's hanging, Hazel is still in Hawthornden Castle working as a doctor. While her patients consist of Edinburgh's poor, Hazel occasionally is called to tend to the medical needs of the city's important people. Despite her willingness to help whoever needs medical care, she is considered a social pariah. However, Hazel believes her luck is beginning to change when an old friend sends an invitation to a social event and before the opera begins, Hazel is arrested.

Hazel is promptly convicted for a crime she didn't commit, but is saved from the gallows at the 11th hour by a special request from the royal crown. Hazel is to be the personal doctor to Princess Charlotte, the daughter of King George IV. From prison to palace, Hazel now has to identify the mysterious illness that has been plaguing Princess Charlotte and perplexing the other physicians.

Hazel adapts to life in England quickly. She makes friends, attracts male suitors, and is even invited to join a secret society, but things are not as they seem. Can Hazel figure out these mysterious illnesses and save the British Monarchy?


I had no intention of reading the sequel when I finished "Anatomy" last summer. I preferred to believe that Jack had lived but had gone on to prepare a life for him and Hazel and would eventually return. I was fine just letting them live on in my imagination. Then I saw the cover...and it is just breathtaking.

Dana Schwartz is a very poetic and lyrical author and she does atmosphere very well. If you want gothic vibes and maybe even a touch of dark academia, this duology checks those boxes. The audiobook is performed by Mhairi Morrison and Tim Campbell and they both did a phenomenal job.

My biggest issue with this book and the reason it is not a 5-star read is that it is just too long. There were times when I felt like we must have gone for a walk in the weeds and that the path we were supposed to be following was long gone. I mean, we don't even know if Jack is alive or dead until about halfway into the book. It took a long way to get where we were going and then all the loose ends tie up in the last 20% of the book. I just needed less day to day life and more plot.

Content and Trigger Warnings (will contain spoilers)

Hazel helps a woman who took herbs to perform an abortion and almost dies.

Straight Relationships: Basically everyone

Queer Relationships: Princess Charlotte is faking her illness because she is in love with her lady-in-waiting.

Sexual Content: Hazel walks in on Princess Charlotte and her Lady-in-Waiting.
Hazel and Jack have sex, not graphic, but also not implied.

Misc. Content: Stealing bodies in the graveyard, faking deaths, dismemberment, maiming

I absolutely loved the first book in this series! Being in the medical field plus my love for romance stories - this first book hit him - so I was SUPER excited to be able to read/listen to the next book! (plus can we give mad props to the cover art on both?). For Immortality, we return to Edinburgh, where Hazel Sinnett, a rare woman surgeon, is working on real people instead of dead bodies this time around. At least until she's arrested and soon after sent to attend as doctor to the ill Princess Charlotte. She discovers many secrets while at court, including a magnetic society filled with interesting people who are a little different than than others. She also meets handsome doctors and pompous royalty, all while her mind continues to stray to one person. After all, this is...: a Love Story. This book was an incredible sequel to Anatomy: A Love Story which I also gave 5 stars to. I adore Hazel as a character. Like many woman of her time period, she's constrained by society's rules for what is believed to be a woman's purpose, but she doesn't let it stop her (also not much has changed for women in medicine in 2023 so it hits home). She utilizes her intelligence to help people, even when it's dangerous. I enjoyed seeing her grow more in this book, where shes not as afraid of societal obstacles and she fights harder for what she believes in and cares for. All of the new characters we were introduced to were super intriguing as well. Each interpretation of real people was incredible and I feel like I could honestly imagine some of them in the situations we get to see them in.

Thank you to MacMillian audio and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC