Wow. I was practically glued to this book.

The Resurectionist is a wonderfully written book from the perspective of the young James who travels from London to Edinburgh to get a chance to study medicine in a way that is more hands-on, rather than all theory how he learned it in London.
Through rather misfortunate circumstances he gets involved with Aneurin, who works for a known physician and professor in Edinburgh and who opens James' eyes to a side of medicine that he never considered - body snatching.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this books,getting sucked into a historical Scotland, experiencing the thrill of hiding your unfavoured way of optaining bodies from the police and the sweet lovestory Dunlap sprinkled throughout her first novel.

You certainly feel that the author knows exactly how to get her readers hooked and that, I presume from her having studied film, she knew how to give her novel an absolutely satisfying ending, while still leaving the door open just a crack for a maybe possible sequel.

Whether we will get more books by the author, be it in the Resurrectionist universe or others, is yet to be decided but I will keep eyes and ears open!

This was utterly phenomenal, and I am shocked this is the author's debut novel.

The Resurrectionist is a delightfully macabre mix of historical fiction, dark academia and true crime, set in 19th century Edinburgh.

The prose in this book was fantastic. Dunlap's writing is lyrical and emotive and I was deeply invested in the characters.

I was pleasantly surprised (and ecstatic) at the romance! It was written in a way at first that James was ignorant to his own feelings, and this felt believable. But, oh, the pining was sublime. A favourite quote to back this up: "Every moment with him felt like a dream decided, a riddle unraveled in a foreign tongue." Further, it touched on queerness in the 19th century very well, as this quote poignantly put it: "But for men who sinned as we sinned, the noose was often the verdict - a violent end to violent delights."

Despite the gruesome backdrop, this was a wonderful coming-of-age and self-acceptance story, and the juxtaposition of James' upper class upbringing being thrown into the dark underbelly of body-snatching in the pursuit of scientific knowledge and advancement was cleverly done.

This was funny, deep, and gritty, and an all-round excellent debut novel.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A posh-boy and a Scotsman with a Welsh name walk into a kirkyard...

I walked into this ARC with no expectations (it was my first time, after all!) but was delightfully surprised at the adventure that awaited me. 19th century Edinburgh? Yum. Historical fiction? YES PLEASE! What I didn't expect was an exquisite coming of age & self-acceptance story intertwined with some true crime and a hefty HEFTY sprinkle of romance.

I devoured this book tooth and nail- read it from start to finish in ~24 hours. The setting itself is intoxicating- from the scholarly banter between university students to Edinburgh's seedy underbelly, the crisp and descriptive writing really drew me in immediately. I think that James is a great character to experience this world through; the dichotomy of his upbringing and the underworld he finds himself in is well executed and believable from a modern perspective, while still facilitating the character's own personal growth throughout.

The romance, from my perspective, while not forced did feel a tad rushed - almost as if many of the vignettes that would bring a more holistic look to the beginning of Nye & James's relationship were not included. Don't let that discourage you- I think that says more about ME wanting MORE than the arc of the romance itself.

This book was deeply addictive and satisfying to consume. I find myself already itching for a re-read!!