I wasn’t sure I was going to finish this one because the first half felt a little predictable and repetitive. The concept was too good to abandon, though, and the second half turned out to be excellent. ( )

This read was both slow yet full of things going on, weird right?? Maybe this was because I listened to it on Audible and the orator took some time getting used to. Yes, she had varying registers for the different characters but they all somehow came off as a bit subdued.

Anyway, this book was eery and macabre (at times) and the twisty turns were all sorts of eeeeewwwww & What The?? And definitely messed up. Also, just so you know what you're getting into... it wasn't gorey or ghoulish or serial killer around the corner type tension filled. It wasn't any other subgenre of Horror either SO if that's your thing, you're going to be disappointed. Personally, thats not my jam... Life's scary enough in the Real why go forcing tachycardia, having to check and recheck each darkened corner of the room, jumping at the late night creaking of the house etc...? The fact that it wasn't nightmare fuel was a large part of why I enjoyed this book as much as I did... it skirted the terrifying and gave me a teenie taste of the Weird and Unusual... two of my favorites.

Now onto the stars of the show... the characters. These characters were robust and deliciously, morally gray gray gray... just as they should be. Everyone was dynamic and (most were) interesting. Each character, all the way on up through tertiary and beyond, had their own ulterior motives who also had their own ulterior motives. Just saying, people are shady. I was constantly reevaluating everything I knew to try and pinpoint friend from foe and to discern who was being honest and to what ends. If that sounds like a good time to you then you're going to want to add this to your TBR!

Overall:
This book pegged the Trifecta of Awesomeness... really solid writing, interesting background/premise and ultimately, the most important of the three in my humble opinion, excellent, diverse and entertaining characters. Our FMC, Cora/Jacob was brash, and clever with loads of moxie. She fit in nicely among the other innovative charismatic persona... mostly women. The MMC, Theodore Flint (Theo), was oblivious and a bit thick at times but he was also sweet, smart, loyal and able to reevaluate a situation and change his core beliefs when given irrefutable proof... a quality sorely lacking in our society today... anywho, I couldn't help but be charmed by him and I was rooting (vehemently) for him.

All in all I enjoyed this (audio)book! It even has a satisfying yet bittersweet conclusion that answers all of the questions and ties up each loose thread... I like the feeling of a one and done read sometimes and this one delivered!

~ Enjoy ( )

Scary but fun read. ( )

Eh this was alright. I have some issues with the last part of the book and took a break a few times. Either I'm not in the right mindspace or this wasn't the book for me. I hate surprise pregnancy plot devices, especially with her getting morning sickness a week since having smex and *bam* she instantly knew she was pregnant. Then her maid with the final betrayal felt abrupt. Probably just not in the mood for romance.

Book seemed to have enough going on without the added drama. ( )

Cora Lee is the impossible girl, diagnosed with two hearts soon after losing her mother in childbirth. To keep her safe from the doctor who knows her secret, Cora's aunt Charlotte calls her niece Jacob, cutting her hair short and dressing her in pants for the first fifteen years of her life. When Charlotte dies, Cora/Jacob is left alone but for a maid called Leah to follow in her aunt's trade as a resurrectionist, stealing recently buried bodies for anatomists and medical schools. Cora attends the funerals, assessing how difficult the body will be to steal, while 'Jacob' moves in after dark with his boys to do the deed. Everything is going well for Cora until a rival gang of resurrectionists, a hitlist of medical 'wonders' including Cora herself and a mysterious young medical student called Theodore Flint conspire to put her trade, her life and her hearts in danger.

I really enjoyed the historical bones of this story, set in 1850s New York. Cora is very pragmatic about her trade, digging up new burials, stripping the corpse of any clothes and personal effects which would count as theft, and then delivering the body to the highest bidder. Only when a rival team starts bumping off medical curiosities like Cora herself does she consider the lost lives of the bodies she is selling for profit. (And the brief chapters from the perspectives of the most recent victims were sometimes more interesting than the main story!) This macabre work really went on, of course, before an act was passed to supply bodies to medical schools by legal means, which makes the plot even more fascinating!

Cora is a bit of a cliché, however, and becomes more like a Marvel superhero or an avatar than a real woman. She is an exotically beautiful young lady, knowledgeable about the anatomy of the human bodies that she trades in, and who can slip into the guise of a 'twin brother' without anyone (well, nearly anyone) suspecting. With lifts in her shoes, padded shirts and shoe polish on her face, she is suddenly strong enough to move lift marble grave covers and move corpses, while also attending medical lectures and bawdy houses alongside groups of rough men - and gets away with the deception! The deep voice she puts on just made me laugh, and I was glad when one of Jacob's gang said he always knew but didn't like to say anything.

Unlikely dual personalities aside, Cora is a fascinating character who gets to live a very independent life for a woman in the mid nineteenth century. There is also a cameo from Dr Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in America to earn a medical degree, so the sisters are really doing for themselves, whether for good or ill. In comparison, Theodore the love interest is very bland and I was annoyed that he had to come to Cora's aid twice, and the big villain of the story is a typical psychopath stalker - 'I did it all for you!', etc.

A curious mix of historical fact, fast-paced action and corny characters, but a good read, nonetheless! ( )