I am not a huge lover of historical romance though I love history. Maybe it is because I feel like the story sometimes goes insane with the romance part and the historical part is dropped off. A Matter of Grave Concern though entertained me on both levels. The story starts with Abigail trying to buy a dead body. What woman does this? A woman whose father is her world and only parent. A woman who grew up at the Royal College of Surgeons where her father was head surgeon. A woman who desperately wants to follow in her father's footsteps in an era where woman married and ran households; if they were forced to work it was mostly frisky business they were doing. Abigail understands the human body but isn't so well informed of the human emotions. When the purchase of a dead body goes badly Abigail meets Max. Max is one of the men who stole from her. A Resurrectionist. Or is he something entirely different?
I love the story. As a teen I loved Frankenstein. Up until I read that story I had not thought much about how doctors learned so much about the human body. Then I was fascinated by the fact that they used deceased people as "live" samples to learn from. The thought of selling someone, deceased or not, made me queasy. I wonder at the desperation of the people who sold them. I had not given as much thought into people who bought them. Having a female character who buys dead bodies was extremely interesting. I assumed men did the buying and selling of them. I hate to say it but it was not only the era and the fact that not much was expected of women outside the home that made me think that way. It just seemed to me something men would do. (haha) Because of this Abigail fascinated me. That she would do so much for her father's love kind of saddened me. That she did it in part because of her own curiosity heartened me. It is good to know that woman who truly wanted to learn and experience had the courage to step out of bounds and find ways to do it. Max has his own demons. He is participating in some heavy evil as a resurrectionist with the gang of men he is with. That he sees Abigail and accepts her as is was awesome. I enjoyed his tug of war with doing what was right and doing what felt right. I also loved the chemistry between Abigail and Max. I think the demons that chased each of them are what brought them so close.
The author, Brenda Novak, is known to me. I have read her Whiskey Creek series, (which I love!), and a few other of her books. She has written 50 . That, to me, is amazing. The fact that the ones I have read are high quality astounds me and speaks of her talent and devotion. A devotion not only to her writing but to her fans. Some authors who have written that many books lose something in a few of them. Over time they seem to become the same thing using different names and words. I have not read all of Brenda's books. The ones I have read are fresh. Each has a story all its own. Since most of what I have read from her are her more recent books I believe she is an author with much to offer. Her characters are well written, not always the most likable people, but then when have you liked everyone you met? Her stories are researched and care is given for them to be "real". I like that more than I normally say. It is not so much that I want my stories to be realistic, (I read a lot of zombie books - so far not grounded in reality). I enjoy fantasy a lot. I just don't want to be taken so far away it is ridiculous. Brenda Novak has the line between reality and fantasy firmly in check and has the ability to blur them in an enjoyable mix. A Matter of Grave Concern shows off this ability with drama, intrigue, romance and heat. I enjoyed reading it. I hope you will too.

*I was given a review copy of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to review books and would not diminish this opportunity by providing a review that was not honest. A book is only as good as the author who is only as good as their reviewer who is only valuable through honesty.* ( )

Iiiiiiiiiiiick.......a romance novel......ew. Lol, I didn't get past chapter five, even with the plummy voice of the narrator. I'm not finishing it, either. I have too many books in my tbr pile to spend any time on yet another formulaic romance novel. Sorry, Novak; it's not you, it's me. ( )

2.5 stars

****Full Review****

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

When does the end justify the means? Is it when individuals who have limited options become
resurrectionist? Is it when medical colleges pay for bodies procured from nefarious ways to study and try to further knowledge of human anatomy? How about when a daughter lies to her father to help further his career or a man lying to the woman he is falling in love with in order to keep searching for his missing half sister? A Matter of Grave Concern takes on all these scenarios and leaves the reader questioning just what constitutes right and wrong.

Abigail lost her mother at a very young age leaving her to grasp even more for love from her absent surgeon father. She essentially has taken on the role as caretaker at her father's medical college hoping that some day she will be admitted to follow in her father's footsteps. As family members cringe from the thought of their deceased loved ones being inspected after death, colleges are having a hard time supplying specimens for their students to learn from, thus Abigail contacts the London Supply Company. However, when this company of body snatchers arrives, they prove to be a bit much for Abigail to handle, especially one particular member. Max Wilder is looking for his half sister Madeline which has led him to Jack, the leader of the London Supply Company. As he sticks close to Jack looking for clues he finds himself in Abigail's home looking for a way to simultaneously protect her from Jack and teach her to never deal with resurrectionist again.

This book started off incredibly intriguing as it deals with a topic often shied away from and had a dark intensity emitting from the characters. Abigail and Max had good banter and friction but when Abigail embarks on a rather dubious course and gets essentially kidnapped, I thought her and Max joined together way too soon; their love connection just wasn't believable yet. Abigail is sweetly naïve but her blunt speech and terms she uses can be rather jarring at times. Her willingness to use a word like cock is explained away by her having no real world experience and learning everything from medical texts but her lack of shyness with Max seemed a bit unrealistic at times. Max was a hard character to connect with as his reasons for why he is with Jack and his very identity are doled out sparingly, hidden, or kept secret for most of the book. In fact, when certain details are revealed as to why he is trying to keep Abigail at a particular distance are made known, he comes off as kind of a jerk. One of these details is rather unneeded as it (the character) add nothing to the story, is never seen, and seems tagged on to an already full list of why Max can't be with Abigail; in other words, very overdone. Together, they definitely had a beginning spark but as the story moves on it fizzles out as Abigail quite suddenly decides to give up her lifelong dream of being a surgeon to stay with Max and Max "wants" Abigail but continues to (sort of) push her away because he "can't" have her.

As I said, this had a strong start but seemed to lose its way as the middle gets bogged down with repetitiveness, unanswered questions about Max, and a slow pace. The dialogue between Abigail and Max can get fairly vulgar at times, which didn't bother me like it may some but was surprising for the time period this takes place and how I originally pictured Abigail's character. The ending with all its mysteries revealed and problems solved wrapped up a bit quickly and with a little too neat of a bow; the epilogue was also very gooey sweet.

Ms. Novak's writing is meritorious; she just seemed to lose her way in the middle. If you are looking for a regency that deals with something other than ballrooms, want a little more spice to your bedroom dialogue than is usually seen in this fare, and a bit slower moving then this could be for you. A Matter of Grave Concern is definitely different, I'm just not sure it's good.

( )

Abby is the daugher of a college physician. The college needs cadavers for their students and Abby is determined to purchase what is needed. She meets Jack who has inadvertently drawn Abby into the world of the cadaver men.

I enjoyed this book, I liked the story of the grave diggers and colleges, we forget how hard it was to study because there was such a stigma about using bodies. So different from modern times when we have something like a case of Henrietta Lacks where the doctors have the proprietary rights on things from our body. ( )

audio discs

resurrection man
a person who exhumes and steals dead bodies, especially for dissection; body snatcher

I'm afraid I didn't look closely enough before beginning this read.
I saw mention of notorious body snatchers known as the London Supply Company.
I noted a historical backdrop, a place called Aldersgate School of Medicine, the Resurrectionists
and a missing person.
I thought I had a historical mystery in my hands.
When I researched the author I found her genres were
Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance
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So in all fairness, I'm leaving this unrated.
But personally, there was a bit too much romance?? and not enough intrigue.