Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Title: Immortality: A Love Story (The Anatomy Duology #2)

Author: Dana Schwartz

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publish Date: February 28, 2023

I received an ARC from the publisher for reading/reviewing purposes only. The following review is my opinion and hasn’t been influenced by any other party.

Immortality was a whirlwind adventure. I read both Anatomy and Immortality back to back (as that's the best way to read a duology) and wow, if it didn't have the same characters and basic plot items, I would suspect they weren't related in any way. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you go into Immortality expecting a rehash of book one, you won't really get it.

The biggest thing that threw me off were the odd plot point choices. The first book takes place in Edinburgh and the second largely in London. Immediately, I felt as if there were some odd discourse on the political climate of England. After finishing the book, it makes sense why this is here but going from one to the other, I thought it was an odd choice. I also thought the integration of a secret society (think Illuminati but more casual) was off-putting. It makes sense, but I don't think they were written as sinister as they could have been. They showed up at convenient times in the plot, so I would forget about them until they appeared again. Also, they were notorious in the London scene but no one knew it was full of dead people?

I loved that Hazel was able to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte. I think it showed just how far she had come with wanting to be a surgeon. In book one, she's operating on dead bodies, and in book two, she's serving the crown. I loved the relationship between Hazel, Eliza and Princess Charlotte. I think Eliza has to be my favorite character. Her and Hazel had a great dynamic.

There wasn't much of the grit and gore that was so enveloped in book one. Anatomy would get pretty graphic, but Immortality was fairly tame on that front. I wanted to see more of Hazel in action. We got a little bit of that but most of her physician duties revolved around her writing her treatise.

While the odd plot points threw me off a bit, I was mostly disappointed in the rushed ending. It was moving so fast, I had to reread certain pages to make sure I understood everything. I don't think I would have minded the ending as much if more time was spent on it. After Hazel helped save the king, I lost track of what was happening.

Jack was thrown in there, and I felt like there was no redemption for their rekindling romance. All of a sudden they were fighting, then next thing I know, they're kissing in a grave at night. I felt as if they didn't really talk through much of their issues, but I had issues with their romance from book one (and happening out of no where). I would have loved more time spent on their story and connection.

I liked the ending, and would have loved it if it weren't so rushed. It did feel pretty unrealistic, especially with how quick everything happened. There wasn't much conflict to their plan, but maybe things in 19th century England were a bit easier to get away with. Also, Simon just going along with it felt unrealistic. Then, with the last two chapters, I mostly had no clue what was happening. There was a lot missing in this ending for me; I like the idea and premise, execution not so much. It was also fairly predictable. I guessed most of the "mysteries" early on.

Immortality scratched the surface. It doesn't delve into the joys of Anatomy and falls away from what I enjoyed about book one. It went a weird direction, and while that wasn't bad, I think it could have used a bit more depth to expand on this story. I could honestly use another book as I still have a few questions I want answered in this world. Also, I cannot get enough of these covers - they are incredibly creative.

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