Raised by the eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft after losing her parents to a deadly pandemic, the orphan Nora Beady knows little about conventional life. While other young ladies were raised to busy themselves with needlework and watercolors, Nora was trained to perfect her suturing and anatomical illustrations of dissections.

Women face dire consequences if caught practicing medicine, but in Croft’s private clinic Nora is his most trusted–and secret–assistant. That is until the new surgical resident Dr. Daniel Gibson arrives. Dr. Gibson has no idea that Horace’s bright and quiet young ward is a surgeon more qualified and ingenuitive than even himself. In order to protect Dr. Croft and his practice from scandal and collapse Nora must learn to play a new and uncomfortable role–that of a proper young lady.

But pretense has its limits. Nora cannot turn away and ignore the suffering of patients even if it means giving Gibson the power to ruin everything she’s worked for. And when she makes a discovery that could change the field forever, Nora faces an impossible choice. Remain invisible and let the men around her take credit for her work, or let the world see her for what she is–even if it means being destroyed by her own legacy.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I liked most of this book most of the time. I love the relationships between Nora, Horace, Daniel, and the housekeeper. The ways they care for and interact with each other gives you such a sense of their community together.

This book isn’t for the squeamish–there’s quite a bit of detail about surgical procedures and dissections, so it might be too much for some readers, though it fit well with the characters and their personalities.

I was really on my way to giving this a 4/4.5 star rating until the end. I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say the ending disappointed me. At the very least, I would have liked an epilogue to answer a few questions.

Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining book. I might pick up more by this author to see if her other endings are better. 😉

Rated PG-13 for some graphic descriptions and a few historically accurate insults. Get your copy here!

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