ARC Review // Corpse & Crown

Title: Corpse & Crown

Author: Alisa Kwitney

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Published: February 12th 2019
Pages: 320 pages

"Agatha DeLacey’s family isn’t rich or titled, so studying nursing at Ingold’s East End hospital in London is a rare opportunity for her. Despite the school’s focus on the innovative Bio-Mechanical program, Aggie cares more about the desperately poor human patients who flood the hospital, even if that means providing unauthorized treatment after-hours…and trusting a charming, endlessly resourceful thief.

But the Artful Dodger is barely a step ahead of his underworld rivals, the menacing Bill Sykes and mercurial Oliver Twist, and Aggie’s association with him soon leads her into danger. When a brutal attack leaves her blind, she and the Dodger find themselves at the mercy of an experimental Bio-Mech surgery. Though the procedure restores Aggie’s sight, her new eyes come at an unnerving cost, and the changes in Dodger are even more alarming—instead of seeing Aggie as the girl he fancies, he now views her as a potential threat.

As war between England and Germany brews on the horizon and a sinister medical conspiracy threatens to shatter the uneasy peace in Europe, Aggie and the Dodger must find a way to work together so they can protect their friends and expose the truth…even if it means risking their own survival."

Corpse & Crown picks up a few months after the end of Cadaver & Queen, with the Ingold students now set in London. With the approaching visit of the Kaiser, Ingold is  trying to create the perfect Bio-Mechanical in order to avoid a war between England and Germany. While everyone seems to only have it on their minds, Agatha DeLacey is helping the poor patients staying alive - even if it means putting herself and her career at risk. In the dark streets of London, Aggie meets the dashing Artful Dodger, who guides her through these dangerous world of thieves and addicts. However, the mysteries hidden in the Royal Victorian Hospital are darker and more threatening than the slums. 

Writing: Just as in the first novel (you can read Corpse & Crown without reading it, but I truly believe you should because it's an enthralling Frankenstein's retelling), Alisa Kwitney's writing is flawless. While Cadaver & Queen was darker with its suffocating secret passageways and rattling noises (and all the Gothic tropes that make anyone's skin crawl), Corpse & Crown has a shiny atmosphere. The novel does deal with thought provoking issues such as how far will on go in the name of science and substance abuse, but the gloomy atmosphere of the previous novel is not constant. The story is fast-paced and twisty. There's a never a slow moment in the plot that captivated me from the first page to the very last one. The characters and their stories intertwine perfectly together. I couldn't put the book aside. I had to force myself to do it because life. 

 “What the eye cannot see, the heart never grieves.”

Characters: Agatha DeLacey aka Aggie aka the most amazing nurse you'll ever meet! Aggie is a great apprentice, caring and compassionate, and one of the few people in that school who cares more about saving lifes than getting corpses to be turned into Bio-Mechanicals. She knows what she wishes and she won't allow any fling to ruin her chances at becoming a nurse (for that reason, she wouldn't act up on her feelings for Dodger). Even after suffering an accident that blinds her, Aggie doesn't give up of her dreams of wanting more and build a life for herself. She's strong. She's fierce. She's ambitious. She's a huge heart! By the way, the romance between Aggie and Dodger isn't overwhelming and doesn't shadows the story - even if very spoiler-ish connection these two develop is major part of the story

Although the story focus on Aggie, the characters we met and came to love before are part of the story (Justine and Will even have a few chapters of their own). And, of course, new characters inspired by Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist are introduced and make you want to learn everything about them.

Ps.: All hail Queen Victoria and her amazing-ness and mischievous-mess. 

World Building: After Ingold was burnt down by an angry and scared mob, the Bio-Mechanical school moves to a new setting, London. For everyone who doesn't know, I love history and the Victorian Era has always allured me (so many steps were given in this era to give women the emancipation from their fathers and husbands). Kwitney immerses the reader in the political and social context of the time. I must say I loved the historical details. We get to see how women were perceived by society and how their reputation could be so easily tarnished; how the poor lived in London and how women without money to raise one more child would put themselves at the hands of unscrupulous doctors. Moreover, the menace of the opium is mentioned and the potential it has to ruin lifes is present too. It's a vivid description of the other side of London - of those who didn't have money and  had to become robbers or prostitutes to survive. 

Thank you to Alisa Kwitney for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.