The Wages of Sin (Sarah Gilchrist #1) by Kaite Welsh

* * * 1/2

Sarah Gilchrist has fled London and a troubled past to join the University of Edinburgh's medical school in 1892, the first year it admits women. She is determined to become a doctor despite the misgivings of her family and society, but Sarah quickly finds plenty of barriers at school itself: professors who refuse to teach their new pupils, male students determined to force out their female counterparts, and—perhaps worst of all—her female peers who will do anything to avoid being associated with a fallen woman.

Desperate for a proper education, Sarah turns to one of the city’s ramshackle charitable hospitals for additional training. The St Giles’ Infirmary for Women ministers to the downtrodden and drunk, the thieves and whores with nowhere else to go. In this environment, alongside a group of smart and tough teachers, Sarah gets quite an education. But when Lucy, one of Sarah’s patients, turns up in the university dissecting room as a battered corpse, Sarah finds herself drawn into a murky underworld of bribery, brothels, and body snatchers.

Painfully aware of just how little separates her own life from that of her former patient’s, Sarah is determined to find out what happened to Lucy and bring those responsible for her death to justice. But as she searches for answers in Edinburgh’s dank alleyways, bawdy houses and fight clubs, Sarah comes closer and closer to uncovering one of Edinburgh’s most lucrative trades, and, in doing so, puts her own life at risk…

An irresistible read with a fantastic heroine, beautifully drawn setting, fascinating insights into what it was like to study medicine as a woman at that time, The Wages of Sin is a stunning debut that heralds a striking new voice in historical fiction.

Source: library


Sarah has been sent away from London by her family after a scandal which has unfortunately followed her to Edinburgh. Under the ever-watchful eye of her aunt, she is allowed to attend medical school at the university though they're only doing it to appease her and bide their time until they can get past the scandal and find her a possible suitor. Sarah has no interest in marriage, only her studies. Her ambition to become a doctor will not be thwarted by naysayers, her fellow students who often ostracize her due to the rumours, or even the professors who openly sneer at their female students. As a volunteer at a hospital in the sketchier part of town, she sees a different kind of life that its people lead. One day a young girl named Lucy comes in for assistance but is eventually turned away. Sarah doesn't give her much thought until she shows up as a corpse at her school. She's convinced the girl was murdered and is bent on finding her killer.

There's so much story in here and I couldn't help but think some of the social tensions in Victorian Edinburgh of 1892 were similar to that of what's happening today. Sarah and her fellow female students are not accepted by their male counterparts. They're subjected to pranks and crude behaviours and the professors don't defend them. There's very much a boys-will-be-boys attitude and a belief that if these women want to enter the male-dominated medical field they need to learn how to accept hazing from the men. Women are seen as feeble-minded and even Sarah's aunt thinks it's ghastly that women are pushing for social change. Sound familiar? Sarah is also plagued by the rumours dogging her and once again, it's the woman who bears the brunt of any scandal even when the man is the predator or equally to blame. Male privilege is abound throughout and she has to fight it with regularity. But Sarah has carried herself with as much dignity as she can, balancing her own sensibilities with the expectations of her aunt and uncle. Lucy's case tugs at her because she feels a certain kind of kinship with her. They're both women turned away by their families and left to deal with the consequences of the horrors done to them. 

I liked how Sarah is this spunky, inexorable character. She's had to defend herself and/or advocate for herself because so often there's been no one in her corner. She takes that grit and applies it to her studies and to this mystery of Lucy's death. However, she is still young and green so her attempts at detective work go awry several times. For example, she's quick to judge and jump to conclusions, therefore making premature accusations that do backfire on her. But I think she'll develop some finesse in that area and her skills will get sharper as the series continues. I enjoyed this novel and the second book, The Unquiet Heart releases in May, so you know what I'll be reading soon!

~ Bel

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

* * * *

One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You.

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your maths whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Maths Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.

One Plus One is told from four POVs – Jess, Ed, Tanzie and Nicky. Entrepreneur Ed is in legal hell due to allegations of insider trading. Jess is a single mom, trying to make ends meet for her daughter and stepson by cleaning houses. Tanzie is a very gifted student and an incredible mathematician who has the opportunity to go to a swanky private school that would nurture her brain if only she can scrounge up the money for it. Nicky is her older half-brother who would love to see her escape their neighbourhood and public school where he’s often picked on and beaten up by the neighbourhood bully. The only connection that Jess has to Ed is that she cleans his house.  One day, as he’s driving he sees Jess and her family by the roadside talking to the police. Jess was pulled over (see she’s not supposed to be driving and that car she was driving was a bit of a disaster.) Ed jumps in to offer them a ride to Edinburgh so that Tanzie can make the maths competition. Jess accepts out of sheer desperation and lack of a better option. Ed does it for no other reason than to just do something good in his already messed up life.

It's hard not to love this story that’s paced so well allowing the characters to develop and open up. Everyone starts out with an idea about themselves, what they’ve done with their lives so far and how they fit into the scheme of things. Throughout the course of the book, each character’s perspective is altered. Previous preconceptions are slowly stripped away as they learn about what the other’s reality is. Being with Jess’ family gives Ed a glimpse of what life’s like for a family on a very limited income. One particularly enlightening conversation takes place when Tanzie recounts a list of what a certain amount of money can buy them at the store. Ed is by no means a millionaire but he lives comfortably. The point of that conversation being that he doesn’t have to worry about money every day whereas Jess has to account for every bit of it daily, and choose between which bill takes precedence over the other. Same goes for Jess when she learns of the legal troubles he’s facing. Just goes to show you that you can’t make assumptions about people. Tanzie and Nicky are quieter, offering introspective but illuminating views of the world through their inner monologue.

This is a motley crew of awkward people who come together through fate or coincidence – whatever you’d like to call it. It’s a big risk for these strangers to trust one another and along the journey, they discover more about themselves as they do about each other. There are laughs, tears, ridiculous scenarios and also triumphant moments that’ll warm your heart. One Plus One made a fan out of me, so much so that I immediately bought Moyes’ other book, Me Before You as soon as I was done with it. I really enjoy her writing and how she allows her characters to tell their stories without feeling rushed. If you’re looking for an entertaining summer read that leaves you feeling very content, then add One Plus One to your list.

 ~ Bel

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

* * * *

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

Ever have a random encounter with someone, hitting it off so well that when it comes time to part ways, it’s all awkward and you don’t know if it’s weird to want to stay in touch? That’s what the sweet, funny and enchanting, The Geography of You and Me is about.

In this instance, the chance encounter is in an elevator that's stuck between floors during a blackout, and our two heroes, Lucy and Owen instead of being petrified by the ordeal, find the situation rather comical. The two are kind of misfits but not in a negative way. Each is going through something – Owen and his dad are working through their grief after losing his mother. Lucy’s family dynamics are peculiar. Her older brothers are away at college and her parents travel all over Europe and never take her along. She’s left to her own devices.

What struck me was how self-reliant both of them are. They’re not perturbed by the blackout and make the best of it. When Lucy has to move, she does it gracefully and takes to her new surroundings nicely. Owen too, handles the almost nomadic way of life he and his dad explore as his dad attempts to look for jobs. But no matter where they end up in the world, their center remains that rooftop in New York. Somehow, despite being miles apart and on different continents, these two have taken up residence in each other’s consciousness.

There are so many lovely touches throughout the book such as the postcards. I mean, I now look at them differently. In a world reliant on texting and instant messaging, their one-line communication via postcards is such an endearing and personal gesture. I also admire the many quotes that I either copied down or marked throughout the story. They’re simple but speak volumes. Here are three of my favourites:

One of them is at the beginning of the book when Owen and Lucy are sharing ideas about where they’d like to travel to. This sets up the rest of the story marvelously.

“Sometimes it seemed as if his whole life was an exercise in waiting; not waiting to leave, exactly, but simply waiting to go.” (p.46)

I guess it's stuck with me because it’s such a positive thought as opposed to a get-me-the-heck-out-of-here mentality.

This next one, where Lucy ruminates on the night of the blackout, is perhaps my favourite quote because of the beautiful imagery in action:

“They were like a couple of asteroids that had collided, she and Owen, briefly sparking before ricocheting off again, a little chipped, maybe even a little scarred, but with miles and miles still to go. How long could a single night really be expected to last? How far could you stretch such a small collection of minutes? ” (p.139) 

And finally, during a conversation between Lucy and her mother, her mother brings up a very good point about why she’s never gotten to travel with her parents. I think that it also sums up the stalled state of her relationship with Owen as they begin to think about what exactly their relationship is.

“You can’t know the answer until you ask the question.”  (p.253)

Okay, I won’t give any more away so instead, I’ll just encourage you once again to read The Geography of You and Me. I enjoyed how the story progressed and how their POVs paralleled each other’s. I take away from this the heartwarming message that it's not just a place but a person too, that can be the center that you return to. This thought gives me warm fuzzies and I can see myself returning to this book again.

~ Bel