Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: The Doctor’s Discretion
AUTHOR: E.E. Ottoman
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 197 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2018
BLURB:
New York City, 1831.
Passion, medicine and a plan to break the law …
When Doctor William Blackwood, a proper gentleman who prefers books to actual patients, meets retired Navy surgeon Doctor Augustus Hill, they find in each other not just companionship but the chance of pleasure—and perhaps even more. The desire between them is undeniable but their budding relationship is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious patient at New York Hospital.
Mr. Moss has been accused of being born a woman but living his life as a man, an act that will see him committed to an asylum for the rest of his life. William and Augustus are determined to mount a rescue even if it means kidnapping him instead.
Their desperate plan sets William and Augustus against the hospital authorities and the law. Soon they find themselves embroiled in New York’s seedy underworld, mixed up with prostitutes, spies, and more than a lifetime’s worth of secrets. When nothing is as it seems can they find something real in each other?
REVIEW:
I was initially drawn to this story because of the MCs, and the time period in which they exist. Interracial couples in 1831 are not exactly common storybook fodder, and it is one of the first historical stories that has a intersex(??) main character that I’ve read, so I was really excited to get my hands on it.
Set in New York City, this is the story of two doctors, William Blackwood and Augustus Hill. Both are a bit outside the considered norm. William being a black man trying to make his way in a profession–and society–that still regularly views those of his skin color as less than human. And Augustus being…
Ok, we pause this review for a quick confession.
I’m not entirely sure if Augustus is trans or intersex. The story was incredibly vague about this–or I was especially inept at taking the hint. There were several mentions of “cocks” but sometimes trans men refer to what would also be known as a clitoris that way, so I was a bit confused. And while the book does use the term hermaphrodite, I wasn’t sure it was referring to what we would call people who are intersex, or just catch-all term for those outside the strict binary gender system of the day. Lacking the more precise modern terminology, and relying on the contextual clues in the story, I’m going to be referring to Augustus as intersex. If I have got that wrong, I apologize and will be more than happy to correct the review at a later date. Now, back to the review…
And Augustus being intersex, and there for at best a medical curiosity–and really, that is like “a bag of money fell out of the sky and landed right at your feet” at best–and at worst he runs the risk of being arrested, studied, assaulted, and locked away for the rest of his life if he is not killed. Which is brought sharply into focus when he comes to work one day at his hospital to find that a man much like himself is currently locked within the hospital walls awaiting some horrible fate at the hands of the doctors. His conscience can not let him ignore the poor man’s plight…but if he dares to attempt a rescue and is caught? Well, he knows exactly what fate lays for him then.
While I do have several issues with this story, I ultimately came away happy with what I got. I really liked the chemistry between Augustus and William, and while it doesn’t do a deep dive into the realities of an interracial couple–let alone one that was gay–in that time and age, it also doesn’t just sweep it under the rug either. Both characters are clearly flawed, but it doesn’t go to such an extent that it was annoying. And this might have felt a bit more on the HFN side of things, I’m really not sure that their are many historical queer romances out there that can give you more than that.
I will say though that the problems in this story sorta just sorted themselves out without much work needed from anyone. Which was disappointing. I was also unsure about how I felt about the twist at the end there. Not sure if the way the story and certain characters were built up to that point really jived with it was well as I would have liked. I don’t know. Maybe on a reread it will all make better sense.
As it is…it is definitely worth the read, and it turned out to be much lighter than I had thought going in so if that is what you are looking for, you should be happy. I just wish there was a bit more time spent on fleshing out the characters more, especially Augustus, because I’m a huge fan of coming away from the story feeling so unsure about a key aspect of a character.
RATING: 
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