Reviews

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

oddmariposabooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

verustek's review against another edition

3.5

I feel a little torn about the rating for this book because there is so much about it that I liked. I think it's a really interesting character study of Elizabeth, exploring how she chose to move through the world in order to survive. It has interesting explorations and commentary on feminist topics, and I really liked the ending and thought the writing was overall strong. However, there's just something about the experience of reading it that didn't fully jive with me, perhaps because of the pacing. There were points when I found myself feeling really bored and almost dnfing, or listening at two times speed to get to the end faster. Overall I'm still happy I read it though, because it was quite thought-provoking

lochnessvhs's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Child abuse

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

DNF

Dark.. oh who would have thought

gabrielle_erin's review against another edition

3.0

This was an interesting companion to the original Frankenstein, however, I don't think the text had enough new and divergent material to stand alone as its own text without the merit of Shelley's work. White's Author's Note at the end of the book really helped to contextualise the motivations behind the reimagining of this story, exploring the glaring ommissions from Shelley's tale, however, I do think it ultimately ended up rehashing a majority of it. The story did not diverge from the original text until the last third of the book and this ultimately disengaged me. I will say, White does an excellent job of twisting Shelley's text to suit new agendas that were not previously considered and there is some value in that. Overall, I wasn't hugely entertained by the plot of the book as I really felt like I knew what was coming, but I am impressed by the literary merit of the text, albeit so inherently propped up by Shelley's original.

bookdeviant86's review against another edition

adventurous dark

3.0

smack_books's review against another edition

4.0

This was a really amazing spin on the original Frankenstein story. I think it does both the story and Mary Shelley justice. It was also very interesting to read. Elizabeth was a very complex and morally gray character which I loved. The author also did a good job at showing how Victor was a terrible person without having to explicitly explain it to her audience. One issue I did have though was it was implied in the book Victor slightly turned out the way he did because of Elizabeth, but I don’t think you can blame someone who as a child did everything she could as to not get kicked out.

Overall, though, this is one of my favorite retellings of a classic.

mingkle's review against another edition

I started reading this too close after reading Frankenstein the original and I’m finding it hard to believe that how the author depicts the characters are the same. Yes this is a retelling but I just am having a hard time. Maybe I’ll return to this someday. Let’s see.  

idratherliveinbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mccallistert61's review against another edition

4.0

Not what I expected. It started out a bit slow but then it got very interesting. It was a new take on a classic and it was well done.It wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be, there was romance and mystery that keeps you guessing till the end!