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hjswinford's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book surprised me! I think just because it's marketed as YA, I expected something a little more romanticized and shallower (not a dig, just a target-audience thing). But this was fabulous. It was, indeed, dark and emotional. I don't know what it was about Elizabeth, but she really got to me. I teared up multiple times throughout this book. Now I'm going to start a reread of Frankenstein.
ashley_eliza's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I have to say, my feelings on this book are a bit mixed. I really got into about the first 2/3rds of this book. I loved the extra dimension the author gave to Elizabeth, and I was struck by how well this narrative fit with the source material. That is, until the last third of the book. While the final third of the book took some interesting twists and turns, it somewhat pulled away my suspension of disbelief. Victor after the reveal sort of felt a bit cartoony as a villain? I’m not sure why, his dialogue just felt weird to me at times.
I really enjoyed Mary as a character, but I was not thrilled about the changes the author made to the monster. It felt odd that Adam was suddenly on Elizabeth’s side because he somehow had memories from the parts of him that came from Henry Clerval? I know that this whole story is fiction, but the fact that he retained memories from the previous life of parts of his body??? How??? That choice just didn’t sit right with me. Quite honestly, I was most disappointed in Adam’s role in the story. I was fully prepared for Adam to show up on the wedding night, prepared to kill Elizabeth, and for them to have some sort of dialogue. I had it in my head that Elizabeth would come to her realizations about being trapped, and in her despair, accept death when the monster came to kill her. I was ready for full-blown tragedy!!!! I came here for the gothic feel, not a happy ending. Not to mention that when Adam was fully involved in the story and had dialogue, I didn’t get the same sense of “tortured soul that is new to this life, but has been neglected, abandoned, and abused in the short time he’s been alive” as I do from the original source material. The character and choices of Frankenstein’s monster in the original story is one of my favorite parts, and that didn’t seem to translate well here.
What I liked the most was Elizabeth’s thought process, and how she objectively made many unkind and complicit choices, but her constant manipulation and self-preservation instincts were a big part of what made her interesting. Her growth over the course of the story was mostly satisfying, I just feel that she lost a bit of her wit during the ending moments. I felt this the most when suddenly she wasn’t worried about the monster anymore just because they were moving honeymoon locations. This monster has been following you and Victor for AWHILE now. You’re not worried he would find out where you’re headed by simply watching you leave? Obviously, that isn’t what happens, but I was still struck by the fact that she didn’t seem worried at all about that.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed reading this book, but given my final thoughts, I likely won’t revisit it.
I really enjoyed Mary as a character, but I was not thrilled about the changes the author made to the monster. It felt odd that Adam was suddenly on Elizabeth’s side because he somehow had memories from the parts of him that came from Henry Clerval? I know that this whole story is fiction, but the fact that he retained memories from the previous life of parts of his body??? How??? That choice just didn’t sit right with me. Quite honestly, I was most disappointed in Adam’s role in the story. I was fully prepared for Adam to show up on the wedding night, prepared to kill Elizabeth, and for them to have some sort of dialogue. I had it in my head that Elizabeth would come to her realizations about being trapped, and in her despair, accept death when the monster came to kill her. I was ready for full-blown tragedy!!!! I came here for the gothic feel, not a happy ending. Not to mention that when Adam was fully involved in the story and had dialogue, I didn’t get the same sense of “tortured soul that is new to this life, but has been neglected, abandoned, and abused in the short time he’s been alive” as I do from the original source material. The character and choices of Frankenstein’s monster in the original story is one of my favorite parts, and that didn’t seem to translate well here.
What I liked the most was Elizabeth’s thought process, and how she objectively made many unkind and complicit choices, but her constant manipulation and self-preservation instincts were a big part of what made her interesting. Her growth over the course of the story was mostly satisfying, I just feel that she lost a bit of her wit during the ending moments. I felt this the most when suddenly she wasn’t worried about the monster anymore just because they were moving honeymoon locations. This monster has been following you and Victor for AWHILE now. You’re not worried he would find out where you’re headed by simply watching you leave? Obviously, that isn’t what happens, but I was still struck by the fact that she didn’t seem worried at all about that.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed reading this book, but given my final thoughts, I likely won’t revisit it.
hoaxmon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
godofwar's review against another edition
3.0
definitely a well-crafted and thoughtful revision. I enjoyed the imagery, writing, and how easily Kiersten White emulated the horror of Frankenstein while intertwining her vision of Elizabeth's story into the narrative, but I just can't really accept the version of Victor created in this book, and that prevents me from giving it a higher rating.
shelbynik's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.25
shizbizz's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my god. What a twisted, sad and well written book. I loved listening to the thoughts of someone who has always been a side character in a well told story.
kthans3n's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
4.5
LOVE THE AUTHOR’S NOTE!! What happens when the life and fate of a teenage girl is at the hands of all the males around her? She becomes a people pleaser!!! Who is Elizabeth really? The exhaustion she admits at the thought of learning to become “Henry’s Elizabeth” is heartbreaking. What about being her OWN self?!
I liked the long road to the end. Her ‘descent’ haha. The loss along the way, shaping the “strange life” she finally sees forming and vows to enjoy.
I liked the long road to the end. Her ‘descent’ haha. The loss along the way, shaping the “strange life” she finally sees forming and vows to enjoy.
fictionvictim's review against another edition
0.25
I cannot begin to explain how much I hated this. I've never seen such a dense character before in my life!
I mean I probably had but I HAD to complete this for Orilium so I had to make it through. 10/10 don't recommend.
I mean I probably had but I HAD to complete this for Orilium so I had to make it through. 10/10 don't recommend.
ritajlwang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mysteriesofmar's review against another edition
3.0
a fantastic retelling of mary shelley's frankenstein that unfortunately fell short of personal expectations
as the title would suggest, i was expecting the descent of elizabeth frankenstein. from the start, she is postured as the orphan girl who would pursue any means if that meant surviving, even covering up dastardly deeds of victor frankenstein. victor is much more terrifying, unhinged and outright bad in this retelling, and so i had expected elizabeth to descend into madness with him -- again, as the title suggests. as much as i hate the harley quinn & joker dependency/toxic relationship trope, i think it would've been interesting in this context (what with the time period, elizabeth's characterization of a morally f***ed-up teen, etc.) but was not at all pursued.
in fact, i would say that elizabeth's character changes halfway through the book, and she is no longer as motivated by how badly she wants to "survive", rather she is motivated by "love" and "friendship". which, i guess ended up being an interesting take, but i can't say this enough: it's really not what i expected nor wanted from a book entitled "the dark descent of elizabeth frankenstein"
so while this isn't a bad book by any means and i was entertained for most of it (there were some third act pacing and plot issues that i wasn't a big fan of), the execution did not live up to the promise of the title nor the synopsis alone
as the title would suggest, i was expecting the descent of elizabeth frankenstein. from the start, she is postured as the orphan girl who would pursue any means if that meant surviving, even covering up dastardly deeds of victor frankenstein. victor is much more terrifying, unhinged and outright bad in this retelling, and so i had expected elizabeth to descend into madness with him -- again, as the title suggests. as much as i hate the harley quinn & joker dependency/toxic relationship trope, i think it would've been interesting in this context (what with the time period, elizabeth's characterization of a morally f***ed-up teen, etc.) but was not at all pursued.
in fact, i would say that elizabeth's character changes halfway through the book, and she is no longer as motivated by how badly she wants to "survive", rather she is motivated by "love" and "friendship". which, i guess ended up being an interesting take, but i can't say this enough: it's really not what i expected nor wanted from a book entitled "the dark descent of elizabeth frankenstein"
so while this isn't a bad book by any means and i was entertained for most of it (there were some third act pacing and plot issues that i wasn't a big fan of), the execution did not live up to the promise of the title nor the synopsis alone