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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fascinating premise, and a story that I got wholly caught up in. Like Frankenstein and countless other novels it poses questions about ethics and what we should accept in terms of advances in science and technology. At its heart was a strong female character, and its historical setting also formed a strong part of its appeal.
Our main character is Elizabeth Frankenstein, great-niece to Victor. She finds letters regarding Victor’s experiment and sets about trying to recreate what he achieved. She hopes to satisfy her scientific curiosity, but finds herself caught up in the machinations of her husband and a family acquaintance.
From start to finish this was engrossing. A quick read, though it tackles some important issues, and was hard to put down. Perhaps to be expected given the subject, but Elizabeth’s husband was a character I found very hard to empathise with. I couldn’t help but be pleased things ended as they did.
Our main character is Elizabeth Frankenstein, great-niece to Victor. She finds letters regarding Victor’s experiment and sets about trying to recreate what he achieved. She hopes to satisfy her scientific curiosity, but finds herself caught up in the machinations of her husband and a family acquaintance.
From start to finish this was engrossing. A quick read, though it tackles some important issues, and was hard to put down. Perhaps to be expected given the subject, but Elizabeth’s husband was a character I found very hard to empathise with. I couldn’t help but be pleased things ended as they did.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A couple of weeks ago I decided it was high time I read Frankenstein. I liked it! And so I read this afterward. And I liked this, too! I think it does help to have read Frankenstein beforehand, but I like that this book is not beholden to Frankenstein entirely. I found that it enriched my enjoyment of this book to have first read Frankenstein, but it's not necessary to the enjoyment of this book.
I really liked how this book handled the themes of motherhood, sexuality, and gender. It felt true to the time period in which it is set. Mary is pushing against the boundaries of gender equality as they existed in the Victorian era (however, sadly, we are still fighting a lot of these same struggles today), but she is doing so in a way that feels like how Victorian women would have to approach them.
I also did really like the relationship between Mary and Maisie and how that was handled. I am not one who likes to read sex scenes in books. I'm not a prude and I'm not opposed to it, when it's well written makes sense for the story, but I don't think it's always necessary. The author writes Mary and Maisie's budding friendship very well. It is a friendship that I absolutely believe will blossom into a more and more romantic and potentially sexual relationship in the future, but the important thing at the end of the day is how much they love each other, enjoy being together, and getting to know one another. They are absolutely falling in love, but there is no need for grand gestures here, not yet. Their feelings for each other are understood between them and those feelings are shown growing organically and tenderly and I really, really love that.
I really liked how this book handled the themes of motherhood, sexuality, and gender. It felt true to the time period in which it is set. Mary is pushing against the boundaries of gender equality as they existed in the Victorian era (however, sadly, we are still fighting a lot of these same struggles today), but she is doing so in a way that feels like how Victorian women would have to approach them.
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Gorgeous and haunting. Utterly wonderful and darkly gothic. Great take on the story of Frankenstein with a sweet sapphic edge. Historical fiction meets a gothic tale with a dash of feminism woven throughout
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I support women in stems rights and women in stems wrongs
Almost didn't carry on reading bc the start was a really slow burn and a bit too heavy on the sciency stuff for me, but so glad I continued. It gets going around 1/3rd of the way through and becomes more philosophical and gore driven rather than theoretical debating science which I know nothing about. I was more interested in the moral dilemmas of creating life and the relationships between characters which is why I vastly preferred the latter half and really enjoyed those ending chapters.
Almost didn't carry on reading bc the start was a really slow burn and a bit too heavy on the sciency stuff for me, but so glad I continued. It gets going around 1/3rd of the way through and becomes more philosophical and gore driven rather than theoretical debating science which I know nothing about. I was more interested in the moral dilemmas of creating life and the relationships between characters which is why I vastly preferred the latter half and really enjoyed those ending chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Would highly recommend the audiobook for this!
I really wanted to love this more. It had so many interesting aspects but just something about it was lacking for me or I was slightly bored in some places. It could have been both, I’m not totally sure.
However I found the most interesting part to be when some relationships were falling apart dramatically and others are being built in soft and cute ways.
And also when Mary is just being an angry baddie.
I really wanted to love this more. It had so many interesting aspects but just something about it was lacking for me or I was slightly bored in some places. It could have been both, I’m not totally sure.
However I found the most interesting part to be when some relationships were falling apart dramatically and others are being built in soft and cute ways.
And also when Mary is just being an angry baddie.