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whatjackiereads 's review for:
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
by Kiersten White
2.5/5 stars
"I had accused Victor of creating a monster, but I had done the same."
A review very fitting of this great and (un)holy day, HALLOWEEN!
In this retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's lover/wife, Elizabeth, is at the center of the story. The tale is organized around Elizabeth's relationship with Victor and all she does to help and protect him while he, mostly unknown to her, begins creating the monsters we know him for. Eventually, however, Elizabeth's imagined future with Victor crumbles as she discovers more and more about what he's really been doing.
The first half of this book was so difficult to keep myself interested in. It dragged and dragged so much that I considered not continuing, which is rare for me. It wasn't that scary or dark, the characters felt flat, and it was basically just a girl searching desperately for a man, which is certainly not my cup of tea.
The last 100 pages or so redeemed the book for me, though, and I am glad that I kept reading. The story focused less and less on Elizabeth's obsession with and devotion to her Victor, and she finally started making her own decisions and acting on her own desires. While that did provide for a much better read than I thought this would be at the beginning, it still took two thirds of the book to get to this point. Finally, there were independent female characters, monsters, and crimes committed in the dark. But at what cost?
So much of this felt like a commissioned book with a bunch of filler to make it longer, which is sad and probably not the case, but I couldn't get that thought out of my head as I read. Yes, it improved near the end and I like how everything was resolved, but it took far too long to get there. This was disappointing, but not a total loss. Those more familiar with the source material might enjoy this more than me, but it almost wasn't worth the read.
"I had accused Victor of creating a monster, but I had done the same."
A review very fitting of this great and (un)holy day, HALLOWEEN!
In this retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's lover/wife, Elizabeth, is at the center of the story. The tale is organized around Elizabeth's relationship with Victor and all she does to help and protect him while he, mostly unknown to her, begins creating the monsters we know him for. Eventually, however, Elizabeth's imagined future with Victor crumbles as she discovers more and more about what he's really been doing.
The first half of this book was so difficult to keep myself interested in. It dragged and dragged so much that I considered not continuing, which is rare for me. It wasn't that scary or dark, the characters felt flat, and it was basically just a girl searching desperately for a man, which is certainly not my cup of tea.
The last 100 pages or so redeemed the book for me, though, and I am glad that I kept reading. The story focused less and less on Elizabeth's obsession with and devotion to her Victor, and she finally started making her own decisions and acting on her own desires. While that did provide for a much better read than I thought this would be at the beginning, it still took two thirds of the book to get to this point. Finally, there were independent female characters, monsters, and crimes committed in the dark. But at what cost?
So much of this felt like a commissioned book with a bunch of filler to make it longer, which is sad and probably not the case, but I couldn't get that thought out of my head as I read. Yes, it improved near the end and I like how everything was resolved, but it took far too long to get there. This was disappointing, but not a total loss. Those more familiar with the source material might enjoy this more than me, but it almost wasn't worth the read.