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A review by gaymoonreader
This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee
3.75
This book was absolutely fabulous. I was entranced with this story from the first page, and it was such a good retelling of Frankenstein. Having just finished Frankenstein, the story was very fresh in my mind. I loved trying to figure out what was going to happen when trying to parallel this story with the original work, and it was just a fun time reading this.
I really loved the characters. Oliver was a difficult character, but I still found him appealing. I loved how Mackenzi Lee really gave substance to his character with the plotline of him being resurrected. With the original work of Frankenstein, we just knew him as the monster. He had no name, he had no life prior to his creation, and he was more of a thing than a person. With Lee's reimagining of the original Frankenstein story, she gave us a person who is definitely more human than monster. Oliver had a life before everything happened. He was a person who was loved and who just enjoyed life. We really build on that over the course of the story and build on the relationships between him and his family and other characters. Oliver is so complex when comparing his life as Alisdair's creation to who he was before. He is just such an interesting character, and I loved learning more about him.
Alisdair was someone who we had to get to really know over the course of the entire book. We peel back all the layers of who he really is. We piece together the mystery surrounding how his brother really died, and it just made me want to keep reading, to figure it out. And we also need to figure out what went down between him and Mary, how she is connected to everything, and just the complexities of his character coupled with the complexities of who she really is because she put on an act for everyone, as to who she is.
I also really loved Clemence's character. We got some lesbian rep in this book, and it was really interesting how it was handled in this novel. While it wasn't a major element to the story, it is addressed, and I loved seeing that. I also just loved how kickass Clemence was. She was never afraid to speak her mind, and I just loved her character so much. She was easily one of my favorite characters.
I also really loved the fantasy and steampunk aspects to this story. While this is not my first steampunk novel that I've read, I did really enjoy it! I found it super interesting how Lee managed to weave all these fantasy elements into this retelling of Frankenstein, and it just made the book even better, in my opinion. I also loved how the actual book of Frankenstein was woven into this story. It isn't just quotes and nuances that are in the story. The actual book plays a major role in the plot of this story, and it was so interesting to read a retelling of Frankenstein with the actual book being in the story, and it just added something extra to the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the world, and the writing, and I could not be happier with this retelling. I highly recommend you all check this out, and I am so excited to read more from Mackenzi Lee in the future!
I really loved the characters. Oliver was a difficult character, but I still found him appealing. I loved how Mackenzi Lee really gave substance to his character with the plotline of him being resurrected. With the original work of Frankenstein, we just knew him as the monster. He had no name, he had no life prior to his creation, and he was more of a thing than a person. With Lee's reimagining of the original Frankenstein story, she gave us a person who is definitely more human than monster. Oliver had a life before everything happened. He was a person who was loved and who just enjoyed life. We really build on that over the course of the story and build on the relationships between him and his family and other characters. Oliver is so complex when comparing his life as Alisdair's creation to who he was before. He is just such an interesting character, and I loved learning more about him.
Alisdair was someone who we had to get to really know over the course of the entire book. We peel back all the layers of who he really is. We piece together the mystery surrounding how his brother really died, and it just made me want to keep reading, to figure it out. And we also need to figure out what went down between him and Mary, how she is connected to everything, and just the complexities of his character coupled with the complexities of who she really is because she put on an act for everyone, as to who she is.
I also really loved Clemence's character. We got some lesbian rep in this book, and it was really interesting how it was handled in this novel. While it wasn't a major element to the story, it is addressed, and I loved seeing that. I also just loved how kickass Clemence was. She was never afraid to speak her mind, and I just loved her character so much. She was easily one of my favorite characters.
I also really loved the fantasy and steampunk aspects to this story. While this is not my first steampunk novel that I've read, I did really enjoy it! I found it super interesting how Lee managed to weave all these fantasy elements into this retelling of Frankenstein, and it just made the book even better, in my opinion. I also loved how the actual book of Frankenstein was woven into this story. It isn't just quotes and nuances that are in the story. The actual book plays a major role in the plot of this story, and it was so interesting to read a retelling of Frankenstein with the actual book being in the story, and it just added something extra to the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the world, and the writing, and I could not be happier with this retelling. I highly recommend you all check this out, and I am so excited to read more from Mackenzi Lee in the future!