TITLE: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
AUTHOR: Kiersten White
RELEASED: September 17, 2018
PUBLISHER: Pisces Books
FORMAT: Paperback
GENRE: YA Historical fiction, horror
GOODREADS RATING: 3.96
TRIGGERS: Murder of animal, physical abuse, death of loved one, death of child
REPS:
SYNOPSIS
Elizabeth Lavenza hasn’t had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her “caregiver,” and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything–except a friend.
Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable–and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.
But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth’s survival depends on managing Victor’s dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.
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I had to read some monstrous reads during March, so I decided to pick up this novel by Kiersten White. I was curious to see whether I’d like it or not.. Especially since my experience with her Paranormalcy-trilogy wasn’t.. all that great, to be fair. So, let’s see how I felt about The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein!
Does it have to be said? Yes. I absolutely loved the writing in this book – especially compared to Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy-trilogy, which I mentioned in my intro. I remember having quite some issues with those books and feared The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein would be the last book of White I’d ever attempt but luckily.. That’s not the case! This book read like a train, was dark in a way I expected and dreaded at the same time and.. surprisingly, pulled me in.
Why surprisingly? Because I honestly couldn’t make up my mind about the book during the first hundred pages. You’re thrown into the story and start with way more questions than I usually like. You know Elizabeth is looking for Victor, you know Henry sent her a letter months earlier which she’s angry about and you know Justine is traveling with her, believing they’ll be meeting up with both Henry and Victor. That’s it. You don’t know what happened, what was in Henry’s letter and why Henry definitely won’t be at their destination.
I have to say I didn’t really like all the questions at first, mostly because I simply didn’t know where the story was headed because of it. I felt like I was reading for the sake of reading. Once that stopped, I really enjoyed the story though!
When it comes to the characters.. They all have issues? And not the small kind either. But it did make for a pretty interesting cast – although it definitely had its disadvantages as well.. Note that I mean actual mental issues and not in the sense of them being problematic characters or anything.
I sought to puncture Heaven and instead discovered Hell.
One thing that stuck with me while reading is how.. very focused Elizabeth is throughout the story. Her sole purpose seems to be Victor and his health, his studies, his anything. Although the reason why makes somewhat sense, I also felt it caused her character to feel somewhat flat. Even more so since she often gave the impression of using everybody else in her life.
As for the ending.. I thought it very weird, didn’t like it. Why? I truly believe the ending doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Nor does it fit with everything that happened, or with the thoughts our main character had. It simply.. doesn’t fit.
Geez.. One one hand, I’m so happy this book was tons better than the Paranormalcy-trilogy but on the other hand.. It did have some elements I had issues with.. So now the question remains.. Would I or would I not use one of my rare “free buys” to get my hands on a copy of Slayer? Time will tell!
Have you read anything by Kiersten White? What did you think?
Anyone read Slayer and can tell me whether or not it’s worth getting a copy?
What’s the last horror / horror-ish read you picked up? Did you like it?
Well, good for you giving her another chance! If I had read a whole trilogy by someone and hadn’t liked it, I probably would have given up! Obviously, that wouldn’t have been a good idea since you liked it so much. It really does sound interesting!
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Right? I’m keeping in mind that authors as well learn throughout their career. If the writing style’s an issue, it might be better in their next books. Or it stays the same and I end up ignoring all their work, haha. Worked out this time though!
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I found Slayer pretty good, would recommend it, especially if you were a Buffy fan back in the day. I liked it much more than Paranormalcy & And I Darken, if that’s anything to go by. There’s a review up on my blog should you want more info 😊
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I’ve heard such mixed things on this one – I own it but I haven’t picked it up yet. It sounds like something I would enjoy but I have a bit of a hit or miss relationship with her writing as well. I did read an arc of Slayer and enjoyed it. It wasn’t groundbreaking or anything and honestly probably a lot of it was that I was just so excited to be back in the Buffyverse again. I know that didn’t help at all LOL I would def check it out and see what you think.
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I’m hoping to read this book soon, and it’s a shame that White didn’t try to flesh Elizabeth out more as a character. I feel like she was super flat in Frankenstein, so this would have been a great opportunity to make her more interesting. Good to know that you liked it more than you thought you would!
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