Initially, I was on board with this version of the Frankenstein story. It's a unique approach. Usually, retellings either modernize the story (Teen Frankenstein) or take us through the depths of Victor's thoughts and motivations, making him a more sympathetic character (This Dark Endeavor). It was nice, then, to get a new perspective. It's a darker exploration, to be certain. White's version makes Victor something of a sociopath, a budding serial killer. It's Elizabeth's motivations and desperation that make it compelling. Which is why I feel like it starts to fall apart around the mid point. At this point Elizabeth's position is more secure. Yes, her relative comfort allows her to view Victor's actions more objectively and thus brings us to the final confrontations. But it also allows the plot to devolve from tight psychological exploration to more sensational violence and degradation. Had it kept the interest up through the whole length I'd give it my whole-hearted endorsement. Instead, I suggest going in with managed expectations.

I didn't get this read when I wanted to, too many blog tour review books to get done. I got this from ALA last summer, and it was one of my unicorn ARCs. I loved The Conqueror's Saga by this author, her retelling of Vlad the Impaler, and so I had high hopes for this retelling of the Frankenstein story. I wasn't disappointed. Once I got the chance to pick it up, I was hooked, and loved trying to fit what I remembered of the original story in with how the author was retelling it. It was a great account at looking how Victor wasn't really just a good guy gone bad, how he was a bad guy in this one. On a side note, I loved that one of the character's last names was my mother's maiden name, even if it is probably more common in Europe. Great retelling, and I'm reading another good one by the author right now, Slayer, and enjoying it as well.

From the opening line to the author's note I couldn't have loved it more. It is so carefully and lovingly crafted. A true testament to everything I love to think about and talk about when I think and talk about Frankenstein. It was those feelings and ideas made flesh. Thank you Kiersten White. THANK YOU.

I love Mary Shelley. I love the Romantics. I love the Romantic's use of the sublime in literature. I loved this book.

I wasn't sure if I would like it because Kiersten White is pretty hit or miss with me (mostly miss) and I was skeptical but it is PERFECT. Reading the story from Elizabeth's POV is, frankly, amazing. It doesn't subtract from the original and it isn't saccharine or offensive to the original. I'm not sure how to phrase that. A lot of retellings of famous books edge a too safe line sort of? Or they go waaaaaay overboard. This is a really, really good homage with just enough alteration in POV to be believable but still revelationary. Revelationary is apparently not a word, but I don't care.

This book delves into the background of the character known as Doctor Frankenstein. He was a pretty scary child, and in a time when very little mental help was available, his parents took in the street urchin Elizabeth Lavenzia, in the hope that she would be his friend, and help him grow into a man his father would we proud of and love. Elizabeth, is a girl who was told she was once nobel, but doesn’t really believe it because all she remembers is life with her keepers mean and pinching children. She knows if she can not be what the Marqueese and her family need, she will be on the street with no food, water, or place to sleep. It’s a challenging proposition for a young child to take on. But she does an admirable job. And 10 years later Victor is missing, Elizabeth is in his home with his younger brothers, the Nanny Justine, and a father figure that means nothing to her, except the possibility of being homeless.

In her time at the Frankenstein household, Elizabeth has learned to be the soothing presence that Victor not only needs but wants. How ever it is always in the back of her mind, that if she is not useful they will get rid of her. She was raised as a wealthy companion, not as a made, not as a nanny, but not as a lady propper either. If she can not settle things, and become a permanent Frankenstein, she may once again go back to an uncomfortable life. You see, Victor is missing. He has not written in years!. She sent their best friend Henry to find him and make him write, but all she got was a letter from Henry saying basicly Victor sucks and hes going on an adventure. So she does the only thing she can think of, she convinces Justine to help her find victor and henry and drag them back home for marriage. The adventure continues from there.

This dark adventure is LONG!!!! It just drones on, and on, and on. It’s a character study, and I don't like any of the the characters. Justine and Henry serve as the “normal” or “well adjusted” characters who can laugh and play, and find fun and happiness anywhere. Elizabeth is a user. She knows she's a user. She will do anything to keep Victor, but she does it for comfort, not for love. I give her credit for being adventurous, and willing to do what she needs to do, but she is also an airhead, ignoring things that she knows are wrong, because she doesn’t want to upset the status quo.

Victor is an abuser. He is possessive and dominating. He is a characterture of a man with toxic masculinity. He must be the protector and the provider. He must keep things from his little woman. He must save humanity so that he is never parted from his possession, that is exactly how he sees Elizabeth. A possession. Or a puppet to do his bidding.
This story is at once a Florence Nightingale syndrome where the patient can not be without his nurse, and also Stockholm syndrome where the captive, is drawn to stay with a protect her captor. And in this case the captor is not just Victor, but also his father.

I said this book was long, and it certainly felt that way. Except for the ending. I saw the main twists coming miles away. But everything wrapped up so quick. I can't say why without giving away the ending, but it was just knock knock, whos there, end. Ughhhhh. You made me read all that character development for that!!! Yeah, to me the ending was not worth the travel to get there.

The idea of the story, overall I like. The original Frankenstein tale celebrates its 200th birthday this year, and the author wanted to look at things from a woman’s point of view. How would the story change if the original book had a strong female character. However, to this reader, the strong female character is NOT Elizabeth. It’s not the lady who hid from the truth, and acted as a possession, but rather the supporting characters in Justine, and Mary. Mary is the main strength in this book. That is the strong woman, not Elizabeth. Adam is a strong character, and the type of man this world needs more of, instead of men like Victor. Want to know who these characters are? Read the book.

This book was a let down for me. I kept reading hoping for so e cation, a glimpse of the Mary Shelley classic that kindled my obsession with science fiction as a high school student. This retelling from Victor Frankenstein’s foster sister/ wife’s (Emily) point of view fell short. For the first 65% of the book, it was setting up the scene and developing characters which was entirely too much time to spend on that. We are finally introduced to “the monster” about 60% into the book and it becomes a bit more interesting it’s deceat and murders. White could have done so much more to engage the reader from the beginning. Overall, this was a very slow moving book with only a touch of action/ excitement in the last fourth of the book. It was a great premise, executed poorly.

I think The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein was my most anticipated book of the year, when it comes to ya titles.
I do have to admit that I lack when it comes to that genre this year. I feel like so many books came out and after my blogging/reviewing slump that started last year and lasted until August this year, all I try to do is catch up, by trying to see/read what was popular and what still have to come out, I feel kinda lost. The struggle is real!

Reading this novel was a relaxing pleasure for me. This time I didn’t go blind into the book (I know, shocking!) and I liked it that way.
I have already watched/read other reviews so I kinda knew what to expect, but that didn’t ruin my reading experience. If anything, it made it even better.
Why?
Because I already expected a slow plot developing so it didn’t bother me.

The other reason why I wasn’t bored by the slow plot is that I knew this is a retelling of a classic, and most classics that I’ve read were pretty slow when it comes to plot developing and pace.

Character wise, this book was excellent.
Elizabeth was an amazing protagonist and I enjoyed reading her POV. I loved how everything she did was based on her purpose to survive in the best conditions possible.
I also liked side characters, but also Victor, who was likeable and mysterious.

The whole time I was reading I felt like the author was hiding something from readers, something important.
I didn’t understand why Elizabeth and Victor were connected on such a strong level, and I loved the feeling of the hidden mystery, of the atmosphere it created.

The writing style was great. This book reminded me how much I loved White’s writing in Paranormalcy.

Also, I chose the perfect time to read this book. Now when everything is in Halloween decorations and spooky books/movies are desirable, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein came as the best option.

I would recommend this novel to lovers of retellings, spooky books and young adult genre.

I liked the premise and beginnings of this book but for whatever reason it went very slowly for me; I wasn't able to finish before it was archived. The writing style was lovely and the characters were interesting -- I didn't get far enough to actually meet Henry, but I wanted to -- but I could never get into it. I would recommend for fans of Ruta Septys and "Anna Dressed In Blood".

Perhaps I'm expected to be more familiar with Frankenstein to enjoy this, but I had hoped that I could enjoy this without rereading the original. I definitely ended up confused instead. As such, it's hard to rate this.

Elizabeth is an orphan girl just trying to find some security. When she is taken in by the Frankenstein family as a companion for Victor, she does everything she can possibly do to ingratiate herself into their lives, even to the point of compromising what she really believes. When she realizes she has enabled Victor to take his experiments too far, she must try to pull him back from the edge. This is definitely going into my Twisted Classics book talks!. It is refreshingly different to see a dark classic written by a woman, told from a woman's point of view.

Ursprünglich veröffentlicht auf Books on Fire
https://www.booksonfire.de/2018/10/rezi-elizabeth-frankenstein.html

Zitat
"Justine did not have to pretend, as she always seemed genuinely unaware of the effect we had on men. I, however, was perfectly aware of my beauty. I considered it a skill, alongside speaking French, English, Italian, and German. It was a language of its own, in a way; one that translated well in different circumstances." - Kapitel 3 "In wandering mazes lost".

Meine Meinung
Passend zur dunklen Jahreszeit und Halloween gibt es ein neues Buch von Kiersten White. Momentan gibt es ja wieder einen kleinen Hype um die Schrifstellerin Mary Shelley, die Erfindern von Frankenstein. Erst kürzlich erschien auf neuer Film über sie und auch Kiersten White huldigt ihr mit einer Neuinterpretation der berühmten Geschichte.

Die Protagonistin ist Elizabeth Lavenza. Als Waisenkind wurde sie an die Frankensteins gegeben als angebliche österreichische Adelige. Seit ihrer Kindheit leidet Elizabeth unter einer schrecklichen Verlustangst, was man das ganze Buch über spürt. Die Frankensteins sind ihre Chance auf ein besseres Leben und sie tut alles um ihnen zu gefallen.

Wer bei einem Buch mit dem übersetzten Titel "Der dunkle Abstieg der Elizabeth Frankenstein" gesunde Beziehungsmuster erwartet hat, der wird enttäuscht sein. Elizabeths und Victors Beziehung zueinander basiert hauptsächlich auf gegenseitiger Abhängigkeit. Sie ist sein Engel in der Finsternis und er ist ihre Rettung aus dem Waisenhaus und vor dem Nichts. Wer in Wirklichkeit in so einer Beziehung ist, sollte versuchen da so schnell wie möglich herauszukommen. In der Fiktion jedoch ist es interessant zu beobachten, wie Elizabeth alles für Victor tut und er für sie. Es gibt keine Grenzen, ungeachtet, ob es jemand anderem schadet oder nicht. Die Dynamik der Beziehung fesselte mich so stark an das Buch, wie die Charaktere aneinander sich ketteten.

Des Weiteren empfand ich es als erfrischend, dass Elizabeth nicht das gute, brave Mädchen ist, welches alles und jeden liebt. Nein, sie ist eine junge Frau, die Sicherheit sucht und am liebsten aus ihrer Zeit herausbrechen würde. Zugleich gefällt mir aber auch die Darstellung Victors. Er ist nicht einfach nur wahnsinnig, sondern eigentlich ein verkapptes Genies ohne Moralempfinden, dass sich an ein Bild von Elizabeth festklammert, welches nicht real ist.

Bei einem Titel wie diesen erwartet man brutale Szenen und blutigen Horror. Ja, es gibt sie durchaus diese Szenen, doch der Reiz der Geschichte liegt viel mehr auf psychologischer Basis. Es ist manchmal wie ein Autounfall. Man will nicht lesen, wie sie weiterhinein in die Finsternis gleiten, und doch schaut man hin und muss es geschehen lassen.

Doch ich habe auch etwas zu kritisieren: Der Schluss. Während man mehr und mehr Einblick in Elizabeths und Victors psychologische Gedenkmuster und Verhaltensmuster bekommt, lässt der Höhepunkt ziemlich lange auf sich warten. Auch dann wirkt alles ein wenig gehetzt, als hätte die Autorin fertig werden müssen. Ich hätte mir sogar gewünscht, dass nach der großen Enthüllung ein Cut käme und man diese letzten Kapitel eher zu einem zweiten Buch ausgebaut hätte. Normalerweise bin ich kein Freund des unnötigen zweiten Bandes beziehungsweise des Herauszögerns der Handlung, so dass es eine Dilogie wird, aber hier wäre das der Geschichte und den Nebencharakteren tatsächlich zuträglich gewesen.

Der Schreibstil von Kiersten White ist wundervoll. Flüssig und ohne unnötigen Firlefanz. Von der ersten Sekunde an fühlte ich mich als würde ich die Geschichte durch Elizabeths Augen erleben. Ich fieberte jede Sekunde mit und obwohl ich wusste, dass was sie tat, falsch war, hätte ich in ihrer Situation wohl genauso gehandelt. Kiersten White versteht es einen die Lebenswirklichkeit ihrer Charaktere vor Augen zu führen und förmlich zu fühlen.

Der Alterskategorisierung von ab 12 Jahren würde ich allerdings nicht zustimmen, da in meinen Augen, man mit 12 noch nicht die Dimensionen, die die Geschichte umspannt, richtig einschätzen kann. Meine Empfehlung ist daher eher ab 15/16.

Fazit
"The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein" ist ein Jugendbuch, dessen Spannung vor allem von zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen und der Psychologie der Charaktere geprägt ist. Letzteres übt eine unheimliche Anziehungskraft auf. Doch leider wird dieses geniale Geschichte durch ein überstürztes Ende etwas an ihrer Glanzkraft geraubt. Dennoch eine klare Leseempfehlung von mir!

Thoughtful retelling of Frankenstein from the perspective of a female companion to Victor. Interesting take on the backstory. Definitely a page-turner! Characters are well developed with several surprises thrown in for good measure!

I liked this book because I like the original Frankenstein and am always interested in alternate views or retellings. However, I don't know that this book would have a wide appeal.

Frankenstein is is among my top 5 favorite books of all times so I thought the synopsis of this book sounded really interesting. We get to see a different point of view of the book through Elizabeth's eye. The first 2 thirds of the book were pretty good. I liked our main character, even all her justifiable character flaws. She is a product of her time but I thought she was strong and singular in her ambitions. The final third of the book was action packed and more of the thriller I was looking for. I wish we spent more time focusing on that. I did like the ending and felt like I would have made similar decisions to Elizabeth. Overall, a great October read.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure if it is because the book I happened to read before this was the original Frankenstein, or if it was some other reason, but I actually didn’t finish The Dark Decent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.

I really wanted to love this book. I loved And I Darken, but this fell short for me.

At the beginning I loved how clever Elizabeth was, how ever move she made was calculated and clever. The constant flashbacks were also a hit for me, they followed a plot line that hasn’t been told before and held a great mix of creepiness and romance in them.

So what happened? Somewhere along the line the book became predictable to me. That might seem like a weird thing to say because, duh: it’s a retelling, it’s a story we all know.

But that wasn’t it, I didn’t mind knowing what was going to happen at the beginning because White took us there in unique and devious ways. But towards the beginning of the end, Elizabeth became a bit too clever for me, as if she had read Frankenstein before living it.

Some things she deciphered seemed like impossibilities to me. Her intuition was a bit too spot on. While I really do want to know how White addresses the fateful wedding night, I will most likely just skip ahead to find out. In the beginning of the novel, the journey to well known plot markers was unique and compelling, but by the end it felt as if the journey didn’t matter as much.

Deliciously dark, gruesome, and a perfect Halloween read for those who are not faint of heart.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein from the point of view of Elizabeth, an orphan who was saved from cruel circumstances and brought into the wealthy Frankenstein's home to be a companion to young Victor. Terrified of being returned to the degradation and beating she suffered in her previous life, Elizabeth forms herself into the perfect ward and the perfect companion, accompanying Victor on his morbid pursuits and covering for him during his more violent escapades. After not having heard from him for months after he heads to university, Elizabeth sets out to find him and discovers without any mitigating oversight, Victor has become very dark indeed.

The mysteries surrounding Victor's activities, and how he grew into such a person, keep the pages turning even if readers have knowledge of the original story (also, enough is explained here for those who haven't read Frankenstein to not be lost). Additionally, Elizabeth's strong, yet damaged, character is a compelling narrator for the events, her insights and experiences adding real information about the lack of choices and options women had during her time. As a stand-alone, the story wraps up with a satisfying conclusion, though not without many mangled bodies along the way.

I heard wonderful things about The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. Plus I loved Kiersten White's And I Darken. Plus, I'm an English major and generally adore adaptations/gender-bent/parodies of canon literature. But I just could not swallow finishing this one. It moves mind-numbingly slow, Elizabeth is a terrible protagonist for this girl who grew up worshipping Tamora Pierce's #girlpower, and the flashbacks were more interesting than the present-day. I was, truly, expecting more, which is why I kept with it so far (usually I stop at page 50 or 10% if I don't like a book).

Great story of elizabeth and her friend mary. There was a slight romance in the book. I really enjoyed Henry and what Elizabeth did to help stop the madness or not. She slowly found out her life toward the end with her riches. Overall a great story and so glad that I read it.

Thank you Penguin Random House International and Delacorte Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: This book contains graphic scenes such as abuse, violence and gore.

Timely it’s Halloween season, it’s the perfect time I step away from contemporary romance and pick spooky novels. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is a YA Gothic Horror novel and retelling of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I haven’t read its original tale but when I finished this book, it encourages me to read it someday.

Elizabeth Lavenza is an orphaned girl adopted by the Frankenstein family. She meets their eldest son, Victor Frankenstein whose personality is peculiar. He’s got bad temper and has violent tendencies but only Elizabeth can pacify him. The strong and unbreakable friendship secures Elizabeth a permanent home with luxuries from their family. She feels at ease and vows to never return in the awful orphanage.

Victor went away for school but gone missing later on as he stopped sending letters. It worried Elizabeth so she travels to Ingolstadt with Justine, the Frankenstein family’s governess, to search for him. She never thought his fascination on dark stuff will drive him to madness and create something that’s beyond her control.

This is officially my first Kiersten White novel. Her books were on my radar way back my teenage years but I never had a chance to read them.I’m familiar with her writing style because I’ve read her short story (which is one of my top favorites!) in My True Love Gave to Me. In this book, she wrote a quality retelling as she captured every moment vividly. I love it’s character driven, mysteriously dark and eerie. The plot twists and the gore are remarkable.

I’m captivated with Elizabeth’s character. She’s devious, intelligent, loyal and unpredictable. She’ll do everything for Victor even if it’s the most ridiculous thing and whatever she wants, she gets. She’s an impressive heroine and thru her perspective, it gives the story more depth. Victor is an insane and twisted hero. Quite sinister and his experiments are creepy as hell. How did Elizabeth tolerated this man was beyond words. They’re one crazy couple.

The flaw of this book was its gradual pacing but it’s still worth reading. Overall, if you love YA Gothic Horror novels and whether you’ve read or haven’t read Frankenstein, I recommend it.

"I had accused Victor of creating a monster, but I had done the same."

I have now come to the understanding that Kiersten is perfect at creating the most terrible, heart-wrenching, gruesome of stories that you just can't look away from. Kind of like a car wreck. You know what the end result will be, but you just keep reading...

I, like so many, was forced for school to endure reading Frankenstein which was a very dark, yet compelling book (I hate to admit this but I was not a big fan of the book- possibly due to the fact I never like being told what to read, I must always pick!). Well, this retelling (sort of) of Frankenstein was wonderful! Still dark, still gruesome, but way more complicated and layered with a new perspective that was completely silent before. I think that Kiersten actually made me appreciate the original Frankenstein more after reading this alternate view. She completely did justice to the original story while making choices that made so much sense!

I loved how Kiersten can create important, detailed characters that did not exist in the original novel but they were so necessary to the end conclusion and they feel like the were always there. Elizabeth who seemed to be just a minor blurb became the driving force for this story, just as complicated and twisty a personality as I could have hoped. This is very much so a female character driven book (go girl power- even in a time where women were property and not people), placing focus on Elizabeth, and even Justine and Mary, more than anyone else.

Elizabeth is the ultimate survivor, willing to do whatever she needs to save and protect herself and even at times her actions are cringe-worthy, I absolutely understood her whys. She is fully aware that she is a liar, a manipulator, but she does what she needs and moves on and I respected her for that. She is not a great person but I rooted for her and was so wrapped up in her painful journey.

This was a fabulous Gothic horror that can stand on it's own but I highly recommend you read the original either before or after, both would work well. I like that the message still stays the same- who is really the monster, and what makes a monster? Was Victor just an overly ambitious student or a true psychopath? Pick this up and expect to be whisked away to the darkness inside man- or woman.

And ps, make sure you read the author's note at the end because it added new dimension to the whys of the book as well as really put to words everything I was feeling while I read the story. Well done Kiersten.

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