Rating: 1.5 stars

A strange Frankenstein retelling, that revolves around young love, grief and the madness the passing of a loved one can cause.

This book, although quick to read, was not a pleasant ride. There’s one main character whose pov we get to see the most and she was too repetitive. She kept going on about the same things and it got to a point where it was too much. As for important and meaningful scenes, unfortunately there weren’t enough. I like books to be balanced, and in this case, the story was so character driven that it made me feel as if nothing of substance was actually happening. I will admit though that there are a couple of pretty quotes that did feel almost powerful.

Amongst other flaws I found, there's a plot hole that the author tried to explain and/or justify, there are some grammatical errors (wrong verb tenses), too many (27) Frankenstein quotes and an epilogue that provided an unrealistic happy ending while also ruining a major part of the main romance presented in the story.

Overall, this wasn’t the kind of gloomy and twisted romance I was expecting. Religion, grief and certain characters' horrible decisions are what prevail in this story. As an adult who still very much enjoys reading young adult books, I have to admit this is very juvenile and it might not appeal readers outside of its intended audience.

Let's start with the bad and end with the good. I was confused as it went from multiple povs. Didn't get to see the characters grow much and that was disappointing. Now for the good. It was fast paced. The author took a spin on love never dies that was unique. The beginning made it exciting and worth it to hang on until the end.

I want to thank #Netgalley for letting me read an eArc of #AMadAwakening.

This book was great! I love different versions of Frankenstein which I suppose is odd because I don't actually care for the actual story.
Albert is such a sweet and charming character who happens to meet again a young woman he knew when he was a child. Mary is a very driven and science minded young woman who happens to fall for the preachers son Albert. Albert helps Mary through a hardship which cements their bond even more. However Mary's mind seems to be unraveling at the seams, taking her down a scientific path that is dark.
When tragedy strikes Mary and her sister Elizabeth once more Mary's mind is broken beyond repair, she chooses to bring back that which was lost. However her creation doesn't came back as she had thought but as something that doesn't recognize her not in the way she wants. So she must make a choice to try and do what is right. Unfortunately once a wrong choice is made sometimes correcting that choice still has consequences and Mary has no idea the kind that are in store for her.

This book was an interesting rendition of a Frankenstein tale. I think that it was hard pinpointing what time period the book was supposed to take place in. It did have a good representation of the balance between science and religion.

A Mad Awakening is a YA gothic Frankenstein retelling. This book surprised me. It was dark for a YA book (which I liked), was well written, had me hooked from the start, and the characters were amazing. I actually really like the original Frankenstein, so I thought this book was a refreshing take on a classic story but also unique.