"That was the moment I fell in love with the past, I think. I placed my hand upon the warm grass, thinking of the bones of creatures far below, of spread wings turned to stone."

If you enjoyed reading Frankenstein please read this book! It's been awhile since I've read such a exquisitely crafted story!

Frankenstein revisited, indeed. With all that it entails: monsters (literal and proverbial), drama, science, Scottish scenery and weather aaaaand, well, it has dinosaurs. I know, I know!
It is a very neat revisit and departure at the same time from the original Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story. It is also a strong tribute to empowered women and an encouraging read for those who aspire to be such. The author’s research of women in science at the time and palaeontology is refreshing and adds truly interesting details to the story.
The novel has strong and some even wilful characters, excellent pacing and the back story - it is a pleasure to read.
P.S. This book somewhat reminded me of Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

4+
I REALLY liked this book, and because of that, I'm struggling to write an even half way decent review.
Especially one with no spoilers.
It takes the story of Frankenstein, and just builds on it.
In an excellent way.
It has a strong central female character that you can really get behind, and understand every emotion she's going through.
It has the crystal palace dinosaurs, which I love.
Pacing, story, characters.
All pretty spot on.

This was such and interesting and original take on the Frankenstein franchise and I really enjoyed it, The story is told through the eyes of Mary Frankenstein who is the great niece of Victor that we all know and despise from Frankenstein.
The story showcases how Mary wants to be involved with science and more specifically paeleontology but with it still being a mans world she is not exactly welcomed with open arms - until she finds about her great uncles monster and decides to try and carry on where he left off to become a name and fcae in the manly world of science.
I loved it honestly and the author did such a good job of carrying on where Shelley left off. A great read taht I would recommend to everyone.

"The difference between a proper young lady and a beastly little thing was that ladies were never angry; they took their moods and wove them into lace, stuffed them into pillows. They learned to hold their tongue. But I have always been a beastly little thing at heart, it seems,"

This is an eARC that I was able to read in exchange for my honest thoughts and review, with thanks to Random House Transworld Publishing and NetGalley.

I. Loved. This.

Our Hideous Progeny follows Mary; a young woman with many surnames. Firstly Brown, secondly Sutherland, and thirdly (and most importantly), Frankenstein. The niece of Victor Frankenstein, she happens across a bundle of letters and notes left amongst the belongings of her late father; letters that speak of what happened to Victor, and what miraculously terrifying thing he was able to do, so many years before.

This book is filled with science - which may sound boring, at first mention, but proves itself to be anything but. Long words and terms may sometimes go over my head, but the passion and intelligence of Mary, a woman who yearns for far more than she is able to have as a woman in Victorian society, is infectious. Since she was a child, she found herself fascinated with geology, paleontology and fossils. Professors and scholars and scientific societies are abound in this tale, with the discovery and vast interest in dinosaurs at the centre of it all.

Beautifully written, the author has managed to do the impossible - taking a classic, well-read and well-loved story of generations, and adding to it in the best way. This is a standalone, and you don't have to have read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in order to understand it (aside from knowing the basics of the original story, which most do); though I'd recommend it, of course.

There are villains in this story, but no heroes; heroines instead take their place, in the form of Mary, and her poorly, gentle sister-in-law Maisie. This book takes a look at the society and politics of the time; of the disparities between class, gender and race, and refuses to make apologies for the way things once were; instead giving us characters who question and rebel at the time, though who understand the limits of such action.

The tender relationship between Mary and Maisie is a joy to behold; the two of them growing because of each other, and able to shed the dead weight in their lives. Where Mary is obsessed with bringing her uncle's work to life, Maisie is the foil who sees through the glitter and the gold, into the almost barbaric truth of it. But, in the end, both of them see the beauty in creating a life; in giving something a life that it might not have had, even for a small amount of time.

Beautiful, thoughtful, and a truly enjoyable read!

C. E. McGill’s debut novel’s a wonderfully creative spin-off from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Inventive, feminist, queer, deliciously subversive, and tinged with a hint of gothic, it’s set in England in the 1850s. The story’s narrated by Mary Frankenstein, great-niece of the infamous Victor Frankenstein. Mary is a would-be palaeontologist, but the fact that she’s a woman coupled with a lack of formal education means her work’s been overshadowed by her talented but feckless husband Henry. Then Mary finds evidence of her long-lost great-uncle’s research and the history of his strange creation, and wonders if she might just make her name by recreating his experiment.

McGill’s narrative features an intricate reworking of Shelley’s themes around science and ethics, reproduction, mortality, motherhood and loss. But McGill builds on these for a moving, intelligent exploration of prejudice, gender and queer identity. I thought this was incredibly compelling, accessible but well-researched, with echoes of Sarah Waters, Sarah Moss and The Essex Serpent - although I’m lukewarm about Moss and not so keen on Perry either but loved this. Fluid, thoughtful, and exceptionally entertaining.