Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this title for review.

It had been a very long time since I had read Stange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but a great deal of the story came back right away in this remix. That is because Kalynn Bayron recreates the style of a gothic and moody Victorian novel perfectly and a great what if premise set in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I would definitely recommend.

My Dear Henry is the newest book in a series of queer classic retellings. As someone who enjoyed the original version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I was really excited to see what My Dear Henry would do with the story and how it would evolve. Overall, I really liked this (especially the ending!!), and I’m super excited to have read it.

Because I received an audio ARC of this one, I want to first talk about the narrator and the audiobook itself. Clifford Samuel does an excellent job of voicing Gabriel and capturing his inner thoughts, while still keeping the other characters distinct enough for us to follow along. His narration style also fits well with the original story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, too, which I thought was a nice touch to a retelling. If you’re an audiobook reader, I definitely recommend listening to this one!

When reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I always kind of thought that Jekyll might be gay, and when I saw this would be a retelling with a romance between Mr. Utterson (as a teen named Gabriel) and Jekyll (as a teen named Henry born to a Dr. Jekyll), I was so curious to see how that dynamic would unfold. The romance between Gabriel and Henry was an integral part of the book, so I was a little disappointed when the founding of their relationship was mostly glossed over until it was an already established thing. Because of this, I found it a little difficult to be invested in their lives at first.

Thankfully, though, Bayron does an excellent job of showcasing Gabriel’s longing for Henry and how much he means to him. The longer the story continues, the more I found myself completely invested in how their relationship and the turmoil surrounding it would conclude. I feel Gabriel’s hurt as Henry shuts him out, and I’m just as determined to figure out why as much as Gabriel is. The way his emotions are encapsulated in the page feels like a hurricane brewing. In the beginning, I’m unaware of how immense it all is, until suddenly it hits me, and I’m completely consumed.

Because of all of this, I would consider My Dear Henry a bit of a slow burn. Not just in regard to the romance, but in general. It’s a story that starts out slow and builds and builds until it explodes in the end. I cannot tell you how entirely unprepared I was for that ending. It hit me totally unaware, and I got a little teary eyed, not gonna lie. This book covers some difficult and still prevalent topics today such as homophobia, as well as inner homophobia, racism, sexual assault, and more.

Watching the conclusion to a certain character’s emotional growth and journey really hit me hard. Not necessarily because the specifics are personal to me, but because it’s personal to many I know and love. They’ve lived this story, and tons of people are still living it today. The way these topics were tackled was done really well and helped to round out and develop this book.

Overall, I really did love My Dear Henry. It stayed true to the original tale while expanding on certain ideas that absolutely need to be talked about more. Even so, it was entirely its own story, even aside from the Jekyll and Hyde narrative, and if you’re like me and enjoy a good slow burn book, then I highly recommend this one.

I LOVED THIS. I also love Kalynn Bayron so I should not be surprised but this was so good I don't even want to try and read the original source material. The atmosphere was spooky and there was a constant state of "wait...what is actually going on" and the 'plot twist' was so good (can we call it a plot twist if this is a retelling where my osmosis of popular culture, we at least have an idea about the original story's trajectory???? Please advise). Our main character Gabriel was so sweet and his loyalty to Henry Jekyll was cute. Bayron was so smart to use the classic demonization of homosexuality as the crux of why Jekyll&Hyde exists in the first place - the desperation of a father to control his son.
This is so good. The audiobook is fantastic. I love this Remix series so much!

I knew I wanted to read this book from the moment I saw the cover. I was able to listen to the audiobook and it was really enjoyable. A very interesting twist on a classic story. It would've been great to get to connect more with our main characters as their relationship developed (it seemed very rushed) but I enjoyed the mystery of the story, overall. The pacing, at times, was a little slow but the narrator of the book does a great job of keeping you entertained and interested.

I hadn’t heard of this series and was super intrigued by the premise - retellings of classics always get me. This had a lot going for it - a diverse cast of characters, a school setting, and a twist on an old story. Unfortunately it was a little too YA for me. I had a hard time caring about the characters. The writing was well done and I would definitely try this author and others in this series again though.

An interesting twist on this old tale and I love the writing. This is my first book by Bayron, but I was absolutely entranced by their writing and the way they set the vibe for this one. It was definitely very interesting. Just a bit of a miss for me.

I’ve always found the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be particularly fascinating, but Bayron delivered the queer, Black gothic retelling that I didn’t know that I desperately needed.

Bayron does an incredible job of making the reader fall in love with Henry and Gabriel all the while feeling the angst and yearning that comes from the forbidden love that Black boys are not granted in Victorian London. This one pulled at my heart strings so much, and I wanted nothing more to protect them both.

I think what makes this story even more striking is knowing that the bigoted and racist characters that we still in this story still exist and thrive almost 200 years later.

I honesty think where Bayron shines the most is being able to take a classic such as this and write it with such beautifully immersive words all while ensuring inclusion and giving the readers a twist that they won’t see coming!

Bayron is an auto-read/auto-buy author for me, and I can’t wait to devour more!

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Pub and Macmillan Audio for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

This book was a little slow, but that’s very reminiscent of the title it’s based off of. This book is a retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde except it’s Gabriel, who is a young black man who goes to medical school in London and his dear friend, Henry. Henry is Henry Jekyll, the son of Dr. Jekyll. These two meet at medical school and become involved. They write romantic letters back-and-forth to each other over the summer and considering this is the 1880s it’s very frowned upon. Their love is illicit and considered immoral buy some. It gets both of them thrown out of school, and Harry experimented on by his father. What is unique about this story is the reason for the experimentation. In this version of the story, his father Henry’s father is experimenting on him to make the gay go away. It’s how we get Jekyll and Hyde. And in the book Hyde is not as violent as he’s made out to be and other versions. He is still deadly and there are there is an incident, but mostly the reader roots for him. Overall I really enjoyed this different take. There was a reason to the experimentation that our current society would understand (but hate). One of the things I really like about this book is that why it is a “black trauma book”. It’s the trauma of being gay felt by outsiders, not by Henry and Gabriel are both fine with their love. But they still find each other and find a way to make everything work. Just two black boys in London trying to make a better life for themselves and others.

Solid narrator. I loved the view of what life was like for African Americans as well as LGBTQ individuals in the past. The story did drag at times for me. However, the narrator and ending make it a solid read.

While I loved some of Bayron's previous works, this one just did not live up to my expectations. Although harkening back to the original work, the voice of the narrator in this story was unlikeable to me. It made the story harder to get into and feel as though the reader was missing most of the action. I never really felt the darkness in this tale and it felt more like a contemporary heartbreak novel than a mystery/thriller. While I can appreciate what the author was trying to do and that many readers may enjoy this title, it simply didn't work for me.

The audiobook narration was fine, but a bit stilted in its pacing. the monotone voice may have played a part in my distaste for the characters.

Rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This is an extremely imaginative retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Like the original tale, it is set in Victorian England and is a very atmospheric read. The themes of id, ego & super-ego and duality are very cleverly replaced with themes of racism and queerphobia. The pace started off pretty fast and settled into medium, though at times I did find my mind wondering because it slowed down a bit too much. That is the reason I gave it 4-1/2 stars instead of five. The narration was very well done and conveyed the main character’s emotions so well that it felt like he was really the one telling you his story.

A Queer Black retelling of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, yes please!! Oh I am all about this story. It was emotional, dark, raw, powerful, and still just enough of the original storyline.

I’m this story we follow Gabriel Utterson on his stay in London to attend the London Medical School to become a doctor at the request of his father. Through their bond as school mates, and two young men who want nothing more to please their fathers, Gabriel and Henry Jekyll form a very intense bond. Their feelings for each other cause turmoil, and thus ensues the path down the dark and winding road.

Soon Gabriel notices this strange young man with shocking white hair slipping in and out of the Jekyll’s back door. He starts to investigate and to get Henry to speak to him about what’s going on.

This story has elements of racism, homophobia, and then the happier end with acceptance of someone for who they are regardless of their skin color or romantic preference. It blends current issues with the late 1800s in london and the classic tale of Jekyll & Hyde. It was quick paced, with diverse cast of characters. The audio narration is excellent, and the narrator expressive and captivating to listen to.

You absolutely MUST read, or listen to, this book! An absolute excellent retelling, with modern twists added in!

I was sold reading “A Jekyll and Hyde Remix” on the cover. I mean…who doesn’t love the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde…and then who doesn’t love retellings?

Well I personally love both and this seemed like the perfect storm of a book to read. Let me tell you -

I was correct.

This book has every single aspect we look for in the story of Jekyll and Hyde while being different enough that it felt like a new story. Some retellings stick too closely and some deviate too far from the original to really satisfy me as a reader but this one was a perfect storm.

On top of the story, the narrator for the audiobook is exactly what you would expect for a Jekyll and Hyde story. Creepy without being over the top. No complaints.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook!

Super excited to see a Jekel and Hyde retelling! Especially with queer and POC characters. I think was a fantastic and exciting take on a very famous and classic story. This book adds a lot to the story with the struggles of being black during this time period and the struggles of trying to become a doctor when the world feels like it is against you. This book was extremely gothic, and academic! I can see a ton of people loving this series and especially this book. The narrator did a great job of bringing emotion and depth to the story. I enjoyed the audiobook very much.

Thank you to Macmillian Audio for this early copy of My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix!

What an interesting take on this story! While I haven't read the original story in a long time, I felt that it held to the same standards. This version of the story focused on Jekyll's son and his relationship with a friend at school. I felt that the story held true to the standards of the time era and was able to captivate the audience right from the get go.

I liked the narrator and would listen to a book read by him again.

Overall, I enjoyed this book!

I love the concept behind this line of remixed classics and remember really liking Jekyll & Hyde, so I was very excited to see what this remix would offer.

In terms of diversifying the classic, Bayron does a good job. Our protagonist, Gabriel, is a queer Black man whose father wants him to be a doctor despite living in a society that will not let him because of his race. While in school, he meets and begins a romance with Henry Jekyll, another Black student.

I like the way Bayron twisted the story to highlight the faults in assimilation as a post-slavery ideology. Henry wants nothing more than to make his father proud of him, and his father refuses to see a path forward in society that isn’t appeasing the actions of the racist white men that have power in English society and views Henry’s queerness as a problem.

That being said, I really struggled through the character development and relationship building in this book. Early in the book we see Gabriel go to school and meet Henry and then basically the next paragraph we see they “care a lot for each other” and are told they’re in a relationship and they’d been exchanging letters through the whole summer break. There were just too many instances of the narrative skipping over moments that would flesh out the character relationships or aspects of the plot. Especially given that the original has those gothic horror elements, I expected and needed more of the slow horror/slow build. I had similar issues with Bayron’s debut, Cinderella Is Dead, but I was hoping that it was because it was a debut but it might simply be that her writing style is not for me.

The audiobook is narrated by Clifford Samuel, who did a phenomenal job. To be completely honest, I probably wouldn’t have finished if it hadn’t been for the audiobook.

A delightfully dark, gorgeously told YA Gothic remix of a story we are rather familiar with. Makes for a wonderful audibook!

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

This is my second of these remixes, and I absolutely loved this one. I had always been intrigued by the Jekyll and Hyde story, and in this book, the way that it was written, the way that it was done was just fantastic.

I love how the author incorporated racism and homophobia into the story in such a way that fits so perfectly. I adored Gabriel, my heart just breaking for this boy. And without giving too much away, I really thought that Dr. Jekyll and all he was trying to accomplish was really atrocious.

The narration in this book was perfect for the story. I loved how he told the story and the voice that he gave to it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

It's been a long time since I've read Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", but I do remember most of the lyrics from 1990 musical, Jekyll & Hyde, which I think counts for something (though to be fair, most is just Lucy's song, "Bring On the Men"). I reeeeaaalllllyyyy wanted to love this one, but unfortunately the narrative didn't grab me like Bayron's THIS POISON HEART did.

The relationship between Gabriel and Henry is good and adds another level to potential reasons why Henry has distanced himself from Gabriel that would be realistic given the era and who they are. I honestly wish we were given more of Hyde (though understand why readers only get glimpses and brief moments of him). The reveal (and motivations) was interesting and I was happy with the conclusion. Bayron does a great job with instilling a late 1800s atmosphere to the page, and even the writing style felt like it could have been written by an author of Stevenson's era rather than something being published in 2023.

Overall I enjoyed this remix, but I feel like this one lands more on the side of adults that read YA than being one for teen readers.

Clifford Samuel does a good job with the audiobook narration and his tone fits the genre, but I couldn't help but feel like his voice was lulling me to sleep at times.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.