What a disappointing read.

Described as a book following “the fabled summer Mary Shelley began work on Frankenstein”, this book actually had very little of Mary Shelley in it at all and barely touched on anything related to Frankenstein.

Mehr, forced from her comfortable life in India, finds herself stranded in Europe. With nowhere else to turn, she takes employment as a housekeeper to earn the funds needed to return home. Mehr finds herself in the employ of the young Shelley’s, and, as the summer progresses, finds herself drawn into their madness.

The Glowing Hours has such a promising premise; it follows Mary Shelley’s summer in Switzerland as she begins Frankenstein with a haunting twist. I liked that the point-of-view came from someone other than Shelley herself. Being told from Mehr’s view gave the story another layer of depth while also providing interesting insight because of both their class and cultural differences.

As far as horror goes, I didn’t find this one to be particularly haunting. Then again, I didn’t find Mexican Gothic to be that way either; this novel feels a lot like that one stylistically and atmospherically, so if that’s your type of horror, this one could be right up your alley. Honestly though, a lot of this book just follows Mehr doing her chores. A lot.

The characters are fine. They’re not particularly memorable or likable, but they’re fine. There’s very little real interaction between Mehr and Mary Shelley for a book that’s apparently about Mary Shelley’s iconic summer. I will admit that I didn’t know a whole lot about that summer prior to reading the book, but just a cursory bit of research shows that this book diverts pretty sharply from how that summer (apparently) went. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, but it’s just not what I was expecting, so if you’re a big Frankenstein or Mary Shelley buff, I would highly highly not recommend this book. I just don’t think it’s going to be what you’re expecting; it wasn’t what I was.

I just can’t recommend this book. There’s nothing explicitly wrong with it, it’s just very very boring. Definitely not my kind of read, and if I hadn’t received it as an ARC, I definitely would have DNFed it. Probably. If I hadn’t invested too much time just waiting for something good to happen.

I always enjoy a spooky vibe, and if you like Mary W. Shelley, then you will most likely enjoy this book!
Told from the perspective of Mehr, the housemaid to the Shelley family, this story follows her as she meets and learns about the Shelley's and their peculiar living situation. When the Shelley's are invited to visit Lord Byron on the Continent, of course they do not pass up the chance to rub elbows with one of England's greatest poets.
Unfortunately for everyone, a fun escape to the Continent is not all it cracks up to be, and strange voices, sounds, and apparitions soon appear before Mehr and the rest of the Shelley household.
A great quick read with lots of high anxiety points, jump scares, and questions of what is real and what is only a dream.

Solid story and plot. Great character development. Interesting take on a historical event. I enjoyed reading from the preceptive of the maid, a small side character in the behind the scenes type atmosphere. I have always been interested in the "holiday" that led to writing the first sci-fi story of our time.