4 Stars
I
would take three stars away for the animal death, but I’m not that petty.
Book Rating: PG
Violence: PG (Like I
said, ANIMAL DEATH)
Language: PG (A** was
the only noticeable one, but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention)
Sex: PG (“I felt tears on her cheeks, and tasted
their salt against my tongue” is about as raunchy as it gets. Pretty innocent
overall).
Drugs/Alcohol: G
(Alcohol is used on one of the characters as a numbing agent).
What an interesting take on the early life of Victor
Frankenstein! I greatly enjoyed this read. It was dark at times, filled with
adventure spurred by bonds of friendship, and was driven by well-rounded,
engaging characters.
I really enjoyed the back story which served as the kindling
for Victor Frankenstein’s alchemical interests. Victor seeks to save his twin
brother, Konrad’s, life after he falls fatally ill with an unknown sickness.
Victor immediately turns to the ancient books of alchemy to find a cure. That
cure is found in the Elixir of Life.
Despite Victor not being particularly likable—he’s
jealous and self-absorbed—I managed to still enjoy him. He was likable to me,
despite his flaws, which is a sign of excellent writing. Authors sometimes
struggle to make their characters likable despite their flaws and sometimes
they fall into the trap of creating a character without any whatsoever. Victor’s
personality isn’t what you would typically see for a main character in fiction.
He’s the brother caught beneath his older brother’s more charismatic, more
successful shadow. It was refreshing.
And can we talk about the magical settings of Geneva and
the Frankenstein Manor?? Gorgeous.
Enchanting. Loved it all. It felt like a fantasy land within a historical world
and it was everything I wanted. Victor, Konrad, their distant cousin Elizabeth,
and friend Henry were separated from the real world through the manor as they
produced plays and went on adventures throughout the grounds. It felt like a
whole other world.
I was also smitten with Victor and Elizabeth as a pair.
I’m not sure if they’re great as a couple, but their chemistry was palpable
which made their relationship all the more exciting. Victor’s passion combined
with Elizabeth’s was powerful and they both knew it, but because of Elizabeth’s
love for Konrad, (yes, a love triangle), it was suppressed. And honestly, the
love triangle wasn’t terrible. It was actually well-written.
Just
the relationships and the bonds between family were really a selling point for
me. It’s rare to find a YA book where the parents of the children are ever
present parts of the children’s lives.
There were very few things I didn’t like about this book.
My main issue was that it was written in a very simple manner. There was just a
lot of he said, she said throughout,
without much diversity in speaking actions. For example:
“Of course,” she said, entering the cell and looking at the
table. “Is it done?”
“It is,” I said, stoppering the flask and shaking it
vigorously.
“You are very clever, Victor,” she said.
“Anyone might have done it,” I said, pleased by her praise.
Honestly, it’s nothing
too bad; I just would have liked some diversity in the speech. Maybe throwing
in an asked or exclaimed would have been nice every once in a while.
I’ll be giving this book to my mom to read as soon as I
take all of my sticky notes out of it. It’s a good mix of fantasy, history, and
gothic romance—everything I (and my mom) love. I’d highly recommend this to
anyone who has a deep love for gothic romances.
"These past weeks, during Konrad's illness, my mind--awake and dreaming--had been filled with dread and cobwebs and darkness. I wanted the sun to burn them all away."
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