3.75 Stars
I was initially very hesitant about this book. I found Frankenstein difficult to get into, and I actually DNF'd And I Darken by Kiersten White earlier this year. I just couldn't get into it. I tried both the physical and the audiobook formats and I was just bored. I could see that she was a talented writer, but absolutely nothing in the story was compelling for me. It got to the point where I was about half way into the book and when I would even think about reading it I would get anxiety. Since reading is a hobby I use to relax and have fun, anxiety isn't exactly the desired reaction.

When I started out with this book, I was afraid that I was going to have the same reaction. Maybe Kiersten White just wasn't the author for me. This book also started out slow, and I spent a good chunk of time wondering when we were going to see any action. Luckily, I ended up enjoying this book a good deal.

What I liked:

1. Elizabeth. She was a very interesting protagonist. She does and enables some truly awful things, but at the same time you can see her motivation. She is a young girl who was abused and neglected and everything she does to stay with the Frankenstein's is borne out of a warped survival instinct.

2. Atmosphere. Kiersten White wrote a story that was unsettling, creepy, and ultimately tragic. The source material definitely helps add to the sense of foreboding. I'm sure anyone reading this is familiar, at least in the broadest sense, with Frankenstein. So there is already some built-in assumptions of what sort of book this is going to be. But Kiersten White exceeded my expectations with the tone she was able to strike.

3. The adaptation itself. I thought the way she adapted the story so that it wasn't just 'Frankenstein from Elizabeth's perspective' was great. She was relatively faithful with many of the overarching plot points and characters, but definitely twisted it in a way I wasn't expecting when I initially picked up the book.

4. The writing. I think Kiersten White is a really talented writer. I know that writing style is very subjective, but I think she is really good.

What I didn't like:

1. Pacing. Even though I think Kiersten White's words are wonderful, I did find that this book tended to drag in certain parts. The beginning is a bit of a slog while we're following Elizabeth and Justine in their search for Victor. That section just went on for too long. Now, I understand that much of that time was spent cementing the characters of Elizabeth and Justine, while also giving us backstory for Elizabeth and Victor. In hindsight, I appreciate it and can see its virtues. But that doesn't take away from the fact that, in the moment, all I wanted was to get on with the story. The ending also drags. After Elizabeth

learns the truth about Victor and his ultimate plan

the story drags until the final climax, which ended up being a little anticlimactic.

2. Elizabeth's arc. Like I said in the beginning, I liked Elizabeth as a protagonist quite a bit. I liked that she'd done questionable, and in some cases terrible, things in the name of self-preservation. Especially in the time period she lived in, a woman in her position had very few options to take care of herself and make her own way. That being said, I kind of wish

she hadn't been given a redemption arc. I mean, the book is called The DARK DESCENT of Elizabeth Frankenstein. To me, that implies almost a villain origin story. Not a story in which the protagonist learns her lesson after seeing someone she protected fall into madness.

I don't know exactly how I would've preferred it to go, but I'm left feeling slightly unsatisfied by her arc.

Other odds and ends:

1. The audiobook for this is mediocre. I would probably give it a 2/5. The narrator doesn't even try to modulate her voice for any of the female characters. They all sound literally the same. The male characters occasionally have a lower voice, but not by much. I do recommend the audiobook for the fact that it helped me get into the story with its slow start, but the acting was nothing to write home about.

2. I'm wondering exactly what happened in the very end, because it seemed to me to be a little vague.

It's just a short moment with Elizabeth 'waking up' and thinking that she is alive. Is this supposed to mean that Mary took Victor's research and used it to reanimate her after she died with Victor, or did she get saved by Mary and Adam before she perished?

I actually really liked the ambiguity with the ending.

I am happy that I enjoyed this book. I feel like it's a book I'm not going to forget soon. And I am interested to see what Kiersten White comes out with next.