thanks for the arc, netgalley! Full review to come but this book was so so so cute and funny and PLOT-TWISTY! Highly highly recommend it as a quick, fun read. :)

OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO GOOD

Thought this had a sequel and now I’m sad but this was SO GOOD OMG

This was a quick, enjoyable read, but I just don’t think Mafi’s books will ever be favorites of mine. The overall story was compelling and insightful at times, but the at times super cliché romance overwhelmed the deeper parts of the book’s message. I really liked Shirin & Navid’s relationship, though.

I will read anything and everything Victoria writes. She's my favorite author for a reason, and this book was good, but not my favorite of hers. The storyline and characters were cute and it's a very quick middle-grade read, so I enjoyed that. The plot is a little slow towards the beginning and then takes off very quickly, but it was still a fun book and I will be picking up the sequel when that comes out!

I just read through a bunch of three star or less reviews of this but it still hasn’t changed my opinion at all so OH WELL! I LOVED THIS AND IM NOT ASHAMED
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Full review! :)

I LOVED THIS BOOK. LOOOOOOVED IT! I'm super into all kinds of retellings and this one definitely did not disappoint! I didn't really know the story of Frankenstein, so about 50 pages into this I finally looked up the Wikipedia summary of the original; at first I was mad at myself that I might have spoiled this book for me but in retrospect I actually am really glad I had the background knowledge, because this story definitely takes a spin.

I sooooo adored Elizabeth. She is such an interesting character and it's super awesome to see her character fleshed out so thoroughly. I loved everything about her and her way of thinking. She is cunning, intelligent and at times morally questionable but she was still my absolute favorite. I was rooting for her throughout the entire book and I love her dark personality. I've read about so many incredible female characters already this year and I'm so enjoying it!

The other characters were fantastic as well. Victor was astonishing to read about and Elizabeth's relationship with him was so compelling. I really liked seeing their dynamic develop from the day they met and throughout all of Victor's experiments. I loved Mary by the end of the book and her friendship to Elizabeth was endearing. So many characters have a hidden agenda and it makes the story so gripping! All of my coworkers now know all about this book because I couldn't stop talking about it at work, haha.

I was reading a handful of other reviews on Goodreads right after I finished this, and was surprised to see so many 3 stars or less! I was suuuuuper into this book and didn't find the pacing bad at all. I also did NOT see any of the plot twists coming. Some said it was predictable but I was SHOOK. I looooved the twist White took with the retelling and the last 50 pages or so were AMAZING. The epilogue made me want even more but I really, really enjoyed the ending. I'm super excited to pick up another one of Kiersten White's books as soon as I get the chance!