Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her "caregiver," and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend.
Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.
But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.
Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.
But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Katharine McEwan
Narrator: Katharine McEwan
Published By: Delacorte Press/Listening Library
Genre: YA - Historical Fiction, Horror
Rating:
✮✮✮
Review:
Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein was something I had been looking forward to reading, but because of timing, I ended up not having the time to read it so I picked up the audiobook. For me, the audiobook was the way to go because I don't think I would have finished it if I had read it.
This was one of my highly anticipated reads. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the synopsis was intriguing, and I wanted to read this book badly. And when I finally was able to get my hands on a copy and listen to it, I was highly disappointed. I think a good portion of my disappointment came from having loved previous books by Kiersten White, so I was already super hyped about this book - and I put a lot of pressure on it.
First and foremost, I do want to say that I did enjoy this book - it just happened to fall short of my expectations. The pacing was very slow at times, and then when it would pick up, it didn't last for long. The story itself didn't really stick with me - I probably couldn't tell you much of what happened in this book, and I just finished it a few days ago.
I loved the moral ambiguity of our main girl, Elizabeth, but at the same time, that also made it difficult at times to connect with her, which made it even more difficult to get into the book. This was probably the only thing that I really loved about this novel.
I would recommend this book if you like slower paced stories, but at the same time, just be cautious and read other reviews, because I found that at times, what was happening in the story wasn't engaging while being slow, which may make you not enjoy the novel - which was the case for me.
This was one of my highly anticipated reads. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the synopsis was intriguing, and I wanted to read this book badly. And when I finally was able to get my hands on a copy and listen to it, I was highly disappointed. I think a good portion of my disappointment came from having loved previous books by Kiersten White, so I was already super hyped about this book - and I put a lot of pressure on it.
First and foremost, I do want to say that I did enjoy this book - it just happened to fall short of my expectations. The pacing was very slow at times, and then when it would pick up, it didn't last for long. The story itself didn't really stick with me - I probably couldn't tell you much of what happened in this book, and I just finished it a few days ago.
I loved the moral ambiguity of our main girl, Elizabeth, but at the same time, that also made it difficult at times to connect with her, which made it even more difficult to get into the book. This was probably the only thing that I really loved about this novel.
I would recommend this book if you like slower paced stories, but at the same time, just be cautious and read other reviews, because I found that at times, what was happening in the story wasn't engaging while being slow, which may make you not enjoy the novel - which was the case for me.
