[Book Review] The 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.

* * *

I originally borrowed this book from the library in November when I was still feeling spooky but with NaNoWriMo being so time consuming I didn't get a chance to read it till recently! And although I am glad I read it because it had aspects and themes I really enjoyed, I have to admit I felt a little disappointed. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I was hoping I would. 

The characters really drive the story, and I did really enjoy them a lot. I didn't love them, but I think that may be because the book was barely 300 pages so we didn't get a lot of time with them. I thought our main character, Elizabeth, really stole the show and was the best part of the book. I enjoyed her intelligence and loyalty to Victor. I felt that her undying loyalty to him made sense because of how much she felt like she owed him all those years ago. I thought the fact that it was borderline unhealthy really came through early on, and although Elizabeth is a very smart woman, you can tell that she led with her emotions when it came to Victor and not her head. It was unhealthy, but you understood her reasoning. Justine was an okay character for me. She was a sweet girl but at the same time I found her to be a bit bland. I'm not sure why but I didn't care too much about her. I didn't hate her or anything but I also wasn't super excited for her to be in the story. Mary was a character I really loved. I found her to be badass and adventurous. Where Elizabeth was acting on desperate loyalty for Victor, Mary was acting on sheer excitement, wanting adventure and freedom from her Uncle's library. Victor seemed true to what I expected him to act like in this novel and I thought he was written really well. His madness and obsession with his experiments came off really well and it was often chilling. I both pitied him and was super disgusted by him and his actions. So I feel like I experienced the emotions I was supposed to while reading Victor's character. I think Victor being mysterious in this book helped put a barrier around him from the readers, which I think was a good thing because it made him scarier. 

The plot was interesting but it had its slow moments. There were definitely parts that could be considered boring, and if I didn't have to return the book to the library the next day I probably would have put it down more. I think me having to speed read the book ending up being in the favor of the book because I had to push through. I never felt fully invested in the story and often felt detached from it as a whole. I think that this could be because it was so predictable. I guessed all of the twists before they happened, which was definitely was an ego boost for me but it made the reading experience a bit boring. Especially since I figured out the twists early on. I really enjoyed the feminism themes in this story and the moments, although brief, where character bring up how different it was to be a woman versus being a man in that time period. The limitations women had made it hard for Elizabeth to live the life she wanted to live. Also, the topic of how a husband had so much power over their wives was so scary to read about. 

The writing was amazing, which I expect from Kiersten White, I do nee dto continue her And I Darken series, but from what I've read so far I am in love with her writing style. It's elegant without being too flowery (which is fine, but you need to be in the mood for really flowery writing) and its very atmospheric. The descriptions are gorgeous and the characters are often really complex. I think the story we were given in Elizabeth Frankenstein needed to be about this length, but if White somehow write more I have no doubts I would have been better connected with the characters. I know that is not something every reader needs, but it's essential for me to be connected to the characters to have a complete satisfying reading experience.

Overall, I do recommend this book for anyone interested in something spooky. There are definitely spooky moments in this story and with the writing being so haunting and atmospheric, it makes it all the more fun to read. This is definitely a story that is a bit of slower paced one, but it's short enough that it's fairly easy to fly through. 

Thanks for reading!