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bellsdixon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Vomit
bethanwx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is a mysterious and gothic novel, which presents reality as maleable and changes based on perspective. But it ultimately feels more stylish than full of substance. The conclusion of Mary's earlier narrative leaves you with more questions than answers, and most of the characters feel skin deep, or hard to grasp.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
streberkatze's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The mix of historical fact and fiction was unlike anything I had ever read and made for an instantly engrossing read. The parallel timelines as well as the switches in narrator perspective worked really well and created a tension that kept me on the edge of my seat until the final page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
james1star's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I found this book one of two halves. The first very good in terms of the writing which transports you, Eekhout is masterful with her words, there’s lots of descriptive passages and I did enjoy this. She paints quite a claustrophobic and gothic tale overall. The characters present are also complex enough and there is some nuances too. But then the actual story… meh. I didn’t really like it all that much and do wish I had DNFd it earlier on. The pacing was rather slow which does add to the tension but also made the reading experience quite a boring one that I personally wanted to hurry up. I had also expected more sapphicness like the description had promised but this doesn’t occur till the 60-ish% mark (maybe later) and if Eekhout wanted to explore Mary Godwin (Shelley)’s bisexuality in her book, it was somewhat lost in main plot of the the book. In some aspects I see that an explicit lesbian relationship wouldn’t really have been possible at the time and how queer people have constantly been made to repress themselves, not having the opportunities available but still I was a little unimpressed - Mary does express her areligious throughs and is clearly a strong character given the ‘place’ of woman so maybe more could’ve been done here??
The plot is in dual timelines: 1816 when Mary is holidaying with other poets/writes by lake Geneva, they’re sharing stories then Byron challenges them to write a scary story… leading to the birth of her infamous masterpiece that is Frankenstein. Whilst there she’s also dealing with loss of her first child and a marriage with Percy Shelly that’s already rather up-and-down considering his infidelity. The memory of a past summer comes to mind and this is the other timeline set in 1812 as she’s sent to the Baxters in Dundee at the age of 14. The Baxters have a tradition of sharing stories and with the family, Mary begins to explore more of what her mind can conjure up and a fellow guest plants the idea of bringing the dead back to life (seem familiar??). Whilst there she becomes come with the younger daughter Isabella who was distant at first having lost the matriarch but soon the young women become friends and both seem to start having more feelings as well. I’d say I preferred the 1812 storyline a lot more then the other but still not entirely, I just couldn’t jam that well with the characters and general plot which meant I kept a distance throughout my reading (well listening).
Personally, I found this book rather mediocre when I factor in the writing, plot, characters and the rest. I can certainly see it appealing to others but I did think it was too slow and I didn’t enjoy the overall storyline either so the middle ground is where my rating lies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, and Grief
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
thewitchsreads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ik werd helemaal meegezogen in dit verhaal over de schrijfster Mary Shelley. Ik was wel een beetje teleurgesteld over het einde, maar dat kan ook komen doordat ik halverwege het boek bepaalde verwachtingen kreeg en zo'n soort verhaal was het gewoon niet. Verder prachtig geschreven, je waant je helemaal in Schotland, alleen af en toe wat langdradig. Al met al een prachtig boek, helemaal geschikt voor de wintermaanden met hier en daar wat duistere momenten.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent