Review: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

Title: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

Review:

I loved this book so much! It was so thrilling and suspenseful.

I loved the way this story was woven together. Elizabeth reflects on her childhood with Victor throughout the beginning of the book while she is searching for him. He stopped returning her letters, so she went looking for him at his school. But once she finds him, everything changes. She finds a lot more than just her friend Victor.

Parts of Elizabeth’s past are constantly reflected in her current life, including the many ways she saved Victor in their childhood. She was a strong woman, who was a huge influence on Victor. However, she was still restricted to the life of an eighteenth century woman. She was an orphan and she could have been kicked out of the house at any moment without any help. She didn’t have anything to fall back on, except staying with the Frankensteins.

I haven’t read Frankenstein yet, but I’m planning on reading it soon since it is the 200th anniversary of its publication this year. I’m curious to see how it measures up to this book, because this story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

What to read next:

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

  

• And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White

  

Have you read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein? What did you think of it?

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett