I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White as one of my buddy reads this month. Since it was a retelling of a classic with a female protagonist, I was really excited to read it.

We follow Elizabeth, a girl who was taken in by the Frankensteins as a child. Given food, shelter, and everything she could want or need, she’s to befriend Victor and be his companion. Together since childhood, they forge a tight knit bond. But appearances are often only surface deep and what’s lurking beneath the depths are hideous secrets better left unspoken. We follow her journey to finding Victor, the truth, and ultimately, herself.

I was really excited going into this book. A twist on a classic with a strong female protagonist? Sign me up! For some reason, I had also had notions that it was Elizabeth going mad that we were going to be reading about. And, I love a good story with an unreliable narrator, so that was another check in this books column. While the book wasn’t bad, my own expectations had caused me to be disappointed with it.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: The Nitty-Gritty

First of all, let me reiterate, this was a good book. The reason I was disappointed with it is because I had my own expectations that weren’t met. I really enjoyed the characterization of Elizabeth. The way that we are privy to Elizabeth’s thoughts as she questions her motives and her courses of actions, I thought this was excellent. It made her character more authentic and showed her desperation. The employment of flashbacks was done well. I’m not sure if I would have preferred it done in a different way or not; that’s something I wondered about as well while reading.

One thing that bothered me was that, despite the fact that this was a retelling with a female protagonist, I still felt like it was mainly about Victor. Even though we are reading through Elizabeth’s point of view, the whole story is centered around Victor and his madness and his brilliance. I understand their relationship and why this was, but it just felt like it was still mostly Victor’s story. I wanted more of Elizabeth.

Overall, this book was good. It wasn’t what I had been expecting but it wasn’t a bad read. I enjoyed reading it but I can’t say it gave me too many spooky vibes, which is what I was hoping for. I do think it’s a good read and you should check it out, especially if you’re looking for a twist on the classic.