Book Review: “The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein” by Kiersten White

“The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein” by Kiersten White (2018)

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Retelling, Horror

Page Length: 304 pages (hardcover edition)

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. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is novel based off of Mary Shelley’s classic tale Frankenstein. I loved retellings of classics with a new twist ,so I was very interested to see what direction the story would take. This retelling is refreshing because we get to see a new perspective of the story.

Elizabeth, the main character, is smart and calculating. She stays in the good graces of the Frankenstein family so she won’t be discarded onto the streets, but dangerously enables Victor’s dark tendencies that make him even more of a monster than he already is. Over the course of time Elizabeth and Victor become deeply intertwined as we view snippets of their past and dark secrets start to come to the light. Elizabeth makes a lot of horrible mistakes and once she realizes what Victor truly, is she takes great strides to end the madness once and for all.

Throughout the story there is a constant aura of heavy suspense along with many horror elements (things that go bump in the night). I was on edge with all of the twists and turns in the plot. The tables were constantly turning because Elizabeth thinks she is one step ahead of Victor and vice versa. I wondered how the events would play out in the end. The book was way darker that I had anticipated (even after seeing the cover art and reading the synopsis). This is a horror novel not for the faint of heart (or at least for me, lol).

I have read Kiersten White’s books before and I enjoy her historical fiction novels. She is incredibly detailed in her writing. The landscapes are realistic and her characters are complex and multi-faceted. I felt that it was a very immersive reading experience which is key to any proper horror story. It definitely gave me chills.

This book is so intense I had to read it in small chunks , but I do recommend it if you like retellings , horror stories, and thrillers. What are some other Frankenstein retellings that you enjoy?

*Trigger warnings: Disturbing graphic imagery, gore, and violence.

Final Verdict: