The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth
by Kiersten White
My Rating: ❤❤❤
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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.

Thank you Penguin Random House for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. 

“I had to help Victor get well, I had to protect him. I could not let anyone discover the truth: Victor had gone mad. “

I feel like I should put out the disclaimer that I haven’t read the original Frankenstein. I know the base of the story and was interested in reading a retelling from a female POV. 

Now while I can’t compare it to the original story, I can say that the vibe is there. It had that creepy setting that one would expect from a book like this and it really set the scene for the story that was happening.

Elizabeth was a difficult character and to be honest I still don’t know if I like her or not. I can understand that she has wanted to stay with Victor, the only person who shows her any type of affection. But the things that she went through to do it were nothing short of insane. She was extremely cunning and manipulative and while it’s scary how much she was willing to do, it’s damn near admirable. 

“You are mine, Elizabeth Lavenza, and nothing will take you from me. Not even death.”

Victor, on the other hand, needed Jesus. I’ll just be honest. I wanted to be him in my “villain that’s just misunderstood” box, but as I read the story, I just couldn’t like him enough to put him there. He saw Elizabeth as something that belonged to him instead of someone that he loved. Hell, I think he’s incapable of love. Even at the end of the story I couldn’t feel sorry for him or even pity him.

I did really enjoy Kiersten White’s writing here. Also, the story was good enough to make me continue until the end. It just wasn’t what I expected it to be.

**Quotes were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

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