Seen at Scott Reads It "To examine the cause of life, we must have recourse to death" -Mary Shelley
Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite claSeen at Scott Reads It "To examine the cause of life, we must have recourse to death" -Mary Shelley
Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite classics and so I decided to request The Lady And Her Monsters on Edelweiss. Thank you to William Morrow for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. The Lady And Her Monsters is the story of how Frankenstein came to be and frankly it wasn't too interesting.
In the beginning of The Lady And Her Monsters, I was extremely immersed in this book. I quickly lost interest after a few pages because the author goes on some not so interesting tangents. There is a lot of fluff in this book and it isn't very straight to the point. Do I really need to hear a story about Mary Shelley's placenta and read a description about her birth? I think the author was way too descriptive in describing Mary Shelley's birth and the doctor's procedure to remove her from her mother. Maybe I'm just immature but I don't enjoy reading a birth scene!
Sure there were also a bunch of interesting facts and anecdotes but there were so many more boring and bland ones. I really want the author to focus only on Mary Shelley but instead the author also decided to focus on the life of Lord Byron and various other scientists. I know that these scientists inspired Shelley but there was too many pages devoted to them. I was interested in the science behind Frankenstein but it was just too much.
Mary Shelley is portrayed as a real jerk in this book. She is not only a jerk but she's also a cheater, a liar, and a prejudice person. I may have learned a few facts but the major thing I'm taking from this book is that Shelley was not a nice person at all. She committed adultery, she lied about her inspiration for Frankenstein, and she disliked Swiss and German people. It kills me to learn that the woman who wrote one of my favorite books was a complete and utter closed minded horrible person.
The Lady And Her Monsters is an extremely slow-paced non fiction book that some readers may enjoy. There were times where I nearly fell asleep reading this book and I really wouldn't recommend this one for pleasure because it isn't too interesting. I was hoping to learn more about Frankenstein but I pretty much learned how horrible of a person she was. If you're into history and science, you may enjoy this book more than I did. ...more
I have a giveaway for this book over at my blog, Scott Reads It! I love reading about macabre, uncanny things so it's no surprise that I picked up ThI have a giveaway for this book over at my blog, Scott Reads It! I love reading about macabre, uncanny things so it's no surprise that I picked up The Resurrectionist. I have always enjoyed movies and books that are creepy, I blame Tim Burton, Ransom Riggs, and Darren Shan. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from E.B. Hudspeth's debut. The Resurrectionist was a super quick read for me and I probably finished it in under a hour.
The Resurrectionist is one part biography of the infamous Dr. Spencer Black and one part medical codex for mythological creatures. Dr. Spencer Black's "biography" was short, sweet and straight to the point. The biography was extremely interesting to read and I loved the gothic tone this book had. I feel like this could definitely be adapted into a Tim Burton film with Johnny Depp starring as Dr. Spencer Black. The biography portion of this book was extremely entertaining, I wish it could have been a bit longer though.
This book is filled with wonderfully strange medical drawings of creatures like the sphinx, the mermaid, the and so many more. The drawings in this book are absolutely spectacularly done and they are extremely detailed. I'm no art critic but the drawings in this book are just superb, the drawings are just so intricate and detailed. I loved all of the drawings except for the satyr which resembled drawings of the devil for my liking. Other than that small complaint, the codex is a creeptasticly awesome.
Overall, I don't have much to say about The Resurrectionist because I zoomed through it so quickly. I would without a doubt recommend it for fans of Frankenstein and other Gothic books. I look forward to reading more of Hudspeth's books because the book market desperately needs more Gothic books. The Resurrectionist is a creepy delight that is sure to spook readers and leave them craving for more! ...more
Seen at Scott Reads It! I knew I had to read Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters once I saw it. It was being marketed as a sequel to Mary Shelley's FrankensSeen at Scott Reads It! I knew I had to read Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters once I saw it. It was being marketed as a sequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I just loved the idea! The problem with Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters is that it is poorily executed and it doesn't live up to it's potential.
It's extremely hard to like a book where you dislike all of the characters. Giselle is extremely superficial and too concerned with the way people view her.Does Giselle enjoy being abused? She is hurt by her ex-boyfriend once, and she goes back to him once again. When Giselle is slapped by her ex, it barely bother her at all and she doesn't tell anyone. Ingrid claims to be an "intellect" yet she acts rather foolish. How can you claim to be an intellect yet you don't know that Napoleon has taken over a decent amount of the world? Ingrid was way too concerned with trying to feel smart that she disregards her morals. Why does Ingrid help grave robbers? Giselle and Ingrid didn't act their age and they acted like little kids. Both Giselle and Ingrid seemed to lack any common sense or morals.
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters is a novel with no purpose at all. This book is supposed to be a mystery yet there is really no mystery or intrigue in this book. Suzanne Weyn focuses more on Dr. Frankenstein's daughters and their problems instead of the mystery. You would think that if so many people affiliated with the daughters were dying, there would at least be some significance. All of the deaths don't really have any significance to the story and are pretty trivial. I would have rather read about the daughters trying to solve the mystery of who the murderer was or at least do something about it.
There are so many different little plot lines in this book but by the end nothing seems to be resolved. What is the point of having so many plot lines if you don't even bother to nicely resolve everything? When I finished Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, I was thinking "That's it?" because there were some many questions left unanswered. There has to be a sequel to be coming out because this book didn't have a proper conclusion.
You would think a novel about Dr. Frankenstein's kids would involve Frankenstein's monster. Wrong! Frankenstein's monster is barely mentioned throughout the novel and only appears for a short span of time. Weyn also makes one of the most noobish mistakes regarding Frankenstein's monster. She calls the monster Frankenstein, you would think someone writing a novel about Dr. Frankenstein would know better. In Mary Shelly's novel Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster but never bothers to name it. That's why the monster is called Dr. Frankenstein's monster and not Frankenstein. I didn't expect Weyn to make such an amateur mistake.
The only thing that I semi-enjoyed was the diary format of the book. Suzanne Weyn wrote this book in the style of Giselle and Ingrid's journals. At first I thought it was a clever device but it soon became very irritating and repetitive. Do people who write journals constantly write dear diary? Every single time I saw "From the diary of Baroness Giselle Frankenstein" I wanted to cringe. The journal entries really didn't add anything insightful to this book at all. There was so many ways Weyn could have cleverly used the journal style to her advantage but Weyn doesn't take advantage of this opportunity.
I really didn't enjoy reading Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters at all. It's hard to like a book when you don't even like any of the characters. Giselle and Ingrid acted way too shallow and their attitudes were extremely irritating. Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters is a perfect example of wasted potential, there were so many ways this book could have been fantastic but Weyn doesn't bother to do anything unique. If there is a sequel coming out, I would not even consider reading it! Thank you to Scholastic for providing me with a review copy via mail. ...more
"Promises are like hearts, easily broken" When I heard about Broken, I immediately had to request it on NetGalley.Check out more of my reviews!
"Promises are like hearts, easily broken" When I heard about Broken, I immediately had to request it on NetGalley. Who wouldn't want to read a modern retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? I was a little wary of Broken because the book received pretty negative reviews and the last Frankenstein retelling I read was awful (Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters). I have pretty mixed feelings about Broken but overall I did enjoy reading it!
I probably should have hated Broken, it has everything I don't like about a YA book. Broken starts off extremely cliche with Emma and Alex becoming science lab partners. "Things are not right with Alex Franks. And I can't stay away from him." Of course Emma has to have this magnetic attraction to Alex even though she has a bad feeling about him. Broken was a pretty generic paranormal romance book for the first half or so.
There a few noteworthy aspects of Broken but everything else is pretty basic. I really liked our main character Emma because she kicked ass. Emma didn't let bullies get to her and she even hit of the bullies with her cast at one point in the book. *CAST SMASH!* [image]
I loved Emma's fierce personality but the fact that was in denial for a good part of this novel extremely annoyed me. She kept on denying that she was head over heels for Alex but it was so obvious that she was obsessed with him. Also Emma was pretty oblivious all throughout the novel, it's extremely obvious who Alex is but Emma doesn't seem to find the connection between the two. All the clues were staring her in the face and yet she continued to ignore the obvious.
A.E. Rought definitely succeeds in creating a creepy and eerie Gothic atmosphere in Broken. It's really a shame that this book doesn't truly become eerie until the last quarter of the novel. I was really impressed by the Gothic atmosphere in the end of this book but I wish the Gothic atmosphere was a bigger aspect throughout the entire novel.
In Broken, the major plot elements take way too long to unfold and as a result the pacing is extremely slow. Most of this book is just a high-school romance with occasional paranormal tidbits thrown in. I did like reading about Alex and Emma's relationship but it was rather cheesy. I wanted to see more macabre and spooky plot elements instead of just romance. The ending of Broken is the best part of the novel and I wish the plot moved at a faster pace. Broken doesn't have any plot twists near the end of the book but the ending still was really well done.
Broken is a pretty mediocre paranormal novel. I enjoyed the beginning and ending of this book but everything in between was pretty average. Broken truly suffers from a slow moving plot and an overload of romance. Thank you to Strange Chemistry for providing me with a copy of Broken in exchange for a honest review....more
Who doesn't love a well-done fairy tale retelling? Recently I became a huge fan of this genre because of books like Cinder and Seen at Scott Reads It
Who doesn't love a well-done fairy tale retelling? Recently I became a huge fan of this genre because of books like Cinder and Scarlet. In my effort to read more retellings, I had requested Strands Of Bronze and Gold from NetGalley. I would like to thank Knopf for sending me an e-Galley of this book in exchange for a honest review. Strands Of Bronze And Gold was truly a pleasant surprise!
Strands Of Bronze And Gold is a retelling of Bluebeard that takes place in good ole Mississippi before the civil war. Jane Nickerson deftly uses the setting to her advantage and creates such an atmospheric gothic retelling. I loved the Southern feel of this novel and using the South as the setting for this book was an extremely effective tactic.
If you would have told me that I would love a Southern retelling of Bluebeard this much a couple of weeks ago, I probably would have laughed at you. Despite my uncertainty, I really really enjoyed reading Strands. This book definitely started off a little bit slow as it helped establish the plot and setting. I actually stayed up until 1 or 2ish in the morning so I could find out what happened in this book. I couldn't bear to stop reading because Strands Of Bronze And Gold was that fantastic and addicting. I can't honestly remember the last time a book kept me up this late turning the pages like Strands did. Strands Of Bronze And Gold is a fantastic Gothic retelling of Blue Beard because it maintains the same creepy, gothic tone that was evident in the original fairy tale. Even though I knew how the story was going to pan out, I still couldn't stop reading this book. Nickerson definitely knows how to write a compelling tale that readers of all ages will love. There's nothing like a Southern Gothic, no sirree.
I really enjoyed reading about the characters Jane Nickerson created and I really hope Sophia makes some sort of cameo in The Mirk And Midnight Hour. It would be so cool if all 3 companion books were connected in a way besides the fact that they take place in the same universe. The 2nd book, The Mirk And Midnight Hour comes out in March 2014, I don't know how I will be able to wait that long!
Another one of my favorite things about Strands is the writing style. Strands Of Bronze And Golden is written in such a hauntingly beautiful way that immerses the reader in the world of the South. Nickerson's descriptions were a delight and vividly painted a picture of the Southern world of Strands. An author's writing style can really make or break a book, in this case Nickerson's writing style makes Strands an even more enjoyable read.
Jane Nickerson is a definitely an author to watch out for! Strands Of Bronze And Gold is definitely a debut you won't want to miss out on reading. I am super excited to read the sequel and I have got my fingers crossed that I get an ARC. I'd highly recommend reading Strands, you can thank me later! ...more
Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, and more! The Madman's Daughter is an extremely peculiar retelling of The Island Of Dr. Moreau. On Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, and more! The Madman's Daughter is an extremely peculiar retelling of The Island Of Dr. Moreau. On one hand I loved it but on the other hand it infuriated me so much with that ending. Honestly I am convinced that Megan Shepherd was trying to torture the reader with that unexpectedly painful ending.
The Madman's Daughter starts with a bang and immediately immerses the reader in Juliet's strange world. From the first couple of pages, I knew that I immediately liked her from the moment she said: “Dead flesh and sharpened scalpels didn't bother me. I was my father’s daughter, after all. My nightmares were made of darker things.” Juliet isn't your typical YA heroine, she's has a lot more skeletons in her closet than most characters. Juliet never ceased to surprise me throughout the entire novel and she is truly a fascinating character.
Once Juliet arrived on the island, I'll admit that my attention started to waver. I just wasn't that interested in Juliet's romantic escapades with Montgomery and Edward. Don't get me wrong, the romance in this book isn't terrible but I think the author should have focused more on other things. There was too much of a focus on romance in the middle segment of this book.
Just as I thought that I was done with reading Madman's Daughter and that I should DNF, the story really picked up. From that moment on, I couldn't peel myself from this book and I just had to read more. Shepherd threw in so many plot twists that I didn't see coming and I just couldn't stop reading. All of the plot twists were things I probably should have seen coming but didn't. The plot twists were definitely brilliantly executed and compelled me to continue reading.
The ending was so unexpected that I just need to discuss it once again. Never in a billion years would I have predicted that it would end like this. I'm not even sure what the sequel will be about considering the ending and the way it was executed. I'm debating whether to call it a cliffhanger but it was still such a cruel, yet superb way to end this book. If I had any doubt in my mind about reading the sequel (which I didn't), now there's no way I'll miss out on it!
The Madman's Daughter was such a creepy, gothic delight! I can't remember the last time I read an ending that fantastic. Honestly, I don't know how I will be able to wait till January 2014 for the sequel. I haven't read The Island Of Dr. Moreau but now I desperately need to. The Madman's Daughter is one strange novel that is as compelling as it is unique. ...more
When I got an ARC of Unspoken in the mail I was ecstatic because I had wanted to read it for a while. I really expected a lot Seen At Scott Reads It
When I got an ARC of Unspoken in the mail I was ecstatic because I had wanted to read it for a while. I really expected a lot from Unspoken given all the glowing 5 stars reviews and all the hype that came with it. My main reason that I wanted to read Unspoken besides the reviews was that Unspoken is considered a Gothic mystery. I really loved Gothic books such as Dracula, Frankenstein and Beautiful Creatures so I expected to love Unspoken.
Unspoken takes place in a small English town called Sorry-In-The-Vale. (The last time I read a book about a small English town it didn't even too well *cough cough Pagford*). Kami Glass has been in love with her imaginary friend, and she is the editor of her school's newspaper. She has been labeled as strange due to the fact that she has an imaginary friend and she is in High School. Suddenly when the Lynburns arrive in Sorry-In-The-Vale everything changes. Her personal life has taken a real change and a bunch of animal sacrifices rituals have been found in the woods. Then to make things even worse Sorry-In-The-Vale appears to be chock full of secrets and her mother appears to be have some skeletons in her closet.
I'll be honest I appear to be one of the few reviewers who have a bit of mixed feelings about Unspoken. I really enjoyed the Gothic nature of Unspoken and the humor. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times during Unspoken and people were giving me looks that asked "What's wrong with you?". I didn't care because the humorous dialogue in Unspoken is spot-on perfect. This book has some of the best dialogue I have read to date because never have I ever laughed this much while reading a book. The closest I ever came to laughing this much while reading was reading The Mortal Instruments.
I really liked Kami's character because she was everything I usually look for in a protagonist. She is funny, smart, and almost all business. Kami is the type of girl that when she wants something, she gets it done her way/ She is just that type of take charge person that we all would love to be. I loved how focused Kami was on exposing Sorry-In-The-Vale's secrets until the Lynburns came into town. As soon as Kami locked eyes with Ash and Jared, she wasn't as take charge or professional anymore. She was completely head over heels for Jared and she lost sight of what's important. There is a murderer on the loose and you're giving each other googly eyes and thinking of canoodling. C'mon let's save the sappy romance stuff until after everything's all safe and down.
Romance can make or break a novel for me. Unspoken's love triangle is an interesting and complex plotline but I felt like it took up too much of the story. Instead of all the snooping and detective work, Kami spent an awful lot of time just flirting with Jared and Ash. Kami just didn't seem like the girl to be ogling with boys at all. She even kind of mentioned something along the lines that boys never seemed to like her. Once guys started to like her she metamorphosed into a lovelorn girl. Unspoken is one of those romantically centered novels (similar to Matched, Delirium, and Beta) and it suffers the same problem all three suffered from. When romance seems to be the main aspect of a novel, the plot often is slowly paced. Unspoken isn't as slowly paced as those titles I mentioned previously but the plot definitely could have moved a bit faster. I guess if like most readers of Unspoken you probably won't mind this. I was probably annoyed by the pace because unlike most readers I wasn't swooning over Jared and Ash. Both were well developed and interesting characters but I felt like they weren't too like-able. They both seemed controlling at times and their constant bickering with each annoyed the bejesus out of me.
Plotwise Unspoken is a delight with it's various twists and turns that kept me reading. At times around the middle of Unspoken I wish it was a bit more creepy. Something that I definitely noticed in my ARC of Unspoken was that there were many awkward transitions. Usually when a book fast forwards in time or changes POV there is an indication such as a symbol or something. A couple times I flipped back a page to see if maybe I skipped over a sentence or something but I didn't. These awkward transitions didn't really affect my opinion of Unspoken much but it was a nuisance. I really loved the scenes towards the end of the book because they really caught my attention. The ending was a bit ridiculous because I felt like nothing felt resolved and that it ended too quickly.
Unspoken was a real treat to read with it's fantastic setting, superb protagonist, awesome writing, and Gothic qualities. I wish Unspoken was a bit more creepy and faster paced. I did enjoy the romance but I felt like it slowed down the plot. The dialogue in Unspoken is truly astoundingly funny to the point where I laughed like a lunatic. I really enjoyed how original Unspoken was and I do look forward to reading the sequel. I hope that I enjoy the sequel and I'm really glad that a talented author like Brennan will be a co-author of the Bane Chronicles. I really look forward to reading Team Human and the Devil's Lexicon....more
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