Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters

May 02, 2013 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: families, friendship, monsters, romance, rural-life, science-fiction, war

In this variant of the classic story by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein had twin daughters that he abandoned in order to save them from the monster he created. They've grown up with their grandfather in Germany, but now that they've inherited a castle and great wealth from their father, they head to the Orkney Islands to claim their legacy. The two teens are quite different with Giselle more interested in socializing and gaining entree to high society while Ingrid is fascinated by medical expe...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Karen Yingling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Victor Frankenstein had twin daughters whom he abandoned at their birth to keep them safe from the monster that was stalking him and murdering his closest friends. They were raised by a grandfather in Germany, but when Giselle and Ingrid receive news that their father has left them a legacy, they leave Germany and head off to the Castle Frankenstein on a windswept Orkney isle with their uncle. There, the two determine that they will renovate the castle and stay there. Gisele is the more fashiona...more Victor Frankenstein had twin daughters whom he abandoned at their birth to keep them safe from the monster that was stalking him and murdering his closest friends. They were raised by a grandfather in Germany, but when Giselle and Ingrid receive news that their father has left them a legacy, they leave Germany and head off to the Castle Frankenstein on a windswept Orkney isle with their uncle. There, the two determine that they will renovate the castle and stay there. Gisele is the more fashionable of the two and starts the renovations. She has been thwarted in love by Johann, but when he appears and is now interested in her because of her new found title and money, she realizes she no longer loves him. Ingrid is scientifically minded, and curious to read all of her father's notebooks. She has a friend, Anthony, in medical school, and tags along to some of his classes, disguised as a boy, since women could not become doctors in 1815. Even though Anthony cares for her and would be a great match, she is drawn to a reclusive and injured neighbor, Walter Hammersmith. When she finds out that his war wounds have necessitated the amputation of his leg, and that a neurological disease further threatens his well-being, she delves into her father's notebooks and tries to effect a cure. The stalking and murders that plagued their father start to affect their lives as well-- what is the evil that lurks in the Castle Frankenstein, and can the girls stop it before more lives are lost?
Strengths: Wasn't sure about this one, but it was rather intriguing and fun to read. This is a plausible continuation of the Frankenstein story with a lot of the science of the times, and Weyn does a good job tying in lots of information from that era as well as characters tangential to the Frankenstein story. Good creepy cover, too. Students who want to read Shelley's Frankenstein but only get two pages in before giving up will find this a better place to start.

Weaknesses: I had trouble believing that Ingrid would prefer the moody and reclusive Walter over Anthony, but her romance with him was essential to the story. (less)

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Feb 25, 2013 Arthistorychick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult

Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Netgalley/Scholastic Press

Wow!! It took about three pages for me to become totally and completely absorbed in Suzanne Weyn’s Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters. The book opens in June of 1798 in the pages of Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s personal diary where we discover his fear, guilt, and despair over having created what he calls, the Monster. In the years since his creation, the Monster has pursued, chased, and hunted his maker in an...more Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
Rating: 5/5 stars
Source: Netgalley/Scholastic Press

Wow!! It took about three pages for me to become totally and completely absorbed in Suzanne Weyn’s Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters. The book opens in June of 1798 in the pages of Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s personal diary where we discover his fear, guilt, and despair over having created what he calls, the Monster. In the years since his creation, the Monster has pursued, chased, and hunted his maker in an effort to compel the scientist to create for him, a mate. In an effort to protect his family, Dr. Frankenstein abandons them and goes on the run right up until the moment he dies leaving everything to his twin daughters.

Giselle and Ingrid are the twin daughters of Dr. Victor Frankenstein; though the girls have one another, they have very few other family members in their life and have become quite accustomed to being rather alone. The night the twins were born their mother died delivering them and their father, the famed scientist abandoned them in order to preserve their lives and keep their existence hidden from the Monster. In the years since that fateful night each girl has grown into her own: Giselle is beautiful, cultured, and interested in being a member of high society while Ingrid is the more plain of the two and far more interested in science and research than in her appearance and parties. Despite their differences the girls are absolutely attached to one another and when they learn they have inherited their ancestral home in the Orkney’s, the distinguished title of baroness and a lot of money they jump at the chance for total freedom and independence.

Instantly the girls fall in love with Castle Frankenstein though for very different reasons. Giselle sees the grand old castle as a place where she will host lavish parties and become what she desires above all else, a member of elite European society. While exploring the castle, Ingrid stumbles upon her late father’s diaries and laboratory and becomes obsessed with his research. Also of note: Ingrid becomes involved with their reclusive and seriously ill neighbor, Walter; Giselle is involved in several dangerous and scary events and; the island they live on, though small is experiencing an unusual number of unsolved and terribly violent crimes.

Nearly the entire novel is told through the girls’ diary entries which allows for a more intimate and personal interpretation of events. The entries not only reveal the sisters’ thoughts and interpretation of events but also reveal their growth as characters. Ingrid, in her obsession to help her love, Walter grows intellectually by leaps and bounds while Giselle becomes more aware of her place in the world and asserts her independence. As events unfold both girls begin to note troubling changes in the other which causes concern on both sides. The concerns are well-founded (and spoilery!!) and will keep the reader turning page after page after page as quickly as possible. Every turn of the page brings heightened drama, more concern, greater intrigue, and increasing suspense which all culminates in a perfect storm of crazy and a guest appearance by Mary Shelley :)

The Bottom Line: I knew this book was going to be, at least good, when I requested it from Netgalley and was in no way prepared for how very, very good it actually is! I had absolutely no interest in putting this book down each time I picked it up to read. I was desperate to know if Ingrid would be able to help Walter, who was next to be found dead, and how successful Giselle’s grand ball would turn out to be. How everything comes together in the end is as surprising as it is creeptastic. Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters is a most intriguing, well written, and satisfying read that I can, without reservation, recommend to all readers, young adult and beyond. (less)

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Feb 02, 2013 Inkyfox rated it 3 of 5 stars

Also posted here: http://ireviewyalit.blogspot.ca/2013/...

Great idea, mediocre execution.
Introduction
Before Victor Frankenstein died, he had twin daughters. Ingrid is her father’s daughter, possessing a scientific mind. Giselle is frail with her cough, but is beautiful. They inherit Castle Frankenstein on a lonely little island and relocate with their new wealth. Ingrid becomes fascinated with her late father’s scientific research, and Giselle is a budding socialite looking for love. The peace...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Ionia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror, ya

When the Identical twin daughters of the infamous Victor Frankenstein inherit the family castle, they never expect for life to change as drastically as it does. With horror, suspense and romance all in the same story, this is one to read for a real adventure.

Somehow I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I was not only surprised by the accuracy of the references the author made to the original work, but also delighted with her ability to tell a compelling story based on said work....more

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Jan 30, 2013 Dianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, netgalley, sci-fi, ya, ages-12-up

This story follows the identical twin daughters of Dr. Victor Von Frankenstein, the man who created a creature from spare body parts. (Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) As teens, they discover their birthright, inherit a castle owned by the late scientist they never knew. Deep under the castle, the girls find his laboratory.

The story is cleverly written in the form of journal entries made by each twin, using the manner of writing for the 19th century, giving the story even more depth!...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Ferdy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: boring-crap-hero, desperate-pathetic-heroine, mystery, meh-heroine, meh, emo-hero, dark-tortured-broody-hero

2.5 stars — spoilers

This wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. There were some aspects that I enjoyed such as 1. The book being written in diary format 2. Two sisters (Giselle and Ingrid) taking turns narrating 3. How short it was 4. The slight eerie and gothic vibe 5. The mystery of Frankenstein and Giselle/Ingrid's father and 6. The setting on the quiet island.
I thought the contrast between Giselle and Ingrid was very cliched but it kind of worked for the story. Giselle was the beautiful, ou...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Leah (The Pretty Good Gatsby) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, for-review-netgalley, gothic, ya

http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress....

When one is a twin, it is more than merely having a sibling. Other sisters might be affectionate but they can never know the feeling of being one with another human that twins enjoy.

Time and time again I've gone on at length about my love of retellings. While Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters isn't technically a retelling, it does expand upon the original work and I couldn't wait to jump right in.

Giselle and Ingrid are 17-year old twins and have grown up not kn...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is ridiculously fun. Obviously it would help if you read the original Frankenstein, but I read that freshman year in college and not since, so I can't say that I remember it all that well. I do think that this book would still make sense even if you didn't read it because, after all, it's not like Frankenstein hasn't seeped its way into pop culture.

(If you don't read the original book, you should know that Frankenstein is the doctor who created the monster; the monster doesn't have a n...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Lucy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: characters-i-wanna-bitch-slap, expected-more, hot-ass-mess, horror, i-need-a-better-cover, not-for-me

When I read the blurb of this book, I thought the general concept of the book was pretty interesting but, unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

The world building was poor, to the point where I can't even define the genre of the book. I guess it was supposed to be horror but I don't even see the horror in it, except for the mentions to Dr Victor Frankenstein, the beast he created and a bunch of people that were killed by said beast.
There's also a bit of historic fiction, giving tha...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: twins, ya-fiction, horror, written-in-diary-form, monsters, siblings, mystery

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, nearing their 17th birthday are contacted by their Uncle Baron Frankenstein with the news that they have inherited their father's castle in Scotland. Overjoyed that they are now wealthy, they return to the castle to restore it to the glory it once held. While there, though, mysterious events take place.

Ingrid, a scientist like her father, relishes reading his journals of discovery, while Giselle, the party girl, only wants to enjoy her new-found role as Baroness, i...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Renee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: death-murder, famous-story-retelling, historical-type, boring, this-was-crap, who-fucking-publishes-this-crap, science-medical, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 1.5

I picked up Dr Frankenstein’s Daughter’s because it had the nice retelling vibe I am so keen on. Plus it was Suzanne Weyn and I usually enjoy her novels I mean The Night Dance is one of my very favorite 12 Dancing Princess retellings, and Crimson Thread was a decent Rumpelstiltskin retelling.

But oh dear Goddess this was such a DISAPOINTMENT! Basically it is the story of Giselle and Ingrid (whose names I forgot constantly) who are the unknown twin daughters of Baron Frankenstein. He kept them...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Scott Pilgrim rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, alternating-povs, arc, retellings, big-disappointments, gothic

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 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 hur...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 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.
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Feb 08, 2013 Jen*The Geeky Book Gal* rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale, horror

I thought the premise of this book was very exciting and intriguing. Being a big fan of Frankenstein - the original story I thought this one would be a great continuation with journaling what happens to his twin daughters.

However, I thought the execution fell a bit short. I would have liked to see more character building, as well as the romance being expanded a bit. The book was too short. Also, all the capitalization errors got me irritated after a while. Usually I try not to notice these type...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Darleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dr Frankenstein's Daughters
-A review

Basically, the story follows the twin daughters of the infamous Victor Frankenstein that inherited the family castle. Ingrid wanted to take her late father's work further than he ever dreamed, while Giselle dreamed of the complete restoration of the castle for her lavish party.
But things take a drastic turn for the worse, as events start occurring from the time that they get settled into their inherited castle in Gairsay. Victor Frankenstein was a mad scienti...more Dr Frankenstein's Daughters
-A review

Basically, the story follows the twin daughters of the infamous Victor Frankenstein that inherited the family castle. Ingrid wanted to take her late father's work further than he ever dreamed, while Giselle dreamed of the complete restoration of the castle for her lavish party.
But things take a drastic turn for the worse, as events start occurring from the time that they get settled into their inherited castle in Gairsay. Victor Frankenstein was a mad scientist, but he wasn't mad from the start. After creating his “monster”, it harassed him constantly. All it wanted was company, in which Victor decided to make for him, until it ended up looking like his deceased ex-wife. He fled and was murdered not long after.

I stumbled across this book on a Scholastic book fair. I decided to pick it up because yes, the cover is pretty and because of the interesting good and bad reviews I read on it. The bad thing is that the characters aren't fully developed. So it was hard for me to understand the characters in a way. At the same time, I saw myself relating to both of the twins. There's a lot of ups and downs to the story. There is some mild-violence included in it, but it was a normal thing for that decade. I do agree that this book had a lot of potential to be longer. The fact that its so short and slow-paced made me want to stop reading it at some point but I forced myself to keep going. I can say that I have a love-hate relationship with this book that I can't even describe.

This book is original, and its a good quick read. Its a good balance of tacky romance, mediocre and a bit of suspense (Won't stop until I know what happens next). The fact that the book in general is in journal form, can be a bit confusing. I had to constantly remind myself that there is a pattern between chapters. One is Giselle and the other one is Ingrid, or vice versa.

The end is something that you clearly wouldn’t expect in a million years, although it is something I've read before, it still amazed me. I would recommend this book depending on the genres that a person likes. I'm giving it a three out of five stars because of my mixed feelings about this book.(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Heather Wood rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book had a lot of potential that it never fully reached. I liked the premise and the gothic feel of the novel, but some plot issues undermined my enjoyment of it.

The story starts out with two twin sisters finding out that they’ve inherited a castle from their estranged father Victor Frankenstein. The pacing at the start of the book was a little off for me. I would’ve liked a little more background on the twins’ upbringing rather than a large amount of time learning about the castle and the...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook, two-star-reviews

See more reviews at The Best Books Ever.

The more I think about this book, the less I liked it, which is an unfortunate way to find yourself looking back at a book that you had much higher hopes for. I like retellings of classic stories, I like horror stories and monsters and creepy twins and stories told via things like letters and diary entries. This book has all of those things, but also lots of things I didn't like, like a love story that was never fully fleshed out and a completely bungled "...more See more reviews at The Best Books Ever.

The more I think about this book, the less I liked it, which is an unfortunate way to find yourself looking back at a book that you had much higher hopes for. I like retellings of classic stories, I like horror stories and monsters and creepy twins and stories told via things like letters and diary entries. This book has all of those things, but also lots of things I didn't like, like a love story that was never fully fleshed out and a completely bungled "quick wrap it up!" ending.

I love epistolary-style stories, but the diary entries for Giselle and Ingrid didn't always work for me. They left too much out -- we only see bits and pieces of Ingrid's budding relationship with the reclusive man next door, for example. We're led to believe that she has grown to love him immensely, but they share little time together on the page and when they do, he hardly speaks at all. They might have this great love but I didn't buy it because I didn't see it -- and what little interactions they do have were of the cliched "you can never love me I'm too damaged and horrible" variety. I also wish we'd seen more of Ingrid's transformation from curious young scientist to, well, Junior Dr. Frankenstein. It's a pretty big step from "fascinated by medical things" to "cuttin' up the bodies for Science", and I felt like the middle stages of her descent into madness could have been better emphasized.

A lot of terrible things happen around the girls, and no one seems all that concerned. It helps that Ingrid is focused on her scientific work and Giselle is, well, having her own issues, but still. Most people would expect a little bit more of a reaction, but other than some cursory investigations and mild worry, no one seems to care. I was also not a huge fan of the ending, which felt very rushed. My other misgivings aside, I probably would have had much better feelings towards this book had I not gotten to the closing chapters and found myself wondering "wait, what just happened?" I'm not a fan of foreshadowing so obvious that even oblivious readers can guess what's happening, but this really felt like it came out of left field.

Were it not for the murders, gruesome scientific experimentation, and repeated violence against women, I would say that this reads more like a middle grade book. Though flowery in that Victorian-era sort of way, the writing is overall pretty simplistic, and the book is a very quick read. (I finished it over the course of a couple of hours of flight and layover time.) I think the premise was really interesting, and I liked that it was a woman who was carrying on Dr. Frankenstein's legacy, but unfortunately the execution was somewhat lacking, in my opinion.(less)

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May 20, 2013 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

The best thing I can say about this book is that it reads quickly. If it had spent any time in between chapters reflecting on the book, I probably would have left it unfinished. But, I breezed through it, frequently scratching my head in puzzlement, as I turned to the next page.

So many weird glitches. From little anachronisms like the phrase "homemade bread," as if that was not the norm of the day. Oh and Castle Frankenstein is on the Orkney Islands. I guess that is from the MacFrankenstaihn si...more

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Apr 09, 2013 jv poore rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: buried-under-books, middle-grade

Imagine being orphaned at birth, knowing nothing of your mother or father, only to find out 17 years later, that your father was on the run and considered a lunatic. Despite this, the mysterious man owned a castle and had managed to amass a huge amount of money, which he left for the daughters he never knew. Oh, and he happens to be Dr. Frankenstein.

Okay, that part is really a bigger deal to the reader than to the main characters. No one knew what Dr. Frankenstein had accomplished. The name did...more Imagine being orphaned at birth, knowing nothing of your mother or father, only to find out 17 years later, that your father was on the run and considered a lunatic. Despite this, the mysterious man owned a castle and had managed to amass a huge amount of money, which he left for the daughters he never knew. Oh, and he happens to be Dr. Frankenstein.

Okay, that part is really a bigger deal to the reader than to the main characters. No one knew what Dr. Frankenstein had accomplished. The name did not bring to mind a flat-headed, greenish/gray man that walked like a robot with his arms outstretched. None of the characters in the book compulsively shout out “It’s aliiiive!” at the mention of Frankenstein’s name.

The discovery of their father’s name, along with the receipt of a gargantuan inheritance, begins the story of twin girls, Giselle and Ingrid. Although identical, Giselle is considered “the beauty” as she is quite fond of her looks and spends a great deal of time primping. She wants to entertain the world. Ingrid is absorbed with the practice of medicine. The book is set in the early 1800s; women were forbidden to obtain an education. Ingrid had to do her studies behind closed doors or dressed as a man.

The girls quickly relocate to the castle. As Giselle spends day and night cleaning and decorating the castle, Ingrid obsesses over her new treasure, her father’s journals. Giselle is planning a huge party to fill the castle. Ingrid couldn’t care less about the party, aside from coaxing Giselle to invite prominent doctors and researchers so that she could discuss her new theories about limb regeneration. As life goes on, Ingrid becomes quite taken with an injured man in a small cottage near the castle, Giselle continues working feverishly, and the town becomes nervous as men begin to go missing.

The initial premise of the book is intriguing enough for anyone to grab it off of a bookshelf. Once in hand, the story quietly snares the reader and draws him in. On one hand, the readers see a bit of romance begin to bloom. It is sweet, but clearly complicated. Will love prevail or will the fear of heartache keep it dormant? Worse, will a slow, painful and untimely death rip them apart?

On the other hand, the reader begins to sense mystery and danger slowly surrounding Giselle, like a fog creeping in. Men are disappearing. Some are later found, as mangled corpses. Who is doing this? The reader (having the advantage of knowing about Dr. Frankenstein’s creation) may believe that the monster is exacting revenge on the unsuspecting and totally unaware girls. But that seems a bit too pat, so surely, it is someone else, right?

I won’t tell, but I promise that if you read the book, the answers to these questions will surprise you.

This review was written for Buried Under Books Blog.
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Feb 28, 2013 Diamond Cronen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook-list, favorites-of-2013, ya, favs-4-blog, first-reads-arcs

This book was provided to me by Netgalley/Scholastic Publishers.

I really enjoyed this book! I was skeptical because of the many mediocre reviews, so I wasn't expecting much. The premise, that Victor Frankenstein had two daughters (twins) Giselle and Ingrid, and tells the story of their lives.
The twins don't know their father or mother and are raised by their grandfather. They come to inherit their fathers castle and meet their Uncle. Who doesn't love a haunted story with a castle?
The entire b...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Janina rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: teens-historical-fiction, horror

Nope!

It had an awesome concept. I loved, loved, loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I thought - oh, this will be wonderful! Not so much.

It took FOREVER for anything to happen. The book was only 244 pages, but aside from maybe a page here and there of creepiness, there was nothing for the majority of the book. It just dragged on and on and I kept wondering - where is the climax? What will happen? And even THAT was a major letdown. By the time the book ended I didn't give a crap about Giselle o...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Jennifer Murray rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oh my. Parts of this book are ever so much fun. The setting, the mystery, the addition of famous faces of the past... it could have been completely fantabulous.

Unfortunately I had a few problems with it. The beginning was hard to slug through, and the ending felt rushed, but GOOD LORD the middle was yummy!

I loved the way information was given, in drips and drabbles, because it allowed me to reach a point where I was pounding my kindle with my finger screaming "OMG! I know what's going on!", and...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Zabet The Dark Empress of Dark Chocolate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books, historical-fiction, classic-connections

This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

Cover Impressions: The cover has a little bit of an old school feel. It reminds me of ghost stories that I would have read in elementary school. The colors are pretty and the setting is ominous.

The Gist: Giselle and Ingrid have discovered that they are the daughters of the brilliant and wealthy Dr. Frankenstein. As his only heirs, they inherit his castle in the Orkney Islands and set about making it their own. While Giselle renovates...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Lauri rated it 1 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lauri by: Requested from NetGalley.

Shelves: pdf

If you are a fan of Frankenstein then I would suggest you pass on this particular tale. You will enjoy the prologue from the POV of Victor Frankenstein, however the rest of the story has no original thought. What you expect will happen to the daughters of Frankenstein is exactly what you get. The story drags in areas and when you get to the grit of the tale, the Frankenstein moment, it abruptly concludes.

For me the worst part of the tale was the guests that show up to Ingrid's party. I won't sp...more

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May 15, 2013 Mara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, books-to-buy, classic-retelling, mystery

Cover Blurb: Yes or No? Despite the character impersonators, I actually do really like the cover. It's got the Gothic feel, with Giselle holding the candle, and Castle Frankenstein in the background with a full moon.

Characters: Giselle and Ingrid are practically opposites when it comes to their personalities. Ingrid is obsessed with science and discovering how things work; she could not care less about fancy dresses or what society expects. Giselle, meanwhile, is a social butterfly and hopes to...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Well, first off, I have no idea where that synopsis came from. There is no Gretchen - it is Giselle. And it is Ingrid that is into the science experiments. Giselle is the party girl. Love triangle ? Not really.

I really would like to give this book 2.5 stars - historical fiction is not really my thing (except for Outlander of course), and maybe I misunderstood the writing style as somewhat stilted wherein maybe it was close to historically correct. But I actually loved how the story progressed. W...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Jean rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okey, dokey--this was another book fair preview. What can I say? I don't particularly care for the journal entry story telling style, but I guess that, at least, is true to the original Frankenstein's epistolic narration. I thought the book was pathetic, but I think my clientele will eat it up--grisly as it is. The romantic scene followed by an invitation to watch a demonstration on intestines should pull them in if nothing else does :) I can see this book being made into a B movie for Creature...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Ms. Drake rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, classic-connections, historical-fiction

Cover Impressions: The cover has a little bit of an old school feel. It reminds me of ghost stories that I would have read in elementary school. The colors are pretty and the setting is ominous.

The Gist: Giselle and Ingrid have discovered that they are the daughters of the brilliant and wealthy Dr. Frankenstein. As his only heirs, they inherit his castle in the Orkney Islands and set about making it their own. While Giselle renovates and plans an elaborate party, Ingrid becomes lost in her fathe...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-books, arc-book-read

I immediately loved the rich, dark, gothic feel this had. With each new chapter opening with a journal entry, it was so well done and flowed so nicely. I loved watching the personalities of the sisters change over time as they took in all that was around them and as they discovered more about themselves and their family.

I couldn't help but feel like I had been transported back into another era. A darker time when very little was still known in the medical profession and with each new discovery a...more I immediately loved the rich, dark, gothic feel this had. With each new chapter opening with a journal entry, it was so well done and flowed so nicely. I loved watching the personalities of the sisters change over time as they took in all that was around them and as they discovered more about themselves and their family.

I couldn't help but feel like I had been transported back into another era. A darker time when very little was still known in the medical profession and with each new discovery anything and everything was possible.

I loved the mad ramblings of Dr. Frankenstein and the anguish and despair he had at the loss of his wife and the daughters that he would never get to meet and claim. The torment of the monster he created turning evil and ultimately taunting him and destroying all that he loved. It was a great opening and completely set the feel of the story.

Really it was a great rendition of the classic Mary Shelley tale. A whole new look at what could have been had Victor been a real mad scientist with a life other than the one that only centered about his creation of His Monster.

Ingrid and Giselle were very interesting girls. I too loved the feel of their journal entries. How two twin girls could be so much alike and yet so very different was a very clever idea and made a very interesting storyline. One a beauty like her mother, one a mad scientist like her father.

I really loved watching it all unfold as the sisters discovered who they were and who their family really was. I loved all the literary people, artists, doctors, scientists, and others that were portrayed throughout the story. It was a nice historical aspect to it that the history buff in me really enjoyed.

My only complaint is that more wasn't said about The Monster. What happened to him? Where was he now? What exactly happened to the girls? What was going to happen to them now?

So many things were hinted at and foreshadowed but not everything was revealed. The ending felt a little too abrupt and left me wanting more of the story. I didn't quite get all the answers I was looking and hoping for.

And while I didn't get all the answers, I was still okay with it because maybe that meant there could be a sequel, which I would definitely read and will be hoping for because overall, I loved Weyn's writing style and how I felt like I was transported back in time.

3 to 3.5 Stars!(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Audrey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013_publish, arc, netgalley, young-adult

Even though I was an English major and a fan of horror, I hated Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I found the monster to be whiny, and the endless philosophical debates dull. It just wasn’t for me. So, I was taking a risk in reading Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters, but figured it would be different because it’s a modern young adult novel. I should have stuck with my gut and stayed away from this book.

Frankenstein is a fairly straightforward, taut story of a scientist working at the time when Galvani was...more Even though I was an English major and a fan of horror, I hated Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I found the monster to be whiny, and the endless philosophical debates dull. It just wasn’t for me. So, I was taking a risk in reading Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters, but figured it would be different because it’s a modern young adult novel. I should have stuck with my gut and stayed away from this book.

Frankenstein is a fairly straightforward, taut story of a scientist working at the time when Galvani was first discovering that electricity was a part of the nervous system, and that an electric charge could make a dead body move. Take that one step further, and Frankenstein used the early technology of electricity to create life and animate dead tissue. Dr. Frankenstein’s Daughters presents us with two fictional twin daughters of Frankenstein, spirited away at their birth (and their mother’s death) in order to hide them from Frankenstein’s monster. Now, they have learned of their heritage, have become baronesses of a Scottish castle, and are curious about their father.

The daughters are a bit stereotypical: there’s the plain brainy one, Ingrid, who hopes to follow in her father’s scientific footsteps, and the beautiful but vain one, Giselle, who dreams of dressing up the castle for grand parties. The plot is a bit meandering, and not totally worth summing up. Ingrid falls in love with an invalid and wants to use electrotherapeutics to save him, and Giselle rebuffs a suitor who wants her money. Some other stuff happens, like murders on the island, but the plot loses focus, and thus so did I.

What really got me about this book, though, were the historical inaccuracies that Weyn presents. In her ending author’s note, she thanks her editor for catching the anachronistic words in the text. I wish her editor had taken it further and taken out the anachronistic ideas. For example, the story takes place in 1815, and gives a mistaken account of the meaning of mesmerism. At one point, Ingrid receives a book from the mid-1600s, and it is described as yellowing and crumbling, which is wrong for this particular book from that period. It assumes pages made of wood pulp rather than linen. I know I’m supposed to suspend disbelief, but more research was clearly needed in this attempt at historical fiction.

I found the ending to be a frustrating copout, and just felt unsatisfied with the story as a whole. There was quite a bit of inner eye-rolling going on. I think I might be coming at this as an overcritical person because of my own knowledge of the history of the period, but I can’t help but be disappointed when false information is presented as true in historical fiction. Funny enough, though, I still found this book to be a more fun read than Frankenstein.(less)

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