Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match: A Novel

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I thought the religious aspect of Second First Impressions was weird, but the shoehorning of religious morals and actually just religion in general into the end of this, was incredibly jarring. I didn’t even like the sound of this from the blurb but I was picking up some holds from my local library one day and I saw it sitting on the new release shelf. Other than mentions of them riding in a carriage or a description of Angelika's old-fashioned undergarments, it was lacking the multitude of small details that come together to form a true, authentic atmosphere. In fact, it’s written in such a way that Will’s new appendage really desires Angelika but he himself, the man with the brain, does not want to do physical things, in fact keeps almost trying to run away from her at every opportunity.

There’s very little here in terms of responsibility for actions and hey, maybe it’s not the best thing to just be bringing random dead people back to life and expecting them to love you for it? I haven’t read Frankenstein (I own a copy, it’s on my list) but I think most people tend to realise that Frankenstein is the monster, not his creation and I’m not sure this book leans into that at all. Sally’s writing has always spoken for itself and while this one speaks of dismembered body parts and gothic mansions, it was no exception. I've reread it a million times, and when I started this book, I felt echoes of Tom Valeska and Darcy Barrett in Will and Angelika (crazy devotion and longing, insane sexual tension, etc.It didn’t help that the emotional trajectories across the book a whole felt somewhat incoherent to me.

I mean, yes, there’s a long cultural tradition of people making other people, for sex or science, or anything else, but … like. I think, at this point, it’s fair to say that this book didn’t really work for me but, equally fair, to note that the ways it didn’t work for me are probably quite personal and it will probably work for others. Angelika does, eventually, spot a corpse she feels is attractive, but she ends up deciding the man in question would be even more satisfying to her if he had a more muscular chest and a bigger dick. Who doesn’t root for a heroine whose value isn’t recognised by her society and who hasn’t, at some point, thought life would be infinitely easier, if we couldn’t just build ourselves a custom partner from bits of dead people.And girl, if you are going to make me wait until OVER 80% of your book to have a sex scene, at least make it a good one, holy shit. Take everything you've come to love in a Sally Thorne novel: witty banter, a sexy, toe-curling romance, and voice that pirouettes off the page, but add one part Tim Burton. However, she is heartbroken to find that, while he does feel immense attraction and emotional connection towards her, he can't go forward with their relationship until he finds out who he is, and makes sure he doesn't have a family somewhere grieving for him. witty banter, a sexy, toe-curling romance, and voice that pirouettes off the page, but add one part Tim Burton’ CHRISTINA LAUREN’Bridgerton meets The Addams Family .

It's massively obvious who she would end up with and honestly, both dudes aren't well developed enough for you to care one way or the other. The two siblings live together in Blackthorne Manor, a huge house owned by the Frankenstein family for generations, just outside Salisbury village. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.

Another big issue I had was that this was supposed to be a historical book, and these characters came off as completely modern, progressive people who were transplanted in the past just for atmosphere's sake. Frank-N-Furter, from Rocky Horror, for all its campy musical fun, has, again, resorted to making a man because he doesn’t want to deal with, y’know, tricky little issues like consent. Clever, pretty (and odd) Angelika Frankenstein has run out of suitors and fears she may become the exception to this family rule. She’s built the perfect lover, but dear reader please remember, you can never judge a man by his cadaver….