This book was just not it for me.

I just couldn’t really click with Angelika. Her personality seemed too flighty for me to find much to connect or empathize with. A lot of her emotional episodes happened too quickly to really acknowledge or they lasted too long and I grew bored. Thorne wanted the reader to see that Will helped Angelika think of more than herself but she never truly seemed to change throughout the book. If anything, it just felt like an act so that Will thought she was a better person and would fall in love with her. I just didn’t really connect with Angelika so it was hard for me to connect with the story.

Will was an okay character… kind of bland to be honest. He was very hot and cold with Angelika and that dynamic grew old quickly. I did think that Victor and Lizzie were hilarious, both individually and as a couple. Victor’s relationship with Angelika was unlike my relationship with my brother in many ways but I still recognized that sibling bond and loved it.

A big drawback of this book was my lack of interest in the romance. This book is marketed as a romance and is definitely written like that, but I just couldn’t get behind the concept of Angelika making a man out of dead body parts, reanimating him, and then falling in love with him. I just kept picturing dead skin, with that greyish blue tint, and I couldn’t see it. That, combined with Will’s blandness, made it difficult for me to see him and an intriguing love interest. Because the romance between the two is the largest part of the plot I was left feeling unfulfilled and bored most of the time.

The thing that I liked about Angelika was what she represented. She was an intelligent woman who knew what she wanted and went after it with everything she had. She didn’t really care what people thought of her and focused more on herself. Sure, sometimes that ventured more into selfishness, but I think we as women need to feel comfortable with looking out for ourselves and doing what’s best for us, so I really did like that aspect of her personality. She was witty and held her own throughout the book and I respected that, even though I found the way she was written to be kind of annoying.

I enjoyed the setting of the book greatly. I loved the sprawling manor grounds with the gargoyle-clad manor and adorable little cottages, apple orchard and woods, and second creature on the prowl. There’s just something about a setting in which characters must travel by horseback or carriage that I find so wonderful, I can never get enough of it.

This book just really didn’t click with me. I couldn’t get past my dislike of most of the characters and lack of interest in the plot. There are certain mysteries and characters that I enjoyed but overall I just wanted the book to be over as I was reading. I was so excited to read this book but unfortunately it just wasn’t meant for me.

I didn't finish this book. I didn't like the characters, the writing, or the plot. It was a weird mishmash trying to be funny (and failing), trying to be historically accurate (who knows) and was just overall very ugh.

This was not at all the book I was expecting when I read the synopsis. Did I finish it? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Not particularly. Some of the conversations were good, others were just WTF-ery. Actually, the whole book felt kind of WTF-ery. I guess that was the intention, but it didn't make you feel like that in a good way at all. This book just was not for me. But that doesn't mean that it isn't for everybody.

I tried to keep reading this book multiple times but I just could not get into it. The plot was extremely intriguing to me and I really did love the idea and the set up of the characters. However, a few things in the very beginning threw me off for the whole story and I could not put it aside to enjoy the rest. I was put off by certain comments made between a brother and sister about a sexual context and it honestly just gave me the ick. I know the siblings are close, but the explicit manner and delivery didn’t sit right with me. The MC continued to talk about her “projects” chosen penis for way too long and I was just uncomfortable about it. After taking a break from reading, the more I thought about how problematic the whole concept was. This was a no from me.

This was such a fun historical book with a twist on the classic, Frankenstein. You def have to suspend your disbelief while reading it but it was so fun. I loved the romance between Angelika & Will and the brother/sister relationship with Victor and Angelika.
It was super cute and such a perfect time to read it with fall coming!

This new book from Sally Thorne was so fun and unique! I went into this book completely blind, and I think that really added to the magic and the hilariousness of it! I cried, I laughed, and I cackled in my room waking my husband up at 2 am! This book is definitely vulgar at times, and is not for the faint of heart if you do not like that type of humor- it starts out with Angelika going into the morgue laughing at a mans member and then sewing him on a new one! The love in this was also good, it involved a love triangle-- so can't go wrong there! Overall, funny Halloween themed book that will have you up laughing at night.

This was messy. It was like too many disjointed things were going on that she wanted to work, but just didn’t. I kept going because I wanted to know who Will really was. Turns out, that was a bit of a disappointment as well. I also really hate how even at the end Angelika’s accomplishments and inventions are still undermined. This had so much potential to be weird and wonderful, and I guess on some level it is, but it really does fall short. It doesn’t feel like a romance, save for a very rushed last 50 or so pages. I really liked the little nod to Mary Shelley at the end and the found family aspect. I just could not get into this and feel like it needed some refining.

While it was enjoyable in the end, this was not really my cup of tea. It took me a bit of time to get into. It was well written, had a different storyline, and likeable characters. It just was not for me.

A weird and delightfully intriguing take on the romance and sci fi genre. I loved the main characters, the complexity of the sort of love triangle and the struggle with understanding humanity and love in many contexts. Sally Thorne never misses!

This was an interesting retelling! I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it was fun and very unique. I love Sally Thorne's work! 4/5 stars

I was so freaking pumped that I got approved to read Sally Thorne's new book - but...that excitement was short lived. This book was very weird, and in a way that I don’t think I liked very much - so weird I considered DNFing about a dozen times. Thorne is a brilliant writer, but this book was a misstep from her regular homers. This book made me uncomfortable, which is not an easy feat - not sure I'd recommend

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne was a great take on a classic tale. It had all the right amount of character build, dialog, and description. The setting was perfect and gave me all the fall feels. I love Sally Thorne's books and this was a lot different from her other writings but I absolutely loved it. Looking forward to many more!

A blend of historical romance with a dollop of horror that’s perfect for this spooky Fall season.

To preface, firstly, I have not read the original Frankenstein story by Mary Shelley so my review will not contain any reference to or comparison with it. Secondly, this lovely romance will require a reader such unbelievable amounts of suspension of disbelief for this to be enjoyed. I mean Imagine falling in love with a man that’s literally put together. Lastly, this is one of those books where you have to be in a specific mood for.

I fell in love with Sally Thorne’s writing in The Hating Game and in fact, it was the book that led me into a rabbit hole of romance books I wasn’t able to escape from. However, I did not much like her second and third outings, 99 Percent Mine and Second First Impressions, respectively. With this next one, I very much adored it after getting past the initial gore of the siblings’ experiments.

This may be the most unique romance book I’ve read since I started reading romances. For one, I have not yet read any historical romance, much less any twist on it. Thorne’s back with her brand of push and pull of pining with her witty dialogues. The chemistry between Angelika and Will was deeply felt that I loved their interactions together, from the moment Will opened his eyes up to the epilogue. Aside from the main couple, I was thoroughly delighted with the dynamics between the siblings with Victor’s mix of teasing, taking for granted and being protective of Angelika.

Just a caveat, this book likewise contains heavy anti-Church sentiments so this is definitely not for everyone and I understand that many may be put off by these.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager, NetGalley and the author for the chance to read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

this book was wonderful! I loved how this got me into spooky season and it had such great banter. The science was *chefs kiss*

I’m a huge fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein so that was a major reason for wanting to read this. I also tend to read PNR/fantasy romance/HR so this felt like something I would be interested in. I wasn’t expecting a close retelling of the story and this definitely wasn’t that.

Even though I think the premise of this story is cool and has a lot of potential, it would take a pretty skilled author to make it good given Angelika’s power over her reanimated corpse and that whole dynamic. I’ve never read any of Sally Throne’s books before but I’m not sure I’ll be reading any more.

The more religious aspects of the story that people are talking about aren’t revealed until later. It definitely felt like this was coming out of no where to me. I’m Christian but I never read Christian romances so I can’t compare it to that. I will say the religious aspects of the romance were uncomfortable and a little gross to me. The really religious part happens at the end of the book. I hated the ending but I’m afraid I can’t go into more details without spoilers.

Other than that, I just didn’t love the writing itself and found myself not really caring much about the romance. The whole point of a romance book is that it has to make me want the main characters to be together, but I just found myself not caring. As for the writing, there were some parts I found to just be odd. I think some of them were probably intended to be humorous, but they just fell flat.

Thank you to Avon Books for providing me with this advanced copy!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match was weird in the most delightful way. I love the book for its quirky, lovable cast of characters, and for the way it feels so different from anything I have ever read before. You can tell Sally Thorne had so much fun creating this world, which manages to be so full of heart, despite the gothic/horror premise.

While Victor Frankenstein is busy creating his monster, his sister Angelika (Jelly for short) is trying to create her perfect match. Desperate for love and a family of her own, Will is resurrected in her laboratory with no memory of his previous life.

The connection between Angelika and Will is so pure, despite some questionable ethics about how he came to be. Will is torn between his growing feelings for Angelika and his need to discover who he was before his death. Both of these characters were so sweet and kind to one another, and thanks to Will’s influence, we see Angelika begin to wrestle with her privilege as she grows into the best version of herself.

Angelika Frankenstein is one of Sally Thorne’s best. A monster romance wrapped in a warm hug that I adored from start to finish.

Oof, where do I start with this book? This was just a weird mess from the beginning to the very last word. It started off interesting (in my opinion) but the writing was just a bit too cringey for me. There was just such a heavy focus on Will's penis and the oversexualisation of certain moments just did NOT work for me. Luckily that mellowed out as the book continued but after that all logic was just thrown out of the window. As I already mentioned Will, let's begin with his romance with Angelika. It was just way too ickey for me. It felt a little bit like grooming and the fact that their romance is super underdeveloped doesn't help that at all either. I just felt uncomfortable everytime they had a romantic scene together. Something I did like in this book though was Will's search towards his past life. Honestly, that's what kept me reading for a big part of this book. However, the way that was eventually resolved I just did not like at all. The reveal just felt stupid and I did not like how the conflict that eventually came with that was resolved. Angelika I also just hated. She was just such a brat (and that says a lot because I hate using that word to describe people). She was so entitled and selfish, while constantly making stupid decisions. We're constantly told she's brilliant and a saint who is just so kind to others but never get to see any of that. The only "kind" actions that come from Angelika either are a means to a selfish goal or they are just her showing basic human decency towards other people. It got very aggrivating to read. I also don't like how in the end this whole book got SUPER religious and basically villainised Victor the entire way throug this book simply because he's an athiest. It felt just super preachy and weird and I just did not like it very much. So yeah, I expected a fun time from this but instead I just got annoyed.

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match was...something else. I don't really know how to put into words what this book is. It's weird, it's campy, it's outlandish, and I was into it. And that is mainly to do with Sally Thorne's writing style. I don't know what exactly it is, but she always hooks me.

I don't want to give a synopsis for this book, because it really just needs to be experienced, but I will say that this won't be for everyone. It is, put very plainly, an odd story. But if you want a different story that hasn't been told in the romance genre, this is very much it. There is definitely instalove which may be annoying to some and religious undertones that could be considered regressive, but I was enraptured by this story. I have slogged through a lot of books this year, and this one held my attention from the first page. I look forward to what Sally Thorne puts out next.

This book felt clunky and not at all what I'd typically expect from this author - I did know that this genre was a bit of a departure from contemporary romance for her, but overall the story just did not grab me and it was difficult to finish this book.

4⭐️

Angelika finds a beautiful dead man in the morgue while she and her brother, Victor, search for potential candidates to reanimate. Angelika creates her perfect man out of multiple men and Victor makes a creation the same night as Angelika, but he isn’t as handsome and gentlemanly as Angelika’s is, and he quickly escapes. Victor’s man has the hands of Angelika’s, which still has a ring on his finger and holds the key to his identity because he cannot remember his former self. Because he cannot remember his name, they settle on Will and he becomes obsessed with finding out who he once was.

Fearing that Will will find that he was previously married, Angelika hides this information about the ring from him initially and also lies and tells him his body was horribly mangled in an accident and that is why she had to craft him from multiple bodies. Will seems to immediately find Angelika physically attractive, but does not like what she has done to him and is not as quick to love her as she is to love him.

This is definitely a weird one but a good one! It is a retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that focuses more on the love life of Victor’s sister, Angelika. Admittedly, I did not like Angelika much at the beginning of this. She’s spoiled and selfish and is unsympathetic to her new creation and expects her reanimated beau to immediately love her. Her character development is somewhat subtle as she tries to learn from Will’s kindness and selflessness. By the end of the book, I really liked her a lot as she realized her past mistakes and makes an effort to he better.

<b> “No man alive can handle this level of honesty.”

“That is precisely why I searched for a perfect dead man.”<b>