A woke version of Frankenstein, with a woman as the heroine saving the day.
It took me awhile to get through this one, because I have a problem with authors taking other authors ideas instead of coming up with their own characters.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. —𝑼𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔: 𝑨 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒓

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯.

Unnatural Creatures is filled with delicious, dark atmosphere and moody imagery as it reimagines the classic Frankenstein.

This just may be the gothic you’ve always wanted, one that is told from the perspectives of the women closest to Victor Frankenstein.

If you’re at all familiar with the basics of the story, you know that Victor’s mad and mercurial behavior seeped across the pages but now, readers are treated to a more intimate look.

Witness the story told from Victor’s mother, his beloved fiancé and the faithful maid - each familiar with his darkest secrets.

Filled with historical details and eerie writing, I loved reading such a classic story from a feminine lens. Though the women are still very much held tight by their gender and expectations, there is a fierceness and an inner fire burning in each.

This reimagined version of Mary Shelley’s tale of an undying monster is beautiful and melancholy, completely unforgettable. If you’re in the mood for some Autumnal reading you should definitely check this gripping story out.

2.5 rounded up I was rather disappointed in this. Intriguing premise, truly gothic/atmospheric, but most of the characters were one-dimensional. The varying viewpoints and jumpy timeframes seemed to allow for some gaping holes in the storyline, while other scenes seemed either unnecessary or contradictory. Too many overdramatic details (Elizabeth’s scream heard all over, by everyone, regardless of location) and implausible scenarios (the monster appearing here, there and everywhere…even on a ship).

Kris Waldherr's reimagining breathes new life into this classic Gothic tale, offering a feminist perspective and shedding light on the strength and resilience of the female characters. The novel is a richly atmospheric work that explores themes of revenge and redemption, all while challenging readers to view Victor Frankenstein and his creation in a new light.

A perfect spooky season read. Recommended for all fans of Halloween and classic monster movies/stories.

The book was beautifully written, I loved seeing the story from the perspective of the women in Frankenstein's life.

I found this book to be really engaging and I loved the premise. I'm a sucker for anything Frankenstein so this story was right up my alley. I am looking forward to reading other books by the author.

This was fun and creepy, and just all-around a great read! The story jumped in quickly, which I always appreciate, and it kept me invested all the way through! I loved it!

I've seen a lot of 'female POV' retellings recently, and have enjoyed most of them. Ever since 'The Mists of Avalon' years ago, exploring the perspective of a well-known tale has been fascinating. I approached this one with interest, as the original author was both female and a well-known feminist. Surely the women in the story were well-drawn enough?

Less an alternate reality version and more of an alternate lense, this version of 'Frankenstein' does indeed focus on the ladies of the Modern Prometheus, including a lot of action where Victor himself was not present. Let's face it: in the original, he was a typical surgeon! Selfish, obsessed with his work, forgetting that he had a ladyfriend at several points! Perhaps Mary Shelley was bringing in aspects of her own life there...

By travelling with women of differing class, intellect and focus, we see far more than the original novel could. Kris Waldherr has not just explored the landscape; they've spent time with characters who were overlooked but still absolutely relevant. Each of these had an effect on Victor, and it's fascinating to see what they contribute while blossoming as uniquely themselves.

Also I know the original 'Frankenstein' is less action-packed than some readers might expect. This is equally calm in places, but knows how to turn up the heat when appropriate.

Interesting, enjoyable and thought-provoking.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order next year and will recommend it to students.

I couldn't get into this one. So I guess I didn't really care about the back story of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein. But other readers may like this one.

I adored this book. It was great! Kept me thinking about the story line long after I put it down. Thank you for the review copy!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. While the premise was interesting I didn’t connect with the characters or the story in a meaningful way. Some books just aren’t for us, and that’s alright.

Unnatural Creatures by Kris Waldherr - 4/5

This is one of those books you read, fall in love with and becomes a comfort read. The author's writing style is excellent, the story line grabs your attention and before you know it, you are at the end. The characters bring the entire story full circle, with their heartbreak, unexpected twists and turns and a sweet surprise.

[Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.]


This is one of those books where you're not quite sure where the story is going but the vibes you get certainly has you pumped to keep reading. While I know the basics of the original book this is based on, I found this giving me a fresh look at what the background of each character and it left some jaw dropping moments throughout. Without spoiling anything, some of the second half of the book made the wait both bittersweet and satisfying in the same aspect.

I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't faint of heart though I don't think (in my opinion) that's it's too grisly. I'd more than likely read another of the author's work.

My Rating: 4 Star Read

I loved the idea of this book since I am such a huge fan of Frankenstein. The novel has some great ideas but sadly the author is not really seeing them through, at least not all of it. Elizabeth as a character has such wild shifts that come out of nowhere and cannot be explained with "a person of uneven temper", it threw me out of the story but not in a good way.

As a fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I was excited to read this novel! This novel was everything I hoped for because it was told from the women’s perspective! The novel is very atmospheric and is evenly paced. There were many scenes that gave me a fright. I thought that it was very faithful to the original novel! Thus, I recommend this for fans of Dracula, My Love, Dracula in Love, and Frankenstein’s Bride!

This was just meh for me. I expected to give it 5:5, but something about it just felt flat. I don’t know if it was the pacing or the characters, but I need more details.

A brilliant reimagining of Frankenstein .Told from the Women’s perspective in Victor Frankenstein’s life this is a riveting gothic tale . Eerie and atmospheric you will devour this in one sitting .

Absolutely adored this - an emotive and expansive exploration of the classic novel, from the perspective of its most forgotten characters. I reread Frankenstein fairly regularly, and Unnatural Creatures will now join it!