Unnatural Creatures is an alluring gothic tale inspired by Frankenstein with a lively spin in the form of a feminine reimagining. This book has true to life history with a flourishing aura and is elegantly written. This book was wondrous to read and I definitely recommend it. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this treasure.

I'm delighted to share my latest novel UNNATURAL CREATURES: A Novel of the Frankenstein Women here on NetGalley. UNNATURAL CREATURES has been a true labor of love that's taken me three years to author. My intent in writing it was to reveal the untold stories of the three women closest to Victor Frankenstein—his bride Elizabeth Lavenza, mother Caroline Frankenstein, and servant Justine Moritz—while incorporating the historical events of the era. To add further depth to UNNATURAL CREATURES, I even traveled to the locations where Frankenstein takes place: Geneva, the Mer de Glace, Chêne, Belrive (now known as Belle Rive), and Mont Blanc. I also visited the grounds of the Villa Diodati, where Shelley began writing Frankenstein on a dark and stormy night in June 1816 as a result of a ghost story competition.

Elements of Mary Shelley's life—her experiences with natal loss, her tumultuous relationship with Percy Shelley, her complicated history with her parents—also served to enrich UNNATURAL CREATURES. I particularly believe Mary Shelley's writing of Frankenstein was influenced by the absence of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, who died days after giving birth to her, as well as the death of Mary Shelley's first child, a daughter born premature in 1815. Soon after, Shelley wrote in her journal of a dream where "my little baby came to life again; that it had only been cold, and that we rubbed it before the fire, and it lived."

Without further ado, I hope readers everywhere will enjoy my loving tribute to Mary Shelley's masterpiece.

I feel like I've been through an emotional wringer. Firstly, I had no previous Frankenstein experience, never having read Mary Shelley's original work, though I knew the basics. I don't think it's necessary to have read it, the elements are all here. I was captivated by this book from the first chapter, but it was only over halfway through that I thought it was something special. The writing is so lush, so cinematic for lack of a better word, it's so easy to imagine these scenes and be transported. And the emotions. Oh, the emotions, from hope to despair, to frustration, sadness, empathy to despair again. It's about humanity, hubris, compassion, loyalty, love, hatred, revenge, strength,isolation and belonging. This book is a triumph not soon forgotten. A gothic classic, regardless of the publication date. I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review

Definitely to be read.

Although not epistolary, it is very similar to reading the original, in terms of language and style. At present 'Frankenstein' is a set text in a lot of British schools, and would encourage those students to read it, as it would enhance their experience of the novel. Three female characters - Victor's mother, his bride and a family servant - all come to the fore, and have different roles to play in the tragedy.

With thanks to NetGalley and Muse for an ARC.

A take on Frankenstein that is original and very readable. Great job showcasing the women involved.

It’s been years since I’ve read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, an amazingly masculine though authored by a very young female. You might get a bit more out of Unnatural Causes if you’ve read Frankenstein recently, but the book does stand well on its own.
Unnatural Creatures is a feminist reimagining from the perspective of three female characters—Caroline Frankenstein, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Justine Moritz. All are outsiders brought into the Frankenstein family: first, Caroline, a poor girl married by the father, Alphonse; second, Elizabeth, a poor girl found and adopted by an older Caroline and Alphonse and who becomes the fiancée of Victor Frankenstein; and finally, Justine, a poor hunchback discovered by Caroline and Elizabeth and brought into the Frankenstein home as a servant, but treated well and even educated. These three women become, in turn, the three protagonists in Unnatural Creatures. Strong and complex in their own rights, they wrestle with the philosophical ideas of fate versus self-determination; whether they are responsible for themselves or are victims; whether love or duty is the greater need to fulfill; whether female-based procreation is better or worse than the male-based procreation espoused by Victor Frankenstein.

Waldherr’s prose was delightful, so fully akin to that of Mary Shelley I felt I was reading the original novel. She weaves in historical tidbits occurring in the late 18th century as the French Revolution makes its way to Geneva, thus upping the stakes for the wealthy Frankenstein family. I am not a horror reader, but loved this book. It will definitely go on my keep-forever shelf.

"Unnatural Creatures," is a compelling read, especially for anyone who just wants more from Frankenstein.

Oh, how I adored the lush, transportive, and terribly heartbreaking beauty of this Frankenstein revisiting and reimagining, lensed through the perspectives of three women, all incredible in their own right. Caroline--Victor Frankenstein's exquisitely gentle, selfless mother; Elizabeth, the beautiful and accomplished cousin betrothed to Victor, with secret torments and a mysterious past of her own; and poor, broken, and orphaned Justine, devoted to the family--but just how far will she go to prove it? I loved how richly imagined and fully realized these three characters were, and in my rapt, convulsive reading of this tale it dawned on me how desperately it needed to be told.

Unnatural Creatures focuses on the women around Victor Frankenstein in a reimagining of Mary Shelley's book. There are some parts I loved and some I didn't, but overall it was a satisfying read.

I liked how the author incorporated not just Elizabeth's story into this, but that of Caroline Frankestine and Justine as well. There have been a few books about Elizabeth Lavenza, but I haven't seen much about the two other women. They both really shined here, especially Justine. Her chapters are my overall favorite, I think.

Maybe it's because I have read and enjoyed a similar book that follows Elizabeth's storyline, but I felt a little bored with it, as if I've seen it all before. Aside from that, some portions in the middle of the book dragged compared to others. The ending also felt a little rushed for me.

Overall, a well-done spin on Frankenstein to feature the women characters in a more prominent light. If you're a fan of the book, I'd definitely recommend this for you to pick up.

445 pages

5 stars

This book is the perfect companion piece to Mary Shelley’s great opus. It fills in the (fictional) background and history of the Frankenstein family and many of their servants.

Essentially this is the story not only of Victor, but of three remarkable women who supported and shaped him to some degree. I was absolutely fascinated by their stories. It takes place (mostly) during the 1790s. The revolution was going on in France and effectively intruded on life in quiet little Geneva in the process. When it finally reached Geneva, terrible things happened.

Caroline, Victor’s mother, was a somewhat nervous woman who would do anything to protect her little family. She was married to Alphonse, who was a syndic (a government official).They were quite well off and Alphonse’s position provided them with many benefits.

Elizabeth was taken in by the Frankenstein's as a very young child. She was of similar age as Victor and Caroline dreamed of them marrying when they grew up. Elizabeth was beautiful and accomplished. She and Victor loved one another.

Justine was found in the garden on Frankenstein property. She has scoliosis and was painfully shy. After they met the obviously abusive mother, Caroline took her in. Justine was forever grateful to the family and became very attached to them all.

The undercurrent in the story is Victor’s decline into madness and his scientific experiments. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if they were “successful.”.

This book is much more than a horror tale. It is brilliantly written and plotted. My hat is off to Ms. Waldherr. I keep thinking about the story. That is the highest compliment to any author. I immediately went to amazon to look at her other books. My hope is that she does a companion piece for other great stories.

I want to thank NetGalley and Muse Publications LLC for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Unnatural Creatures … A novel of the Frankenstein women. The book starts out with the lonely female languishing on the ice and hoping to live through this third death. All she carries with her is a rock sack that holds a broken compass an equally broken telescope in the gold chain that holds the picture of the most gentle woman who is memory this lady doesn’t want to think about. In book one we meet Caroline, Alphonse and Victor Frankenstein and the couples ward Elizabeth. We also meet the lazy housemate Sophie. They have another son but because he is so sickly he’s sent to the Alps for his help. Victor in Elizabeth are both young teenagers 12 and 13 respectively. Upon waking they cannot find beautiful Elizabeth. After looking Victor finds her asleep in the snow with her arms around a poor decrepit girl. This is Justine, when Caroline learns she is abused by her mother for being hunchback and different she makes her a member of her staff. Justine and Sophie are the same ages, But because Justine is a hard worker Sophie doesn’t take to her at all. Through all this we learn that Caroline‘s biggest fear is an uprising and when finding a pamphlet in her garden her fears are amplified. After a strange incident at the Christmas party Justine showed her loyalty by saving Caroline‘s life in Victor shows his baby steps into madness. This novel is made up of four different books and I was going to go through each one, but I think if I did it would be a spoiler and I don’t want to do that. Just know by Book Tours there has been a lot of sadness visit on the family and there’s more to come promises not cat love not returned in a non-settled battle that has yet to rage. By the end of the book I forgot all about the woman in the beginning so when I realized who it was I kind of thought it was but we’re still surprised. Just know this is a great book if you love classic novels and family dramas that go from birth to death you totally enjoyed this book. it took me a wild to read but never at any point that I want to stop. I truly love this book and will probably read it again and put it under the category with Dracula and of course the ever present Frankenstein. Please forgive any mistakes I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own. I was given this review copy by net Gally and the publisher and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. #OnNaturalCreatures, #NetGalley,#ChrisWalters

Incredible novel, easily one of the best I've read in years. Atmospheric, tense, with characters that jump off the page. By turns unnverving and wild, heartbreaking and flinty. I loved it.

Yessss! This book is everything you want for the spooky season! As you read, you can practically hear the low rumbling of thunder in the distance and feel the uneasy chill up your spine. It’s always a joy to read historical fiction when an author takes care in the details of their time and region. Waldherr has absolutely researched the events surrounding the original Mary Shelley book and has done an incredible job at not only adding to the same original writing flow yet distinguishing it as her own. This story is elegant, macabre, unsettling and delightful.

I got this book from #netgalley in exchange for a review.

Let me start by saying that I love this book.  It starts with Caroline, Victor Frankenstein's mother. Who you grow to love then we meet Elizabeth his love then we meet Justine a girl who Caroline saves from a hard life.

This book has so many twists and turns you don't know what's going to happen next. You can't help but root for these 3 women as they experience a hard life. We watch them as they try to deal with life while Victor descends into madness.

You really see how they deal with tragedy while showing the power of love. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction and thrillers, with romance mixed in. Will be recommending to friends.

I started reading this book half an hour before I had to leave to do an errand and was pulled in immediately--and was late to my meeting! The writing is excellent and the story is wonderfully evocative and creepy. I love novels where I feel utterly immersed in the time and place, and this is one of those gems. It carries you away and before you know it, you're in an entirely different world. There are unexpected twists that keep you guessing as to what's really going on, and characters that surprise you. A+!