Mild spoilers, of course. More significant ones later, but I’ll flag them up so you can exit the vehicle if you need to. The first 40% of the book I really, really enjoyed. Was it absurd? Absolutely but it was also quite fun and funny. However, at about the 50% mark the book becomes overrun with religious overtones, even making the love interest a Priest. While the Frankenstein’s make clear in the first half of the book they believe in science and fact by the end they are praying and with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein being highly regarded as a critique of religion this felt like a really weird choice and I didn’t really like it, at all. Especially contrasting the ending of this novel with the original Frankenstein. But when a second suitor emerges to aid their quest, Angelika wonders if she was too hasty inventing a solution. Perhaps fate is not something that can be influenced in a laboratory? Or is Will (or whatever his name is!) her dream man, tailored for her in every way? And can he survive what was done to him in the name of science, and love? Except there are things near the end I did not love, and won't mention due to spoilers, but are tied up in both what the Frankenstein's believe to be part of their foundation and, as it turns out, Will's, and how that all comes together.. I don't know, felt a little strange. But then again the whole book is strange. I'll also admit that Will was occasionally a struggle when it came to his behaviour towards Angelika and not always in the way he should've been. It's hard to explain but him being hot and cold was fine, I just thought there were some inconsistencies mixed in, too. From USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game Sally Thorne comes something a little unexpected… a historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister, and her attempts to create the perfect man.

This book takes two hard selling tropes: instalove (the MOST insta of insta loves,) and love triangle, and shifts it into this completely bizarre, quirky, romance book that somehow…works? I think?? Anyway. Let’s talk about Angelika Frankenstein but please, as ever, do be aware that my views are very subjective and I’m only speaking personally. What didn’t work for me here might be exactly the sort of thing that makes you go “wow, I really want to read that now”—and, frankly, I hope it does. Because it would be a shitty world if everyone liked (or didn’t like) the same things. When her handsome scientific miracle sits up on the lab table, her hopes for an instant romantic connection are thrown into disarray. Her resurrected beau (named Will for the moment) has total amnesia and is solely focused on uncovering his true identity. Trying to ignore their heart-pounding chemistry, Angelika reluctantly joins the investigation into his past, hoping it will bring them closer.

Now, Sally's second book, 99 Percent Mine, is one of my all time favorites. 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.). And that was fantastic, as only Sally can make it. The characters weren't afraid to show how in love they were all the time, especially Angelika – except, of course, they couldn't be together. From an entertainment standard, I’ll give this book five stars. It’s definitely the only book in a LONG TIME that has held me captive and I’ve been giddy to get to at the end of the day. hello?!?!?!? earth to hating game sally?!?!??!?!?!??!?! if you're being held prisoner blink three times please we can help In summary, as much as I wanted to love this book, it failed to win me over. I gave it two stars because the mystery drew me in enough to want to get the answers, so it did pique some of my interest. However, I was quite disappointed with the romance aspect, and the characters did not endear me to them which left me wanting a lot more. Sally Thorne is an incredible author that I have enjoyed in the past, but you can't love them all and this happened to be one of the misses.

I have a lot more thoughts but they will waver on the Spoilery side so we will save that for later. There was some Real Weird stuff going on in this book with the Frankenstein's being atheists & Victor being all about science and Angelika being """selfish"""" and """"vain"""" and """"uncaring"""" until Will/Father Arlo pops in and teaches them about religion and ~miracles and being nice to poor people or some shit. I don't know, honestly. It felt gross for Angelika to be as old as she was and needing to be ~taught better behavior by a man, and a priest at that. Homegirl was honestly fine as she was. And her being like "you can't TELL me what to believe or not believe anymore, brother [because i ~believe now]!!!" was a bit of a side-eye. She just felt like such a passive character. She doesn't do things, things just happen & everyone is mean to her because she likes to buy expensive soap instead of working at a soup kitchen. She spends basically the entire book mooning around about Will/Father Arlo and wanting to have a baby. It's a bit regressive, is all I'm saying. There is a line towards the end, direct quote: "You are in the bed of a spoiled, wealthy heiress who has realized her privileged position and will work for the rest of her life to deserve you." Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike, nah brah, this is not it. I’m sure that at some time we would like to change the appearance of someone we love, but not completely make a new person. This book is a love story with a difference. Set in the 1800s scientific experiments go a bit wrong. Easy to read and enjoyable because of its difference. Vivien, ACT, 4 StarsEighteen-year-old Mallory Greenleaf is no longer interested in chess, not since her hypercompetitive dad left—the game calls up painful memories. But she grudgingly agrees to play in a charity tournament as a favor to best friend Easton Peña. After she unexpectedly beats current world champion Nolan Sawyer, she’s offered a fellowship that will prepare her to play professionally. Even though Mallory doesn’t want to play anymore, she needs the money that winning would provide; she’s delayed college to support her family, since her mother is chronically ill with rheumatoid arthritis and is unable to work regularly. The more time she spends with Nolan, the more Mallory comes to like and respect him—and the more time she spends playing chess, the more she remembers how much she loved it. But when she learns that Nolan has been keeping a big secret from her, she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to move past it to build a relationship with him. Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans. Mallory and Nolan are both cued white; there is some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Mallory and Easton are queer. And I think where AFMHM lost me as a reader early on, and never quite regained me, was that, for me, I didn’t feel it managed to extract a successful romance from the inherited problems of its premise. I don’t want to go too far down a gender reversal route, because I think it has limited value and doesn’t account for the nuances of social power dynamics. But I do get the sense that some readers might struggle with a male protagonist who builds himself a sextoy from the chopped-up parts of women chosen specifically for their adherence to conventional beauty standards: the biggest boobs, the longest legs, the roundest arse, etc. I’m not saying you *couldn’t* write a romance with this premise (although you might want to skip the build-a-babe angle) but I think it might be an uphill struggle to recapture reader sympathy and make us truly believe in the other character’s agency within the context of a relationship with someone who has been so actively employed in stripping them of it. Whilst she could not find anything overly objectionable in her reflection, and she had indeed been described many times as a beauty, there was something about her personality that was untenable. Unnatural. Unlovable. So…I mean. I guess let me just start this by saying that I have always been very in love with The Hating Game and I have nothing but admiration for authors who are willing to take risks. And I’m aware it feels like a loaded compliment to describe a book as “risk” but there’s an extravagantly weirdness about Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match that may not pay off for all readers. And, to be honest, did not wholly pay off for this one, even though something I love about Sally Thorne as a writer is her willingness to embrace the weird. I mean, the fact Lucy and Joshua are, in their own ways, deeply weird people is why The Hating Game speaks to me as deeply and particularly as it does. This is obviously a re-telling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, only in this version Victor is resurrecting dead bodies to find a husband and partner for his sister Angelika. Obviously, resurrecting someone for your personal gain is all kinds of morally wrong but this is a Frankenstein retelling so I digress.

He paused, wincing, trying to choose his words. “I am very proud of you, for starting to think this way, and I shall do the same. I think we lost our parents before we could learn the importance of economy.” “And charity. And community. A love story with intrigue, mystery and humour. I fell in love with Angelika Frankenstein from the beginning and her quest for love. The connections between all the characters draws you into their world. Lose yourself in this contemporary romantic story. Penny, QLD, 5 StarsThis book was entertaining and enjoyable. The author, Sally Thorne, engaged readers in an incredible book. Thorne has a great way with words and that shone through her writing. This book was a wonderful, heart-warming story that incorporated the right amounts of humour and passion. This feel-good book’ mystery had me holding my breath. I relished the book as Angelika Frankenstein unravels her life story. I adored every part of this book and can’t wait to read more Sally Thorne books! Nishka, NSW, 4 Stars Although I enjoy romances in which both characters subtly help each other grow as people, I would normally loathe a romance in which a man is constantly urging a woman to be different. However, Angelika is such a brat at the start of the book, and Will is so gentle in his efforts to help Angelika be a better person, that I didn’t mind the dynamic between them at all.

Did I mention Belladona the pig who is in love with Victor? I want to read her book about her obsessively pig pining days. I needed more Belladona in my life. The mystery of who Will was had me guessing until the end and I loved the pace at which it was unraveled. There was a minor love triangle, but I actually really liked how that wrapped up as well! I also loved the ode to Shelley’s Frankenstein at the end. This book was not at all what I was expecting. I was very confused about where it was going, and, sometimes, the answer was nowhere. From the USA Today bestselling author of THE HATING GAME c omes something a little unexpected: a historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister, and her attempts to create the perfect man. All that to say! Well, nothing really. You'll either read this book, or you've already read it, or you won't.From the bestselling Australian author of The Hating Game, now a major motion picture, comes something a little unexpected… an historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister’s attempts to create the perfect man. Thank you to Better Reading for the early preview of this novel. Angelika Frankenstein, THE sister of Victor Frankenstein is looking for her perfect match. Why look when you can create? I loved this witty, funny, dirty rom com set in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Such a unique utterly loony storyline that will keep you intrigued until the very end. Nektaria, VIC, 4 Stars Listen, real talk: Did Sally Thorne find religion after she published The Hating Game and that's why she writes such boring books now? Like, DM me & let me know, it's fine, I won't tell anyone. Because honestly, it's the only reasonable explanation I can think of as to why the steam level is basically nonexistent & there are weird religious overtones in all her novels now. In that (dreadful, lbr) last one, the MC was the daughter of a priest or whatever, right? And then, in this one, the hero is literally a priest? Like, it's a bit sus if we are being honest. Not super keen on that at all. I started reading this at night at a campfire and the ambiance was perfect. This will be THE read of fall for me, I can’t wait for the audiobook and a mug of apple cider.