Cleopatra and Frankenstein

This book gave the vibe that it was made solely to be adapted into a TV series. The plot was light and was running on vibes that most of the time was not fun. That being said I did enjoy Eleanor's character as she felt the most grounded and realised. With the many characters in this book, I feel as thought Mellors tried to fit a book worth of character development into one or two chapters which left characters stories feeling unfinished. Having the story focuse on different POVs and the pacing being in a sort of monthly timeline the story leaves characters for months on end with no passing mention and just when you have forgotten about them, they re-enter the narrative. Quentin for example, a character who is struggling with addiction and their identity is dropped from the story completely at times. I guess you could argue that because Cleo and Quentin become distant with each other they wouldn't appear much in her pov but that wouldn't explain why Mellors drops the character from the story entirely. The book had a lot of potential to get into why characters are self destructive to themselves and other people (Cleo and Frank) or the struggles of navigating queer identity and addiction (Quentin) but all we get is how miserable the characters are with no insight into how they navigate and deal with their traumas.

This book had potential, and I was excited to dive into the main couple’s relationship since it was refreshingly unconventional. But the constant shifts in POV to the surrounding characters made it hard to stay engaged. I think it didn’t help that the same narrator voiced every character in the audiobook instead of having distinct voices for each, which would’ve made it clearer and more immersive. I also dgaf about the side characters’ issues; with a title focused on the main couple, the story should revolve around their perspectives and emotions. Hot take: I think both of them are actually the villains. Just two months left in the year, and still no 5-star read—who would’ve thought?

Extremely flawed characters and at times insufferable but makes for an interesting read. Definitely enjoyed

2.3 I saw a review for this book, and it said "sometimes you read a book because it has a pretty cover" I think that is exactly how I found this book. I will say that it is not badly written. That is not why my review is low. I was just annoyed at every single person. I couldn't find anyone to root for. I was a tiny bit happy for Frank and Cleo by the end (More Frank than Cleo despite previous book behavior). I think the last 150 pages, I read in a couple hours compared to the other 200 and so pages took me 3 days. In summary, this was a book, I finished it, and I probably will forget about it by next week.

What Frank did to that sugar glider was wrong and I almost dnf'ed because of it.

My version of a romance book, the perfect amount of gore and made me re-think life decisions but overall a great book that explores the depth of falling in love in your twenties and being swept into sudden relationship with still on-going trauma built up inside.