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tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
2.0
What I Did Like:
+This reads like the diary of a teenager in the 1800s. It’s an interesting historical fiction piece that brings a light to the struggles of another time. I could see using this in a classroom when studying Frankenstein to give it another dimension and set up the world.
+Quick read. This one is already short and moves even faster because of the appearance of prose. Therefore, it doesn’t take long to move through the timeline and get the full picture.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of diary-style stories that capture the essence of life in other time periods will enjoy this one.
My Rating: 2 Stars
For me the attempt at verse fell flat, which made the entire novel feel like a gimmick.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2023/10/06/2023-book-review-hideous-love/
+This reads like the diary of a teenager in the 1800s. It’s an interesting historical fiction piece that brings a light to the struggles of another time. I could see using this in a classroom when studying Frankenstein to give it another dimension and set up the world.
+Quick read. This one is already short and moves even faster because of the appearance of prose. Therefore, it doesn’t take long to move through the timeline and get the full picture.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of diary-style stories that capture the essence of life in other time periods will enjoy this one.
My Rating: 2 Stars
For me the attempt at verse fell flat, which made the entire novel feel like a gimmick.
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2023/10/06/2023-book-review-hideous-love/
bmg20's review against another edition
1.0
A copy of Hideous Love was provided to me by Balzer + Bray/Edelweiss for review purposes.
'November brightens my spirit
as I let go my fears
and agree to travel
to London to be with my Shelley.
I visit Skinner Street
and the Hunts.
Also History of a Six Weeks Tour,
my first book, appears this month,
again with an anonymous author.'
*snore*...
I didn't go into this surprised that this was verse and immediately discount it. I adore novels written in verse (well, as long as they're well done.) When done right, novels written in verse have the ability to evoke such beautiful emotion, flawlessly. Verse is essentially narrative poetry: beautiful words that flow, words that can hold you captive in their power, but words that also tell a tale.
I understand that verse is the next big writing style, but verse writing requires a certain finesse. You're not just telling a tale and you can't take your sentences, chop them up into tiny bits and format them to appear as poetry and call it verse. To me, this is exactly what happened with Hideous Love. The writing was choppy and stilted and didn't allow me to connect with the story. It also lacked any sort of emotion, which is the most vital and important part of a verse novel. There were no beautiful descriptive passages, it was simply a long line of 'this happened, then this happened, then this, and now that.'
Suffice it to say, I was extremely disappointed. I think choosing to write this novel in verse was a huge decision and definitely the wrong one. Unfortunately, I don't recommend this one at all.
'November brightens my spirit
as I let go my fears
and agree to travel
to London to be with my Shelley.
I visit Skinner Street
and the Hunts.
Also History of a Six Weeks Tour,
my first book, appears this month,
again with an anonymous author.'
*snore*...
I didn't go into this surprised that this was verse and immediately discount it. I adore novels written in verse (well, as long as they're well done.) When done right, novels written in verse have the ability to evoke such beautiful emotion, flawlessly. Verse is essentially narrative poetry: beautiful words that flow, words that can hold you captive in their power, but words that also tell a tale.
I understand that verse is the next big writing style, but verse writing requires a certain finesse. You're not just telling a tale and you can't take your sentences, chop them up into tiny bits and format them to appear as poetry and call it verse. To me, this is exactly what happened with Hideous Love. The writing was choppy and stilted and didn't allow me to connect with the story. It also lacked any sort of emotion, which is the most vital and important part of a verse novel. There were no beautiful descriptive passages, it was simply a long line of 'this happened, then this happened, then this, and now that.'
Suffice it to say, I was extremely disappointed. I think choosing to write this novel in verse was a huge decision and definitely the wrong one. Unfortunately, I don't recommend this one at all.
archipelagophoto's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
bookish_whispers's review against another edition
2.0
So originally when I bought this I didn't realize it was written in verse, which isn't a big deal. There are a couple of other books sitting on my TBR pile written the same way. I was actually sort of excited for this book. Frankenstein is one of my favorites, but I don't honestly know all the much about Mary Shelley. It's a small book, but I figured it was a good place to start. Sadly I was wrong. The book was suppose to be written from Mary's perspective, but I felt like I never really got to know her as a person through the verse. The timeline jumps from important events in her life, but there's not much detail in those events. I felt like I was given the facts but nothing else, and the whining about her sister. For a good portion of the book some much verse about her fear that sister was going to steal her husband away. Also, I felt the book just sort of ended. We got to the biggest tragedy of Mary's life, the death of her husband, and that was sort of it. Nothing else about her life after. As a whole I didn't really enjoy the book. It was just okay for me. What the book did do was give me the need to find another book with a bit more detail about Mary's life. About her love affair with Percy, the cruelty of her step-mother, and her journey to write Frankenstein. Sadly this is one book that won't be staying on my shelves.
debi_g's review against another edition
2.0
Somehow, the fascinating lives of the Shelleys and the company they kept are reduced and refocussed, in this book, as if to avoid scandalizing contemporary readers.
On the plus side, this book consists of more whitespace than text, so it took only twenty-five minutes to read the entire tome.
On the plus side, this book consists of more whitespace than text, so it took only twenty-five minutes to read the entire tome.
imclaugh's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this book up on a whim while in the library and literally could not put it down until I'd finished. Certainly the poetry doesn't measure up to a Ted Hughes, for example, but it flows for the most part, largely avoids anachronisms, and most of all flows with a passion that makes its subject come alive. A compelling portrait of a misunderstood author that has much to teach us about Western woman's ongoing, if ultimately quixotic, struggle for self-expression and intellectual independence.
maniikoi's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book directly from the publisher for no cost as part of the Goodreads First Reads Program.
I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this book to start reading and realized that the story was told in poetry, which is quite fitting since Percy Shelley was a poet. The two opening poems were a perfect way to start off the story of Mary Shelley. The open poem, ‘I Am Mary’ is very easy to relate too, and I can admit that I have thought and felt the very same many times in the past. While the poem, ‘My Mother’ was very endearing; it brought me to a deep, vulnerable part of my soul when I read that one.
The whole story is about Mary Shelley’s life, before and after she met the love of her life, Percy Shelly. It tells the story of a young woman who leaves her life behind and forsakes everything in the name of love and free will to live life without social restrictions. Percy Shelley, at the time is married to another woman, Harriet, but falls in love for Mary and they end up eloping despite her family’s disapproval and rebukes.
It is equal parts sad and inspiring, and altogether something someone can relate to in at least one way or another, and that’s what’s good about this novel - It connects with the reader on so many different levels. The story of what happened to her mother was sad, along with what happened to her first child. “My own mother died eleven days after my birth, and my baby lived only eleven days.” It grieved me to read that she ended up losing her first three children to illness. No mother should have to bury their child; no mother deserves to see their little one taken before their time.
I envy that Mary Shelley got to go out and see the world; she got to see so many amazing and beautiful places. It is very inspiring to read a story like this one. Even with the grievances and the tragedies that she faced she strived to carry on despite those dark days. That is something that is very hard to do, and I commend her for that; she is a very strong woman to have gotten to where she is and keep going no matter what.
Stephanie Hemphill did a remarkable job writing this amazing story about the life of Mary Shelley. It was a very interesting read, it definitely did its job of keeping me intrigued. And it definitely inspired me to try to get my hands on a copy of Frankenstein.
Hideous Love is very much like a biography, but not so. Stephanie Hemphill wrote the story in such a way that it was as though Mary Shelley herself was writing this, in a journal. The emotions, the events, it told of everything and anything that was happening, as one would do when writing in their journal. It was great. It definitely appealed to me in that aspect. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this, it was just great. I really enjoyed reading this one.
I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this book to start reading and realized that the story was told in poetry, which is quite fitting since Percy Shelley was a poet. The two opening poems were a perfect way to start off the story of Mary Shelley. The open poem, ‘I Am Mary’ is very easy to relate too, and I can admit that I have thought and felt the very same many times in the past. While the poem, ‘My Mother’ was very endearing; it brought me to a deep, vulnerable part of my soul when I read that one.
The whole story is about Mary Shelley’s life, before and after she met the love of her life, Percy Shelly. It tells the story of a young woman who leaves her life behind and forsakes everything in the name of love and free will to live life without social restrictions. Percy Shelley, at the time is married to another woman, Harriet, but falls in love for Mary and they end up eloping despite her family’s disapproval and rebukes.
It is equal parts sad and inspiring, and altogether something someone can relate to in at least one way or another, and that’s what’s good about this novel - It connects with the reader on so many different levels. The story of what happened to her mother was sad, along with what happened to her first child. “My own mother died eleven days after my birth, and my baby lived only eleven days.” It grieved me to read that she ended up losing her first three children to illness. No mother should have to bury their child; no mother deserves to see their little one taken before their time.
I envy that Mary Shelley got to go out and see the world; she got to see so many amazing and beautiful places. It is very inspiring to read a story like this one. Even with the grievances and the tragedies that she faced she strived to carry on despite those dark days. That is something that is very hard to do, and I commend her for that; she is a very strong woman to have gotten to where she is and keep going no matter what.
Stephanie Hemphill did a remarkable job writing this amazing story about the life of Mary Shelley. It was a very interesting read, it definitely did its job of keeping me intrigued. And it definitely inspired me to try to get my hands on a copy of Frankenstein.
Hideous Love is very much like a biography, but not so. Stephanie Hemphill wrote the story in such a way that it was as though Mary Shelley herself was writing this, in a journal. The emotions, the events, it told of everything and anything that was happening, as one would do when writing in their journal. It was great. It definitely appealed to me in that aspect. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this, it was just great. I really enjoyed reading this one.
clairewrobel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
paranormalauren's review against another edition
3.0
The question I'm left with: How did Mary Shelley get any writing done while being surrounded by all those jerks?!
I can't comment on the structure. But if you like a good scandal...Hideous Love is just about right.
I can't comment on the structure. But if you like a good scandal...Hideous Love is just about right.