I have completed another book and I am happy to share this one. In fact, I do believe that my reading is about to increase. I’m going to be crazy and I’m going to try and get a book review done each week for the rest of the year. Can I do it? Who knows. Oh, I guess there will be one exception.The week after my wedding. Not going to be doing any work that week. So, with that out of the way let me tell you about This Dark Endeavor.
Summary of This Dark Endeavor
To start off, This Dark Endeavor is written by Kenneth Oppel. It is the first book in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein duology. In this book we follow Victor as a teenager. He’s close with twin brother, Konrad, and their friends Elizabeth and Henry. Elizabeth lives with the family after they “rescued” her from a home. When Konrad gets ill the three teens worry about his health as doctors try to figure out what’s wrong with him. They learn about alchemy and Victor takes an interest in it immediately, certain that there has to be a cure. They partner with a former famous alchemist and try to create the Elixer of Life to save his brother.
What I Liked
This was a really fun read. Hearing how the family is tied to alchemy was interesting. And then you have Victor learning about alchemy and beginning to dabble in it, but still having an interest in science was a really nice touch. Seeing the way the relationships between Victor and the other three teens changed was well written. The way they had to retrieve the ingredients and all the work they had to go through to even learn what was needed was intense. The way everything was written made it a really easy book to read.
What I Disliked
Honestly, there wasn’t too much that I disliked about this book. However, there were a few times where Victor drove me insane. He did some things that were just plain stupid and made you not root for him. But then you remember he’s a teenager and you tolerate some of these things. His relationships were greatly affected by some of these decisions and in true teenage fashion is created some drama that wasn’t needed. But yeah, not a lot to dislike about this book.
This Dark Endeavor Rating
I enjoyed this book but I gave it a 3.5 star rating. There were a lot of things that I enjoyed, and a plot twist I didn’t see coming, but the annoyances I had with certain things did bring it down. I also believe that this could have been a longer book. Maybe the other book will give us a bit more in regard to some unanswered things in, but it did end with some loose ends. I also thought it was a stand alone, originally. If I find the second book, I will read it.
After This Dark Endeavor
So, I have actually finished another book, so that review will be coming next week. And in true Stephanie fashion, I’m reading through 2 new books. And I am hopeful to finish one of those quickly. One is through an audiobook, and the other a physical copy. One is a fantasy book and the other is contemporary fiction. Not my usual, but I do want to expand my reading as much as possible. And with me wanting to try and read a book a week, that should help me get at least 25 books read this year. As we know, anything can happen if I try.
