Of Monsters and Madness - Book Review

Of Monsters and Madness (Of Monsters and Madness #1)
by Jessica Verday

What is it about:
A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on.

What did I think of it:
This is a very entertaining read.

Verday used poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe as extra inspiration for this YA retelling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

If you are an E.A. Poe fan and can't handle it when people take liberties with the truth you should probably avoid this book. For people who don't mind a little bit of history bending and enjoy retellings of classics, this is a fun read.

I liked Annabel and her maid. It's clear from the start that Annabel has something to hide, and even though she is the viewpoint character we're not told what it is. But that annoyance aside I very much enjoyed this book. There are no big surprises for those familiar with the original tale, but I don't read to be surprised.

All in all I can advice this to anyone looking for an entertaining historical YA read.

Why should you read it:
It's a very nice retelling of a classic.


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