Author: Alisa Kwitney
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: Cadaver & Queen – February 27, 2018 Corpse & Crown – February 12, 2019
Genre: YA, Retellings, Historical Fiction
Cadaver & Queen
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Corpse & Crown
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“When Lizzie Lavenza enrolled at Ingold as its first female medical student, she knew she wouldn’t have an easy time. From class demands to being an outsider among her male cohorts, she’ll have to go above and beyond to prove herself. So when she stumbles across what appears to be a faulty Bio-mechanical–one of the mechanized cadavers created to service the school–she jumps at the chance to fix it and get ahead in the program.
Only this Bio-mechanical isn’t like the others. Where they are usually empty-minded and perfectly obedient, this one seems to have thoughts, feelings… and self-awareness.
Soon Lizzie realizes that it is Victor Frankenstein–a former student who died under mysterious circumstances. Victor, it seems, still has a spark of human intelligence inside him, along with memories of things he discovered before his untimely death.. .and a suspicion that he was murdered to keep that information from getting out. Suddenly Lizzie finds herself intertwined in dark secrets and sabotage that put her life, and the lives of Victor and their friends, in danger. But Lizzie’s determined to succeed–even if that means fighting an enemy who threatens the entire British Empire. “
Corpse & Crown
Oliver Twist gets a fresh take in this reimagining of the Dickensian classic taking the familiar characters and turning them on their heads in a historical thriller packed with weird science, political suspense, and steamy romance, perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.
From Alisa Kwitney comes a connected novel set in the same alternative Victorian England of Cadaver & Queen. Corpse & Crownfollows the story of Agatha DeLacey, an Ingold nursing student who travels to London and uncovers a devastating secret about the country’s Bio-Mechanicals. Inspired by the classic story of Oliver Twist and complete with a dashing Artful Dodger-inspired male lead, this retelling is a satisfying follow-up to Kwitney’s clever and critically acclaimed young adult debut.
Thank you so much to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for the copies!
Cadaver & Queen
This was the most fun I’ve had reading a retelling in a long while. A retelling of Frankenstein? Come on. It was seriously thoroughly enjoyable.
Victor is our hot frankenstein and boy did he not disappoint. The chemistry he and Lizzie had was A+. Lizzie is a brash American with her own way of doing things. She is extremely smart. Smart enough to be the only female to get into medical school (this is the very early 1900’s). She is tested repeatedly and always comes out stronger. I especially love the moment between her and Grimbald towards the end.
The side characters were really fun to read about as well, and brought a solid story of their own; Byram, with his mysterious limp, Will, trying to measure up to his (supposedly) dead brother, Victor, and Aggie, having the clever things to say but more than meets the eye. And Justine… I’m still not sure what to think of her.
I thought the plot was well executed and unique. There were multiple Frankensteins and crazy doctors/ scientists and that made the story way more interesting.
Corpse & Crown
I liked this one slightly less but only because we see less of Lizzie and Victor as they race to complete an experiment before they run out of time. War is on the horizon, so I get it, they’re busy. But Aggie and Dodger are a good time. Dodger is actually the one that is all lovey-dovey, love-at-first-sight, whereas Aggie is a not in your lifetime type of gal. They make for an interesting couple even if they’re not quite as cute as our original couple.
I did, however, like the plot in this one more. It was more intense with more on the line. War is almost upon them, plus accidents and action left and right. It was more fast paced than the first one.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a fun read, go ahead and pick these up! Especially if you think a Frankenstein retelling sounds awesome.
Alisa Kwitney was an editor at DC Comics/Vertigo and is the Eisner-nominated author of graphic novels, romantic women’s fiction and urban fantasy. She was one of the authors of A Flight of Angels, which made YALSA’s Top Ten List for Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and the YA graphic novel Token, named a highlight of the Minx imprint by PW. Alisa has an MFA from Columbia University. Her thesis, Till the Fat Lady Sings, a comedy of manners about college and eating disorders, made The New York Times’ new and noteworthy in paperback list. The first issue of her latest comic book series, Mystik U, is coming out November ’17 from DC Comics. Her first YA novel, Cadaver & Queen, will be coming out with Harlequin Teen in February ’18.
Check out my GIVEAWAY on my Instagram for BOTH of these books!
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