Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill

Goodreads Blurb

An all-consuming love affair.
A family torn apart by scandal.
A young author on the brink of greatness.
Hideous Love is the fascinating story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature: a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.
Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, but inspiration for the monster came from her life-the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend, Lord Byron.
This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

There were a lot of things about Hideous Love I didn't quite expect, and I can't quite say that's a good thing.

Hideous Love was written in verse, something that surprised me, but pleased me. At first. But as I read on, it wasn't as well written as I'd hoped. Verse isn't something you can pull off easily, and I'm afraid Hemphill didn't manage to reach that level yet. While the writing was quite gorgeous and poetic (as it should be. Since--Mary Shelley!) and amazing, the characters came off as flat and it was a tad confusing. And, no matter how beautiful the writing, it couldn't really make the rest of the book interesting.

I really admire how Hemphill tried to make her life seem fascinating and interesting, but it just didn't really stand out to me. It was, essentially, an autobiography written in verse--and I'm not generally a fan of biographies. There wasn't enough to really keep me enthralled. She had a love affair, she had kids, she had money problems, family problems. But they were all just glossed over, the book written like it was. It may have been more interesting written in prose, maybe, but instead it came out as dull and boring.

And then the characters. That's another thing about writing in verse--it's hard to get a feel for the characters, and that's exactly what happened here. While Mary Shelley wasn't exactly a flat character, she was hypocritical, catty, and possessive, making her a distinctly unlikable character. While I did empathize with her at times, it still irritated me and I couldn't really get over that feeling.

But the main reason I disliked her, really was the romance. Twenty five pages in, the words "I love you" are pretty much spoken, and that's fast--even for insta-love. We didn't get to see the progression as they fell in love. It took maybe two poems for them to fall in love. Add to that the fact that he happens to married at the time...and, well, we get a jumble of hot mess.

It's an outstanding premise, really, but the book just doesn't have the same allure after a few chapters. It wore me down until I honestly didn't want to open the book. Something that really disappoints me, since I was so excited to start!

So while it does sound amazing, I wouldn't recommend this, though I will admit--it'd be a lot cooler to read as "research" since it does stick to the facts and is written in quite beautiful verse!

Pages: 320

Genre: Retelling/Historical

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013

Rating: 1.5 stars

Blog Tour: Dear Teen Me

So as part of the Dear Teen Me blog tour, where authors write letters to their teen selves, I decided to ask my friends (Teens, of course!) what they thought about DTM when I lent it to them. I'll only be posting their first initial for safety reasons.

Dear Teen Me is one of the best non-fiction books I have read. It's humorous and serious, dealing with real life situations. These true stories deal with abuse, eating disorders, first kisses, and true friendship. This book is full of real advice and lets you know that you're not alone, someone has gone through what you're going through.

-R

I'm not usually into non-fiction books, but Dear Teen Me was an exception. It was emotional and deep and I wanted to know more. It must've took a lot of courage for authors to share their experiences and it's heartwarming to know that people aren't alone in these situations.

-F

This is a seriously hopeful book. I wasn't born when these things happen, but the fact that these things happened then and now shows that we definitely have to stand up to these things and appreciate what we have. Some letters made me cry, some made me laugh and I loved each of them! Non fic isn't usually my thing, but this? This was great. Thanks to Nikki for lending this to me!

-M

MY REVIEW-

This was definitely a deep and emotional book and y'all know that nonfiction isn't my thing (or my friends' apparently!) obvious by my blog name! But I have to agree with my friends. This was definitely emotional and heartbreaking, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud. It's gratifying to know that there are people who've gone through some of the things we have, whether they're serious situations or innocent. I loved delving deeper into my favorite authors' lives, even if that does sound weird! If you're fans of any of these authors, if you love non fiction, if you just want a break from your norm, definitely pick this up!

Goodreads Link