This is a well-written novel with interesting characters. I enjoyed reading about Cleo and Frank's love story as it unfolded and how their lives interacted with the other characters, Santiago, Quentin, Zoe, Eleanor and Anders, who also had unusual stories. It was quirky but it had a lot of drug use and sex descriptions, which I did not like. And in the end I wasn't sure what the point of it all was.

I adored this book. The novel tells the tale of Cleo and Frank as they embark on a very hasty marriage in New York. The way the book fanned out and different character's lives was really well done and I loved the world the author built. My only criticism was that i was obsessed with the character of Eleanor (no further spoilers) and I wanted more of her and less of Cleo! Still, it was so well done - bravo!

I didn’t really “get” this book. I found the characters unlikable and wanted to spend more time with Eleanor who was by far the most interesting of the lot of them.

yet another book trying (and failing) hard to be gritty and real and edgy a la sally rooney.
the whole younger woman/old man is a very tired hetero dynamic. maybe if the characters concerned are nuanced, interesting, or believable, maybe then i will bring myself to read yet another age-gap & vaguely toxic romance but cleo and frank are not it. their first meeting is ridiculous, ludicrous even. of course she's beautiful and has a british accent. her hair is described as 'golden' (just like the author herself...), her face, a 'performance', her clothes and makeup give her a vintage yet distinctive aura. she has long fingers, smokes, she's artistic. i could keep on going...these ppl are boring and the author's attempts to make them into rooney-esque figures, well, tis' cringe. my life is too short and precious to me to waste my time on this earth reading bland books. i don't mind self-important nor self-indulgent books but they need to actually bring something to the 'literary' table...and i know that if i were to read cleopatra and frankenstein, i'd be left hungry and longing for a more substantial meal.
5 likes

I saw the name of this book and I didnt look back after that. It was well written, had good charcaters and a good storyline. It was fast paced, atmospheric and engaging the whoel way through. I really enjoyed it.

Well-written, fast-paced, with interesting plot and character development; Mellor's novel is the ideal read for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and Megan Nolan.

This has the vibe of upmarket soap opera, very much an ensemble story circulating around the main cast of Cleo and Frank. It's easy to read (though can feel a bit painfully self-conscious in that creative writing class way, especially at the beginning) and deals with some heavy topics (marital breakdown, alcoholism, mental health and so on) in an accessible way. Just the thing I love reading while commuting/on holiday as there's lots going on but the story isn't challenging.

I started the year with Cleopatra and Frankenstein and I have no regrets. Described as perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, I'd dare say this is better. This is a beautifully written examination of love, friendship, mental illness and what home really means. To me this was the epic romance of Normal People blended with the heartbreak and poignancy of A Little Life, the characters are rich and immersive, you find yourself intimately connected to Cleo and Frank's relationship, feeling every moment and sometimes wishing you didn't. A must read for 2022.

I didn’t think this would work for me - it opens as a too nicely-written, description of New York beautiful people living a slightly edgy/arty life and having a difficult relationship. I was being unfair. This book has emotional and narrative layers and starts to come alive when we move beyond Frank(enstein) and Cleo(patra)’s points of view into the lives of their circle of friends and family. Frank and Cleo remain at the centre, but the novel is enriched by Santiago, Zoe, Anders and, most especially, Eleanor. The novel manages to be surprising and moving and a really enjoyable read.

Messy, complex and intriguing. Cleo and Frank were all of the above and it made for a brilliant read.
I LOVE the cover and will be recommending this to everyone, a must have 2022 book.
4.5 stars.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein was FABULOUS. This will surely be a firecracker of a book for 2022. One of those books where I really wished I was reading a physical copy and not an e-ARC. I LOVED the way Coco Mellors writes.

The book begins with a conversation between Cleo and Frank. It was an instant love for me as a reader. The characters were full of life, so SO real and their conversation was lively, flirty, mysterious, everything you want it to be. Then we follow the lives of Cleo, the young artist, and Frank, the much older husband. We are also introduced to a small cast of characters that are in Cleo and Frank's lives. Multiple stories, all well crafted—this book is full of fresh energy and the writing is simply the best. I enjoyed reading even about the minor characters (Jiro). There's also lines that make you think about visa marriage, boundaries in friendship, marriage and the crumble, love beyond paperwork, companionship, affairs, shock at life's unpredictability, bad decision making.

Something I didn't enjoy was how similar all the characters seemed at some point in their lives. Like you could interchange the names in a scene and it would've made no difference. Cleo, Frank, Frank's friend Anders, Frank's sister, everyone. Their reactions to confrontation, the sudden anger, seemed so alike. They mouth similar words, have similar reactions and they just seemed like one character. Was this intentional? I don't know but I would've liked to see different reactions when each character is challenged.

I enjoyed the ever confused clever Cleo, her descent and highs, her confusion and bad choices in life, her bottled up frustration. She is wholesome and lovely. I loved Frank's more mature look, his inner worries, his realization of how well Cleo can predict his actions. I loved it all. Ultimately it left me with a lingering sadness as 'such is life' but also I wasn't that sad because in fact 'such is life'.

For lovers of millenial fiction, Sally Rooney-ish vibes, characters who seem like they are in real life, long conversations.

Wonderful novel. Improves as it progresses and gets less 'rich people in New York' as it goes along. By the end, you are gripped by the main characters.

I was immediately caught up in the romance the rush to marriage ofCleopatra & Frankenstein.A chance meeting one late night a tumble in to love an incendiary love.Addibg to the story their friends reactions ,opinions viewpoints.So well written so involving highly recommend.#netgalley#4thestate

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a novel about a tempestuous relationship and its impact on those around them, looking at communication, friendship, and facing up to your issues. Cleo is soon going to have to leave New York, and she's broke and unable to make her art go anywhere. When she meets Frank at a New Year's Eve party, they start up a whirlwind romance, and then a marriage so Cleo can get a green card, but soon the cracks start to appear, with both of them flawed and unable to tolerate each other's issues. Not only that, but it impacts the lives on their friends and others around them, like Frank's half-sister Zoe and Cleo's best friend Quentin, who are also looking for something more in life.

This is a book about a failed relationship, told from the point of view of Cleo and Frank, but also some of the other characters at times. The title intrigued me (actually their names are not those lengthened versions, but instead it's more of an in-joke) and the blurb, especially the impact on some of the side characters, sounded interesting, but I felt the book didn't quite deliver on the promise of considering the impact on other characters, with some of them getting stilted plotlines that seemed rushed at the end to bring the focus back to Frank and Cleo.

I think people will enjoy this book about two main characters who need to work through their respective problems rather than stay unhappy in an impulsive marriage, but for me, I felt some of the side characters weren't really explored well or given enough of an ending. Quentin in particular goes from being a major character who has a chapter looking at dealing with gender to being essentially written off at the end, and in general the side characters who seemed like they were going to show the far-reaching impact of one couple's choices had their endings told by said couple in a rushed way.

There are a lot of interesting elements of this novel and exploring the complexity of relationships, but it wasn't as I had hoped from the blurb. It covers a lot of things, but does some of them do get a bit confused in the mix, like some jokes about feminism or race. Cleopatra and Frankenstein was a decent read, but I think, like with Sally Rooney with whom this book seems to be compared, if you don't find its central characters or relationship relatable in some way (as I didn't) then it might lack something.

An immersive romance and exploration of the shockwaves around a relationship - Cleo and Frank are an unforgettable couple. Also grateful that this book actually speaks truth to the reality of cross-border relationships and the bureaucracy that governs them. A great debut, although one that maybe takes itself a touch too seriously.