Unfortunate Creatures
Holly Race
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Firstly, I would like yo thank Netgalley, Hodderscape and Holly Race for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

Unfortunate Creatures was an enthralling, gothic masterpiece that I just couldn’t put down. I was gripped from the first paragraph; Holly Race has a really beautiful, lyrical writing style that really suits the gothic genre. I have so many highlighted passages and i can’t wait for the physical book to be released so I can highlight and tab my own copy (plus the cover for this book might be my favourite one this year!)

The thing I loved most about this book was the main character, Crissa. She is a very fascinating character and has such interesting development throughout the book. At first, I thought her love and adoration for Ermes was beautiful and tragic. Her devastation at his loss was completely understandable, even when she wanted to bring him back from the dead it was still somewhat understandable but as the plot goes on she becomes a bit more obsessive. I think the beauty of Crissa’s character is she has so much dimension, she is definitely on the morally grey side but at the same time she isn’t a bad person- she just seems very human. There are moments when she could be witty and sarcastic and there were moments when she could be cruel, she could be incredibly intelligent but also naive. Overall Crissa’s character was very well written, she is in a heartbreaking situation and I think her character reflects how grief can affect people. I also think there was an amazing cast of side characters, not all of them are the most likeable but every one of them has distinct personality and different motivations for being at the manor.

The setting itself was also a great part of this book. The magical aspect of this book was from a rare element called Galvanis, which is hoarded by a few individuals despite having the potential for a multitude of uses in the scientific community. Crissa manages to manipulate Ermes’ academic rival into getting her and a handful of others the Galvanis she needs to resurrect Ermes, and convinces him to bring the group to his family’s mysterious manor so give her the equipment and space she needs. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Galvanis and how it works and it was interesting to learn more about what it does
alongside Crissa. Another mystery was the resident of the manor, Loren. He is an incredibly enigmatic character and I never guessed the plot twist behind him until it was revealed. There are a lot of plot twists in this book, and I won’t go into them here so people can read it for themselves but be prepared for a lot of twists towards the end!

Overall, Unfortunate Creatures was a fantastic read and now has a place among my favourite gothic books. If you are a fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, mysterious gothic manors and dark academia with a little magic then this book is for you!

This was a slow burn, but once it got going, the fire engulfed me.

The gothic setting is one I've come to love, and I felt right at home settling down to read this book. Race does a great job of creating a world that isn't too dissimilar from our own, yet has enough differences to intrigue the reader with its fantasy elements.

The characters aren't overly complicated, but they leave you wanting to know more. The glimpses into their histories and the gradual character development were effective in keeping me engaged throughout the story.

I decided to read this in October to get myself in the spooky mood. Good lord, I wasn't expecting to feel as creeped out as I did! I went into this book expecting one thing, only to have those expectations completely shattered as the story unfolded. I was genuinely surprised by the direction it took and thoroughly impressed by how effectively the horror elements were executed.

Having only read Race's Tudor-inspired stories previously, I was pleasantly surprised by how well she handles horror. With each page, my imagination grew darker and bleaker. Her prose highlights her strength as a writer, demonstrating an ability to explore different genres while creating an atmosphere that draws the reader into the story.

Overall, this was an atmospheric and unsettling read that took me by surprise. The slow build was worth the wait, and I came away with a newfound appreciation for Race's versatility as an author.

This gothic descent through what it means to create and control is beautifully written. Full of twists and turns, posing questions at every stage. Definitely a book I will come back to time and time again

When Crissa's true love is brutally murdered, she will do anything to get him back. Fortunately she is a scientist, and the recently discovered element of galvanis has truly miraculous potential. All she needs to do is get her hands on some, which means talking a her way into the home of a shallow, privileged young man...

What follows is a dark dream of a book. There's a house that seems to have a mind of its own, its secretive caretaker, a group of house guests, each with their own agenda, and morally grey Crissa who carries her lost love's heart in a jar. The setting is compelling, but the characters are the spark which gives this monstrous creature life. I particularly loved her relationship with her stepsister - we need more fictional stepsisters who actually get on!

Inspired by both Frankenstein and the claustrophobic house party which prompted Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to write it, this story is rooted in the oldest gothic tradition but still feels fresh and modern as a new corpse. Dig up a copy today!

This was a beautiful and at times heartbreaking read. A perfect balance of ugly amd beautiful. Crissa is a young and naive girl, and maybe a little too focused on her great love. She is so relatable in so many ways, and as her character grows and we get to know her more, she only becomes more realistic.
We have a stunning haunted house which is almost a character in itself, a broken girl and a mysterious man with a raven as a sidekick.
The world in this book is small and not over complicated and that leaves a lot of space for the story and characters to have their moment. The supporting characters are really likeable and I felt myself rooting for them in each of their arcs. The writing perfectly mirrors the scientific aspect of the book, and it works so well and was so satisfying to read. You can tell the author has gone to a great effort to set the tone and atmosphere.
The twists and turns are so satisfying and tense, and it had a great ending! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a heart wrenching spooky and slightly gory read!

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good gothic novel! The writing style just fits the genre so well. The main character had a lot of really good development throughout and isn’t a perfect person she is flawed and has so many different dimensions and would be considered more of a morally grey character.

I really liked how it reflected how grief can impact people and how you can spiral and almost become obsessed with the what if of things.

The gothic manor setting also made the story and helped to add to the overall theme and you could just picture it so easily. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and most of them did actually take me by surprise which is always a good sign for me as I will try work things out as quickly as I can and was still kept guessing.

Can’t wait to though some of Holly’s books as if they are all as well written as this I would have found another fantastic author to follow!