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The Resurrectionist: A Tale of Gothic Horror
A young Victorian woman unwittingly unleashes a monster into being in this gothic tale of medical mystery and sinister suspense, perfect for fans of DON'T LET THE FOREST IN and BELLADONNA.
Death is just the beginning.
When seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart finds her recently deceased father's hidden journal, her entire world is upended—for what she finds within are the steps to bring a dead soul back to life.
Intent on finishing her father's work and establishing herself as the greatest scientist in history, Dilly plunges into a medical underworld of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and even murder. And when her twin sister steps in the way of her studies, she'll do whatever is necessary to secure the recognition she deserves.
This twisty, atmospheric, Frankensteinian tale is about a group of ambitious young scientists who descend into corruption when a breakthrough discovery grants them the power of gods.
A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press
Death is just the beginning.
When seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart finds her recently deceased father's hidden journal, her entire world is upended—for what she finds within are the steps to bring a dead soul back to life.
Intent on finishing her father's work and establishing herself as the greatest scientist in history, Dilly plunges into a medical underworld of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and even murder. And when her twin sister steps in the way of her studies, she'll do whatever is necessary to secure the recognition she deserves.
This twisty, atmospheric, Frankensteinian tale is about a group of ambitious young scientists who descend into corruption when a breakthrough discovery grants them the power of gods.
A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press
Audible Audio
First published October 7, 2025
23 people are currently reading
8545 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen S. Allen
32 books97 followersKathleen has been writing since she self published her first book of poems at the age of eight. Okay, she copied her poetry in her best printing, she hole punched the sides of paper, tied a red ribbon around it, made a construction paper cover and called it her first book! She writes in different genres, but Young Adult fantasy is her favourite.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
June 13, 2025
I don’t like giving one star reviews. Especially to ARCs. Especially to books that I was looking forward to reading. As much as I wanted to be generous and give this a 2, I was ranting and raving so much while I was reading this book that I can’t help but give it a 1.
This book takes place in Victorian London in 1888 and it is a tale of gothic horror and a bit of a Frankenstein reimagining. I love the Victorian period, that cover is truly creepy, and when I found out that this was set during the time that Jack the Ripper was active, I was even more excited to read it (despite the fact that almost every fictional story I’ve read about Jack the Ripper has let me down).
The most frustrating thing about this book was definitely the main character Odile who goes by “Dilly” (for the record, both of those names are terrible). Was I supposed to take this girl seriously? Because from the getgo I struggled to do so. For example, the first time she dresses as a boy in order to go out at night with Ben he tells her that she needs a boy’s name and calls her “Augustus.” She becomes offended and tells him she wants a better name than that and when Ben asks her what name she has in mind, she thinks about it and then is like, “Dan.” Dan, really? Pretty basic, but okay, whatever. Then, when they’re going out and about at night she’s looking around and surprised to find that the streets are empty and there’s no one else out. Ben is like, “well you know there’s a killer on the loose right?” and she tells him she didn’t know that. Um, was she living under a rock??? I studied the Victorian period quite a bit in my academic career and the Ripper murders basically threw all of London into an absolute PANIC. How would she never have heard of the murders??
But what took the cake for me was this (I literally burst out laughing, which isn’t really something you should be doing in a horror book):
Ben (hands Dilly a scalpel): “Here is a scalpel. I recall you know how to use one?”
Dilly (super offended): “I’ve been doing surgery on Deirdre’s dolls since I was nine.”
Um, what? Excuse me? Is she Sid from Toy Story?
Yes, cutting open a doll IS very similar to dissecting a human body, Dilly. *sarcasm*
In the wise words of Buzz Lightyear:
As the story progressed, I found Dilly to be more and more frustrating.
She:
(a) “accidentally” killed a woman who is believed to be dead (she was sick and died and they buried her body but she was actually not dead. Her pulse was very slow and apparently the family couldn’t detect it, like a House of Usher thing) and Dilly removes her heart. Well, she’s certainly dead now!
(b) Ran into Jack the Ripper in an alleyway with one of his victims. She sees him kill the woman but somehow scares him off (not sure why he would be scared off by a teenage girl but whatever). The woman was still alive so Dilly snapped her neck. Um, what? I’m pretty sure it is very difficult to do that in general, especially for a 17 year old girl!
(c) Was very gullible and took everything that anyone said to her as the truth – even the people she didn’t trust. Ben told her to kill his father but basically said it was ok because his father was a bad person…and she did it! HUH?? Why would you automatically do something like that just because you were told to???
(d) Somehow didn’t notice her dead and reanimated sister stealing bodies and reassembling them in their home! How could she miss that? Wouldn’t the bodies smell? Not to mention it’s not easy to cart bodies around. Wouldn’t Dilly have seen that?
(e) She talked a lot about how “smart” she was but in reality, she was one of the dumbest characters I’ve read about in a long time. She was taken in by everyone and I don’t know why she would just believe them at face value. Her sister was OBVIOUSLY very different after coming back to life but Dilly never put two and two together that the sister might be killing people?
I can’t with Dilly.
Actually, I didn't like any of the characters, except for Edmund. Poor, long suffering Edmund. Always loyal and always looking after Dilly, who didn’t remotely deserve his love and care. He had major Alfred Pennyworth vibes. I did really like him as a character and he was about the only thing I liked about the book, sadly.
The end reveal was stupid and predictable. Dilly knew her father had brought someone back to life successfully. Who could it be??? You need a heart from a family member and there were only 4 people in the family: Dilly and Deirdre, the father and the mother (who died not long after giving birth). Hmm, shocker…it was DILLY who had been brought back to life the whole time! There are literally only 4 family members, 3 if you don’t count the dad since obviously he couldn’t bring himself back to life. This reveal should be shocking to no one.
The reviews I’ve seen have mentioned how gripping the first sentence is: “I killed my sister. Twice.” I’ll give you that it is definitely a sentence that will get your attention…EXCEPT for the fact that the FIRST SENTENCE is a MAJOR SPOILER for the book. She literally kills her sister for the second time at the very end of the book, but if you’ve read the first sentence, obviously you know it’s coming. Instead of tension and excitement, it was anticlimactic and boring. She should have realized her sister needed to be destroyed long before she actually did.
This book was beyond frustrating to me. It reminded me a lot of Stalking Jack the Ripper (another book I absolutely hated but a lot of people really enjoyed). Maybe if you love the story of Stalking Jack the Ripper but didn’t enjoy the romance aspects of it (since there is no romance in this book), you might like this one, but I’d hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
This book takes place in Victorian London in 1888 and it is a tale of gothic horror and a bit of a Frankenstein reimagining. I love the Victorian period, that cover is truly creepy, and when I found out that this was set during the time that Jack the Ripper was active, I was even more excited to read it (despite the fact that almost every fictional story I’ve read about Jack the Ripper has let me down).
The most frustrating thing about this book was definitely the main character Odile who goes by “Dilly” (for the record, both of those names are terrible). Was I supposed to take this girl seriously? Because from the getgo I struggled to do so. For example, the first time she dresses as a boy in order to go out at night with Ben he tells her that she needs a boy’s name and calls her “Augustus.” She becomes offended and tells him she wants a better name than that and when Ben asks her what name she has in mind, she thinks about it and then is like, “Dan.” Dan, really? Pretty basic, but okay, whatever. Then, when they’re going out and about at night she’s looking around and surprised to find that the streets are empty and there’s no one else out. Ben is like, “well you know there’s a killer on the loose right?” and she tells him she didn’t know that. Um, was she living under a rock??? I studied the Victorian period quite a bit in my academic career and the Ripper murders basically threw all of London into an absolute PANIC. How would she never have heard of the murders??
But what took the cake for me was this (I literally burst out laughing, which isn’t really something you should be doing in a horror book):
Ben (hands Dilly a scalpel): “Here is a scalpel. I recall you know how to use one?”
Dilly (super offended): “I’ve been doing surgery on Deirdre’s dolls since I was nine.”
Um, what? Excuse me? Is she Sid from Toy Story?
Yes, cutting open a doll IS very similar to dissecting a human body, Dilly. *sarcasm*
In the wise words of Buzz Lightyear:
As the story progressed, I found Dilly to be more and more frustrating.
She:
(a) “accidentally” killed a woman who is believed to be dead (she was sick and died and they buried her body but she was actually not dead. Her pulse was very slow and apparently the family couldn’t detect it, like a House of Usher thing) and Dilly removes her heart. Well, she’s certainly dead now!
(b) Ran into Jack the Ripper in an alleyway with one of his victims. She sees him kill the woman but somehow scares him off (not sure why he would be scared off by a teenage girl but whatever). The woman was still alive so Dilly snapped her neck. Um, what? I’m pretty sure it is very difficult to do that in general, especially for a 17 year old girl!
(c) Was very gullible and took everything that anyone said to her as the truth – even the people she didn’t trust. Ben told her to kill his father but basically said it was ok because his father was a bad person…and she did it! HUH?? Why would you automatically do something like that just because you were told to???
(d) Somehow didn’t notice her dead and reanimated sister stealing bodies and reassembling them in their home! How could she miss that? Wouldn’t the bodies smell? Not to mention it’s not easy to cart bodies around. Wouldn’t Dilly have seen that?
(e) She talked a lot about how “smart” she was but in reality, she was one of the dumbest characters I’ve read about in a long time. She was taken in by everyone and I don’t know why she would just believe them at face value. Her sister was OBVIOUSLY very different after coming back to life but Dilly never put two and two together that the sister might be killing people?
I can’t with Dilly.
Actually, I didn't like any of the characters, except for Edmund. Poor, long suffering Edmund. Always loyal and always looking after Dilly, who didn’t remotely deserve his love and care. He had major Alfred Pennyworth vibes. I did really like him as a character and he was about the only thing I liked about the book, sadly.
The end reveal was stupid and predictable. Dilly knew her father had brought someone back to life successfully. Who could it be??? You need a heart from a family member and there were only 4 people in the family: Dilly and Deirdre, the father and the mother (who died not long after giving birth). Hmm, shocker…it was DILLY who had been brought back to life the whole time! There are literally only 4 family members, 3 if you don’t count the dad since obviously he couldn’t bring himself back to life. This reveal should be shocking to no one.
The reviews I’ve seen have mentioned how gripping the first sentence is: “I killed my sister. Twice.” I’ll give you that it is definitely a sentence that will get your attention…EXCEPT for the fact that the FIRST SENTENCE is a MAJOR SPOILER for the book. She literally kills her sister for the second time at the very end of the book, but if you’ve read the first sentence, obviously you know it’s coming. Instead of tension and excitement, it was anticlimactic and boring. She should have realized her sister needed to be destroyed long before she actually did.
This book was beyond frustrating to me. It reminded me a lot of Stalking Jack the Ripper (another book I absolutely hated but a lot of people really enjoyed). Maybe if you love the story of Stalking Jack the Ripper but didn’t enjoy the romance aspects of it (since there is no romance in this book), you might like this one, but I’d hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2025
Thank you so much Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press | Fierce Reads for the arc!
„No matter where I ran, I'd always take myself with me. The same thoughts and desires would consume me until there was nothing left but the ashes of my good intentions.“
- Graveyard robbery
- Ambitious scientists
- Anatomical experiments
- Victorian era
- Sisterly bond
What I liked:
I think this book would be perfect for young adults who want to discover stories with a gothic setting and a bit of horror! The main character Dilly is a bit naive, but it’s important to remember that she has just turned seventeen and lives in an era when women’s lives were very isolated and restricted. I really liked that she is so forward-thinking in her ambition to become a scientist and openly admits that she doesn’t want children or a husband. Her twin sister, who dreams of a more traditional life, was a great contrast. I especially enjoyed how, despite their differences, both sisters genuinely try to support each other.
The atmosphere was right up my alley! Victorian London, nightly excursions to the graveyard, scientists and a bit of Jack the Ripper: perfection!
The very last passage was such a delightful twist!
What I didn’t like:
The main character, Dilly, often felt emotionally detached. The ending would have had more impact if she had shown more emotions. She had to make some tough choices that one would usually struggle with, but I felt as though they didn’t affect her at all. It made some sense afterwards, but it still annoyed me while I was reading the book.
Writing style: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Story & Plot: 4/5
Vibes: 4,5/5
„No matter where I ran, I'd always take myself with me. The same thoughts and desires would consume me until there was nothing left but the ashes of my good intentions.“
- Graveyard robbery
- Ambitious scientists
- Anatomical experiments
- Victorian era
- Sisterly bond
What I liked:
I think this book would be perfect for young adults who want to discover stories with a gothic setting and a bit of horror! The main character Dilly is a bit naive, but it’s important to remember that she has just turned seventeen and lives in an era when women’s lives were very isolated and restricted. I really liked that she is so forward-thinking in her ambition to become a scientist and openly admits that she doesn’t want children or a husband. Her twin sister, who dreams of a more traditional life, was a great contrast. I especially enjoyed how, despite their differences, both sisters genuinely try to support each other.
The atmosphere was right up my alley! Victorian London, nightly excursions to the graveyard, scientists and a bit of Jack the Ripper: perfection!
The very last passage was such a delightful twist!
What I didn’t like:
The main character, Dilly, often felt emotionally detached. The ending would have had more impact if she had shown more emotions. She had to make some tough choices that one would usually struggle with, but I felt as though they didn’t affect her at all. It made some sense afterwards, but it still annoyed me while I was reading the book.
Writing style: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Story & Plot: 4/5
Vibes: 4,5/5
Read
November 7, 2025DNF at 46%
I was so. Fucking. Bored.
I was so. Fucking. Bored.
December 11, 2025
4️⃣🌟, it did do a great twist on the whole 'resurrection' aspect and theme
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
#️⃣6️⃣7️⃣4️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🧊🏔️
Date Read: Sunday, December 7, 2025 ☃️🌨️
14th read in "Its TIMEEEE!!!!! (to read more books)" December ❄️⛄
This was veeeeeeery close to an extremely revolutionary read that does the whole "resurrection" idea greatly. There is this whole new ideae where there are even like manunals and instructions that are done on these strange phenomena. It truly explores the theme of introducing resurrection to newcomers who does'nt know anything about the topic before. The two sisters have different distinct ideas on what and which things that they would do when the have the key do doing resurrection. they may do it with an altruistic motivation or one that has darker motivations that is thought provoking to think about.
It has a great storyline and is something that is done uniquely and new. The writing style can honeslty be better than what it is because it can almost justs be a bore and a chore to read. It can read a little bit pretentious and times where everything just drags so much it can ruin the reading experience. Almost everyone is emotionally unattached to the writing and doesn't give justice to any of the characters' personalities and characteristics and such you don't get to be connected with any of the characters at all. Dilly is a great character and has the blueprint of being a well written character however the way it's written makes her character flat and dull. Which is possibly one of the reasons why i don't consider this to be anything five star worthy.
Spice Level 🌶️: 0️⃣, eh
Vibe ☘️: Victorian hostorical drama
Who'd Like This ❓👥: Mostly historical fiction lovers with a bit of sci-fi
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
#️⃣6️⃣7️⃣4️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🧊🏔️
Date Read: Sunday, December 7, 2025 ☃️🌨️
14th read in "Its TIMEEEE!!!!! (to read more books)" December ❄️⛄
This was veeeeeeery close to an extremely revolutionary read that does the whole "resurrection" idea greatly. There is this whole new ideae where there are even like manunals and instructions that are done on these strange phenomena. It truly explores the theme of introducing resurrection to newcomers who does'nt know anything about the topic before. The two sisters have different distinct ideas on what and which things that they would do when the have the key do doing resurrection. they may do it with an altruistic motivation or one that has darker motivations that is thought provoking to think about.
It has a great storyline and is something that is done uniquely and new. The writing style can honeslty be better than what it is because it can almost justs be a bore and a chore to read. It can read a little bit pretentious and times where everything just drags so much it can ruin the reading experience. Almost everyone is emotionally unattached to the writing and doesn't give justice to any of the characters' personalities and characteristics and such you don't get to be connected with any of the characters at all. Dilly is a great character and has the blueprint of being a well written character however the way it's written makes her character flat and dull. Which is possibly one of the reasons why i don't consider this to be anything five star worthy.
Spice Level 🌶️: 0️⃣, eh
Vibe ☘️: Victorian hostorical drama
Who'd Like This ❓👥: Mostly historical fiction lovers with a bit of sci-fi
October 19, 2025
THE RESURRECTIONIST, by Kathleen S. Allen captured my attention from the synopsis (and cover) alone. I'm pleased to say that the story was even better than I anticipated.
We have Dilly, a woman in Victorian England who desires to become the first female surgeon, and her twin sister, Deidre, a quiet girl who wants to marry and have children (as women in that time period were expected to). With their father's--a surgeon, himself--sudden death, Dilly is more determined than ever to follow in his footsteps. The problem: she is constantly being told that "colleges do not accept women" into medical programs, and she would NEVER be recognized as a surgeon, because of her gender.
I love how we get snippets of the past, of how Dilly's interests began at a young age, and how she became progressively "inventive" on carrying out her personal studies. Her ambition, and intellect had her studying anatomy from the moment she could, ironically far surpassing many of the men that were allowed to be enrolled in medical college. Forced to "care for" her twin (who had a twisted leg due to an accident in her youth), Dilly is desperate to prove herself. When opportunity presents itself with a group of young men, grave robbing, attending dissections, and even murder become inconsequential as her ambition grows. Once she finds her father's hidden journal on Resurrecting the dead, her downward path is inevitable.
Overall, I felt that Dilly was portrayed as a woman with single minded focus, which made her perfect for the book. The moments of "pause" where she questioned her actions were so brief, that it made her descent all the more "realistic" feeling. There were several twists towards the end that I really enjoyed, as well. In addition to the homage to Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper vibes were also present. Once I began the final third, I couldn't put it down.
Recommended.
We have Dilly, a woman in Victorian England who desires to become the first female surgeon, and her twin sister, Deidre, a quiet girl who wants to marry and have children (as women in that time period were expected to). With their father's--a surgeon, himself--sudden death, Dilly is more determined than ever to follow in his footsteps. The problem: she is constantly being told that "colleges do not accept women" into medical programs, and she would NEVER be recognized as a surgeon, because of her gender.
I love how we get snippets of the past, of how Dilly's interests began at a young age, and how she became progressively "inventive" on carrying out her personal studies. Her ambition, and intellect had her studying anatomy from the moment she could, ironically far surpassing many of the men that were allowed to be enrolled in medical college. Forced to "care for" her twin (who had a twisted leg due to an accident in her youth), Dilly is desperate to prove herself. When opportunity presents itself with a group of young men, grave robbing, attending dissections, and even murder become inconsequential as her ambition grows. Once she finds her father's hidden journal on Resurrecting the dead, her downward path is inevitable.
Overall, I felt that Dilly was portrayed as a woman with single minded focus, which made her perfect for the book. The moments of "pause" where she questioned her actions were so brief, that it made her descent all the more "realistic" feeling. There were several twists towards the end that I really enjoyed, as well. In addition to the homage to Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper vibes were also present. Once I began the final third, I couldn't put it down.
Recommended.
August 22, 2025
What the helly 😀
I have found myself in the niche of “girl wants to be a surgeon but cannot because she is a girl so she resorts to grave robbing” and I’m not mad about it. This is more akin to what I wanted Anatomy: A Love Story to be.
This book is creepy, macabre, the perfect read as we start to get into spooky season. And the twist at the end? I was speechless.
The narrator for this audiobook did a great job. She really set the scene for this weird little book.
Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book.
I have found myself in the niche of “girl wants to be a surgeon but cannot because she is a girl so she resorts to grave robbing” and I’m not mad about it. This is more akin to what I wanted Anatomy: A Love Story to be.
This book is creepy, macabre, the perfect read as we start to get into spooky season. And the twist at the end? I was speechless.
The narrator for this audiobook did a great job. She really set the scene for this weird little book.
Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book.
September 5, 2025
This novel is a modern, young-adult retelling of Frankenstein. 3.5/5, rounded up to 4.
Dilly and Deidra are twins born to an esteemed scientist versed in the knowledge of anatomy, and has another, darker exposition: the secret to resurrection. Dilly grew up in her father's footsteps, absorbing all knowledge having to do with death in the name of science. She dreams of becoming the first recognized female surgeon of her time. On the other hand, Deidra, or Dee Dee, is a sweet-natured girl who wants to live her life devoted to a loving husband and house full of children. While Dilly and Deidra seem to be opposites, their love for each other is unbreakable. Dilly will soon discover that her interests in becoming a renown scientist will be harder than she expected, especially with her sister in the way of her goal.
I truly enjoyed this story, and I definitely did not expect the twist at the very end of the book! I thought the characters were well thought out and executed, and the events leading up to the climax were so engaging I didn't want to stop reading. My one stipulation with the novel is how much of the story is exposed by the blurb and cover art for the novel. I think with hiding more of the story, it would have built even more anticipation for the events that happen in the last half of the book. Because of this I have taken my rating down from 4 to 3.5.
I listened to this novel as an audiobook, and the narrator Harrie Dobby was incredible! She did an amazing job at distinguishing between characters and keeping a great pace along the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Dilly and Deidra are twins born to an esteemed scientist versed in the knowledge of anatomy, and has another, darker exposition: the secret to resurrection. Dilly grew up in her father's footsteps, absorbing all knowledge having to do with death in the name of science. She dreams of becoming the first recognized female surgeon of her time. On the other hand, Deidra, or Dee Dee, is a sweet-natured girl who wants to live her life devoted to a loving husband and house full of children. While Dilly and Deidra seem to be opposites, their love for each other is unbreakable. Dilly will soon discover that her interests in becoming a renown scientist will be harder than she expected, especially with her sister in the way of her goal.
I truly enjoyed this story, and I definitely did not expect the twist at the very end of the book! I thought the characters were well thought out and executed, and the events leading up to the climax were so engaging I didn't want to stop reading. My one stipulation with the novel is how much of the story is exposed by the blurb and cover art for the novel. I think with hiding more of the story, it would have built even more anticipation for the events that happen in the last half of the book. Because of this I have taken my rating down from 4 to 3.5.
I listened to this novel as an audiobook, and the narrator Harrie Dobby was incredible! She did an amazing job at distinguishing between characters and keeping a great pace along the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this ALC in exchange for my honest review.
September 1, 2025
While The Resurrectionist has an intriguing, morbid premise and draws inspiration from classic literature (Frankenstein), it fails to be anything other than a purposeless slog to get through. The writing was extremely flat and boring. I couldn't for the life of me determine why I should care about a single character (other than the butler, Edmund). The author told us many of the "reveals" before they happened, and the story had a lack of creative spark to it. Everything happened TO our main character rather than her making anything happen herself (even though, if she were to tell it, she is super smart and independent and made sooo many influential choices *cue my eyeroll*).
I didn't like anyone. I didn't trust anyone. And the end was underwhelming when it was meant to shock me. I'll give the writing this-it was easy to fly through.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
I didn't like anyone. I didn't trust anyone. And the end was underwhelming when it was meant to shock me. I'll give the writing this-it was easy to fly through.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
October 22, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Roaring Brook Press for providing a copy of this novel!
I liked this book WAY more than I was expecting! This book works well as a Frankenstein retelling for YA audiences. Its focus is mainly on Dilly's desire to prove herself as a scientist no matter what it takes. Because of this unrelenting ambition, I feel like this story would also fit well into the "dark academia" sub genre. Dilly is a flawed character who finds herself blinded by her desires to become "the greatest scientist in history."
I think this story does well at juggling Dilly's desires to be respected and the rampant sexism of her world. It doesn't necessarily try to excuse Dilly's actions, but instead shows how her oppression impacts her decisions. I do think the narrative got a little too "good vs bad" at the end. But this is a YA story, so I understand why it wanted to reinforce that sexism is the "true villain" at the end.
On a whole, I really enjoyed this book and flew through it. I think this works well for fans of Frankenstein and the dark academia subgenre more than fans of gothic horror.
I liked this book WAY more than I was expecting! This book works well as a Frankenstein retelling for YA audiences. Its focus is mainly on Dilly's desire to prove herself as a scientist no matter what it takes. Because of this unrelenting ambition, I feel like this story would also fit well into the "dark academia" sub genre. Dilly is a flawed character who finds herself blinded by her desires to become "the greatest scientist in history."
I think this story does well at juggling Dilly's desires to be respected and the rampant sexism of her world. It doesn't necessarily try to excuse Dilly's actions, but instead shows how her oppression impacts her decisions. I do think the narrative got a little too "good vs bad" at the end. But this is a YA story, so I understand why it wanted to reinforce that sexism is the "true villain" at the end.
On a whole, I really enjoyed this book and flew through it. I think this works well for fans of Frankenstein and the dark academia subgenre more than fans of gothic horror.
October 9, 2025
The Resurrectionist by Kathleen S. Allen
Okay… this one was so my vibe. It’s got that moody Regency gothic feel... all candlelit studies, graveyards at midnight, and morally gray ambition. The story takes an incredibly dark turn (which, you know, I ate right up).
Dilly, our main character, is a young scientist dead set (pun intended) on finishing her father’s work and proving herself in a male-dominated field. But when curiosity meets obsession, things spiral quickly into a world of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and murder. I loved how Allen balanced the horror with this almost philosophical look at the cost of brilliance and ambition.
The audiobook was fun. The narrators did a great job setting the eerie tone ...totally bingeable for spooky season.
Would I recommend? Absolutely...especially if you love:
Regency Gothic vibes
Morally gray female scientists
Ambition and obsession
Grave-robbing and dark academia energy
Atmospheric audiobooks
Big thanks to Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for the ALC... this one was the perfect fall/spooky read!
Okay… this one was so my vibe. It’s got that moody Regency gothic feel... all candlelit studies, graveyards at midnight, and morally gray ambition. The story takes an incredibly dark turn (which, you know, I ate right up).
Dilly, our main character, is a young scientist dead set (pun intended) on finishing her father’s work and proving herself in a male-dominated field. But when curiosity meets obsession, things spiral quickly into a world of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and murder. I loved how Allen balanced the horror with this almost philosophical look at the cost of brilliance and ambition.
The audiobook was fun. The narrators did a great job setting the eerie tone ...totally bingeable for spooky season.
Would I recommend? Absolutely...especially if you love:
Regency Gothic vibes
Morally gray female scientists
Ambition and obsession
Grave-robbing and dark academia energy
Atmospheric audiobooks
Big thanks to Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for the ALC... this one was the perfect fall/spooky read!
October 3, 2025
The Resurrectionist, narrated by Harrie Dobby, was an audiobook that brought the story to life with her exceptional talent. As a fan of the time period, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt more like a mystery than a horror novel. The book is clean and focuses on the mystery surrounding the father and his work. It’s well-written and explores realistic themes related to medical schools and the shady practices prevalent during that era. It also delves into the idea of bringing someone back to life in a Frankenstein-like manner. I particularly appreciated the twist at the end.
Thanks, Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
Thanks, Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
December 14, 2025
3.5/5
“Most women are too squeamish at the sight of blood to attend my lectures.” -The Professor
“Most women are used to seeing blood and those with strong stomachs only feign to be squeamish in the presence of men whose egos need stoking.” -Odelie ‘Dilly’ Rothbart, 17-year-old aspiring surgeon.
This is a YA, gothic, historical fiction with elements of dark academia featuring medical oddities. It’s recommended for fans of Don’t Let the Forest In and Belladonna. I’ve read both of those books and enjoyed this one far more than Belladonna.
The Resurrectionist is essentially an homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. What threw me off is that it was published less than a year after A. Rae Dunlap’s identically titled novel, The Resurrectionist, was published. It certainly contains scenes that are concerningly similar. Specifically the scenes within the medical school’s lecture and the grave robbing scenes convinced me that one of the writers clearly was inspired by the other. One could assume that because Dunlap’s book was published first that it inspired Allen? Who really knows. Dunlap’s book is categorized as adult and features a queer relationship while Allen’s is YA and features a feminist main character. I actually preferred Allen’s story over Dunlap’s but the similarities are concerning and impacted my rating.
“Most women are too squeamish at the sight of blood to attend my lectures.” -The Professor
“Most women are used to seeing blood and those with strong stomachs only feign to be squeamish in the presence of men whose egos need stoking.” -Odelie ‘Dilly’ Rothbart, 17-year-old aspiring surgeon.
This is a YA, gothic, historical fiction with elements of dark academia featuring medical oddities. It’s recommended for fans of Don’t Let the Forest In and Belladonna. I’ve read both of those books and enjoyed this one far more than Belladonna.
The Resurrectionist is essentially an homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. What threw me off is that it was published less than a year after A. Rae Dunlap’s identically titled novel, The Resurrectionist, was published. It certainly contains scenes that are concerningly similar. Specifically the scenes within the medical school’s lecture and the grave robbing scenes convinced me that one of the writers clearly was inspired by the other. One could assume that because Dunlap’s book was published first that it inspired Allen? Who really knows. Dunlap’s book is categorized as adult and features a queer relationship while Allen’s is YA and features a feminist main character. I actually preferred Allen’s story over Dunlap’s but the similarities are concerning and impacted my rating.
September 17, 2025
A fresh, feminist twist on Frankenstein, this story follows twin sisters Dilly and Deidre in a darkly atmospheric 1800s setting. Dilly dreams of becoming a surgeon like her late father, but the medical world is closed to women—and her ambition soon spirals into obsession.
Each chapter opens with a quote from classic gothic literature, which I loved as a nod to the genre’s roots. The plot moves quickly and playfully, even as it explores how every character becomes a “monster,” both inside and out.
Fast-paced and delightfully eerie, this is a perfect spooky-season read that never feels too heavy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the advanced copy.
Each chapter opens with a quote from classic gothic literature, which I loved as a nod to the genre’s roots. The plot moves quickly and playfully, even as it explores how every character becomes a “monster,” both inside and out.
Fast-paced and delightfully eerie, this is a perfect spooky-season read that never feels too heavy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the advanced copy.
November 17, 2025
If you’re going to start every chapter with a quote from some great writer of classic literature, I am unfortunately going to compare your writing to theirs, and I’m sorry, the prose in this book is just notttt good enough to justify sharing the page with Shelley and Shakespeare and Brontë. It’s trying, really hard, to be something deep and moving and thought-provoking but it’s falling a few pegs short of these gothic masterpieces and it just comes off like a teenager attempting to be fake deep on their tumblr blog.
I find this book really hard to rate. Was it good? Was it bad? I truly don’t even know. It was insane. I simultaneously don’t want to know any of these characters in real life and yet I also want to study them all under a microscope. I don’t know what to think.
I guess my biggest problem is that a lot of insane shit happens in this book and I just have a hard time believing any of it? Like the amount of casual murder that happens becomes almost comical by the end. You’re telling me everyone in this book just gets over the moral dilemma of killing another human being right away? How on earth are they getting away with all of this? What do you mean the butler just “took care” of the bodies?? Hello?? This isn’t something you can just handwave an explanation for!!
Dilly goes on and on about her descent into madness and how much her work has corrupted her but girl idk I think that was just who you were the whole time, because you were pretty chill and nonchalant about the whole deal from the start. The Dilly at the start of the book is the same Dilly at the end of the book even after EVERYTHING she goes through. The reveal in the final chapter makes me feel like mayyybe that was the point? But I genuinely couldn’t tell you because her characterization was so all over the place. Honestly I felt like things were just getting interesting by the end of the book and it left me really wanting more- Even if it was insane and weird, it was still an insanity that I was invested in seeing the conclusion to, you know what I mean?
I gotta hand it to the premise and the plot because the concept here is fire, it just needed maybe another hundred pages to flesh out the characters and their motivations more, and maybe a little more flourish to the writing style. Seriously, the writing here is so sauceless and stale. Go girl give us nothing I guess.
I find myself comparing this one to This Monstrous Thing which has a similar premise of reviving a sibling that comes back wrong, and what worked about that one was that it started *after* the revival had already occurred. I think this book would have really benefitted from something similar. The amount of time that the first half of this book spends on setup really doesn’t add much and I’d rather things jumped into the action right away. That might’ve made the crazy escalation of stakes actually feel earned by the end. (And offered time for things to come back down from that insane climax).
But that’s all just wishful thinking. Sadly, I am not a resurrectionist, and I cannot kill this book and bring it back to life as something different, as much as I might want to. One thing I wouldn’t change for sure is that killer cover design though. Seeing that beauty on Pinterest was all I needed to convince me to read this. I definitely judged the book by its cover on this one, and well… at least the cover art gets 5 stars from me.
I find this book really hard to rate. Was it good? Was it bad? I truly don’t even know. It was insane. I simultaneously don’t want to know any of these characters in real life and yet I also want to study them all under a microscope. I don’t know what to think.
I guess my biggest problem is that a lot of insane shit happens in this book and I just have a hard time believing any of it? Like the amount of casual murder that happens becomes almost comical by the end. You’re telling me everyone in this book just gets over the moral dilemma of killing another human being right away? How on earth are they getting away with all of this? What do you mean the butler just “took care” of the bodies?? Hello?? This isn’t something you can just handwave an explanation for!!
Dilly goes on and on about her descent into madness and how much her work has corrupted her but girl idk I think that was just who you were the whole time, because you were pretty chill and nonchalant about the whole deal from the start. The Dilly at the start of the book is the same Dilly at the end of the book even after EVERYTHING she goes through. The reveal in the final chapter makes me feel like mayyybe that was the point? But I genuinely couldn’t tell you because her characterization was so all over the place. Honestly I felt like things were just getting interesting by the end of the book and it left me really wanting more- Even if it was insane and weird, it was still an insanity that I was invested in seeing the conclusion to, you know what I mean?
I gotta hand it to the premise and the plot because the concept here is fire, it just needed maybe another hundred pages to flesh out the characters and their motivations more, and maybe a little more flourish to the writing style. Seriously, the writing here is so sauceless and stale. Go girl give us nothing I guess.
I find myself comparing this one to This Monstrous Thing which has a similar premise of reviving a sibling that comes back wrong, and what worked about that one was that it started *after* the revival had already occurred. I think this book would have really benefitted from something similar. The amount of time that the first half of this book spends on setup really doesn’t add much and I’d rather things jumped into the action right away. That might’ve made the crazy escalation of stakes actually feel earned by the end. (And offered time for things to come back down from that insane climax).
But that’s all just wishful thinking. Sadly, I am not a resurrectionist, and I cannot kill this book and bring it back to life as something different, as much as I might want to. One thing I wouldn’t change for sure is that killer cover design though. Seeing that beauty on Pinterest was all I needed to convince me to read this. I definitely judged the book by its cover on this one, and well… at least the cover art gets 5 stars from me.
September 4, 2025
Blood, secrets, and scientific madness pulled me into a world I couldn’t escape. From the first page, I was trapped in Dilly Rothbart’s twisted universe, where the boundaries of life and death blur like a nightmare you can’t shake.
When I discovered Dilly’s story, I was immediately captivated. Her father’s hidden journal became my obsession, just as it was hers. The moment she casually mentions killing her sister twice, I was hooked. Who says that? What kind of mind conceives such a statement?
The pacing hit me like a lightning bolt. I devoured the book in one sitting, racing through the intricate dynamics of the twin sisters. Their relationship was a psychological labyrinth I couldn’t resist exploring. The characters weren’t lovable—far from it. But their raw, unapologetic motivations kept me glued to every single page.
Odille fascinated me completely. She was a young woman so far ahead of her time that she made modern ambition look tame. Naive about the world, yet frighteningly brilliant when it came to anatomy and her father's forbidden work.
The novel read like a dark love letter to Frankenstein, with whispers of Pet Sematary echoing in its corridors. Each chapter peeled back another layer of moral corruption, showing how easily ambition can transform into something monstrous. I found myself both repulsed and mesmerized by Dilly’s journey into the medical underworld of corpse-stealing and grave-robbing.
The ending? Surprising and haunting. It left me with questions burning in my mind, the kind that keep you awake long after you’ve closed the book. This was a psychological descent into the darkest corners of scientific obsession.
For anyone who craved a story that would crawl under their skin and make them question the boundaries of science, morality, and sisterhood, this was their next read.
Thanks to Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan, and Netgalley for the review copy. My thoughts remain entirely my own.
When I discovered Dilly’s story, I was immediately captivated. Her father’s hidden journal became my obsession, just as it was hers. The moment she casually mentions killing her sister twice, I was hooked. Who says that? What kind of mind conceives such a statement?
The pacing hit me like a lightning bolt. I devoured the book in one sitting, racing through the intricate dynamics of the twin sisters. Their relationship was a psychological labyrinth I couldn’t resist exploring. The characters weren’t lovable—far from it. But their raw, unapologetic motivations kept me glued to every single page.
Odille fascinated me completely. She was a young woman so far ahead of her time that she made modern ambition look tame. Naive about the world, yet frighteningly brilliant when it came to anatomy and her father's forbidden work.
The novel read like a dark love letter to Frankenstein, with whispers of Pet Sematary echoing in its corridors. Each chapter peeled back another layer of moral corruption, showing how easily ambition can transform into something monstrous. I found myself both repulsed and mesmerized by Dilly’s journey into the medical underworld of corpse-stealing and grave-robbing.
The ending? Surprising and haunting. It left me with questions burning in my mind, the kind that keep you awake long after you’ve closed the book. This was a psychological descent into the darkest corners of scientific obsession.
For anyone who craved a story that would crawl under their skin and make them question the boundaries of science, morality, and sisterhood, this was their next read.
Thanks to Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan, and Netgalley for the review copy. My thoughts remain entirely my own.
December 1, 2025
3.5! No don’t seek the means to defeat death by whatever means that’s too mysterious and ambitious of you what if our moral compasses collide and break
Morbid and undeniably inspired by the gothic, but I wanted more! The novel (the fact I thought it was a novella and so was lacking depth I feel… says a lot) length meant that character dynamics felt a little rushed, like we were speeding through the spark notes rather than getting a whole cooked play through. Dilly felt like the great bones of a time-relevant FMC, but other than her hunger for knowledge and hatred of a restrictive society for women - go figure, has anything changed - it felt like she didn’t possess much more in her cup; much the same as the character dynamics. Surface wise, sure, they work, but go much deeper than that and what you thought was blood and guts ends up just being polyester wadding inside a cadaver.
I loved the “twist” even though I saw it coming - I would have loved more development on what this meant for Dilly after the revelation! The inspiration from Frankenstein was palpable but for me this needed either a lot more angst, philosophical bite or genuine emotional torment for it to feel like this comp title just doesn’t set it up for (too) high expectations. I loved the premise, the delivery just felt a little hollow - like the bodies that Dilly and Ben kept digging up and finding they weren’t quite what they really wanted.
Morbid and undeniably inspired by the gothic, but I wanted more! The novel (the fact I thought it was a novella and so was lacking depth I feel… says a lot) length meant that character dynamics felt a little rushed, like we were speeding through the spark notes rather than getting a whole cooked play through. Dilly felt like the great bones of a time-relevant FMC, but other than her hunger for knowledge and hatred of a restrictive society for women - go figure, has anything changed - it felt like she didn’t possess much more in her cup; much the same as the character dynamics. Surface wise, sure, they work, but go much deeper than that and what you thought was blood and guts ends up just being polyester wadding inside a cadaver.
I loved the “twist” even though I saw it coming - I would have loved more development on what this meant for Dilly after the revelation! The inspiration from Frankenstein was palpable but for me this needed either a lot more angst, philosophical bite or genuine emotional torment for it to feel like this comp title just doesn’t set it up for (too) high expectations. I loved the premise, the delivery just felt a little hollow - like the bodies that Dilly and Ben kept digging up and finding they weren’t quite what they really wanted.
October 1, 2025
Thank you to Roaring Brook Press for an advanced copy of The Resurrectionist in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell flat. The first 2/3 was slow and mainly consisted of the main character, who comes off extremely unlikeable, constantly being told she is a woman and therefore can’t be a surgeon. This very quickly became repetitive with her conversations remaining very surface level.
It is not until the last third we finally get to the plot, but by this point the characters were not developed or likable enough for me to care when the stakes got high. Additionally, it ended abruptly right as the story just reached its climax, making me feel like this book was rushed and unresolved.
Overall I think it is an interesting premise, but the writing just fell flat.
I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell flat. The first 2/3 was slow and mainly consisted of the main character, who comes off extremely unlikeable, constantly being told she is a woman and therefore can’t be a surgeon. This very quickly became repetitive with her conversations remaining very surface level.
It is not until the last third we finally get to the plot, but by this point the characters were not developed or likable enough for me to care when the stakes got high. Additionally, it ended abruptly right as the story just reached its climax, making me feel like this book was rushed and unresolved.
Overall I think it is an interesting premise, but the writing just fell flat.
November 30, 2025
I killed my sister.
Twice.
Once was accidental.
Once on purpose.
I enjoyed this story, even if it was a little predictable at times. The writing itself is strong, though, and the gothic atmosphere pulled me right in. I loved the historical setting and the clear nods to Frankenstein.
The lore of the Resurrection Men is genuinely fascinating, and I appreciated how seamlessly it was woven into the plot. Overall, it’s an entertaining YA horror/science fiction blend, and a solid reminder that sometimes what’s dead should ABSOLUTELY stay dead.
Twice.
Once was accidental.
Once on purpose.
I enjoyed this story, even if it was a little predictable at times. The writing itself is strong, though, and the gothic atmosphere pulled me right in. I loved the historical setting and the clear nods to Frankenstein.
The lore of the Resurrection Men is genuinely fascinating, and I appreciated how seamlessly it was woven into the plot. Overall, it’s an entertaining YA horror/science fiction blend, and a solid reminder that sometimes what’s dead should ABSOLUTELY stay dead.
September 18, 2025
The Resurrectionist was a fun, twisty read with a great premise, but it stayed a little too surface-level for me. I wanted more depth to really care about the characters and their choices. Entertaining, but not as impactful as it could have been.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my opinion.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my opinion.
December 21, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up to 4!
November 7, 2025
If you lean into the camp, this is a totally fun read. Once it took a murderous turn, I was so locked in. I reeeeeeally loved it!
September 21, 2025
Listened to the audiobook and really loved all the narrator's different voices, especially between the sisters. Look, I don't think the plot was anything extraordinarily unique but I found myself excited to listen to the book. I felt my feelings towards different characters fluctuating throughout the book and I found the pacing to be spot on.
I'm a sucker for stories set in Victorian London and I'm a total sucker for books featuring anatomists/grave robbing and anything between the two. So atmospheric. So twisty. A brilliant Frankenstein-inspired story with a feminine twist!
I'm a sucker for stories set in Victorian London and I'm a total sucker for books featuring anatomists/grave robbing and anything between the two. So atmospheric. So twisty. A brilliant Frankenstein-inspired story with a feminine twist!
October 7, 2025
I really wanted to love this book unfortunately it fell very far from my expectations.
The plot sounded great: I love Victorian gothic novels and the Frankenstein spin was right up my alley. Sadly, the writing just didn’t measure up to the synopsis.
The first sentence, while gripping it may be, also has the regrettable effect of ruining a major plot point. I’m not even going to label this as a spoiler review since the author spoiled her own book by writing that. In fact, the other “twists” in the book were also broadcast by the author, which completely dampened any bit of suspense the flat writing was able to conjure.
The main character is absolutely insufferable. I found her very annoying and despite her supposed intelligence that she kept harping about, she then proceeded to act in an incredibly gullible and naive manner.
There’s no way a woman wouldn’t have known about Jack the Ripper during that time period. The news was everywhere and even if you weren’t the most social of people you would have heard about the murders…it simply isn’t plausible.
And speaking of things that aren’t plausible, even with the suspension of disbelief needed in a horror book for it to be effective, certain things do not make any sense whatsoever.
I received an ARC copy courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press and NetGalley, however my review is my own unbiased personal opinion, and left of my own volition.
The plot sounded great: I love Victorian gothic novels and the Frankenstein spin was right up my alley. Sadly, the writing just didn’t measure up to the synopsis.
The first sentence, while gripping it may be, also has the regrettable effect of ruining a major plot point. I’m not even going to label this as a spoiler review since the author spoiled her own book by writing that. In fact, the other “twists” in the book were also broadcast by the author, which completely dampened any bit of suspense the flat writing was able to conjure.
The main character is absolutely insufferable. I found her very annoying and despite her supposed intelligence that she kept harping about, she then proceeded to act in an incredibly gullible and naive manner.
There’s no way a woman wouldn’t have known about Jack the Ripper during that time period. The news was everywhere and even if you weren’t the most social of people you would have heard about the murders…it simply isn’t plausible.
And speaking of things that aren’t plausible, even with the suspension of disbelief needed in a horror book for it to be effective, certain things do not make any sense whatsoever.
I received an ARC copy courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press and NetGalley, however my review is my own unbiased personal opinion, and left of my own volition.
Read
June 9, 2025I received a copy from Roaring Brook Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dilly Rothbart has always wanted to follow her father’s footsteps and become a surgeon. It’s a path he refused to let her take, but since he died in a terrible accident, she’s determined to pursue her dream. Between entering the world of corpse-stealing and stumbling upon her dad’s journal that reveals the secrets of resurrecting the dead, Dilly’s entire life is about to be turned upside down.
I’m a sucker for retellings of classic literature, so of course I had to read this! In this Frankenstein retelling, we follow Dilly as she begins to figure out how she’s going to afford medical school if she manages to get into the few that accept women. With her twin sister, Dee Dee, by her side, she’s determined to make sure she and her sister both make their dreams happen. Unfortunately, things go awry when a fight leads to the untimely death of her sister, but it’s a good thing she has her dad’s notes on resurrection… It’s too bad Dee Dee came back completely different.
I could not get enough of this book. It’s really well written and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Each of the characters are interesting, even the supporting characters we don’t learn a whole lot about, and they all felt so real like we were actually meeting these people. The opening of the first chapter had me hooked right away, and there’s a couple of excellent mystery plots weaved throughout the entire book.
If this sounds up your alley, I highly recommend it. It’s a haunting story that takes us on a wild ride as Dilly keeps getting dug deeper and deeper in a huge mess after becoming a true resurrectionist. It’s a book that will make you find yourself still awake and reading at 3am. It makes me really excited to check out what else the author will publish in the future.
Dilly Rothbart has always wanted to follow her father’s footsteps and become a surgeon. It’s a path he refused to let her take, but since he died in a terrible accident, she’s determined to pursue her dream. Between entering the world of corpse-stealing and stumbling upon her dad’s journal that reveals the secrets of resurrecting the dead, Dilly’s entire life is about to be turned upside down.
I’m a sucker for retellings of classic literature, so of course I had to read this! In this Frankenstein retelling, we follow Dilly as she begins to figure out how she’s going to afford medical school if she manages to get into the few that accept women. With her twin sister, Dee Dee, by her side, she’s determined to make sure she and her sister both make their dreams happen. Unfortunately, things go awry when a fight leads to the untimely death of her sister, but it’s a good thing she has her dad’s notes on resurrection… It’s too bad Dee Dee came back completely different.
I could not get enough of this book. It’s really well written and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Each of the characters are interesting, even the supporting characters we don’t learn a whole lot about, and they all felt so real like we were actually meeting these people. The opening of the first chapter had me hooked right away, and there’s a couple of excellent mystery plots weaved throughout the entire book.
If this sounds up your alley, I highly recommend it. It’s a haunting story that takes us on a wild ride as Dilly keeps getting dug deeper and deeper in a huge mess after becoming a true resurrectionist. It’s a book that will make you find yourself still awake and reading at 3am. It makes me really excited to check out what else the author will publish in the future.
September 26, 2025
Thank you to Fierce Reads and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of "The Resurrectionist" by Kathleen S. Allen in exchange for an honest review!
2.5/5
Before I read this book, the premise seemed incredibly interesting! A Victorian-era story inspired by "Frankenstein" about a young girl that wants to become a surgeon? Sign me up! I was so intrigued by this book and excited when I received my ARC for it. Upon reading, though, it left me a bit disappointed.
I think my biggest issue with the book was how... frustrating? the main character was. Dilly is intended to be read as incredibly smart, and in the one instance her intelligence is shown, she is! Other than the one instance where she gets the chance to show off what she knows, she comes off as... less than smart. In a way, it could be naivety due to her being seventeen and a woman in Victorian London, but even then, with all her medical knowledge that she's gotten through reading her father's textbooks, she makes incredibly dumb mistakes that just don't seem believable when she's meant to be so smart.
Even beyond Dilly, the other characters were just kind of annoying. Diedre wasn't a very pleasant character at any point in the book, and while Ben and his motives can be seen as understandable (still bad! but understandable given the time and the treatment of women), he still got on my nerves. Edmund is a real one, though, and he deserves to be appreciated.
I think another major flaw of the book is the fact that it begins with spoiling the ending, as well as including that spoiler on the cover. While I think it's certainly doable to begin a book with the ending, I also think there needs to be a sort of tension throughout the book to make the actual reveal at the end worth it. This book just lacked the tension needed to make that successful and I think the reveal of Dilly killing her sister twice would have been much more shocking if it had come about naturally and wasn't the opening of the book.
I do think that the setting itself was a good fit for this story, although I have to admit I'm not sure what the Jack the Ripper inclusion added to the story. To be fair, I'm not really that interested in Jack the Ripper, but the inclusion of him in this story felt unnecessary (even if it does take place at the time he was active).....
Overall, I was let down by this book. It sounded super interesting and definitely does have potential to be good, I just think the characters made it ... disappointing. I can see the potential though, and I did like Edmund, so I'm giving it a 2.5 / 5 for that. Maybe more generous than I should be, but it's okay.
2.5/5
Before I read this book, the premise seemed incredibly interesting! A Victorian-era story inspired by "Frankenstein" about a young girl that wants to become a surgeon? Sign me up! I was so intrigued by this book and excited when I received my ARC for it. Upon reading, though, it left me a bit disappointed.
I think my biggest issue with the book was how... frustrating? the main character was. Dilly is intended to be read as incredibly smart, and in the one instance her intelligence is shown, she is! Other than the one instance where she gets the chance to show off what she knows, she comes off as... less than smart. In a way, it could be naivety due to her being seventeen and a woman in Victorian London, but even then, with all her medical knowledge that she's gotten through reading her father's textbooks, she makes incredibly dumb mistakes that just don't seem believable when she's meant to be so smart.
Even beyond Dilly, the other characters were just kind of annoying. Diedre wasn't a very pleasant character at any point in the book, and while Ben and his motives can be seen as understandable (still bad! but understandable given the time and the treatment of women), he still got on my nerves. Edmund is a real one, though, and he deserves to be appreciated.
I think another major flaw of the book is the fact that it begins with spoiling the ending, as well as including that spoiler on the cover. While I think it's certainly doable to begin a book with the ending, I also think there needs to be a sort of tension throughout the book to make the actual reveal at the end worth it. This book just lacked the tension needed to make that successful and I think the reveal of Dilly killing her sister twice would have been much more shocking if it had come about naturally and wasn't the opening of the book.
I do think that the setting itself was a good fit for this story, although I have to admit I'm not sure what the Jack the Ripper inclusion added to the story. To be fair, I'm not really that interested in Jack the Ripper, but the inclusion of him in this story felt unnecessary (even if it does take place at the time he was active).....
Overall, I was let down by this book. It sounded super interesting and definitely does have potential to be good, I just think the characters made it ... disappointing. I can see the potential though, and I did like Edmund, so I'm giving it a 2.5 / 5 for that. Maybe more generous than I should be, but it's okay.
October 4, 2025
2.5 ⭐
The Resurrectionist follows 17 year old Odile "Dilly" Rothbart after she finds her late father's notebook with notes on how to resurrect someone from the dead. The details of which nobody has yet to figure out, and scientists have been trying for years to figure it out, and her father has all the steps right in this notebook for her perusal. She'll do whatever it takes to become a surgeon, to finish her father's work. Her twin sister Deirdre highly disapproves of her sisters work, wishing she would put energy into finding a man to marry, since women don't become scientists or doctors, not in Victorian era London. Dilly will stop at nothing, removing anything and anyone in her path to get the recognition she craves even if she creates enemies and monsters along the way. When a boy comes along and offers her help she takes it and they end up falling into the greed that comes with the power of a god.
I was incredibly excited when I received this arc, I really enjoyed the Anatomy duology and The Madman's Daughter trilogy, so I was excited to jump into this! However I believe the book may just be a bit too young for me, and found a few issues with the consistency of the plot structure and how the characters changed throughout their arcs. I think with the way things are set up, I would have really enjoyed this book when I was 13 or 14, but as an adult, I found it harder to connect with Dilly and Deirdre who didn't have as much depth to their character as I wanted them to have.
Inspired by Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Resurrectionist is an atmospheric read, the feel of Victorian England during the time Jack the Ripper roamed the streets. With this books intense and dark themes, amateur surgeries, grave robbing, and violence, I feel this is a great read for autumn and Halloween. Check any trigger warnings before letting a squeamish teen read this!
I'd like to thank Kathleen S. Allen, Net Galley and Fierce Reads for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Resurrectionist comes out on October 7th!
Trigger Warnings I Gathered: death of parent, medical content, body horror, misogyny, body shaming, ableism, gore, murder, death, grief, bullying, suicide, child death, medical trauma
The Resurrectionist follows 17 year old Odile "Dilly" Rothbart after she finds her late father's notebook with notes on how to resurrect someone from the dead. The details of which nobody has yet to figure out, and scientists have been trying for years to figure it out, and her father has all the steps right in this notebook for her perusal. She'll do whatever it takes to become a surgeon, to finish her father's work. Her twin sister Deirdre highly disapproves of her sisters work, wishing she would put energy into finding a man to marry, since women don't become scientists or doctors, not in Victorian era London. Dilly will stop at nothing, removing anything and anyone in her path to get the recognition she craves even if she creates enemies and monsters along the way. When a boy comes along and offers her help she takes it and they end up falling into the greed that comes with the power of a god.
I was incredibly excited when I received this arc, I really enjoyed the Anatomy duology and The Madman's Daughter trilogy, so I was excited to jump into this! However I believe the book may just be a bit too young for me, and found a few issues with the consistency of the plot structure and how the characters changed throughout their arcs. I think with the way things are set up, I would have really enjoyed this book when I was 13 or 14, but as an adult, I found it harder to connect with Dilly and Deirdre who didn't have as much depth to their character as I wanted them to have.
Inspired by Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Resurrectionist is an atmospheric read, the feel of Victorian England during the time Jack the Ripper roamed the streets. With this books intense and dark themes, amateur surgeries, grave robbing, and violence, I feel this is a great read for autumn and Halloween. Check any trigger warnings before letting a squeamish teen read this!
I'd like to thank Kathleen S. Allen, Net Galley and Fierce Reads for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Resurrectionist comes out on October 7th!
Trigger Warnings I Gathered: death of parent, medical content, body horror, misogyny, body shaming, ableism, gore, murder, death, grief, bullying, suicide, child death, medical trauma
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September 15, 2025What. A. Cover. I could immediately tell it's set in a time period I enjoy combined with horror elements.
Didn't we learn from Pet Sematary that raising the dead is never a good idea? But it still makes for a compelling story. After the death of their father, twin sisters Odelia (Dilly) and Deirdre have no family left other than butler Edmund, who's served the family for decades. Trust me when I say the man deserves a raise considering the deeds he's called on to perform. Dilly and Deirdre's ideas about the direction their lives should now take differ. Deirdre desires to be a wife and mother, while Dilly aspires to become a surgeon, something unheard for a woman in Victorian England. I admired Dilly's determination and ambition, but those qualities also lead her into regrettable situations.
This story's path is made very clear in title and description - there's no certainly no mystery. It primarily focuses on Dilly's goals and her relationship with Deirdre. But that didn't detract from my enjoyment. As a warning, atmospheric scenes of digging up bodies in the graveyard and graphic descriptions of human anatomy may not be for everyone. While the first half is filled with Dilly making connections at the medical college, learning unexpected things about her father's past, and establishing the strong bond with her twin, I feel like the pace really takes off in the second half. That's also when one character's true motivations are revealed, infuriating Dilly and pushing her to make difficult choices.
I had to reading the ending twice to make sure I grasped the meaning. What a fantastic twist. I listened to the audiobook and narrator Harrie Dobby does an outstanding job. Recommended for fans of Frankenstein and Anatomy: A Love Story, Gothic Victorian settings, and seriously dysfunctional family dynamics.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Didn't we learn from Pet Sematary that raising the dead is never a good idea? But it still makes for a compelling story. After the death of their father, twin sisters Odelia (Dilly) and Deirdre have no family left other than butler Edmund, who's served the family for decades. Trust me when I say the man deserves a raise considering the deeds he's called on to perform. Dilly and Deirdre's ideas about the direction their lives should now take differ. Deirdre desires to be a wife and mother, while Dilly aspires to become a surgeon, something unheard for a woman in Victorian England. I admired Dilly's determination and ambition, but those qualities also lead her into regrettable situations.
This story's path is made very clear in title and description - there's no certainly no mystery. It primarily focuses on Dilly's goals and her relationship with Deirdre. But that didn't detract from my enjoyment. As a warning, atmospheric scenes of digging up bodies in the graveyard and graphic descriptions of human anatomy may not be for everyone. While the first half is filled with Dilly making connections at the medical college, learning unexpected things about her father's past, and establishing the strong bond with her twin, I feel like the pace really takes off in the second half. That's also when one character's true motivations are revealed, infuriating Dilly and pushing her to make difficult choices.
I had to reading the ending twice to make sure I grasped the meaning. What a fantastic twist. I listened to the audiobook and narrator Harrie Dobby does an outstanding job. Recommended for fans of Frankenstein and Anatomy: A Love Story, Gothic Victorian settings, and seriously dysfunctional family dynamics.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
October 17, 2025
1888, London.
Seventeen-year-old Odile Rothbart has dreamed of being a surgeon since she could first wield a scalpel and perform surgery on her twin sister Dierdre's dolls. But in Victorian England it isn't proper for girls to become surgeons. When Dilly's father dies, she decides to try to pursue her dreams and follow in his footsteps as a doctor, sneaking into medical lectures and befriending medical students who dig up corpses for cadavers. Secretly, though, Dilly is looking for something more: she wants to understand the human soul and become a resurrectionist; her father's journals, and death all around her may give her that opportunity.
The Resurrectionist is a reconstruction of Frankenstein, set against the backdrop of Jack the Ripper's Whitechapel and tied up with the Victorian bow of the obsession with death and the advancement of medicine. This book was a mixed read for me, and I think ultimately it's because I'm not the intended audience. While this book fascinated me in concept, in execution, it really is aimed for a young adult reader with its first person POV from a seventeen-year-old main character. I do think this book would have hit well for me when I was in high school. Dilly isn't immature (she's generally as mature as most Victorian seventeen-year-olds I encounter in reading), and Kathleen Allen constructs her perspective well, but the way Dilly approaches life, death, and her research just skews young.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, narrated by Harrie Dobby, who captures Dilly's personality well. Again, because of the age and style of writing, I may have preferred reading this with my eyes, but I think any YA reader who enjoys audiobooks (and can handle some body horror in their ears) would enjoy listening to this!
Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC. The Resurrectionist is out 10/7/25.
Seventeen-year-old Odile Rothbart has dreamed of being a surgeon since she could first wield a scalpel and perform surgery on her twin sister Dierdre's dolls. But in Victorian England it isn't proper for girls to become surgeons. When Dilly's father dies, she decides to try to pursue her dreams and follow in his footsteps as a doctor, sneaking into medical lectures and befriending medical students who dig up corpses for cadavers. Secretly, though, Dilly is looking for something more: she wants to understand the human soul and become a resurrectionist; her father's journals, and death all around her may give her that opportunity.
The Resurrectionist is a reconstruction of Frankenstein, set against the backdrop of Jack the Ripper's Whitechapel and tied up with the Victorian bow of the obsession with death and the advancement of medicine. This book was a mixed read for me, and I think ultimately it's because I'm not the intended audience. While this book fascinated me in concept, in execution, it really is aimed for a young adult reader with its first person POV from a seventeen-year-old main character. I do think this book would have hit well for me when I was in high school. Dilly isn't immature (she's generally as mature as most Victorian seventeen-year-olds I encounter in reading), and Kathleen Allen constructs her perspective well, but the way Dilly approaches life, death, and her research just skews young.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, narrated by Harrie Dobby, who captures Dilly's personality well. Again, because of the age and style of writing, I may have preferred reading this with my eyes, but I think any YA reader who enjoys audiobooks (and can handle some body horror in their ears) would enjoy listening to this!
Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an ALC. The Resurrectionist is out 10/7/25.
October 9, 2025
Book Feature + Review 🩸
thank you so much partner @fiercereads @storygramtours for the gifted copy!
🩸 The Resurrectionist
by Kathleen S. Allen
About the book 👇🏽
Death is just the beginning.
When seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart finds her recently deceased father's hidden journal, her entire world is upended—for what she finds within are the steps to bring a dead soul back to life.
Intent on finishing her father's work and establishing herself as the greatest scientist in history, Dilly plunges into a medical underworld of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and even murder. And when her twin sister steps in the way of her studies, she'll do whatever is necessary to secure the recognition she deserves.
⏳ This twisty, atmospheric, Frankensteinian tale is about a group of ambitious young scientists who descend into corruption when a breakthrough discovery grants them the power of gods.
💭 My thoughts:
Oh man did I LOVE this one!! Science, grave robbing, and an ode to Frankenstein?! This was all the way up my alley. I read this in one sitting and I am not even mad about it! This is why I love YA horror… they offer so much story in a very easy way to understand and enjoyable for all (ok most) ages! Plus it’s a quick read when you’re trying to read as many spooky books as you can in the month of October. So although I am a firm believer in reading spooky books all year ‘round, I say you give this one a go this month.
The Resurrectionist is out now!
You can snag your copy here ➡️ https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125... or head to my stories and click the link!
Happy reading 📖🩸🪦
#theresurrectionist #kathleenallen #storygramtours
thank you so much partner @fiercereads @storygramtours for the gifted copy!
🩸 The Resurrectionist
by Kathleen S. Allen
About the book 👇🏽
Death is just the beginning.
When seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart finds her recently deceased father's hidden journal, her entire world is upended—for what she finds within are the steps to bring a dead soul back to life.
Intent on finishing her father's work and establishing herself as the greatest scientist in history, Dilly plunges into a medical underworld of corpse-stealing, grave-robbing, and even murder. And when her twin sister steps in the way of her studies, she'll do whatever is necessary to secure the recognition she deserves.
⏳ This twisty, atmospheric, Frankensteinian tale is about a group of ambitious young scientists who descend into corruption when a breakthrough discovery grants them the power of gods.
💭 My thoughts:
Oh man did I LOVE this one!! Science, grave robbing, and an ode to Frankenstein?! This was all the way up my alley. I read this in one sitting and I am not even mad about it! This is why I love YA horror… they offer so much story in a very easy way to understand and enjoyable for all (ok most) ages! Plus it’s a quick read when you’re trying to read as many spooky books as you can in the month of October. So although I am a firm believer in reading spooky books all year ‘round, I say you give this one a go this month.
The Resurrectionist is out now!
You can snag your copy here ➡️ https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125... or head to my stories and click the link!
Happy reading 📖🩸🪦
#theresurrectionist #kathleenallen #storygramtours
September 25, 2025
Received as ARC through Netgalley
The Resurrectionist by Kathleen S. Allen is a young adult horror, coming of age book. The story follows a young Victorian era woman with a dream to become a surgeon in a society that refused to let women follow anything outside the tradition roles set in place.
Odile Rothbart, or Dilly as she's known as throughout the book, and her twin Deidre are left to figure out their way in life with only Edmund, their butler, to assist. Dilly attempts to follow her father as a surgeon. Deidre wishes to follow the traditional role of wife. Both find their dreams to be more difficult to achieve and their lives more convoluted. A captivating story of morality and death.
As soon as I read that it had been inspired by Frankenstein, I was overexcited to get a chance to read The Resurrectionist. The eye-catching covered helped to get my attention as well. I wasn’t disappointed. Beautifully written, the story is fascinating. I found Dilly’s attempt to become a surgeon at any cost a fascinating tale. Each chapter is prefaced by a quote to help set the following scene and a glimpse into Dilly’s mind. A gory story, we get a glimpse of the dark discoveries of the medical community during the Victorian era. Even if some of them are more fiction than realistic, The Resurrectionist is written in a way to bring these fantastical ideas into the real world.
Diedre’s dreams aren’t forgotten and we get to see two young women managing society without any parents to guide them. Receiving no assistance with the proper way to romance and who they should be trying to romance, their attempts don't do quite the way they want. The romance isn’t something I was interested in reading about though I did celebrate the way the short attempt concluded.
If you’re a fan of Frankenstein, definitely give The Resurrectionist a read. It comes out on ebook, audiobook and hardcover on October 7, 2025.
The Resurrectionist by Kathleen S. Allen is a young adult horror, coming of age book. The story follows a young Victorian era woman with a dream to become a surgeon in a society that refused to let women follow anything outside the tradition roles set in place.
Odile Rothbart, or Dilly as she's known as throughout the book, and her twin Deidre are left to figure out their way in life with only Edmund, their butler, to assist. Dilly attempts to follow her father as a surgeon. Deidre wishes to follow the traditional role of wife. Both find their dreams to be more difficult to achieve and their lives more convoluted. A captivating story of morality and death.
As soon as I read that it had been inspired by Frankenstein, I was overexcited to get a chance to read The Resurrectionist. The eye-catching covered helped to get my attention as well. I wasn’t disappointed. Beautifully written, the story is fascinating. I found Dilly’s attempt to become a surgeon at any cost a fascinating tale. Each chapter is prefaced by a quote to help set the following scene and a glimpse into Dilly’s mind. A gory story, we get a glimpse of the dark discoveries of the medical community during the Victorian era. Even if some of them are more fiction than realistic, The Resurrectionist is written in a way to bring these fantastical ideas into the real world.
Diedre’s dreams aren’t forgotten and we get to see two young women managing society without any parents to guide them. Receiving no assistance with the proper way to romance and who they should be trying to romance, their attempts don't do quite the way they want. The romance isn’t something I was interested in reading about though I did celebrate the way the short attempt concluded.
If you’re a fan of Frankenstein, definitely give The Resurrectionist a read. It comes out on ebook, audiobook and hardcover on October 7, 2025.
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