Til Death Do We Start

by Kate Crow

Death was the best choice Jane Montgomery ever made–until it was stolen from her.

All Jane wants is to be a scientist. Meanwhile, her vengeful brother burns her library, destroys her research, and tries to force her to marry the vile lord of his choice. She chooses death instead.

Will Gardner wishes he'd stayed dead. His monstrous new life is a lonely burden until he meets the exquisite and compelling Jane, but when he finds her lifeless body, he knows better than anyone that death doesn’t have to be permanent.

When Jane wakes up alive and furious, Will realizes he damned her to the same existence he hates. With threats from their past lives hunting them, they hide at Cambridge where Jane can finally be a student–as long as they pretend they’re married. When their fake marriage starts feeling real, will death prove to be their new start, or will they be forced apart?

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2026

About the author

Kate Crow is a gothic romance author and lifelong monster lover. When she isn’t writing, she loves going to the movies, knitting, and being very loud with her friends. She lives in Los Angeles with her cat, Lombard, and her physical media collection.

Reviews

[Lithia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow despite the story being extremely death centered this was such a cozy read. I think because you really fall in love with Will and Jane — their banter absolutely makes the book! — and the way they navigated their circumstances and the world, gave me all the warm and fuzzies<3

More Victorian women in STEM romances please!
More Victorian men who garden romances too!
And finally, I truly require a Tristian sequel most expeditiously, TYIA



Review of advance copy received from Author

[Bri Bertolaccini · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you were anything like me after seeing Frankenstein (2025) and needed more romance and after watching Bride! thought "I need my Bride of Frankenstein to have more consent," then this book is for you! Absolutely obsessed with this book!

Will meets Jane in a chance encounter in his library. Will was brought back to life by his brother Tristian, and had shunned himself from society. Not realizing Jane was going through some intense stuff with her horrible brother (like wow did I hate that man), he finds Jane drowned in the river and has his brother bring her back to life.

This book does a great job about talking about how Jane's choice of dying was taken from her and because of when this story takes place a woman's right to choose anything about her life was so difficult. While there are societal constraints at play here, Jane is able to find her own ways to make her own decisions and find that freedom she's been searching for.

Will takes Jane to Cambridge where she can study but not get a degree, and I really loved how their relationship blooms and you see the individual growth for both of them that by the end make them so great for one another. Also, I'm such a sucker for a One Bed trope!

The third act was a page turner and I couldn't put it down! All the breadcrumbs left throughout this book added up in such a great way. Can't wait for the next one!

[Ariel Butters · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg YESSS this is so smart and original and feminist and funny! Jane is peak “unlikable woman” and I love her so much. Will is a cutie pie himbo but he can’t have too much peace bc men. this is a delightful romp with a few gut punch moments of poignancy 😭😭😭

[Melody Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story

The story and it’s characters are woven together and share a wonderful tale of love and mystery
Looking forward to the next meeting with Jane, Will and Tristan.
Brava!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Frankenstein certainly never goes out of style, it is definitely having a moment – between Lisa Frankenstein, Del Toro’s Frankenstein, Poor Things, and The Bride! there have been a lot of Frankenstein retellings recently leaning hard into the feminist and /or womb envy aspects of the original.

Here, we have a retelling of Frankenstein mostly told from the perspective of the “bride” character, as we follow Jane, who is fascinated by science, doing her best to study biology despite her lack of education, and, like so may others, stifled by the laws and rules of the Victoria era.

The reader finds out how, exactly, she ended up on the table being resurrected – and it is understandable why she is so mad when she wakes up. To quote The Incredibles: “You ruined my death!”

In this version, the Creature is Will, the doctor’s brother, which works very well, giving the doctor a better motivation than just pure hubris.

Will and Jane, to pass as "normal", pretend to be married, bantering all the way, quickly thrust into a ‘there’s only one bed’ situation. Their sniping is hilarious, accidentally making them sound exactly like an old married couple. And to exactly no one else’s surprise, steamy scenes result!

Crow gives a honest portrayal of the state of women’s rights in this time period, as Jane attends Cambridge, but only under the most onerous of restrictions – classes only, no exams or degree, must be chaperoned by all times, only allowed for a few hours per week in the library, no checking out books, and on and on. But Jane marches on, determined to, at the very least, start breaking ground for those who will come after.

But what would a Frankenstein story without a climax of an angry mob and everything on fire?

[Jess Jozwik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO fun. There was yearning. There was science. There was a plucky heroine who actually FELT like she was in the late Victorian era England with all it's rules and propriety. Sometimes she made dumb, stubborn choices, but I always felt like this world was very real, and the romance was beautiful. The FMC's motivations were so clear and real, and her struggle for independence vs the codependence of love and trust was so real and relatable. This was a really rich world and the characters were delightful in their own ways- you loved them, or you love to hate them.

thank you so much for the ARC, and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

[Katie Kruszynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Excellent Excellent

I had such a wonderful time reading this book! As a woman in science, myself, I really felt for Jane and her desire to fit in a world that wasn’t built for her.

If you need one word to get you to read this book, it’s BANTER. AH it’s just so quick and witty and so funny.

I loved the little references to the Frankenstein movies too. It was a wonderful touch.

Can’t wait for the next book!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a phenomenal debut novel!

Jane Montgomery, an aspiring academic in Victorian England, is stuck with within the confines of her gender and the house of her malicious brother. When he forces a marriage to destroy everything she loves, Jane takes matters into her own hands and ends her life. Will Gardner, reanimated by his scientist brother, finds Jane's body and is determined to do something good with this everlasting life by bringing her back. When Jane wakes up, furious, he knows he is into a wild ride. Together, the two discover that maybe death was the start they needed all along.

I loved this book! Both MCs felt so real, and their journey was so much fun to watch. It was such a delightful romp of a book. I can't wait to read the next one in the series!








*ARC provided by Author and Book Funnel*