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London Paranormal #1
The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein
Tired of being the laughingstock and failure of her famous Frankenstein family, Clair sets out to win a prize offered by The Journal of Scientific Discovery for the Discovery of the Decade and sets out to venture into the castle of Baron Huntsley, in an attempt to prove that its owner is actually a vampire. Original.
306 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2005
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213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 2, 2017
I wanted to like this but gave up after a few chapters. I'm going to try again when I'm in more of a lighthearted mood for a book with less developed plot.
The main things that bothered me were that this had all the writing styles of a smut book. Poor character development and a weak plot that is only there to fill in the chapters between lust scenes (not sure if this is how the book turns out to be since I gave up).
I do know that the science was weak and the female lead stupid for a scientist. For example... the innuendos about Frankenstein's monster being 'well endowed' which made the lead wonder about her stallion being gelded around the same time. Is the author implying that women like men with unusually large testicles? Or does she not know what gelding a horse really is? ..........
The main things that bothered me were that this had all the writing styles of a smut book. Poor character development and a weak plot that is only there to fill in the chapters between lust scenes (not sure if this is how the book turns out to be since I gave up).
I do know that the science was weak and the female lead stupid for a scientist. For example... the innuendos about Frankenstein's monster being 'well endowed' which made the lead wonder about her stallion being gelded around the same time. Is the author implying that women like men with unusually large testicles? Or does she not know what gelding a horse really is? ..........
May 23, 2022
This was fun and goofy and silly. If you like Bridgerton but wish it had a little supernatural spice this one is for you. It’s got the Ton, it’s got vampires and werewolves and lots of fun little digs and puns and nods and winks thrown in. I quite enjoyed these characters and would be delighted to join Clair and her aunts for tea.
August 1, 2024
This book was picked up in a library sale and the blurb on the back meant it needed to be read because it sounded too chaotic and off-beat. Surprise, surprise, it was! I chuckled my way through even if the main character got a little insufferable at times. For someone dedicated to science, she had little to no regard for the scientific method.
August 15, 2019
I laughed so many times. It’s got a nice romance. There’s some danger and that incident with the pigs. It’s the perfect Halloween read or if you like supernatural name dropping. I’m really amazed by the amount of laughs it provoked.
October 11, 2020
I’ve read worse romance books. Clair is still an idiot. Absolutely no common sense.
January 24, 2021
What a sexy hilarious romp! I enjoyed every page!
September 11, 2021
Hilarious fun read! More please
December 29, 2021
A paranormal romance that I just could not get into. The humor was childish at best.
February 11, 2023
Pure foolishness, but I had fun anyway. The ending went on a tad long for me. I don't think all of it was needed.
February 25, 2023
This book was absolutely hilarious would recommend to everybody I know
December 22, 2024
I wish I would have DNF’d this book.
Too much Pride and Prejudice, not enough Frankenstein.
Too much Pride and Prejudice, not enough Frankenstein.
February 25, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. I truly did. How could I not like it? It's paranormal. It's historical. It's funny. I like all of those things. So, what could possibly be the problem? A heroine who is truly an idiot and humor that is so in your face on every page within the book that by page 60 pages the reader is so tired of the puns we are no longer finding the book funny.
What Worked: The set up is actually quite entertaining and early on (while we readers are still oblivious to the depth at which the author will go to make a pun) our heroine appears quite clever and refreshing. In addition to the beginning there were a few references that I completely adored. How could I not love a shout out to Young Frankenstein?
"Victor Frankenstein was brilliant, but he was also a card-carrying lunatic. He was most famous for his forays into animating dead flesh--queer work which had created widespread controversy, not to mention chaos when his creation escaped and roamed the countryside, eating up blind men's food and setting fire to the Ritz after a particularly bohemian display of dancing." Another thing that I believe belongs in the plus column is that some of the sexual encounters are actually not bad (when compared to the rest of the book.
What Didn't Work: Clair. Clair. Clair. Minda Webber told us repeatedly that Clair is an intelligent, inquisitive scientist yet her actions prove otherwise. She draws conclusions from hearsay and gossip without any shred of proof. Her idea of proving her theories (which she boldly calls her hypothesis...because she's a brilliant scientist and all) is to break into people's homes to witness their paranormal debauchery. She broke into no less than 3 homes and almost as many men's bedchambers trying to catch a vampire or werewolf in the act of being not human based solely on the fact people told her that they were not human. Except for Asher, the Earl of Wolverton. She used her brain on that one and decided that he was a werewolf because he was the Earl of WOLVErton and his coat of arms is the image of a wolf.
Just a couple more things to point out and I'll be done: Although this book appears to be set in regency England the author does not attach a time frame on the book so the timeline seems to be quite ambiguous. The balls, the dress and the coaches all seem period in appearance yet the dialogue and writing are so clearly modernized. If the author had left those markers out I would have argued this was actually a contemporary romance and not historical.
"...she would set her cap for him in a London minute."
"Ian wanted to worship at the shrine of those magnificent breasts."
Also, when making a joke by introducing characters named Dr Durlock Homes and Professor Whutson, who are known for their crime solving abilities, it is important to make sure the names Holmes and Watson do not accidentally make their way into the story by accident. Oh, and Artie Doyle? By the time his name was dropped into the story I had already decided this book was to the literary world what Scary Movie is to the Oscars (only worse.)
In a Nutshell: I disliked this book more than I liked it. I knew I was only supposed to take it with a grain of salt and just have fun but there was so much that just got on my nerves I wasn't able to get over that hump. I found I could only read this book 20-30 pages at a time before I wanted to throw the book against the wall and knowing what I know now I'm really regretting purchasing Minda Webber's other book (The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing) at the same time I bought this one.
What Worked: The set up is actually quite entertaining and early on (while we readers are still oblivious to the depth at which the author will go to make a pun) our heroine appears quite clever and refreshing. In addition to the beginning there were a few references that I completely adored. How could I not love a shout out to Young Frankenstein?
"Victor Frankenstein was brilliant, but he was also a card-carrying lunatic. He was most famous for his forays into animating dead flesh--queer work which had created widespread controversy, not to mention chaos when his creation escaped and roamed the countryside, eating up blind men's food and setting fire to the Ritz after a particularly bohemian display of dancing." Another thing that I believe belongs in the plus column is that some of the sexual encounters are actually not bad (when compared to the rest of the book.
What Didn't Work: Clair. Clair. Clair. Minda Webber told us repeatedly that Clair is an intelligent, inquisitive scientist yet her actions prove otherwise. She draws conclusions from hearsay and gossip without any shred of proof. Her idea of proving her theories (which she boldly calls her hypothesis...because she's a brilliant scientist and all) is to break into people's homes to witness their paranormal debauchery. She broke into no less than 3 homes and almost as many men's bedchambers trying to catch a vampire or werewolf in the act of being not human based solely on the fact people told her that they were not human. Except for Asher, the Earl of Wolverton. She used her brain on that one and decided that he was a werewolf because he was the Earl of WOLVErton and his coat of arms is the image of a wolf.
Just a couple more things to point out and I'll be done: Although this book appears to be set in regency England the author does not attach a time frame on the book so the timeline seems to be quite ambiguous. The balls, the dress and the coaches all seem period in appearance yet the dialogue and writing are so clearly modernized. If the author had left those markers out I would have argued this was actually a contemporary romance and not historical.
"...she would set her cap for him in a London minute."
"Ian wanted to worship at the shrine of those magnificent breasts."
Also, when making a joke by introducing characters named Dr Durlock Homes and Professor Whutson, who are known for their crime solving abilities, it is important to make sure the names Holmes and Watson do not accidentally make their way into the story by accident. Oh, and Artie Doyle? By the time his name was dropped into the story I had already decided this book was to the literary world what Scary Movie is to the Oscars (only worse.)
In a Nutshell: I disliked this book more than I liked it. I knew I was only supposed to take it with a grain of salt and just have fun but there was so much that just got on my nerves I wasn't able to get over that hump. I found I could only read this book 20-30 pages at a time before I wanted to throw the book against the wall and knowing what I know now I'm really regretting purchasing Minda Webber's other book (The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing) at the same time I bought this one.
April 26, 2015
This review can also be found at I read therefore I am.
It really took me a while to read this one. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for such a book at the moment, I don’t know, but fact is that I really had troubles getting in, so much that I had to make a break with another book at some point before giving it another go.
In the end, it was an okay-ish read. But it was nothing like what I was expecting. It sounded like a historical paranormal story, with science references. I love historical settings, and I have always been fascinated by science, so despite not being too fond of werewolves and vampires, this book definitely sounded promising to me. Yet I have been really disappointed by the science part. Our protagonist, Clair, is supposed to be a brilliant scientist trying to demonstrate the existence of supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves. So, I was expecting real science, with lab experiments and such, but I found nothing of that at all. Because guess what Clair’s “scientific” method is: she’s stalking people she suspects to be supernatural creatures in the hope to catch them turning into wolves or drinking blood. It rather looks like the methods of a bored lady looking for new topics to gossip about than like the methods of a real scientist to me.
Also, in a paranormal book I expect a few good action scenes. I didn’t find them here. Well, at some point toward the end of the book the heroin found herself in a in a mess and there could have been some good suspense, yet she got saved before I could start worrying for her, so it didn’t work. Other than this, the whole book mostly focused on Clair’s so-called scientific theories, and on the romance. Which leads me to the next criticism: I didn’t like the romance.
First, there is a bit of a love triangle, but this isn’t what bothered me the most since it is a minor thing. My main problem was with the love interest, Ian. At first Clair was suspecting him of being a vampire, and he caught her stalking him in the middle of the night. And suddenly he was all over her – why, I didn’t understand. I might have missed something, but the start of their story didn’t sound very credible to me. Also, he really was annoying with constantly reminding us how beautiful Clair was. Seriously, either he has never seen a woman before, or he is a breast fetishist, because he couldn’t stop rambling about how much Clair’s curves drove him crazy. He sounded like a teenager seeing a woman for the first time, it was ridiculous.
Oh, and the final twist about him was so obvious, I had guessed it since the first chapter.
Well, I’ve only brought negative points so far but it wasn’t that bad overall. When I finally got into the story, I did have a rather good time reading it, and it gave me a couple of good laughs, because the characters are so ridiculous, and many of the dialogs are. In fact, it sounded like a parody of a paranormal romance story. I don’t know if this was what the author intended to do, but if it was, then she succeeded.
I recommend this book to you if: you want a fun and light read.
It really took me a while to read this one. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for such a book at the moment, I don’t know, but fact is that I really had troubles getting in, so much that I had to make a break with another book at some point before giving it another go.
In the end, it was an okay-ish read. But it was nothing like what I was expecting. It sounded like a historical paranormal story, with science references. I love historical settings, and I have always been fascinated by science, so despite not being too fond of werewolves and vampires, this book definitely sounded promising to me. Yet I have been really disappointed by the science part. Our protagonist, Clair, is supposed to be a brilliant scientist trying to demonstrate the existence of supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves. So, I was expecting real science, with lab experiments and such, but I found nothing of that at all. Because guess what Clair’s “scientific” method is: she’s stalking people she suspects to be supernatural creatures in the hope to catch them turning into wolves or drinking blood. It rather looks like the methods of a bored lady looking for new topics to gossip about than like the methods of a real scientist to me.
Also, in a paranormal book I expect a few good action scenes. I didn’t find them here. Well, at some point toward the end of the book the heroin found herself in a in a mess and there could have been some good suspense, yet she got saved before I could start worrying for her, so it didn’t work. Other than this, the whole book mostly focused on Clair’s so-called scientific theories, and on the romance. Which leads me to the next criticism: I didn’t like the romance.
First, there is a bit of a love triangle, but this isn’t what bothered me the most since it is a minor thing. My main problem was with the love interest, Ian. At first Clair was suspecting him of being a vampire, and he caught her stalking him in the middle of the night. And suddenly he was all over her – why, I didn’t understand. I might have missed something, but the start of their story didn’t sound very credible to me. Also, he really was annoying with constantly reminding us how beautiful Clair was. Seriously, either he has never seen a woman before, or he is a breast fetishist, because he couldn’t stop rambling about how much Clair’s curves drove him crazy. He sounded like a teenager seeing a woman for the first time, it was ridiculous.
Oh, and the final twist about him was so obvious, I had guessed it since the first chapter.
Well, I’ve only brought negative points so far but it wasn’t that bad overall. When I finally got into the story, I did have a rather good time reading it, and it gave me a couple of good laughs, because the characters are so ridiculous, and many of the dialogs are. In fact, it sounded like a parody of a paranormal romance story. I don’t know if this was what the author intended to do, but if it was, then she succeeded.
I recommend this book to you if: you want a fun and light read.
July 29, 2022
Victor Frankenstein’s niece is convinced that the world is full of Vampires and Werewolves, and is determined to prove it.
May 2, 2014
Loved it to pieces!! I couldn't stop laughing at these two!
Think you know the story of Frankenstein? That wasn't even the half of it!
Clair Frankenstein is determined to uncover the monsters that go bump in the night and she is sure she is on the right track with the mysterious Baron Huntsley, but when the suspected vampire shows up in the middle of the day she must concede defeat.
Soon after that disappointment, Clair learns of another who fits the criteria for a werewolf and she is off again for proof if their existence!
Ian Huntsley can't help but be amused at the lovely woman he finds sneaking around a family crypt one night but the amusement soon turns to distress when he discovers what she is up to. Under no circumstances can she know the truth, and so it is up to him to keep her safe and ignorant.
But how long can their separate paths continue before they must cross?
Think you know the story of Frankenstein? That wasn't even the half of it!
Clair Frankenstein is determined to uncover the monsters that go bump in the night and she is sure she is on the right track with the mysterious Baron Huntsley, but when the suspected vampire shows up in the middle of the day she must concede defeat.
Soon after that disappointment, Clair learns of another who fits the criteria for a werewolf and she is off again for proof if their existence!
Ian Huntsley can't help but be amused at the lovely woman he finds sneaking around a family crypt one night but the amusement soon turns to distress when he discovers what she is up to. Under no circumstances can she know the truth, and so it is up to him to keep her safe and ignorant.
But how long can their separate paths continue before they must cross?
January 13, 2008
If Minda Webber had been any less witty I would've put this down completely. I picked it up after reading the second book, in which Claire seemed like a much more interesting character. The hero was a little more likable, but outside of that, it was just painful to read... Claire's plan to prove vampires exist to make her name as a scientist lacks, I don't know, ANY KIND OF SCIENTIFIC LOGIC!
May 18, 2011
The story of Clair Frankenstein was a humorous journey of love, life with a spectacular twist that wasn't seen coming.
The appearances of some famous people in history gave it a little more meaning and contrast.
I was riveted and could barely put the book down. I enjoyed it so much, this was my second time reading it.
Cannot wait to read the next one.
The appearances of some famous people in history gave it a little more meaning and contrast.
I was riveted and could barely put the book down. I enjoyed it so much, this was my second time reading it.
Cannot wait to read the next one.
July 21, 2016
Needed more info to Clair's parents, aunts, uncle's, etc. Also some in put to what the English "ton" was at that time. Good character's, but slow in first part of the book. Second half moves better and faster.
Wish we could have more of Clair and the Baron's life after her wedding and he gives her the second" wedding gift" .
Wish we could have more of Clair and the Baron's life after her wedding and he gives her the second" wedding gift" .
October 28, 2011
The back cover says something about a "madcap romp," and I figured with the Frankenstien's, werewovles, Mr. Hyde, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Poe, and possibly a sexy vampire, it would be a fun Halloween time read. Notsomuch. It sucked.
November 18, 2015
Wow I've never read any of her books till now and I have to say it's a little crazy at first but once I took the time and read more of it the more I got lost in the story very good I'll read the next ones for sure!!
February 24, 2015
I couldn't finish this book. It was really boring, but I'm also not a fan of reading books set in the 19th century.
March 21, 2010
This book was so stupid and bizarre, but I did finish it and was mildly entertained in the process.
September 3, 2011
Very Funny. I just can't believe how everything worked out and Poor Asher!
July 30, 2011
Loved it ...
October 17, 2012
[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 October 2012]
December 22, 2016
Entertaining, but the heroine has got to be the biggest ditz of any novel I have ever read. Also, the humor is very in your face, which got to be rather aggravating rather than funny.
December 4, 2009
A darling premise but Webber is a boring writer.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews