Jacob’s Reviews > Cleopatra and Frankenstein > Status Update

Thank god she finally let him have it. Ch 13 is just proof in every line that this didn’t work because Frank refused to listen and shut her out. CM tries to both sides their issue a bit but her affair with Anders stems from this core problem. Frank spent their whole relationship trying to manage her instead of loving her

Cleo, you deserve to be loved for who you are. Not who you think Frank or Anders or whoever else wants you to be. Your real self is more than enough. None of this should be happening to you

Alright I’m posting mid chapter because wtf

Cleo attempts suicide because she’s basically been abandoned by you emotionally and your response is “I could use a drink” ?!? Frank… that’s how you got here you need to lock in bro

lunch break; pretty impressive that CM wrote a novel that makes the manic pixie dream boy actually a dick and the typical chauvinist womanizer *somewhat* redeemable. I really liked the humanization of Anders with Jonah. That said he also says C is crazy and paranoid so def imperfect lol. Quote: “..being with Cleo made him feel reckless, as though he could burn his life to the ground and build it anew.” Got me lol

Ch 9 reminded me of the sopranos so much. Frank is like Tony in that he is defensive and doesn’t change to help his partner but does buy her gifts to placate her, but is like Chrissy in that he accidentally kills her pet. I didn’t like that he only apologized so he could have the conversation where she’d swoon over his success. Also I feel like this book has been almost all frank and I’d like more Cleo

Okay so I know this is age gap lit and in today’s discourse, that is why many would assume C&F can’t work. But Jesus Christ if ch 8 shows anything it’s that the problem is F ignoring C, putting her in a constant state of jealousy, and generally acting like he’s 15. Also I do not understand why he would cheat on C

Through ch 7, I have to agree with Cleo that sometimes, Frank isn’t the one who joins her in the hole but is the hole itself. Everything about their honeymoon irks me. The diving? And like, yeah she probably shouldn’t have gone out to the club with the younger guy but C is so emotionally trapped because F doesn’t listen. Also the scene in bed… cmon man. If she genuinely wants to know what’s wrong, tell her

Frank's opinion of Cleo is... interesting. Yeah, he says he likes her because she's intelligent (and she is) and he says he likes being criticized by her... but does he? He seems fairly dismissive of her opinions. Him waving away her take about using words like "bitch" was frustrating, but effectively calling her a feminazi to Anders behind her back was just wrong. Hoping Cleo's POV returns in the coming chapters.

Alright I'm back and I'm locked in. I'm going to finish by goal by the end of the year.... somehow. Not sure how I'm going to read nine books this month, but I will.

Picked this one up intending to read it before Blue Sisters released and never got to either. CM's prose is strong. Not sure how I feel about Frank yet but based on ch 1 alone, it's pretty easy to see why he fell for Cleo.