I had to DNF this one. I could not connect with any of the characters and it was just trying too hard to be edgy and shocking.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors is about a central relationship and the aspects of their lives that pulls them apart.

"'Would you like my chapeau?' ' Your what?' 'My hat. He's a beret, so I usually speak to him in French.' [...] 'The world is your chapeau'".

Trigger warning: depression, suicide, drugs, alcoholism.

Cleo[patra] and Frank[enstein] meet. They fall in love. Life happens and they fall out of love. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is everything that happens in-between, to them and their loved ones.

The story is beautiful. It's raw, it's dark, it drags the reader into a spiralling pit of despair. There's a fantastic analogy referenced throughout the book, about someone who is stuck in a hole. The author discusses the various people who come to help and their various approaches, until the end - someone climbs in with them. The story reflects that, letting us climb into the hole with each character, joining them through their struggles.

People outgrow one another and it's a painful process, learning to move forward without being pulled back or pulling back others to the comfort zone you've outgrown. Growing is a painful, dark process many of us dip our toes into and then retreat from. Movement into unknown territories isn't always growing or going forward. Every character made choices that challenged and pushed them away from who they were, for better and for worse.

And can I just say that the Jewish representation was 10/10. It was a beautiful side piece, thrown in by a sarcastic, witty character who didn't fall into the bored, stereotypical tropes. I died and loved every minute of them. Thank you.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc.

I can't help but liking every love story between self-centred young people! Another exploration of modern love, intimacy and friendship.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein follow's the lives of Cleo and Frank who meet at a party and quickly become enamored with each other leading to a wedding a few months later, the novel charts the ups and downs of their marriage and how it affects those around them.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel, it's extremely well written and explores the characters imperfections and messy relationships. I don't think this will be for everyone, but I certainly loved it. One for fans of Sally Rooney.

I loved the sound of this book and the book cover really appealed. It took me to about a third of the way through to get into this book, probably when we first meet Eleanor and she speaks in the first person. I then dipped again towards the end. I think I just couldn't really get on with the characters and I therefore wasn't that fussed as to what happened to them. This book just wasn't really for me unfortunately.

Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed reading this. The book centres around the lives of Cleo and Frank, who live in New York, but it also delves into the lives of those around them.

It’s very well written, and deeply explores many different types of love and relationships; whether those are in a familial, friendship and romantic sense. On the surface many of the characters seem to have it all, and the book approaches a mix of topics - flaws, vices, health conditions, loss, mental health, drugs and more. The level of intricate detail the author uses reminded me of reading The Goldfinch.

I tried but this just wasn't for me - I could not be interested in any of the characters, could not care less about what happened to them. I liked the descriptions of New York; I quite enjoyed the first person part narrated by Eleanor, but I disliked absolutely everything else and it took me a long time to get through this book. It really wasn't for me - I enjoy reading about messy characters but these ones had not redeeming feature and the writing was overall rather poor.

I expected from the blurb to enjoy this book much more than I did. Instead it was just full of self-obsessed people, only concerned with how other see them, and where the next drink or hit is coming from. I could not empathise with any character - neither Cleo, the self-orientated individual who doesn't know what she's looking for and isn't particularly bothered who gets hurt in her pursuit of this elusive 'happiness', or Frank, who is old enough to know better but behaves as an irresponsible adolescent, nor Zoe nor Anders and especially not Quentin.

It just was not my cuppa at all, and I could not find any redeeming fact about the book, other than pleasure when I'd finished it. Its well written, I just did not enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and William Collins for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Cleopatra and Frankenstein, when Cleo and Frank meet in a lift leaving a party on New Years Eve they are instantly drawn to each other despite their differences. They bring out the best and worst in each other and as you follow their tumultuous relationship and how that affects their relationships with friends and family you are drawn deep into their lives.

A messy, painful and real read.

I was given a copy of Cleopatra and Frankenstein by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

"Cleopatra and Frankenstein", Coco Mellors's debut novel, tells the story of Cleo, a struggling artist in her mid-twenties, and Frank, a self-made entrepreneur – and an alcoholic – in his mid-forties, who meet one New Year's Eve and get married within months of knowing each other. But it's more than a story about a marriage that's bound to fail, as it also touches on the stories of the people's lives that are intertwined with Cleo's and Frank's, offering up chapters from different point of views that never quite leave Cleo and Frank out of sight. Mellors manages to flesh out a rather large cast of characters while dealing, amongst others, with themes of addiction, abuse, and sexism. She delivers a gripping, often gritty novel with characters that you despise yet somehow end up rooting for. I can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

In Cleopatra and Frankenstein we follow british, young and witty Cleo who meets Frank, a man 20 years her senior, at a New Years Eve party in New York. What follows is a spontaneous green card wedding and a turbulent marriage.

My hopes were very high for this book and I was incredibly excited when I got approved for this ARC. Unfortunately I was left disappointed. The characters all felt flat, one dimensional and boring to me. It's story you've read before - but better. Throughout this book I found myself more interest in the multiple side characters rather than the main duo.

I do believe however that this is more of a 'me' problem since I've seen a lot of people giving this glowing reviews. I believe that if I'd have read this a couple years ago I would've enjoyed it a lot more. I'm just a bit burned out with the '20 something sad girl in New York' trope.

TW: suicide, childhood trauma

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC!

I love the characters! I love their imperfections, their foibles. Really enjoyed this contemporary novel set in New York. It had a great pace to it and I love the story told through the different characters.

Although it took me a while to get into this book, it was worth it in the end. Full of richly written characters and messy relationships, it's definitely one for Sally Rooney fans.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors.

This book both delighted and frustrated me.

First off this title and the cover are probably my favourite in a long time. I love the title and the cover is so eye catching, you could not help but be instantly drawn to it on a shelf.

This book starts so strongly. New Years Eve in 2006. Two people meet in a lift leaving a NYE party early. 25 year old British artist Cleo and Frank, a New Yorker in his 40's. The dialogue between the two characters and the New York descriptions pulled me immediately into this story. Then the next chapter begins to introduce the other characters of this book, the friends of Cleo and Frank. It was somewhat jarring, the different chapters. This feeling remained throughout the book for me.

After a whirlwind six months, Cleo and Frank get married and the book examines their relationship in all its messy , relatable, raw detail. Neither character are hugely likeable but they are so well drawn and developed I found myself changing my opinion on them as the book progressed.

There was so much I enjoyed about this book that the parts that I didn't enjoy felt like I was reading different books. Mostly down to the other characters , Cleo and Franks friends, I adored some of them and there were two who felt cliched and stereotypical so felt like quite a disjointed read. The parts that were good ( the setting, the dialogues, the relationships) were so brilliantly good , it was frustrating as a reader to be dragged back to a different storyline featuring a weaker character.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this overall. It would have been a five star read for me, it was in lots of parts, just not all of it. I’d very much recommend it all the same for the many parts that were a delight.

A writer to watch out for, I will look forward to whatever she writes next.

Oh how i loved this book...
I had only read a few pages and I just knew this was going to be going on my favourite book list.
Cleo is a 20 something young Brit living in New York who meets Frank 20 years her senior and they impulsively get married only to find out that maybe marriage isn't all that it should be ..... It's not a romance novel and there is no great plot but the portrayal of the characters is enough for you to get easily absorbed in their lives.
Not only do we hear from Cleo and Frank but we also get to know their friends and you soon start to feel part of this friendship group. Of course the characters are all flawed in some way and we see humour mixed with sadness and real life issues make it a very relatable read.
And let's talk about the setting.... if you have been to NYC i feel you will love the book even more . I now need to revisit and wander the streets of Manhattan .
Great writing, great setting , great characters , cannot wait to see what Mellors writes next!

Cleopatra and Frankenstein stayed with me after I finished it. This is the markings of well developed characters. Cleo and Frank's trauma bonding made an engaging and heart wrenching read. The semantics of this relationship are relatable even with their extremities. Sometimes, opposites do attract but what attracts can also divide. The dynamic of Cleo and Frank was electric and traumatic. They both needed the same thing but could not be that for each other. Coco's narrative arch felt true to her characters and she didn't compromise in ending. After all, not every relationship has happily ever after. Anders was my only complaint. He seemed to be completely in love with her and then dismissed her. Not too dissimilar to real life but it felt like his explanation of why and what he said to Cleo was rushed. There was no confrontation of Frank and Anders or how their relationship was after the affair. Perhaps this is because it was the Cleo and Frank show.

I had been so excited to read this so I was thrilled when I was approved for it!

First off, I enjoyed this a lot but it wasn’t at all what I expected. Comparisons to Sally Rooney are both inappropriate and lazy.

From the opening I could see the kind of criticisms this book would get - yes, I agree, people do not talk like this. Secondly yes, this book features very rich characters, plus characters who don’t seem to do anything for work. For both these reasons I would recommend just going with it. If you let these kinds of things annoy you from the start they will annoy you throughout.

The book begins with the meeting of Cleo and Frank. Cleo is 25 - young and beautiful and a broke artist. Frank is 45, a successful businessman.

One of my criticisms of the book is even by the end I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be rooting for either of these characters. I have no issue with unlikeable characters, in fact, I love spiky, difficult characters, but I’m never clear if my dislike of them is intentional or not.

I found this a fun and engaging read, reading most of it in one day on a lazy Saturday. It’s definitely not for everyone but it was “my kind of thing”. I didn’t really like any of the characters, except Eleanor, who we meet about halfway through, but I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, all except Santiago. I genuinely couldn’t work out if his storyline about his weight loss journey was meant to be an ironic joke as it seemed sincere. I found this jarring and fatphobic.

I liked a lot of this but I expect due to the unlikeable characters with unrealistic lives, plus the hype and comparison to Sally Rooney, it will divide opinions.

4 stars

Ah, Cleo and Frank. I feel like I know them. I don't think I'd be friends with them. But, I feel like they're the people everyone is always gossiping about. The sort who are at every party, the people who always make an impression.
I think the author did a great job of describing their relationship. It seemed very real, not like it was just something made up for a book. I wonder if its based on experience?
I enjoyed the dips into the lives of other characters as well. It was nice that the focus wasn't just on Cleo and Frank.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a clever and thoughtful examination of relationships in a particular social milieu, for the most part in New York. However, I don't like the marketing strategy of 'move over Sally Rooney'. There is room for more than one writer to examine modern love, friendship and society and whilst the comparison works to some extent, it doesn't always work in Mellors' favour whose debut should be given the space to form its own territory.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a compelling read. Cleo is a young British artist studying in New York, Frank is a wealthy forty-something who owns his own up-and-coming advertising agency. Cleo's visa is about to run out...
I care about the wide group of characters we're given access to and I want them to figure things out. I don't, however, get the full picture of the friendships behind Cleo and Frank's relationship and I while I enjoy the multiple perspectives that the novel delightfully offers, I feel a bit sad about one in particular (I won't let on so as not to ruin the book) that gets left unresolved and probably in a very bad place.
Having said that, people come into and out of lives and we don't always get to find out what happened to them. We don't always know the end of their stories.

Witty, amusing, fast-paced. I have high hopes of what Coco Mellors will write next and no doubt that many will devour this book and be eager for more. I think her next book will have a greater sense of self-assurance and I can't wait to find out what that does for her work.