This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel
Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures… until the day their adventures turn all too real.
They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. Father forbids them from ever entering the room again, but when Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to the Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life… Read more.
Determined to save Konrad, Victor, along with his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry, scale the highest trees in Strumwald, dive into the deepest lakes, and even make an unthinkable sacrifice in their quest for the elixir’s ingredients. And as if their task was not complicated enough, a new realm of danger—that of illicit love—threatens to end the ordeal in tragedy.
Goodreads • The Story Graph
Trigger & Content Warnings:
- Misogyny
- Ableism, including the Disabled Villain trope
- Sexual assault*
- Incest*
- Parental abandonment & child neglect mentioned
- Serious illness of a child
- Medical treatment & procedures, including consensual amputation
- Needles
- Emesis
- Death of a brother
- Animal death
- Animal attack
* Explanation : There are two on-page sexual assault scenes, including one where the main character pretends to be his identical twin to trick his brother’s girlfriend into kissing him, and another where he forces a kiss on her. The romance subplot involves a love triangle between the two Frankenstein twins and their cousin.