Monday, January 7, 2013

Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

The Madman's Daughter
(The Madman's Daughter #1)
By Megan Shepherd

Publication Date: January 29th, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 432
ISBN: 9780062128027
From Publisher for Review

Barnes & Noble  | Amazon | Goodreads

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. (Goodreads)
The Madman’s Daughter is a novel by Megan Shepard that was inspired by H. G. Wells's novel The Island of Dr. Moreau.  Having never read The Island of Dr. Moreau, I really didn’t know what to expect from this book. I wasn’t expecting to be taken on quite the journey that the author took me on.

The story is about 16 year old Juliet Moreau. Left to fend for herself after the scandal and disappearance by her father, and the death of her mother, Juliet is just trying to survive. Everything soon changes for her once she discovers that her father may still be alive, and that his former assistant, Montgomery, may know exactly where her father is.

I found Juliet to be quite an interesting character, even when I felt that something was ‘off’ about her early on in the book.  I did find her to be a strong and smart character. She did what she had to do after the abandonment by her father, and the death of her mother. All she wanted was to survive. I found her to be a very determined and stubborn character as well. She was definitely interesting.

There are two love interests in the novel for Juliet. The first being Montgomery, who Juliet has known almost all her life, and the second being Edward, who Montgomery and Juliet pick up along the way. Both boys were interesting for their own reasons, and I had a hard time choosing who I liked more. I’m super curious to see who Juliet ends up with.

I have to say, Juliet’s father was really quite mad.  Seriously, in all the books I have read up to this point, he has to be the craziest father ever! He was brilliant, but he was pure crazy. What’s even crazier is that we see a small part of him in Juliet. I still can’t get over how he treated Juliet. 

The book ends with a major cliffhanger, which frustrated me a bit, because I really wanted to know what was going to happen! Ah, the brilliantness of the cliffhanger endings. I will definitely be waiting to get my hands on the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read more than I expected to. It was definitely a unique read. It also makes me want to read The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells, just so I can read the book that inspired this novel.  I am really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Happy Reading!

7 comments:

  1. This book sounds so good! I'm really looking forward to reading it when it comes out. I didn't know it was a series, either! EEP. Excellent review, Christy :)

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  2. This was dark and disturbing and creepy -- and I loved it! I wasn't a fan of either boy. They seemed to be manipulating her for their own purposes. And that father of hers! Insane and hideous!

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  3. I haven't read The Island of Dr. Moreau either, but I did watch the movie when I was a kid so I know there's some creepiness ahead in this book. I'm really looking forward to it and I hope I enjoy it as much!

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  4. I definitely am buying this now!!!! Great review.

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  5. I have a serious love/hate relationship with cliffhangers! lol I can't wait to read this one though, and meet the crazy father. Great review! :)

    ~Sara @ Forever 17 Books

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  6. Ahh, cliffhangers. I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers. I can't wait to read this one though - this week or next, hopefully!

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  7. I can't wait to read this one! It sounds creepy and weird and all sorts of interesting, which is going to be lots of fun to read.

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