Her Dark Curiousity
Review
Her Dark Curiosity was the perfect follow up to The Madman's Daughter. So many thoughts are still swirling inside my head after finishing this book! The ending just increased the level of my anticipation for book 3! I think I might have liked this one a little better than the first as there was more danger, suspense and intrigue that left me with my jaw hanging open. While the first book is a retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau, this book brings us a twist of the famous tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And it was an amazing re telling!
Short Synopsis
Few months after Juliet returned from the island, she was luckily taken in by an old friend of her father's and her rank in society improved drastically as she was no longer a maid but is now considered an established lady.
But Juliet's anxiety is masked by a face of content. No one knows that built in a private space, is a small lab, where the reality of all her genetic dispositions are embedded in the pancreas splayed on a table, and experiments are continuously conducted and failed. And the true horror may be the death of her, as her illness is deteriorating with the serum she was taking no longer properly working and she doesn't have much time left to develop a cure.
But tragedy strikes again and again when she discovers that a creature she thought dead on the island she left behind, is on a killing spree in London and taking vengeance on the people that had wronged her.
And that creature, thought to be a man, Edward, who she loved and cared for deeply revealed his true identity as an underlying beast at the end of book 1 and was now closer than she thought as he has become quite close with her friend Lucy.
**Warning: Some SPOILERS included**
Although Edward's beast half (who reminds me of Hannibal lector), is undeniably nefarious, Juliet finds the animal in her drawn to him and she becomes fascinated, which causes conflict to her emotional and mental state. This man made human/beast tore at her senses resulting in a back and forth fight between loving the man and hating the beast. Hence a Jekyll and Hyde complexity. But she decides that along with finding a cure for herself, instead of killing the beast, she will try to find a cure for the man she deeply cares for.
I was surprised with the role Lucy played as the story progressed. She makes some valid points to Juliet about Edward's existence and I agreed wholly with everything she said, because I was thinking exactly the same thing! Elizabeth is a new character we meet and I really like her compassion and independence. And Balthazar is back too! I love him! He is a favorite for this series. He is so sweet and heroic.
While I love Juliet's bold personality, her inner thoughts can get a bit repetitive when it comes to comparing herself to her father, questioning her humanity, her sanity, her romantic feelings toward Edward now and the even deeper feelings she felt toward Montgomery, she recycled these thoughts constantly that at one point I just wanted to shake some sense into her.
Edward is my weakness. I am torn between loving him and pitying him. He was made to be a man but is burdened with the beast half of him that is quickly taking over and corrupting the innocent, loyal, kind man that is in pain from loving a girl who doesn't fully reciprocate the depth of his love. And although he was made as a result of a cruel scientific experiment, he breathes life, he loves wholeheartedly and he fights the evil side of him enough to take his own life to save others. So I do not see him as a monstrosity and I wish that he is saved and his story continues in book 3.
And then there is Montgomery. I cannot make up my mind about him. I like him. He has done well for himself and cares for Juliet it seems but he has his secrets still and those secrets have me wary of him...
Overall, I am impressed and pleased with the direction the story is leaning. The recreation of previous worlds are shared in a bold new way The characters are all well defined and in some ways relatable. The writing is engrossing and compelling! Almost every chapter ends in a cliffhanger and that kept me wired to read more. While the end does give you an idea for the theme of the next book, I have no idea what to expect.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I cannot wait to read the third book and see how the author recreates and redefines Frankenstein :)
Short Synopsis
Few months after Juliet returned from the island, she was luckily taken in by an old friend of her father's and her rank in society improved drastically as she was no longer a maid but is now considered an established lady.
But Juliet's anxiety is masked by a face of content. No one knows that built in a private space, is a small lab, where the reality of all her genetic dispositions are embedded in the pancreas splayed on a table, and experiments are continuously conducted and failed. And the true horror may be the death of her, as her illness is deteriorating with the serum she was taking no longer properly working and she doesn't have much time left to develop a cure.
But tragedy strikes again and again when she discovers that a creature she thought dead on the island she left behind, is on a killing spree in London and taking vengeance on the people that had wronged her.
And that creature, thought to be a man, Edward, who she loved and cared for deeply revealed his true identity as an underlying beast at the end of book 1 and was now closer than she thought as he has become quite close with her friend Lucy.
**Warning: Some SPOILERS included**
Although Edward's beast half (who reminds me of Hannibal lector), is undeniably nefarious, Juliet finds the animal in her drawn to him and she becomes fascinated, which causes conflict to her emotional and mental state. This man made human/beast tore at her senses resulting in a back and forth fight between loving the man and hating the beast. Hence a Jekyll and Hyde complexity. But she decides that along with finding a cure for herself, instead of killing the beast, she will try to find a cure for the man she deeply cares for.
I was surprised with the role Lucy played as the story progressed. She makes some valid points to Juliet about Edward's existence and I agreed wholly with everything she said, because I was thinking exactly the same thing! Elizabeth is a new character we meet and I really like her compassion and independence. And Balthazar is back too! I love him! He is a favorite for this series. He is so sweet and heroic.
While I love Juliet's bold personality, her inner thoughts can get a bit repetitive when it comes to comparing herself to her father, questioning her humanity, her sanity, her romantic feelings toward Edward now and the even deeper feelings she felt toward Montgomery, she recycled these thoughts constantly that at one point I just wanted to shake some sense into her.
Edward is my weakness. I am torn between loving him and pitying him. He was made to be a man but is burdened with the beast half of him that is quickly taking over and corrupting the innocent, loyal, kind man that is in pain from loving a girl who doesn't fully reciprocate the depth of his love. And although he was made as a result of a cruel scientific experiment, he breathes life, he loves wholeheartedly and he fights the evil side of him enough to take his own life to save others. So I do not see him as a monstrosity and I wish that he is saved and his story continues in book 3.
And then there is Montgomery. I cannot make up my mind about him. I like him. He has done well for himself and cares for Juliet it seems but he has his secrets still and those secrets have me wary of him...
Overall, I am impressed and pleased with the direction the story is leaning. The recreation of previous worlds are shared in a bold new way The characters are all well defined and in some ways relatable. The writing is engrossing and compelling! Almost every chapter ends in a cliffhanger and that kept me wired to read more. While the end does give you an idea for the theme of the next book, I have no idea what to expect.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I cannot wait to read the third book and see how the author recreates and redefines Frankenstein :)