The Madman's Daughter
Review
Brief Summary
Juliet is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Moreau. She is 16 and found herself from wealth to poverty and ridicule after scandalous information about her father's scientific experiments got out. He was banished with a warrant on his head. Her mother died several years later and Juliet is now orphaned.
She runs into her childhood friend (and her father's assistant) Montgomery who informs her that her father is alive and lives on a secluded island. She insists on being taken to him and against his better judgement Montgomery agrees. On their journey to the island they come across a man named Edward. And the three of them, along with Balthazar (Montgomery's assistant) head for the island.
Review (Some SPOILERS included)
I have very mixed feelings about this book. My ratings kept fluctuating as I got deeper into the story.
The whole concept of the plot peeked my interest and I was excited to dive into a bit of creepiness with a little romance mixed in to a thrill of horror, but I ended up with all that times a million!!
This book does not just follow the trail to dark, often psychologically twisted horrifying scenes, but magnifies madness to a degree where I felt haunted!
Dr. Moreau's experiments gave me chills and left me immensely rattled.
Juliet, once she learns that the rumors of her father's cryptic endeavors are true, she does something that more YA characters need to do; she runs.
But don't get me wrong, Juliet is not a naive, frail, coward that sits in the sidelines and watches the men fight over the last piece of meat! No this girl is braver than most characters I have come across. She has seen things that would drive the sane to their knees with madness! And I was in awe with how she handled herself in most of the terrifying heart-in-the-throat situations.
Based in the Victorian era, women are portrayed as delicate and labeled mindless
Yet Juliet is smart and educated. Quite knowledgeable in science, I must say I liked her inner strength and while she may be unsure of her own "unlady-like" interests I simply find her ahead of her time.
But not all characters can be perfect. Her flaws are prominent in her thoughts which stems from her father's madness. She is at a crossroads between admiration and disgust for a man she loves and in turn keeps going back and forth with her decisions on whether his experiments are justifiable.
The romance in my opinion was understated and I preferred it that way. It never polluted the story with fluff and that made it stand out. Montgomery from his first line, stole my attention and I found myself questioning his motives but still liking him even though I knew very little of his romantic side. And Edward brought a slight fascination after his mysterious introduction and quiet disposition. Behind the handsome features and kind words, these two men always appeared shady to me but had their redeeming qualities and I'm definitely interested to see where this particular love triangle goes in the rest of the series.
Now my ratings dropped for two reasons
There were parts where I found the story at a standstill and I struggled to get through it by reading rather slowly. Then...
There's Vivisection? Not entirely convinced of the procedures to make this happen. Tell me more science behind this so I understand. How exactly DO you take a dog and a bear, combine them, and come out with something that resembles a human? Maybe it was just a bit too gruesome to describe all that in a YA novel, but I need a bit more convincing of the science behind it.
In conclusion (I'm really sorry I rambled on so much) I enjoyed it! :) The writing, though in the Victorian era, had a balance of modern readability with a historical feel. It was well structured without being artificial; it flowed naturally with the story line.
I didn't realize until after I finished that each book in the series is based on a different classic - The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. I'm very excited to read the different ways in which the author introduces these different stories into the plot! Book 2 here I come!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NB: If you are squeamish at the sight or thought of blood (as I am) PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS when entering this world. It is not for the faint hearted.
NBB: Animals WERE HARMED in this book! There were some parts in the first half that I almost tortured myself to read and get through it! So be wary if you love animals as much as I do. But also note that this is FICTION.
Juliet is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Moreau. She is 16 and found herself from wealth to poverty and ridicule after scandalous information about her father's scientific experiments got out. He was banished with a warrant on his head. Her mother died several years later and Juliet is now orphaned.
She runs into her childhood friend (and her father's assistant) Montgomery who informs her that her father is alive and lives on a secluded island. She insists on being taken to him and against his better judgement Montgomery agrees. On their journey to the island they come across a man named Edward. And the three of them, along with Balthazar (Montgomery's assistant) head for the island.
Review (Some SPOILERS included)
I have very mixed feelings about this book. My ratings kept fluctuating as I got deeper into the story.
The whole concept of the plot peeked my interest and I was excited to dive into a bit of creepiness with a little romance mixed in to a thrill of horror, but I ended up with all that times a million!!
This book does not just follow the trail to dark, often psychologically twisted horrifying scenes, but magnifies madness to a degree where I felt haunted!
Dr. Moreau's experiments gave me chills and left me immensely rattled.
Juliet, once she learns that the rumors of her father's cryptic endeavors are true, she does something that more YA characters need to do; she runs.
But don't get me wrong, Juliet is not a naive, frail, coward that sits in the sidelines and watches the men fight over the last piece of meat! No this girl is braver than most characters I have come across. She has seen things that would drive the sane to their knees with madness! And I was in awe with how she handled herself in most of the terrifying heart-in-the-throat situations.
Based in the Victorian era, women are portrayed as delicate and labeled mindless
Yet Juliet is smart and educated. Quite knowledgeable in science, I must say I liked her inner strength and while she may be unsure of her own "unlady-like" interests I simply find her ahead of her time.
But not all characters can be perfect. Her flaws are prominent in her thoughts which stems from her father's madness. She is at a crossroads between admiration and disgust for a man she loves and in turn keeps going back and forth with her decisions on whether his experiments are justifiable.
The romance in my opinion was understated and I preferred it that way. It never polluted the story with fluff and that made it stand out. Montgomery from his first line, stole my attention and I found myself questioning his motives but still liking him even though I knew very little of his romantic side. And Edward brought a slight fascination after his mysterious introduction and quiet disposition. Behind the handsome features and kind words, these two men always appeared shady to me but had their redeeming qualities and I'm definitely interested to see where this particular love triangle goes in the rest of the series.
Now my ratings dropped for two reasons
There were parts where I found the story at a standstill and I struggled to get through it by reading rather slowly. Then...
There's Vivisection? Not entirely convinced of the procedures to make this happen. Tell me more science behind this so I understand. How exactly DO you take a dog and a bear, combine them, and come out with something that resembles a human? Maybe it was just a bit too gruesome to describe all that in a YA novel, but I need a bit more convincing of the science behind it.
In conclusion (I'm really sorry I rambled on so much) I enjoyed it! :) The writing, though in the Victorian era, had a balance of modern readability with a historical feel. It was well structured without being artificial; it flowed naturally with the story line.
I didn't realize until after I finished that each book in the series is based on a different classic - The Island of Dr. Moreau, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. I'm very excited to read the different ways in which the author introduces these different stories into the plot! Book 2 here I come!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NB: If you are squeamish at the sight or thought of blood (as I am) PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS when entering this world. It is not for the faint hearted.
NBB: Animals WERE HARMED in this book! There were some parts in the first half that I almost tortured myself to read and get through it! So be wary if you love animals as much as I do. But also note that this is FICTION.