The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman’s Daughter

Author: Megan Shepherd

Length: 437 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 

Classification: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction

Release Date: January 29, 2013
Source: e-book

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.

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I bought this book because I had read somewhere that it was a good book and it was on sale for the Kindle for $1.99. So I thought why not. And I am glad that I did!

I didn't know anything about the book going in and I didn't even realize that it was inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau until I looked at the blurb on Amazon  after reading most of the story. I have never read The Island of Dr. Moreau but I am interested in reading it one day. 

I think that this book is: An interesting gruesome page turning mystery with a strong female lead.

I enjoyed reading this book. It kept my interest and I read it rather quickly and I had a hard time putting it down.

I am not a HUGE horror fan (I get scared pretty easily which I am embarrassed about…) but I didn't really feel like it was that scary, at least for me. There were a couple parts that made my heart race. 

The author did a wonderful job with making parts of the story gruesome, vivid, and disturbing. It was definitely a page turner for me.

And there were a few parts where I thought I knew what is going to happen. I think the mystery was set up pretty well. A couple things I saw coming and there were parts that I didn't completely guess correctly. 

I LOVED Juliet's character. I felt that she was well written and very interesting.

Spoilers ahead. Click the button to view spoilers.

  I like how she was able to stand up for herself several times throughout the book. Like near the beginning when the creepy professor was trying to hit on her and grab her, she was able to protect herself. No one had to come and save her. I also like that she stood up to Montgomery and had him take her along to the island. I liked Montgomery. Well...I guess I had a little bit of a love/hate relationship with him... Overall, I liked him. And yeah, I understood why he went with the Dr. to the island and is his assistant. But still... And I did "see that coming" but yet, I was still a little shocked about it. Then on the ship we meet Edward. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew at the beginning that there was something off or different about him, but I couldn't figure out what it was. And I did consider Edward to be suspicious since he kept running off and disappearing for periods of time. And I thought it was a bit weird how her father kept trying to push her to Edward. But I chalked it up to him just not wanting her to end up with Montgomery. In this little LOVE TRIANGLE between the three of them, most of the story I wanted her to end up with Montgomery. Although, this isn't really a romance story. I was a little shocked to find out why Montgomery cared about Alice so much. And there was a time where I considered Balthazar to be the evil creature. And I also considered the possibility of it being the little boy. The very ending surprised me. The fact that Montgomery did not leave the island with her.

 

The ending tugged at my heartstrings and I cannot wait until Ms. Shepherd's next book in the series, Her Dark Curiosity is released later next week.

My Rating: