Megan Shepherd

For fans of Libba Bray, this first book in a gothic suspense trilogy is inspired by H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau and has been hailed by New York Times bestseller Carrie Ryan as having "beautiful writing, breakneck pacing, a pulse-pounding mystery, and an irresistible romance."

Following accusations that her scientist father gruesomely experimented on animals, sixteen-year-old Juliet watched as her family and her genteel life in London crumbled around her—and only recently has she managed to piece her world back together. But when Juliet learns her father is still alive and working on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the old accusations are true. Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's insanity. 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.

The Madman's Daughter

Melissa Palmer

Book #71 Read in 2014
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

This is the first in a series told from the point of view of Juliet, teenage daughter of Dr. Moreau. At the beginning of this book, Juliet has been left on her own after her mother dies and her father is presumed dead. She finds out that he is indeed alive and has Montgomery, her childhood friend and her father's lab assistant, bring her to the island where her father now resides and experiments. Her father is more than slightly unhinged, having created a line of creatures taken from a combination of animals and which he tries to make human. 

Juliet was a good heroine; she was intelligent and brave. This book got too much of a romantic triangle at times but the action of the plot saved it from being over the top. I have #2 in the TBR pile. I read this book on my Kindle.

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Maxie Froelicher

Wow. There were so many twists that this book took that I wasn’t expecting! I read this for the PopSugar Challenge prompt “A Book With A Three Word Title” and also at the recommendation of a friend. I love that it’s based on The Island of Dr. Moreau and I’ve heard tell the others in the series follow the same pattern. The end KILLED ME though I’m very upset. I cannot wait to get my hands on the second of the series, I highly recommend!

Cindy Lee

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. Going in, I had high expectations because of the stellar reviews I've read and all the awesome comments from everyone. I thought I'd give this horror story a try since the sequel is coming out soon.

The scientific part of it was great. I loved reading about Dr. Moreau's experiments on the tribe and doing cellular operations on the animals. There's something truly astonishing about the progress and the end results are for the betterment of technology. Many people are quite horrified (many readers might be too) but it isn't that gory for me to stomach. I didn't like how Juliet never tried to understand her dad's motive even when she felt that dark part of herself. She just kept pushing it away and away. She never faced her personal issues head-on and I was really frustrated with that. 

While the scientific part fascinated me, the romance was a bore. You see, there were two love interests named Montgomery and Edward. She was torn and went back between the both. Just imagine tearing my hair out. It was really annoying. I'm just like, pick a damn boy already. What was even more annoying was that Montgomery was the childhood crush and Edward is the alluring and sexy stranger. Could you see how cliche that is?

Despite my problems with the book, it had its strong points and I think Juliet has the room to grow in book 2. I will definitely still give the sequel a try. This wasn't much of a horror book for me but it's definitely worth reading if you're looking for something fresh in the YA community.

Rating: D

Jennifer Merchant

Kirsty

** spoiler alert **
           Spoilers - Especially the last line!

This book took me so long to read. I’m not sure why, as I did enjoy it. I just didn’t feel the drive to keep picking it up. Throughout the book the ‘love story’ aspects drove me insane. They really annoyed me. I just kept thinking if it was my father doing those things and I sensed I was in that much danger there would be no way I’d be thinking about who I loved the most. However, that being said.. after finishing the book I do see why the bond between all of the characters was so important. 

The experimentation aspect of the book really intrigued me and at times made me really uncomfortable (which is a brilliant thing). The story was beautifully written and although there was one thing I guessed pretty early on, the twists and turns towards the end really surprised me! 

Overall, the ending more than made up for the annoyance I felt about the ‘love’ aspect and I’m looking forward to continuing on with the series.

Agata Tereszkiewicz 

Shawna Gavas

Have you ever read a book that you just don't want to end? That is what this book was like for me. I found myself reading as slowly as possible...stretching it out...dreading the final page.

This is a new twist on the old story of Dr. Moreau. It is told from the POV of Juliet Moreau, Dr. Moreau's daughter. A sixteen year old forced to work for a living after her father disgraced the family and abandoned them. Dr. Moreau was a reknowned surgeon....a leader in his field, and accused of unspeakable crimes. It was scandalous.

Juliet's father was presumed dead, until one day she came into information that questioned this. She begins a journey to find him that reunites her with Montgomery, a boy who served her family and disappeared at the same time as her father. Montgomery comes clean and admits that Juliet's father is in fact alive and living on a secluded island. Montgomery is only in London to gather supplies and then he will be heading back. Juliet insists she's going with him, and reluctantly Montgomery allows her.

The long voyage begins and during which they come across a man in dinghy named Edward, almost dead, apparently the sole survivor of a ship wreck. He accompanies them to the island where Juliet is indeed reunited with her father. But something is not right.

The island is full of deformed creatures. Creatures that are against the laws of nature. Creatures that were constructed by her father in a hidden laboratory. Part human, part animal. Dr. Moreau is a mad man.

As Juliet comes to understand the horrific experiments her father has been conducting, things on the island become volatile. The creatures are regressing...the experiments have gone to far. As the islanders revert to their animal instincts, Juliet, Montgomery and Edward plan their escape. But nothing goes according to plan....the island holds too many secrets.

The book is filled with twists and turns, action, mystery with a love story woven in. The pages are saturated with creepiness. 

I look forward to future books by this author. As a debut, this book was astounding. 

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Becca Leigh

Trigger Warnings: Violence, Gore, Sexual Assault, and Animal Abuse

Let me just say that my biggest issue with the story was how the animal abuse was dealt with. I almost couldn’t bear to read the scenes about the operations. It just did nothing more than make me wince. In my opinion, the book didn’t do a very good job of displaying how wrong the actions truly were. I can understand how someone would like this, but the good parts of the book were overshadowed by my anger and disgust at the plot. 

One thing I did enjoy was that it took a glimpse into how slippery the slope of sanity can be. I wish they would have delved more into that.

I wish I had more positive things to say, but I was also not a fan of the logic used throughout the book. I don’t want to leave any spoilers, but one of the reveals at the end just did not match up with the previous reasoning of the book. I was really hoping to enjoy this book, but it has left me upset. I hope others out there enjoyed it more than I did.

Tae Thompson

This book was amazing I went into it knowing I was going to like it but just surprised at how much I love it I am so ready to finish the rest of this trilogy and I wish that I had gotten the entire trilogy before I read this one cuz now I want to binge through the rest of it but I can't

With every character you think you know what their motives are and then towards the end there was not 1 not 2 but like 5 giant plot twist that you Don't see coming and now I'm like how do you top this book.

b.andherbooks

A reimagined HG Well's "The Island of Dr. Moreau" with a female lead, "The Madman's Daughter" tries but ultimately falls flat as a gothic tale with the expected love triangle. In Shepherd's story Dr. Moreau has a 16 year old daughter who he abandoned after being banned from London society. She ultimately finds out he is still alive and living on an island somewhere in the South Pacific, living there so he can continue performing the medical procedures that got him in trouble with both the moral and legal authorities of his time. 
To the detriment of the story, Juliet is a flat character who is quickly described as shockingly beautiful and interested in anatomy (unheard of for females of her time) but truly only serves as a someone who can react to the various events that happen around her. 
The two male leads are enthralled with her (one her father's assistant, the other a castaway recovered on the voyage to the island)for reasons not readily apparent to the reader, and she of course struggles to decide which one she wants to be with. While the reader also understands the novel is set in Victorian times, the constant bosom heaving is distracting and pops up at awkward times. For example, when one of the male leads is comforting Juliet with an embrace after they find an eviscerated murder victim, her thoughts do not lie with the awful situation but instead on how turned on she gets by the embrace. Yikes.
Thankfully interesting philosophical questions are brought up in the story - What makes a man? Should man play God, even if he can? - which kept me reading. Still disappointed this is a planned trilogy. I didn't feel there was hardly enough to flesh out this volume, let alone two more.

The Madman's Daughter

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