The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1 ) by Megan Shepard Review

The Madman's Daughter

Author: Megan Shepard
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Horror
Series: The Madman's Daughter Trilogy
Hardcover: 420 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray; Uncorrected Proof Edition edition
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Language: English

Summary:
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.

Opening Sentence: The basement hallways in King’s College of Medical Research were dark, even in the daytime.


Review:
The Madman's Daughter is retelling of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I have never read. Though a warning: this story is not for the faint of heart.
The only thing that shall be cautious of the animal experiments and deaths that goes on in this novel. Which would be the main big issue in this novel. But now that I really think about it, this book, only because of the animal experiments of vivisection, did turn me off.
But of course, I kept reading.

The main character is Juliet Moreau, who is known as the Madman's daughter. She is surprisingly relatable, for a young maid in a historical London setting. Being forced to fend for herself after her father’s scandalous disappearance and her mother's death makes her an admirable character. We get interesting  glances into her more brutal side – the side that defines her connection to science and her mad father.

After reuniting with a childhood friend and servant named Montgomery  she learns that her father is alive and working away on a remote island far from civilization.
The island is a horrific place, with its deformed inhabitants and constant stormy weather. It is as far from Victorian England as is possible to get, making the historical setting almost irrelevant. There is some modern tone usage in the book in the character's speech. You can find out what Juliet’s father has been experimenting on from the book description, which I had mentioned before, was a bit of a turn off to me since I am a animal-lover of course.

Many fans will be turned off by this book because of the one and only Love Triangle (surprise, surprise). Yes, there is a love triangle between Juliet's childhood friend, Montgomery and a castaway Edward Prince. But despite Juliet's feelings for both boys, Juliet has to figure out the haunting and frightening happenings in the jungle surrounding her father's home.

I liked Juliet, Montogomery, and Edward, but I really really like Balthazar  He's one of the deformed islanders, but he's so sweet. It's pretty sad that we don't get to know much about him and one of my favorite characters. I don't like Dr. Moreau because well, he's mad!

The end… I have to admit the end left me breathless. It was unpredictable and made me regret reading it without the sequels being released. I say that only because it blew my mind. It made me go back, saying, "Wait, WHAT?!" It's a cliffhanger that I defiantly did not see coming in the least. I really couldn't even believe that had happened when I seriously thought that all of the three characters, plus Balthazar, would be happy....

The writing in The Madman's Daughter is full of lyrical prose (in a good way), which makes it a good crafted story.
Shepard did an amazing job with this book.

Conclusion:
 The Mad Man's Daughter is a book that I would sincerely recommend. But just to be safe again, this book WILL turn people off who are sensitive to animal experiemnts and abuse, for this book does include that (not much of hte abuse) but the expierment of vivsection. Vivisection is the action of experiment on live subjects, mostly animals, for scientific research. And this book does have some graphic (though not too explicit) scenes of it that some of Juliet had witnessed.
But that aside, the Madman's daughter does have a love triange, if you're turned off by that too.
But despite the animal/human experiments and the love triangle, this book is a good book.
Personally, I do think that this book will be better if it was just a standalone novel than a trilogy. I don't understand what else could happen if it was a trilogy, but I guess we will have to see when the sequel is released.
Also, this book seems to be a bit more mature than a YA novel even though the main characters (Juliet, Montgomery, and Edward) are between sixteen and seventeen years old.

I would give the Madman's Daughter a 4.4/5.