The Madman's Daughter (Madman's Daughter, #1)

by Megan Shepherd

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid and trying to forget 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's alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she's determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the secret of her father's new life: he experiments on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. 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 Doctor 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.

• ISBN10: 0062128043
• ISBN13: 9780062128041
• Publish Date: 29 January 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

The Madman's Daughter sat on my TBR shelf for over a year, waiting to get a second glance. I had read the blurb before I put it there, of course, but I apparently didn't read it close enough. Recently, while looking for something new to read, I came across this book again and gave the description another read. And I saw the last paragraph. I was totally sold! The Island of Dr. Moreau was one of the books I was forced to read in high school (we watched the 1977 movie too!) and was totally enamored with. The idea of a mad scientist making these creatures on a secluded island just really caught my interest for some reason. So when I realized this book was based on that story, I absolutely had to read it as soon as possible!

This is a book that is definitely leaning towards gothic. There is nothing heartwarming here, so if you're looking for that special feeling and a happy ending, look elsewhere. I would have expected nothing less from a book based on Dr. Moreau. The story begins with Juliet working in a university hospital as a maid, fallen from her on-high status as a result of the scandal surrounding her mad scientist father who promptly abandoned his family when the warrant went out for his arrest. Assumed dead, he was never sought out by his daughter. But when she gets a hint that he might still be alive and then has a run in with her long-lost childhood friend, she sets off to find him again. What she finds is not what she had in mind, however.

The characters in this story, particularly Juliet, Montgomery, and Edward, were all very well portrayed. Juliet was not the kind of helpless heroine who gets on my nerves and Montgomery and Edward were mysterious enough in the beginning that it allowed for a great deal of revelation and growth throughout the book. I was able to identify with Juliet as she attempted to reconcile the conflicted feelings she had for Montgomery and Edward - the boy she'd idolized as a child and the mysterious castaway. Both had their redeeming qualities and I'm definitely interested to see where this particular love triangle goes in the rest of the series. Juliet's father was just what a mad scientist should be - totally mad. My heart broke for Juliet as she realized just how deep that madness went. The secondary characters in The Madman's Daughter - Alice, Balthazar, and Jaguar - were all very well developed as well.

The plot itself, while significantly different from The Island of Dr. Moreau, was intriguing. I loved finding things out along with Juliet as the story progressed. There were also several twists that I never saw coming! The search for the monster on the island was particularly good. Without giving too much away, there were some intense, unexpected facts that came to the surface near the end that were just awesome! The way Megan Shepherd built up the worlds of both London and the Island was also really well done. The gloom and hopelessness of London was tangible, as was the uncertainty and danger of the island.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Though I went back and forth on the rating (probably because I had to take some time to come to terms with the ending), I settled on four stars. 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 see where this goes in the next book once Juliet is back in London!

[limabean74]

This review contains some spoilers, the major ones are hidden, but if you haven't read this book please read this review with caution, I just honestly couldn't write this review with out them.

My Review:

This is a tough one to review but I am going to do my best, I had a few issues but overall I enjoyed it. I have to tell you first that this review will contain spoilers but I am going to hide the major ones so please read with caution.

I have never read the Island of Dr. Moreau (or Monroe like I kept calling it) however I have cliff noted the book a few times so I know the general story and the characters that are involved. So when I started this book I had an idea of what was going to happen or at least how the story may play out. The story, I loved it, I think it is a great retelling of the original story keeping with the theme and having the outcome pretty much stay the same the only difference, sort of, is that Juliet isn’t in the original. The story starts in London and then goes to the island, I enjoyed the world build and the idea of this mysterious island and the secrets that it kept. I didn't have a problem with the island, I liked the island, I had a problem with the main character Juliet.

Oh Juliet where do I start, why so narrow minded? Why was it that the differences in the villagers were such a problem? I know that your father made crazy things but the Dog Bear guy was a sweet heart and it wasn’t his fault he was a Dog Bear guy that was your father’s fault. I just felt like she was SO judgmental on all the “creations” on the island and even after getting to know a few she was still so heartless to them. I did like her but I didn’t, it didn’t stop me from reading the book and it wont stop me from reading the next one but GOOD GRAVY she was annoying. Some of the things going on were so obvious to me and yet it didn’t seem to click with her. My biggest problem with her was her lack of sympathy for animals to her they were just object or things that didn’t have feelings so what her father was doing was creating monsters. However it wasn’t the poor animals fault yet she looks down on them like she was better and higher than them. Maybe in a way she was but she just came off as very stuck up. I have such mixed feeling about her, its mind boggling how I can tell you all the reasons she frustrated me but yet I liked her, like seriously I liked her.

Montgomery was my favorite of the two guys, he had a mystery about him but you can tell he really cared for the animal creature beings and loved Juliet. He was torn between pleasing her father and being in love with her but because she was a higher class than him and extremely frustrating, her father hated the match he preferred her with Edward. I however did not, something about him from the moment we meet on the boat..not me and him of course but I felt he was a bit off. Something just irked me about him and how he was. He was very quiet and as much as he seemed to like Juliet I wasn’t a fan of him and her. He was ok as a character and gave the triangle that two good guys angle that always makes it hard to pick who you want her with but I couldn’t see that working in my mind. The book has a major triangle that really has me one sided the entire time.

The triangle was a triangle but wasn’t a triangle because as things started to fall apart on the island she winds up not being with either of them. THE ENTIRE BOOK I THOUGHT IT WAS A TRIANGLE BUT IT WASN’T or was it? This frustrated me since I was assuming things were going to happen with them and it just, pffft nope sorry no triangle for you.

Her father was an idiot (I see were she gets if from) He wanted to play god by creating this creatures, the ones that seems more intelligent he sent to the village on the island the other that came out “wrong” stayed with him as he cared for them or Montgomery really cared for them and treated them like family.

When all hell breaks lose on the island and things start to fall apart. Juliet has some major choices to make and finds out some pretty messed up stuff. I’m not going to say what it was even in a spoiler, if you read the book you know what I mean. I felt bad for her but it was all coming down around them and she was still a JERK about the Creature people being monsters, yet she knew Balthazar the sweetest creature dog bear guy. She was determined to let him die on the island only because he wasn’t human but he could pass for one.

Did you cheer like a crazy person like I did when Montgomery stuck her butt on a boat and said see ya! I was like GOOD FOR YOU Montgomery, she was just an asshat, I just thought she didn’t really deserve Montgomery he was really to good for her, at this point whether he was dead or not she didn’t deserve animal boy Edward either. But remember I liked her she just was not for them

So regardless of the major issues I had with Juliet I really enjoyed this story. 4 stars was pretty much my rating the entire time I was reading. It’s a great retelling of the original story and has a great number of Twists and turns that will leave you guess and an end that will make you want to know what happens next. Cliffhanger? Why yes it was, well sort of, I think. If you get a chance to read this book come back and comment so we can chat about it or hit me up on twitter I just need to know if I was the only one that felt the same way as what I wrote in the second spoiler ;)

[divider]

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my review

Hope you have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

[Angie]

The Madman's Daughter was delightfully creepy, twisty, and bizarre! I'm so glad it wasn't scary though! It's more dark and weird than anything else, which is good. It's a retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I have not read nor seen, so I can't say how closely it follows the original. I can say that I very much enjoyed it, despite being highly disturbed and grossed out at times.

The Madman's Daughter starts out with Juliet working as a maid at the local university. She mops up blood and other fluids after surgeries. Luckily, she's not squeamish and actually knows a fair amount about anatomy, physiology, and other medical topics. Soon enough, during a very disturbing scene which I will not mention, we learn that her father is essentially a mad scientist. His experiments are certainly not for the faint of heart, and were even too much for the scientific community. But he's the only family Juliet has left, so she intends to find him. Of course, this brings her to the island where he resides and continues his research in peace.

The island is sooo messed up! Or really, it's what takes place on the island which is messed up. There are several scenes which actually made me feel a bit queasy, but I couldn't stop reading! I was much like Juliet in that she simultaneously believes her father is a genius, but also that what he's doing is completely wrong. I did think the twists of The Madman's Daughter were quite predictable, but that didn't keep me from being shocked or disturbed at all.

There is a strong romantic component in The Madman's Daughter right along side the creepy stuff. It is a love triangle, and one that I really enjoyed. There's Montgomery, whom Juliet knew as a child, before he disappeared along with her father. Now, he's his assistant, and aids in all of the horrible experiments. Juliet is very conflicted because she cares for him, but he might be nearly as much as a monster her father is. Then there's Edward, a castaway they picked up on their way to the island. He's immediately smitten with Juliet, but she's wary. That boy has his secrets, but she never pries. Then they come out, and I was like "aaahh!." I kind of knew it, but not really. And I wanted them together for the same disturbing reason as her father! Clearly this book messed with my head.

The Madman's Daughter is great! It's definitely unlike any books that I usually read, which made it really stand out. It's creepy and unsettling, but there's also swoon worthy moments amongst the madness. That ending though? WHY?! I'm so glad I grabbed Her Dark Curiosity at the same time, because I would not want to be left hanging like that!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[rakesandrogues]

Juliet is a forgettable main character. She doesn't really go through tremendous growth in the novel.

I had trouble with Dr. Moreau. He seemed like such a flat character and I wish that the conflict was not so black and white. I wanted to believe that he wasn't ALL evil, but he really was. There wasn't another side of him that made me want to sympathize with his character.

Love triangle seems really forced. From very early on into the book, I knew that there was going to be a love triangle.

The only thing I quite enjoyed was the story's pacing. Megan Shepherd keeps you on your toes. I wasn't really sure what to expect.

[kimbacaffeinate]

3.5 Juliet Moreau was the perfect heroine for this tale. The story demanded a strong character to lead and Juliet is a remarkable character who is quite complex. We see glimpses of a darker side of her, which compels us to look away. Yet, she is strong, compassionate, intelligent, and has a strong moral compass. Montgomery has been a servant to Dr. Moreau since he was a young lad and has slowly become his assistance. Edward is the gentlemen they save, and he quickly shares his concerns about the island and its residents. The two express an interest in Juliet as both look to protect and claim her. While there is a slight triangle it isn’t a strong one, and she easily decides. The romance wasn’t a powerful thread, but it did add a little distraction from the island. Dr. Moreau is a mad scientist, lost in his work, forgetting to eat and driven by his desire to succeed. He is feared by those on the island and immediately obeyed by all. All of the characters were unique, had their own distinct voice and added to the overall story.

The Madman’s Daughter while not flawless was a remarkable, eerie Gothic tale that makes the reader uncomfortable and yet compels them to read on. The island, its inhabitants and Dr. Moreau’s experiments were straight from nightmares and late night science fiction movies. I wouldn’t say any of it was entirely realistic, but Shepherd wove the characters into the tale and the madness of it all kept me on the edge, wide-eyed and fascinated. This is a historical setting, but aside from a lack of modern niceties, social standing and dress Shepherd’s description stopped there. While the characters had depth there speech was modern and had me scrambling to check the dates. Thankfully, I quickly forgot about this as the story drew me in. Shepherd did a wonderful job of creating a sense of foreboding, and increasing the danger and tension. With each page, I became more enthralled as I watched this unsettling tale unfold. It slowly built endearing me to the strange characters and pushing me towards the climatic ending. The reveals while not entirely unexpected thanks in part to subtle clues were horrific and mind-boggling. The story ends on what some would say a cliffhanger, but I felt it ended perfectly and has me eager to begin Her Dark Curiosity.

[inlibrisveritas]

The Madman’s Daughter offered me something I don’t quite see often in YA lit and that’s a gothic style. Having never read The Island of Dr. Moreau, though now I definitely want to, I eagerly jumped into this one hoping to find something new.

I really enjoyed Megan Shepard’s writing style. It’s dark, gritty, and moody; you can tell this is a gothic style novel within the first page and really loved the over dark and dank nature of the tale. I also loved the details and descriptions which Shepard beautiful carves with each word. It does have a bit of slow start and build up towards the beginning but once on the island it becomes really addictive. I’ve heard several people say that it’s not that different from the original and perhaps they are right, if so I’m glad I got to this one first. There were times when the cloudy creepy nature of this book amped up that I almost didn’t want to know the answers.

Juliet is an interesting MC because while there is plenty of opportunity for her to be a typical Mary-Sue caught in the middle of something terrible she isn’t. She reacts to it, she fights back, she enjoys it and she hates it. Gothic novels tend to play with the fringes of sanity and this is no different, causing most of the characters to question if they’ve stepped over the blurry line. There is a sort of love triangle…which to be more specific it’s a love isosceles. Two sides of this triangle are very much the same but there is that one off feeling option that never quite settles right. I don’t know if the romances were quite successful but they were necessary in terms of plot.

No character is perfect in this, as event the best of the island dwellers keeps terrible secrets. Juliet’s father was incredibly horrible. He could barely manage to act the part of a father and the things he was guilty of when he was away from her are just horrific.

I’d definitely say that The Madman’s Daughter is a promising start for a gothic series. Despite the slow beginning and the kind of frustrating final page, I’m really looking forward to continuing this series.

[jnikkir]

★★★★½

I'm really being drawn to retellings lately - I've got tons on my TBR list, recently read/reviewed A.G. Howard's Splintered (a darker take on Alice in Wonderland) and Alex London's Proxy (a dystopian retelling of The Whipping Boy), and now I've also fallen for The Madman's Daughter. I think I'm starting to see a pattern - and it's one that I really, really like.

Unlike Proxy and Splintered, though, The Madman's Daughter is a retelling of a classic I wasn't familiar with at all - H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau. I didn't do any research on the original before I picked up Shepherd's book. But I think even if I had, this retelling would've done a great job to surprise me and still pack a punch. Shepherd definitely follows the general storyline, but key elements are changed that will make it surprising and suspenseful to readers with or without a knowledge of the original.

The Madman's Daughter tells the story of Juliet Moreau, whose father (a doctor) was disgraced and presumed dead some time ago, and whose mother died shortly thereafter, leaving Juliet without anyone to rely on. As such, Juliet has been barely scraping by, working as a maid and just earning enough to keep herself off the streets - until one day she finds something that makes her think her father may not be dead after all. Juliet follows her instincts and ends up reuniting with a childhood friend, Montgomery, who tells her that her father isn't actually dead, but living on a remote island. Juliet travels with Montgomery to the island, hoping the rumors about her father weren't true - but in fact, she realizes things are worse than she ever imagined.

If I'd read the original, I think I would've had a better grasp on how dark and oftentimes disturbing this book was going to be. It basically opens with the dissection of a rabbit (actually it's worse than that, but I won't go into it here), and subsequent scenes are pretty, um, vividly described. So if you have a problem with that kind of thing, this might not be the book for you. However, that sort of thing doesn't bother me that much in books (movies are another story). I think it lent the story an authenticity - it felt like, without those scenes, the book wouldn't have been as impactful. The story is supposed to be disturbing, and those scenes definitely made it so.

That disclaimer aside, the atmosphere of this book is probably why I rated it 4.5 stars. I absolutely loved the haunting, dark feel that permeates the story. The writing perfectly reflected this, and I was pulled through the book by what felt like suspense - it's not breakneck-paced by any means, but the darkness and the constant hints at what's going to happen in the end drew me right in, and I couldn't put the book down. Even thinking back on it as I write this review, I can't get over the feeling of the book. I was in the mood for something exactly like this, and it was really good.

The characters were really great, too. Juliet was a new addition to the original tale, and she's the one who narrates the story. Her voice was incredibly unique - she's from Victorian London, so of course she's not going to be the "normal 16-year-old-girl" that's so popular in YA. But more than that, she's got this totally different way of viewing the world - it's bleak and rather melancholy - but it fit the feel of the story perfectly.

I liked Montgomery as well - he had been working on the island as Dr. Moreau's assistant since the night of his (I guess their) disappearance years ago. But he's conflicted. He knows that the experiments Moreau is doing are wrong, yet helping Moreau is the only life he's ever known. Montgomery and Juliet are also great together. The had the childhood-friends thing going for them, though, and I like it when that comes into play.

The one issue I had with this book was Edward. Edward Prince is a castaway who Montgomery and Juliet pick up on their way to the island. Literally the moment Edward wakes up after being rescued, and sets eyes on Juliet, he's head of heels for her. This was a case of insta-love in the insta-ish sense ever, and I'm not a fan in this case. The two of them have no history whatsoever, and I think in the face of Montgomery and Juliet, Edward should never have been an option. But whatever. He played his (incredibly twist-filled) part in the plot, and I ended up liking his character by the end. I just didn't like the part he played in the love-triangle. :P


In conclusion...
The Madman's Daughter is an incredibly atmospheric, dark, and often disturbing book that captured my attention from the very beginning. That bleak atmosphere was my favorite thing, but Juliet and Montgomery also played their part in making this book totally engrossing. The final chapters also had me on the edge of my seat, leading up to an ending that I would never in a million years have predicted - despite the copious clues left earlier. The very last page ends with a huge twist, and very abruptly... which I'm a little annoyed by, to be honest - but only because I want to know what happens next so badly. Bring on [b:Her Dark Curiosity|16182304|Her Dark Curiosity (The Madman's Daughter, #2)|Megan Shepherd|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370880514s/16182304.jpg|22085615]!!
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{ Find this and other reviews at my blog, There were books involved... }

[Amber]

Full review at Books of Amber

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Madman's Daughter. I had heard a series of things describing it prior to reading, and generally it has been well received in the blogosphere, but it wasn't one that was all that high on my list considering I have 500+ other books to read. But I was lucky enough to receive a copy for review copy, and so The Madman's Daughter shot up in my TBR list.

Once again, I'm doing one of those lists, because I'm having a difficult time forming proper paragraphs.

[Stephanie]

This book sounded so awesome. A dark and gritty premise about a mad scientist who continues his work on a remote island. Sounds good, right? For some reason I was thinking it would be something like Shutter Island, but it's not, or wasn't for me.

Me and The Madman's Daughter had a very roller coaster type relationship. Very up and down. I was enjoying it for the most part in the beginning. But then Edward came into the story. I obviously didn't read the summary very thoroughly because I didn't realize there was going to be ANOTHER boy involved other than Montgomery. I didn't see the point in Edward, other than another love interest for Juliet, which made this one big love triangle.

Now, usually love triangles don't bother me. It doesn't keep me from reading a book. I actually enjoy love triangles. But this one didn't work for me and made it difficult for me to enjoy the story most of the time. I would have enjoyed the The Madman's Daughter a lot more if it only focused on Montgomery and Juliet's relationship because I liked them as a couple and I was rooting for them the whole time. I was enjoying the story when it was just those two.

Don't get me wrong though, Edward does give more to the story towards the end as we learn his side of the story, but I figured out his big secret about halfway through. Which is not a good thing for this book, because when I figured it out, I was hoping I was wrong. But I won't go into that anymore because I don't want to spoil anything.

I did really enjoy reading about Juliet's dad and what he had created while on the island. It was really interesting to see how these animal creatures saw him as a god and how they lived. I also LOVED Balthazar and his relationship with Montgomery. These two were the reason I really continued to read. I felt so sorry for Balthazar and I just wanted to hug him even though he is half dog half sheep or whatever. And I loved Montgomery because he cared for all the weird animal creatures and became friends with them.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Juliet though. Sometimes I really enjoyed her and like how she was a strong character who did things here way. But then other times I found myself not really caring what happened to her.

What I wasn't prepared for, though, was the scenes were animals were being operated on, while they were awake! I am a big animal lover, I don't do books or movies where I know the animals die. I just can't do it and I don't like it. Therefore, you can bet I was somewhat upset when about 50 pages in, Juliet has to chop off a rabbits head to get it out of it's misery because she caught some boys operating on it. I did get used to it though, and came to expect it, so it wasn't too bad as I went on.

The Madman's Daughter also moved a little slow for me. I think part of this had to do with the fact that I didn't like Edward, so whenever he was in a scene, I lost interest. I also skimmed a few pages towards the end because I wanted to actually get to the good stuff.

So, I don't think this review is making a lot of sense, but that sums up my relationship with this book. At one point the story would be very interesting, but then a while later, I would find it to be kind of dull.

Also, THE ENDING! The ending makes me all kinds of mad and nobody should be allowed to end a book that way. I don't know if I hate the ending or love it.