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

by Megan Shepherd

[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.