The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Review of The Madman’s Daughter

Title & Author:
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Publisher:
Balzer + Bray
Publication Date:
January 29, 2013
Pages:
432
Source:
ARC from Publisher

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

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. – Goodreads

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd is a delightfully creepy and horrific debut that just blew me away.

Seriously, I was so enraptured by The Madman’s Daughter. Megan Shepherd’s writing style is amazing. The Madman’s Daughter was kind of like a train wreck – you just can’t look away, you know? And I totally mean that in the best way possible – I was just sucked into this story and I fell in love with the characters but everything was gross and creepy and depressing. But it was SO GOOD. I can’t even explain how Megan Shepherd did it.

Okay, I’m going to briefly address the love triangle. I’m kind of over them but I didn’t mind it in The Madman’s Daughter. I liked both guys for the most part and I could see how Juliet was confused about her feelings.

Anyway, back to the WHAT THE WHAT of a story and the amazing characters. Juliet was awesome, I am all about awesome and strong protagonists. Juliet had dreams and a passion for something and in a time when women were supposed to be proper and sew and get married. It was rebellious and ballsy and I admired her. She went through some really hard times but she didn’t let them stomp down her passion for science.

The writing, like I mentioned, totally sucked me in. But it was also very visual – Megan Shepherd doesn’t hold back when it came to describing gruesome events. But the gruesome fit the tone of the story and I can’t imagine The Madman’s Daughter told any other way. I don’t know that the impact would be the same.

If you’re looking for an insane and dark, but surprisingly wonderful and delightful story, I highly recommend The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd. She blew me away with her debut and I absolutely cannot wait for the second book in this series.

While you’re here, you can subscribe to my feed :)