Review : The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Madman's Daughter
Author : Megan Shephard
Publisher : Harper Teen
Publication Date : January 29th 2013
Goodreads - The Book Depository

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.

Personal Thoughts

Inspired by The Island of Daughter Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a book that promised to be a thrilling read. The blurb along with the simple, but beautiful cover had me impatient for a copy of the book. So, when the opportunity came up in the form of an e-ARC on Edelweiss, I didn't hesitate one bit before requesting it. I must say that, although The Madman's Daughter had a slow start, I ended up really enjoying the novel except for the cruel ending, of course.

After a scandal rocks her father's life, Juliet Moreau is left to fend for herself. In order to feed herself, the aristocrat's daughter takes up a cleaning job at King's College Medical School. Juliet doesn't know that her father is alive, but when she discovers that he is indeed hiding on an island near Australia, through an old servant boy turned assistant,Montgomery, she hops on a ship to go find him only to find that all the rumors about her father were true.

Juliet was a character that I connected with from the first instant she's introduced. She possessed a tremendous drive to her that made her very likeable. I liked that she was a strong and level-headed young woman ready to do almost anything to feed herself. One other part of her I also adored was the fact that she didn't let her father's scandal determine what her life was going to be like. Even though she was shunned by almost everyone in society, she didn't shed a tear in despair, nor did she wallow in self-pity. Instead, she went on with her life, doing what she was doing. However, my opinion of her veered slightly when she found herself glued in the middle of a love triangle vying for the attention of both Montgomery and Edward, the boy the ship finds ship-wrecked in the middle of the ocean. I've always had a bit of a hard time appreciating a character who cannot make up her mind on who she likes. Admittedly, she was young and not all accustomed to that kind of male attention, but that didn't make it any less frustrating. Once I got over the love triangle, I went back to admiring Juliet's resilience in the face of her cruel circumstances. I thought Juliet underwent some growth during the book, slowly starting to acknowledge the fact that her father wasn't who she thought he was.

As for the love interests, my definite favorite is Montgomery. He wasn't a man with many words, but from what I could see through Juliet's eyes, he was very passionate. I loved the sweetness that he oozed whenever he was looking after Alice, one of the islanders. He acted like an older brother to her and I thought their interactions were adorable even though Alice had a little crush on him. He was also very protective of Juliet, but not in an overbearing and possessive way. His respect for her what I admired the most in him. Edward, the other love interest, was somewhat of a puzzle to me. I didn't get to fully appreciate him because the reader is aware that he's hiding secrets from the very first scene he appeared in. Although hints were strewed all across the book as to what his secrets might be, it didn't mean that they were any less shocking when they finally came to light. I did think he was a very interesting character, but I was too invested in Montgomery to enjoy him more. Juliet's father was by far the most intriguing and complex character in The Madman's Daughter. When the reader first meets him, he appeared like a normal father, but we are given glimpses to what kind of man he truly was underneath. I thought of him as absolutely fascinating. Seeing his madness slowly come to the surface and to realize that his brain functioned in a very strange way ,indeed, was thrilling.

The Madman's Daughter is a book with a historical setting. I personally thought Megan Shepherd did a good job at making the historical elements ,such as the way of life, seem quite authentic although I'm not an expert on history. The story started off a little slowly with an eerie feel lurking around, but the book actually becomes a lot more interesting in the last half when all the creepiness amplified to such a level that it forced me to finish the book. Juliet's fears were so palpable that I felt myself being a part of the story. Shepherd is excellent at describing terror in such a way that reading the entire book felt like a spine-tingling event. For me, The Madman's Daughter was one of those books that plagued my thoughts when I was not reading the book to do my chores. Needless to say, you can imagine my frustration when the book ended in a giant cliffhanger that almost made me want to shriek at the top of my lungs. My frustration intensified upon learning that I would have to wait a year for the next installment to come out. Anyhow, the writing was vivid and highly imaginative and held my attention all throughout the story. Moreover, the plot was unique and refreshing as the story-line is not something that has been explored in YA yet. The scientific aspect of the book was highly interesting and raised so many questions. I have never given much thought to animal experimentation, but this book actually made me want to learn much more on that topic. It also lead to a myriad of confusing opinions on my side. The scientist in me believes that animal experimentation is a necessity, but the animal lover me is of the opposite belief. Regardless, I love a good book that makes me think, so I loved that about this book.

Even with my slight annoyance with the cliffhanger, I must say that I was very satisfied with the outcome of this book. A thrilling yet creepy tale of a scientist gone mad, The Madman's Daughter was an enthralling book. All in all, The Madman's Daughter is, in my sincere opinion, one of 2013's strongest debut.

Rating
Cover : 5/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall : 4.5/5**

Big Thanks to Harper Teen for the e-ARC of The Madman's Daughter