Cannonball Read V: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

By Caitlin | Books | February 15, 2013 |

By Caitlin | Books | February 15, 2013 |

The Madman’s Daughter…wow, this book was fantastic. It kind of scared me and made me a little queasy at times, sort of like a roller coaster. Juliet is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Moreau. There was some scandal about him, rumors of the horrible and ungodly experiments he performed. That’s all in the past. It’s unkind to speak ill of dead men, except it turns out that Dr. Moreau isn’t actually dead.

Juliet heads to the Island where her father has been living all these years. She rekindles a friendship, possibly more, with her childhood companion, Montgomery. There is also a connection with handsome castaway, Edward Prince, whom they rescue at sea. Love triangles aren’t even the worst of Juliet’s problems once she reaches the island. It turns out that all those rumors about her father are true.

I greatly enjoyed the Gothic feeling to this book. It’s incredibly dark, sort of a Jane Eyre or Northanger Abbey, except with more evil scientist. It really feels like it could be the alternate view to the original science fiction story. As a quick disclaimer, I did have some trouble with the scenes of animal cruelty and descriptions of animal suffering. It was a bit difficult for me to get through those parts, and there were some tears. I do love my girls-in-corsets stories, though. Juliet was pretty cool, especially because she was a proper young lady who was interested in science and not as squeamish as most of her peers. I definitely admired the girl when she defended herself against a would-be rapist near the beginning of the book (In an awesome way). The ending was sufficiently dramatic for me to hope for a sequel very soon.

This review is part of the volunteer Cannonball Read V. Read all about it, and for more of Caitlin’s reviews, check out her blog, I’m Going to Read Your Mind Next.

(Note: Any revenue generated from purchases made through the amazon.com affiliate links in this review will be donated in entirety to the American Cancer Society.)