The Madman’s Daughter (#1) by Megan Shephard
Published by: Balzar + Bray on January 29th, 2013
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Gothic
Pages: 420
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

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Synopsis:

For fans of Libba Bray, this first book in a gothic suspense trilogy is inspired by H. G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau and has been hailed by New York Times bestseller Carrie Ryan as having “beautiful writing, breakneck pacing, a pulse-pounding mystery, and an irresistible romance.”

Following accusations that her scientist father gruesomely experimented on animals, sixteen-year-old Juliet watched as her family and her genteel life in London crumbled around her—and only recently has she managed to piece her world back together. But when Juliet learns her father is still alive and working on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the old accusations are true. Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s insanity. 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.

Review: This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while. I’ve heard good things about it when I picked it up from Book Outlet ages ago but just kinda kept it there. All of a sudden a few weeks ago I felt the urge to just pick it up and give it a go. I personally think that from reading the synopsis the book could have been so much cooler. I expected a bit more from this book since the concept was so “creepy”.

The Characters: Juliet started out as a pretty decent main character. In the beginning she seemed like someone who was dealt a crappy hand and was managing quite well on her own. But once she got to the island all of her spirit went out the window and she became submissive to the whims of the men. Her father’s actions made sense for the kind of man he was but he was such a jackass to his daughter. I don’t know why she sought him out in the first place (I guess it wouldn’t have been much of a book if she didn’t – haha). The Prince and the other guy… I have forgotten his name…Montgomery were terrible “love interests” and there wasn’t really anything memorable about them other than the “plot twist” they were apart of. I did like the created creatures though. Those characters were interesting to read about.

The Plot: The plot had potential then once it hit its high point it just slowly decreased in interesting-ness (I can’t think of the word right now). The love triangle was poorly done. It seemed like it was added in there to appeal to the genre since having love triangle is all the rage. They’re only good when executed a certain way and this one was not. This girl had never really had the attention from guys her age and all of a sudden after being with these two for a few months she loves both of them? C’mon.

The World: I did like how the world was described. I did feel like I was in London, on the ship and on the island.

The Writing: As much as I didn’t like how the book was done I have to say that Shepherd’s writing was amazing.

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