Review of The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title/Author: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) by Megan Shepherd
Publisher/Date published: Balzer & Bray, January 29th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: 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.

So this book has been ALL OVER the blogosphere the last couple of months and people whose taste in books I trust completely have been RAVING about it. So yes, there were all these expectations. And I have to say that most of them were met!

I've never read The Island of Dr. Moreau and so as not to accidentally read about plotlines/spoilers, I didn't google it before reading The Madman's Daughter (ok, so I know it was there first, but I wanted to experience this story just as it is). And guys, The Madman's Daughter totally makes me want to read The Island of Dr. Moreau!! I love how these retellings make me excited to read the classics!

I really liked Juliet. She's a tough sixteen-year-old and I totally respect her for learning everything she knows about anatomy, because girls were definitely not allowed to know stuff like that back then. I love that she uses this knowledge to defend herself against someone who assaults her. LOVED it. I also loved that she was a little off.

Actually, I loved that there was pretty much something off with ALL of the characters! I never knew who to trust and it was all just SO CREEPY! Oh my gosh, Megan Shepher really brought the chills and shock and sometimes openmouthed horror. And I loved it! It's slightly scary that I can understand what the doctor did on a scientific level, yet it horrifies me at the same time.

The only thing that I didn't really feel was the love triangle. I was firmly fixed on one boy, who turned out to be the right pick after all (am so not telling you who it is though ;) ) and I LOVED the moments between Juliet and this boy.

I was so swept away by the storytelling! I was constantly at the edge of my seat wanting to find out what happens next! And seriously, the ending near broke my heart!! I cannot wait to find out what happens in the sequel, because OMG, how are they all ever going to recover from this??

My rating: 4,5 stars