The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

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.

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REVIEW

 The classics meet the Young Adult genre on this story of mystery, deception and love.

Juliet has lost her Mother and her father has disappeared after the horrible accusations oh him abusing his talents as a surgeon. When she meets again with Montgomery, a boy she used to know and even love, she gets the chance to find her father and return to him.
When Edward, a castaway, also joins them on the mysterious island where her father lives, secrets will be revealed and death will haunt them.

I found the idea of using the classic tale of Dr. Moreu's island as a base quite interesting and at the same time I was drawn to the stuggle of Juliet. She is trying to live with the strict rules of 19th century London and at the same time she is strong and willing to defend herself.

There was a part when I thought that a love triangle would appear but this was cleared close to the end of the book. The ending was a cliffhanger for me and I loved it. It makes you even more willing to hunt down for the next book and I hope to get the chance to read it! :)

Until then for me this book is a solid 5 star!



About the author:

 Megan Shepherd was "born" into the book world, growing up in her parents' independent bookstore in Western North Carolina. She is the author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2013), and THE CAGE trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2015). When Megan is not writing, she can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. She is represented by Josh Adams at Adams Literary.