Brad About Books: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Read from March 23 to 24, 2013

THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER
Published: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Harper)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 420 pages
Source: Amazon.com
Series: Madman, #1

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.

Eerie and climatic, The Madman's Daughter hooked me from the first page and never let me go. One of my favorite books of all time now!

A re-telling of The Island of Dr. Moreau? Yes please. The Madman's Daughter is filled with spooky twists and turns - lots of twists I didn't see coming! - and was oozing with creepiness. I was freaked out just from the first paragraph, which is awesome, and I knew that this would be my kind of book. And luckily, I was right: it absolutely was. I read this book so, so quickly. Simply because I couldn't put it down! It was engaging and engrossing by the seams. 

Juliet is a fantastic character. I connected with her instantly and felt for her for all the troubles she's going through. Father? Oh gosh, where to begin with father... he's insane. Shepherd did an amazing job at crafting together his character: as soon as he would enter a scene, I got chill bumps right away! And The Madman's Daughter is filled with other great characters: Montgomery, Edward, Alice, Jaguar... every single character has some trait that made them feel realistic and fleshed out. And it wasn't only characters on the island that were great. Even though we didn't get to see much of them, I loved the characters in London too. I hope we get to see more of them in the sequel! 

The jungle is an absolute perfect place to set this book. I mean, it just adds to the creepy factor {which I'm all for}. All the turns that Juliet would take in the book always made my stomach rise up to my throat; I was literally scared for her. This was a freaky jungle! And the twist at the end? Mind equals blown. I totally didn't see that coming, and I am dying to know what happens to Juliet next! Plus, the sequel is about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! So excited!

Overall, The Madman's Daughter is easily one of my favorite books of the year and of all-time. Fresh, different, and super scary, I can't recommend this book enough! You must read it!

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