Duet Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Hi guys,I'm launching this feature to highlight the reviews which I do with my friend,Maliha.Since I lend her a lot of my review copies,I asked her to contribute to my blog with her feedback and she agreed.Hopefully you'll see a lot more of this feature from now onwards.

So here's the book which we're going to review today.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Publication date: January 29th 2013 by Balzer + Bray

Blurb:  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.

My Review:   

 

Rating: 5 0f 5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book from HarperCollins through Shelf Awareness in exchange for an honest review**

The thing with me and historical YA fiction is that either I really like it,or really hate it.My feelings towards that genre has no consistency.I know,I am a pretty weird person. **sigh**

ANYWAY,as you can already guess from my rating,I LOVED The Madman's Daughter.While it may be the part of a series,it can be read as a stand-alone as well,with no MAJOR cliffhangers.And yes,there may be a love triangle alert in this book,though it does not drone on and on about how the heroine does not know what to do with her feelings,making me want to whack her on the head.This problem had made me put down so many books in the past that I'm really glad for not having to face it again.The story-line was a lot more fast-paced and action packed,and by action packed I mean the "mad scientist on the loose" sort of action.I would say that this is one of those books which,without reading,your life would not be complete,like the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson series.

Right now,all you need to know is that you'll absolutely love it if you're into three things:
*Gothic England
*Eerily disgusting and creepy stuff.Example: Frankenstein.
*A story with a unique premise.

On my ARC it says that the book is inspired by THE ISLAND OF DR.MOREAU but I wouldn't know the similarity because I've never read that book before.I might actually pick it up someday to compare it with The Madman's Daughter,but just not today.And guess what,the sequel of this book is inspired by THE STRANGE CASE OF DR.JEKYLL AND MR.HYDE!Eeep!! xD **Happy Dance**

Maliha's Review:

 
Rating: 4 0f 5 stars

The Madman's Daughter is a breathtaking multi-theme novel. It has sweet romance on one side, reluctant friendship and a dark touch as well.

Juliet’s father was a pretty  predictable character. Apart from being a madman crazy about his work, he made crazy decisions for Juliet as a father. Their reunion was sweet, though, with him being protective and all. His reaction to Edward, the first one we see that is, was hilarious.

For the love-triangle fans out there, you’ll be satisfied. Both Edward and Montgomery are all about Juliet’s safety, and who doesn’t like a protective guy?

All the mystery also kept me turning pages. The mysterious island, mysterious island dwellers were well described.  And I was obsessed with Edward’s secret as it wasn’t revealed until the end.

Montgomery was sweet. He tried to convince Juliet how he had changed, how he wasn’t the doc’s servant anymore. But he made mistakes of his own and tried to correct them. Edward was, well, a typical yet different ‘Edward’. You’ll see what I mean when you read it.

Juliet was an interesting heroine. She’s brave and daring from the first page to the last. She’s smart and beautiful. Even after the shocking revelations, she remains sane and saves herself.

 It may not be a real cliffhanger but definitely a heartbreaking ending, that will leave readers in enough suspense and anticipation for the sequel.

Those who have already checked out my "An Insight Of The Characters' World" page might have guessed this by now,but I'm still going to mention it.My next post will be a guest post with Megan Shepherd (author of The Madman's Daughter) along with an epic giveaway too,so keep your eyes on my blog updates.Happy Weekend! :)