The Madman's Daughter Review

Title: The Madman's Daughter
Author: Megan Shepherd
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: Paperback

 "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:

Oh my! This was probably my first Gothic YA novel that I have read and it didn't disappoint. *Warning minor spoilers ahead* The very beginning of the book starts off with talking about blood and a medical hospital. That was a brilliant way to draw me into the novel. Juliet, was one of those characters who doesn't feel sorry for herself given her past and is trying to get ahead again. She has no problems dealing with the blood and gore that comes along with having been the daughter of a surgeon and working at the medical college. The rest of the cast was just as memorable, from her father, to Montgomery (I'm rooting for this dude), to Edward and even Balthazar. Each one was unique in their own way and interactions with the others.

The experiments of which her father has been conducting has to be my favorite part of the entire novel. They weren't what I was expecting and the plot twist with one of the experiments I really had no idea that what happened was going to happen. A few scenes were a bit on the graphic side but they are what gave insight into the Madman.

However there is still a love triangle involved and that would be why I said earlier I was rooting for Montgomery. Otherwise I didn't have to many issues with the book. At a couple parts the action died down and it was moving rather slow but not anything to make me stop. The whole scene with the ship I felt could have been shortened by a couple pages, because I found it a bit dull to be on the ship with them and the ship's crew to be rather crude and unmemorable.

The ending of the novel did leave me with a lot of unanswered questions that I look forward to reading in Her Dark Curiosity, book 2 of the Madman's Daughter Series.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars