From the publisher:
Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno -Garcia was published July 19th, 2022 by Del Rey Books.

My thoughts:

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is "loosely inspired" by The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells, but has a different focus. The hybrids and Doctor Moreau have roles to play, but the central characters are his daughter Carlota and his majordomo Montgomery. The story is told in chapters that alternate between Carlota's and Montgomery's point of view. As they grow and change from age and events, it kept my interest.

We meet Carlota as a pliant teenager eager to please her father without question. She becomes a young adult at 20 testing and stretching boundaries. This is especially apparent when they have visitors.

Montgomery finds a home there with the hybrids, Doctor Moreau, and his daughter. Throughout he battles alcoholism. He becomes a more sympathetic character as his backstory is revealed.

The pace of the book is fairly steady until they have visitors. After that the pace picks up until very nearly the end. When the pace drops again, I felt like some things in the book had come full circle emphasizing how far the characters have come.

While I liked Carlota and Montgomery, there were also characters I didn't like or outright couldn't stand. Isidiro Lizalde, Eduardo's cousin was one of the latter. He comes across as self righteous, mean, sneaky, and manipulative.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I found the characters interesting. I wanted to know what would happen next. The historical setting was a good choice by the author which she explains in the Afterword. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it to fans of the author, people who enjoy retellings, and those who enjoy science fiction in a historical setting.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions.

I honestly believe @silviamg.author can write any genre and it will turn out to be a great story!! I have so far read fantasy, horror, scifi & historical fiction from her and I enjoyed them all. She finds balance in everything. Its a talent, a speciality if hers 😍

This book is a reimagined historical fiction and scifi classic. I read this a while back, but had to wait to post my review until after I’ve read the said classic and watched the vintage movie. Both the originals were good, but this version is great. I might be teensy little partial in favour of Silvia, but I still think many of you would enjoy this book!

As the name suggest, daughter of a mad scientist, his assistant, the creatures he created—they all live in harmony till unexpected events get triggered. Dr.Moreau and his daughter must figure out a way to reclaim the balance. The atmospheric writing and the magical fantasy type mystery makes this an interesting read overall. The content is as exotic as the cover 🤩

Thank you Delrey Books via Netgalley for the e-arc + ScaredStraightReads on bookstagram for the book club copy!

This retelling is my favorite of Moreno-Garcia’s work that I’ve read so far. You can probably guess the kinds of things that are updated—the perspectives of women and indigenous Mexicans in particular, even though one of the POV characters is the dissolute Englishman brought in to run the place so Dr. Moreau can concentrate on his experiments. It’s very humane despite the distressing things that happen, including hybrid suffering and death.

Sadly, I just think that this author isn't for me. This is the third book of hers I've tried and I just can never seem to enjoy it as much as others do.

I see Silvia Moreno-Garcia comes out with a new novel. I read said novel. It’s that simple for me. Much like her other novels, this was an enjoyable read. Moreno-Garcia has a way of weaving such a vibrant world in her work, and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is no different. I did not know the H.G. Wells story that this novel is based off of before reading, and I think that was to my benefit. There was no expectation of what to expect, I just allowed Moreno-Garcia to perfectly plot her story as she’s known to do. While I guessed our major plot twist quite early on, it didn’t affect my reading experience. If anything I like seeing the clues Moreno-Garcia drops along the way for the reader. Setting this book in Mexico during the 1800s was also so smart, because we can see how colonization is affecting the day to day of even this remote estate. While this isn’t my favorite of her books, it’s still a captivating read.

I am late with this review. So, so, so late. Perhaps it was the book’s dreamy quality or the heat and drought in Austin as I was reading it, but it took me forever to finish The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, the newest book from bestselling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I think the real reason, though, is that I was dreading writing this review.

The book retells The Island of Dr. Moreau, reset in lush, volatile nineteenth-century Mexico. Carlota Moreau is the doctor’s daughter, who lives a cloistered life with her reclusive father on a lavish estate. One day, she receives a visit from the son of her father’s patron, and his visit reveals family secrets and ignites passions in more than one character. The story is filled with romance, adventure, and human-animal hybrids, but it unfolds slowly. Too slowly, it seemed to me.

Gothic, atmospheric, and well researched, this book should have checked all the boxes for me. But I couldn’t get past the problems with pacing and character development. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has much to say about father-daughter dynamics, colonialism, captivity, exploitation, agency, and more. But in a book where the antagonists treat the hybrids as property—as little more than background, one might say—it’s ironic to find the author doing the same. I knew virtually nothing about these characters, even to the end.

This is not a terrible book. It’s a fantastic story! But as I said at the beginning, I wanted more. Failing that, I wanted a shorter book that wouldn’t have taken up so much of my hot, stinky summer!

I haven’t read Mexican Gothic. Maybe I’ll try that next.

4.5 stars! Just wow.

What I loved about this was how unassuming this historical sci-fi book is. While reading the first half it's your typical lovely historical fiction adventure with a sprinkle of sci-fi, and I mean a sprinkle, but enough of a sprinkle to keep you intrigued. And then, bam, you're hit with the sci-fi and it was quite a ride from that point. I really, really enjoyed this so much.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

This was such a wonderful take on the classic “Island of Doctor Moreau”. This was written in a true new classic style. I loved the way Moreno-Garcia wove Mexican history into the story. I learned things I didn’t know before. The descriptions of the setting and characters really made the whole book feel as if I was watching a movie.

I really enjoyed this read, and would recommend to others!

Thank you to Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the publisher, and to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this arc in exchange for my honest review!

At this point, I’ve read three books from Silvia Moreno-Garcia in genres ranging from noir to horror and this latest attempt seems to solidify my opinion that I will always find them just… fine. I don’t know if it’s the page count or her tendency to write standalones but there’s a certain emotional disconnect from everyone and everything in her books that I experience when I pick one up. The Daughter Doctor Moreau is unfortunately in keeping with the trend. SMG excels at atmosphere and setting, and this book with its isolated estate along the Yucatan peninsula is no exception. But her characters always feel a bit wooden.

The “daughter” in question here is Carlota, and she spends most of the story being frustratingly naïve in a way I’m not totally convinced was ever remedied by the end of the book. Because so much of the story is watching her pining after a man with very obvious moral ambiguity, it’s hard to understand any of her motivations. Doctor Moreau himself is depicted as so unambiguously “bad” it’s also difficult to comprehend why his daughter is so emotionally attached to him, especially after discovering the enormous deceit she was raised under. His “hybrids” had the potential to be a distinctive addition to the cast that brought life to an otherwise gray color palette of wealthy men and one blindly trusting female protagonist. And I think SMG really tried to create a kind of found family with the hybrids. But for all Carlota actually interacted with them I was only left with the vague recollection of one of them even being a friend to her.

I won’t touch Montgomery as a character, and his uncomfortable interactions with Carlota. I’m most convinced he could have been removed from the story altogether and it would not have made the slightest difference.

I do love a feminist take on a classic formerly centered around male characters, especially in the horror genre. And Silvia Moreno-Garcia excels at incorporating the largely unexplored history of post-modern Mexico in so many of her recent works. But while I’ll commend her for the research and ability to to step outside the borders of the genre, unfortunately her character work and the plotting in this adaptation fell a bit flat for me in the execution.

Thank you to the publisher Del Ray for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

As someone who's been a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia for a few years now, I can confidently say that this is one of her best books I've read so far! This book covers so much, there's a coming of age story within Carlota's character, it's set during the same time as the Mayan uprisings (which we can see a lot of hints towards throughout the book) and discussion on how women were treated and seen during that time. There's a lot in in this story, but it all comes together so well, which is something I've always admired about Moreno-Garcia's writing style: it's packed with different themes with intention to cover them all.

I personally don't read too much Science Fiction, but The Daughter of Doctor Moreau has me searching for my next Sci-Fi read! Maybe it's because this was written by one of my favorite authors or because it's set in Mexico (as a Mexican-American reader, I looove finding authors/books that give us a bit of representation in genres like Sci-Fi). Silvia Moreno-Garcia was able to take all the necessary themes and ideas that show up in a classic H.G. Wells (or Sci-Fi in general) novel and in a lot of ways, did it 10x better. Silivia Moreno-Garcia always knows how to get me out of my usual comfort zone when it comes to reading and will always be my go to author any time I want to mix up my genres!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an automatic buy author for me and she doesn't it again with The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. This is a great reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico. Moreno-Garcia knows how to write strong female characters.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia once again delivers a gripping historical science fiction novel, this time set in the Yucatan Peninsula in the nineteenth century. Based on "The Island of Doctor Moreau", this book takes place in a remote village of the Yucatan Peninsula, and the mad or brilliant Doctor Moreau is developing human-animal hybrids, who all live alongside the doctor his daughter, Carlota, and the mayordomo Montgomery Laughten. These hybrids are being created as a new workforce for the wealthy land owner, Mr. Lizalde who sees them as nothing more than his property. This book poses the question of what really makes someone a monster.

Moreno-Garcia's fast-paced writing and unforeseen twists and turns make this novel hard to put down. Highly recommended for all library collections. Fans of Mexican Gothic will be fans of this one as well!

THE 411...

The genre blending Silvia Moreno-Garcia is back with another hit and this one has managed to dethrone Mexican Gothic for me! didn’t think it was possible, foolish me. This time we’re transported to 19th century Mexico in a reimagining of H.G. Wells The Island of Doctor Moreau. Carlota Moreau is growing up in a lavish estate alongside her father who’s genius mind pushes boundaries and defies ethics, a madman who was exiled from his birth country in Europe. Moreau’s work is centered on creating human-animal hybrids, his experiments have led to the creation of many that are deformed and suffering from the pain of their limbs/bone structure. The benefactor of the estate is beginning to apply pressure on results and has threatened to cut off funding. The Hybrids come to life, some with endearing personalities and others with a whole lot of heart and desire for something more than a life in hiding. Some have heard the rumors of a Mayan rebel leader who is fighting back against colonization out in the Yucatan Peninsula. They dream of escaping by joining his rebel groups and want Carlota to leave with them. When the benefactor’s son Eduardo Lizalde arrives at the Hacienda, it’s love at first sight and Carlota’s dad who is desperate for continued funding is overjoyed with their romance. The only person who stands in their way is the new Mayordomo in the Hacienda, Montgomery Laughton.

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Friends, to say that I hated Eduardo is an understatement. A sleaze ball who sees Carlota more as a trophy he must win. In the other corner we have Montgomery Laughton who is the second POV we get in this story. Yes, he does have a LOT of demons and Yes I still ended up enjoying his broody drunk character. There’s an age gap between him and Carlota but he isn’t pressed to try and win her over even though he acknowledges the fact that he loves her. SMG gives us Gothic vibes in a historical backdrop where we have themes of colonization, human exploitation/experimentation and the ethics bound to it, racism towards the Mayans, abuse of power, and a feminist MC who could EASILY have become a better scientist than her father if she weren’t expected to conform to societal expectations. That being said, seeing Carolta’s evolution was satisfying on a whole other level! This is one not to be missed especially if you were on the fence over Mexican Gothic. I’d say give this one a go but be prepared to see yourself become over protective of Cachito, my favorite of the hybrids! ❤

Thanks @prhinternational for this ARC!

Em uma fazenda isolada no interior do México, doutor Moreau conduz seus experimentos com híbridos. Ele conta com a ajuda de sua filha Carlota e Montgomery Laughton, o mayordormo da casa.

Seus experimentos são financiados por um poderoso fazendeiro da região e a rotina de todo mundo muda quando o filho dele, Eduardo, chega de surpresa no local.

Minha experiência com Gótico Mexicano não foi das melhores e por isso fui com poucas expectativas para esse novo trabalho da autora. Não conheço a história que ela se inspirou - The Island of Doctor Moreau -, mas nem por isso deixou de ser uma boa leitura.

O começo é um pouco lento, o que já percebi ser uma característica da autora. Silvia vai te familiarizando com os personagens e os experimentos do doutor Moreau. Nesse ponto as explicação são bem detalhadas e com termos científicos, o que pode gerar um pouco de confusão mas no caso eu só fiz abstrair.

A narração alterna o foco entre Carlota e Montgomery. A filha do cientista é uma jovem um tanto inocente, de personalidade gentil e contente com sua vida pacífica. Com a chegada do filho do patrocinador do seu pai, ela começa a questionar não apenas o seu futuro, mas o futuro que seu pai espera para os híbridos. Já Laughton é um homem que tenta afogar seus traumas e decepções passados na bebida; de início ele estava receoso em aceitar o trabalho na casa de Moreau, mas também acaba se afeiçoando às criações do cientista.

O livro tem um ritmo meio calmo e constante, um tanto idílico, o que combina com a história contada. As descrições são bem vívidas que você se sente ali, vivenciando tudo.

Diferente de Gótico Mexicano, aqui eu achei que ela soube desenvolver melhor a história até chegar o clímax. Não há muitas reviravoltas; de fato, algumas situações já eram esperadas, mas não foi algo que me incomodou.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.

I've heard so many positive things about the author and though I've read Mexican Gothic and was underwhelmed, I keep hoping to be wowed by the author's books one day.

Today was not that day.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a retelling of the seminal classic The Island of Doctor Moreau. by H.G. Wells (which I read nearly a decade ago).

Retelling classic novels is the trend thing to do in publishing now since this isn't the only retelling I've read this year. And I know it won't be the last.

Set among the backdrop of old timey fun timely 19 century Mexico (loved the historical context), the narrative is told between Carlota, the daughter of the famous doctor, and Montgomery, the broody alcoholic hired to assist the good doctor with his devilish experiments.

My caveats; okay, there are more than a few.

First, the pacing. It's slow. Like watching paint dry slow.

The writing is good, but it doesn't detract from the snail pace of the narrative. The novel is only 320 pages but it read like it was 500 pages. Nothing happens in 90% of the novel.

There's a lot of dialogue, chit chatting between the characters, which brings me to my next caveat.

I didn't like any of the characters, and there were quite a few of them, their names all have flown out of my head. I didn't connect or sympathize with anyone but I also don't remember who they are.

Next, where's the science fiction? The suspense? The horror?

The hybrids are mentioned, and they sound interesting but not enough 'screen time' is given to them.

Then, there's the romance element. Seriously, is that necessary?

As I like to say, why does there have to be a romance in nearly every book? A love triangle or romantic relationship doesn't make a story exciting and thrilling.

A good story does with interesting and complex characters and though the author uses the foundation of the original tale, she seems to be unsure of the story she wants to write:

Is it horror? Suspense? Romance with a bit of domestic drama?

The vibe was all over the place, and not in a good way.

I wasn't shocked or surprised by anything, but then it takes a lot to rock my boat. I wasn't invested in the story or in Carlota's perspective. I just didn't care about how it was all going to wrap up.

I really wanted to like this way more, and I had higher expectations than I normally would considering the author's popularity.

I don't like sci-fi. I hadn't read the original Island of Dr. Moreau. But I loved this. Why?

Strong female protagonist, lots of atmosphere, and a bizarre plot. It's an amazing book.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of the best authors writing today. Her newest novel, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, is a fantastic reimagining of the classic Wells story that has an emotional core missing from the original. The two narrators and protagonists, Carlota and Montgomery, provide alternating views of the world of Doctor Moreau and his experiments; each is satisfying in its own way and together they weave a beautiful tale.

This one just didn't read the same for me as Mexican Gothic did, and maybe it's my fault for trying to compare the two. I enjoyed it, but it missed the mark..

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

If you enjoy retellings you’ll enjoy this story. In this version Dr. Moreau, the French doctor, has been disowned by his family and has taken to the wilds of 19th century Mexico.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.