I did not love this. The writing was not for me. I spent weeks trying to get into it and just never could. Unfortunately I had to DNF at less than 50%

I enjoyed this book more than I thought. I would have liked to see a bit on the romance towards the end but it was still interesting. Can always depend on Moreno-Garcia to deliver a good read

I did not read "The Island of Doctor Moreau" nor seen the movies, so all of I knew going into the book was what I've picked up from cultural references. This was an enjoyable reading of horror, science, and romance. The story is told from the POV of Dr. Moreau's daughter and his assistant.

If the title and basic premise didn't entice me enough, just settling into the steamy setting full of rich evocative details immediately had me hooked. Beautiful, rich storytelling full of intricate moments and twists.

While I am not much for science fiction and I haven't read the original material, I trust Silvia Moreno-Garcia to create an immersive story and that's what this is. Sweeping, detailed, horribly believable, this is a story that made me think and easily caught and kept my attention.

"The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" seamlessly blends elements of gothic fiction and real-life history. Carlota Moreau is the mysterious daughter of the doctor from the H.G. Wells’ tale. Her observations of her father’s laboratory and the hybrids who inhabit the grounds of their home are told matter-of-factly. She has grown up with these creatures who are her father’s experiments, and she doesn’t see them with judgement or even horror.

The author's vivid descriptions describe a hidden community that is cut off from the rest of the world – for good reason. Carlota grows up relatively safe and protected from outside influences. But as she matures and attracts the attentions of both the son of Moreau’s patron, and Montgomery Laughton, Moreau’s world-weary assistant, events take a drastic turn. Overall, it’s an engrossing read that offers a fresh take on the classic story and its themes of science, morality, and identity.

I will read anything that SMG writes! Absolutely one of my favorite writers!

I have never read Doctor Moreau so going into this I didn't know too much about the story but SMG's story is full of culture and society and it's observational in the way that SMG does so well.

Of course I loved it.

"The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" brought back the Island of Dr. Moreau for me. Moreno-Garcia's unique view and reimaging of the classic left me wanting more in the best way possible. Carlota, Montgomery, and all of the human/animal creations were perfection. And the story was just the right amount of Victorian feel with horror and science fiction blended in. Loved this book!

I was apprehensive about this book but when I saw it was on the short list for the Hugos gave it a shot. Unfortunately it wasn't really the story for me. It was a classic case of two perspectives where I liked being in the head of one significantly more than the other, although I found neither character easy to root for or like. I found the themes to be tried and true, which makes sense considering the inspiration, but I was hoping for a more unique take on exploring humanity and the definitions we attach to that. Per usual Silvia Moreno-Garcia does a great job of incorporating the history and setting of a place and this is probably the portion I appreciated most. For those who are craving a historical sci-fi novel set in a time and place that is usually ignored I would send this their way.

Silvia always sets the scene and this historical sci-fi is no different. You’re transported to Yaxactun and the home of doctor Moreau. This wasnt my favorite of her titles it took about 2/3 of the way through for the actual plot twist which I was becoming suspicious of. What I loved most were the hybrids, montgomery and Carlotta’s relationships. How close and protective they all were. All in all I was still captivated
3.5/5

A wonderful retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau with a feminist point of view. A new gothic vision has made this a read that was hard to put down.

I'm a big fan of silvia's stories. Her story telling. I always feel like I'm there or can easily picture everything in my head. I love her characters and always want to know more about them. This book starts off slow but once you're in you are in.

An interesting spin on "The Island of Doctor Moreau" that could have been great, but somehow got lost.

I would recommend this book to: fans of the original work, dark fiction lovers, and sci-fi fans.

This was my first Silvia Moreno-Garcia book and honestly I didn’t love it at first. The beginning was a bit too slow for me at times and I felt close to DNF it because of the world building. I know now that it was necessary to include for the reader to truly understand but the first half was bit hard to pick up. Once I got over the slowness I really enjoyed the second half! I’m not a usual science fiction reader but I was intrigued with what was going to happen to the hybrids. I also really enjoyed the ending and didn’t see the twist coming at all! Overall I’d recommend this to fans of Moreno-Garcias work and will be reading more of her work in the future.

I am now a Silvia Moreno-Garcia fan. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a great atmospheric read. A bit of gothic fantasy. I really enjoyed the read. When one specific thing was revealed about a character, I sat the book down stunned. I should've seen it coming, it was obvious, but I was surprised and loved it. The romance between the MC and the one she SHOULD be with was perfect. I love the things said between them.

Another fantastic book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! An immersive story full of suspense told from dual perspectives that I gave it great pacing. Will be highly recommending SMG as always!

This was a fascinating retelling of the Island of Doctor Moreau set in the Yucatan in the 1800s. Carlota and Montgomery were both fascinating characters and while I remembered the basics of the original story, it was interesting to see how Moreno-Garcia wove in different details and changed the perspective of the original. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

Next to Mexican Gothic this book looks very sub-par. Thats not to say it’s not a decent read, because it is fine. Yet it’s so far away from the quality and faced pace I loved in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s first book I read, Mexican Gothic, that it’s hard not to be disappointed. From the twist being much too obvious (in fairness I knew the basis of it from the original Island of Dr Moreau story; but still…), to the characters being fairly flat (do I really want to read about a useless alcoholic who barely redeems himself by doing (mostly) the bare minimum), to overall poor pacing.

Maybe if you read this without knowing the Island of Dr Moreau it would shock you and you’d be more engaged. But then who doesn’t know the premise of Island of Dr Moreau? Additionally, the introductory pages scream at you that something is wrong; and eventually it becomes so obvious it’s almost painful.

If I had wanted to read a straight up version of Moreau I would have gotten out my beautiful illustrated edition. So I can’t knock that Moreno-Garcia made this story her own in her way. The change of locale to Mexican, the change of timing to during a war, and, of course, the inclusion of Moreau claiming to have a daughter. And for that I do commend her. The ending of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau wraps up beautifully. It didn’t play out quite in the cliche I expected; which was a nice surprise.

Overall, if you don’t know the story of Doctor Moreau I think you will be captured by this. Even with its lull halfway through. If you do know the story of Doctor Moreau and are intrigued this is worth a read. Just maybe be prepared that it’s not as clever as you might have hoped for (especially if you’ve read Mexican Gothic and experienced its retelling magic). Hence, three stars, it’s worth a read; but will not make my top books of the year.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Having finished this book, I’m going to NEED to read everything Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written! I am absolutely blown away by how much I enjoyed this book. This was definitely a slow burn type of read, so I can see how this wouldn’t be for everyone, but this story & these characters just worked themselves under my skin. I really appreciated how unique this was, too—it defies genre, which was so nice for a change. Not to mention, I think this would make an excellent book club selection because there’s a lot that can be unpacked that would make for excellent discussion. Between all of that and the exquisite writing, I’d highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions presented here are my own.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF at 26% for me. While I loved Silvia's previous books, this one didn't do it for me. It didn't draw me in at all, and it was very hard to be focused on it. I completely lost track of what was happening, which made me decide do DNF it. Maybe the audiobook will work better for me.