Silvia Moreno-Garcia's THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU imagines a different aspect to a classic story, imaging the life and the experiences of a young girl brought up in an isolated, strange, beautiful, and dangerous home. The outside world is as strange and unnatural as the one created by a driven, brilliant man heedless of a young woman coming of age into her own thoughts, feelings, and life. The story was engrossing, fully immersing me in an exotic and strange world, absolutely convincing and enjoyable. I received an early copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Thank you Ballantine, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

QUICK TAKE: A new twist on the classic story by H.G. Wells with a focus on Dr. Moreau's daughter and her unique coming of age on her father's isolated estate and with his obscure research experiments.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has quickly become an auto-buy author for me and this one did not disappoint. It was like a historical fiction, coming of age, sci-fi horror and I was HERE for it.

I kind of wish I was more familiar with the original story of Dr. Moreau prior to reading but the narrative was easy to follow nonetheless. I absolutely loved the characters and their development along with the isolated mad-scientist, almost culty kind of vibes that made up the atmosphere of the story. I also really enjoyed the dual perspectives of Carlota and Montgomery, despite a few chapters being a little repetitive.

I'd definitely recommend this one, especially if you're looking for something different. Fair warning, the end is pretty gory. I will definitely be buying the physical version for my shelves.

FINAL THOUGHTS: 🙌

Another magical historical Mexican mystery from Silvia Moreno-Garcia! This time it’s the secluded Yucatán Peninsula in the 1870s, a backdrop of warring factions, British colonialism and isolated haciendas in the jungle with a fairly mad scientist, his majordomo, and his daughter finally being visited by curious and imperious outsiders.

This is a retelling of H.G. Wells’ 125 year old pioneering science fiction novel, made famous in its time as science was experimenting with the awful practice of “vivisection” and the English were concerned about the degeneration of the human race. Ms. Moreno- Garcia’s book adds a daughter and elements of feminism not in the original (although the themes of class distinctions and castes were there in 1896). The story centers on Carlota, the daughter, and the alcoholic Montgomery, Dr. Moreau’s right hand man. The original novel was more about Edwin, a castaway who discovers the secrets of the Moreau compound, but here we have Edouard, the rich patron’s son, suitor of Carlota, and here an interloper.

If you’ve never read the original or seen any of the terrible adaptations, I won’t reveal what Dr. Moreau is doing in the jungle, but it’s safe to say that what happens in the jungle should stay in the jungle. The narrative is atmospheric — the sense of isolation and danger is palpable. Yet, even without the incursion of strangers we know that Carlota is growing up and Dr. Moreau is growing older and that means something must eventually change, but will it be a good outcome for the inhabitants of the hacienda, or a terrible ending?

I have loved all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia incredible books — horror and magical mystery and now science fiction, and it’s the surrounding history of the time period that makes all of them exotic and unique. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thank you to Random House Publishing/Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Eduardo has the green eyes, which draw Carlota’s attention.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The jungle is lush and the crops grown were typical of 19th century Yucatán.

This is a gothic/historical fiction/science fiction retelling of The Island of Doctor Moreau with a feminist slant... and it is fantastic! I love how Silvia Moreno-Garcia explores different genres. I have adored each book of hers that I have read. This is my fifth SMG book and I think I love this one the most! I love how it is not only an exploration of a different genre with her own characteristic voice, but actually a mash-up of different genres... that still maintains the same voice that I love and that is present in all of her books.

I haven't read The Island of Doctor Moreau, but I think a more creative, diverse, feminist adaptation of it is a positive (especially when considering how awful H.G. Wells was).

Aside from the romantic entanglements feeling creepy (thankfully Silvia Moreno-Garcia resolves those fairly well), this cast of characters is my favorite of any Moreno-Garcia book I've read. This probably has to do with the hybrids, who are incredibly loyal in a pure yet (at times) sardonic way. Even Montgomery and Carlotta grew on me, despite their faults, and I think the titular doctor's fate is what he deserves. I also appreciated the descriptions of the setting, particularly the historic contextualization of what was happening in Mexico at the time. (The author's note at the end of the book is informative in this regard.)

Historical fiction is Moreno-Garcia's specialty, so grab this if you love her other books (or, like me, if you've had mixed feelings about her other books and wanted to see how this one would be).

It doesn't matter what the book is about, if it is a new release by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I WILL READ IT! Her books are brilliant and mesmerizing, and "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" is no exception. I loved this uniquely Mexican spin on the classic H.G. Wells novel. The writing is atmospheric and gorgeous! Ms. Moreno-Garcia has an amazing talent with words; the reader can feel the tense and almost suffocating atmosphere of the "island." The blend of historical events and themes (colonialism and racism) science fiction (Dr. Moreau's experiments), feminism, (Carlota is a vibrant female character), romance, and gothic elements come together to create an enthralling and interesting story. My only regret is that I devoured this book very quickly and now I have to wait ages for the author's next work!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this incredible book, in exchange for my honest review.

Carlota is Dr. Moreau's daughter, and she has been raised in isolation in a rancho on the Yucatan Peninsula. This book covers the time from when Montgomery Laughten arrives to begin the position of majordomo at the ranch. The book is told in alternating chapters from Montgomery's and Carlota's perspectives - a really wonderful choice on Moreno-Garcia's part. As in H.G. Wells's original, Dr. Moreau has created a community of sentient beings by mixing human and animal genetics. In this retelling, his funding is coming from a wealthy Mexican landowner who hopes to use the "hybrids" as forced labor, since the men and women working his land are inconveniently demanding basic human rights like living wages.

As this book progresses, it becomes clear that Dr. Moreau is at the end of his usefulness to his patron. Carlota is drawn into a scheme involving the patron's son, but revelations about the truth of the "patients" living on the rancho as well as the political climate of the time will combine to complicate everything. It all leads up to an incredibly fulfilling denouement.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

· Name of the publication/blog/outlet where your review will be published/posted: Plot Trysts (instagram.com/plottrysts)

· Run date for when the review will be posted/published: July 20, 2022

· A link to your review, if available, so the publisher can share your review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4531373341
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1B5TU733BPTHK/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

A languidly slow burning story, reimagining H.G. Wells' classic in 19th century Mexico. Character-driven and shivering with tension, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau deftly accomplishes what one always hopes retellings of classics will do, breathing fresh life into an old tale, and finding new angles, new approaches, new reasons for this story to be told.

The dual POV aspect of this book didn't quite work for me, as too many of the alternating chapters fully repeat the same scene from the other character's perspective without adding enough to make reading the same moment again worth it. But that's a fairly minor complaint about what I felt was a highly successful retelling and, separate from its source material, an imaginative and absorbing novel, as I always expect from Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Thanks to Del Rey for the advance review copy!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favorite authors and this novel was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I am so happy I got to read it early and will definitely be purchasing a hard copy next week.

I’m giving it 4 stars and I really liked it, but I didn’t quite love it. I’ll talk more about what held me back from a 5 star below. Also for anyone turned off by the horror elements, this book is not spooky or scary.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is about Carlota and her father, Doctor Moreau, who is a Frenchman living in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico in the 1870s. Doctor Moreau, runs a remote facility in the jungle where he creates and researches hybrids. We also get the point of view of Montgomery, an indebted, alcoholic Englishman who comes to work for them as a mayordomo. As Carlota grows up the secrets of her father’s research unravel and change her life.

Having said that this book is about Carlota, I also have to say that it is about so much more, it’s about sexism, racism, classicism, slavery, colonialism, it’s about religious trauma and the ways that the patriarchy and white colonizers oppress those that they think inferior. And I think that’s why I love SMG so much, her stories have a lot of depth and social commentary. As a Mexican woman, I can relate and connect so much of my experience to her criticism and I’m glad she’s writing the untold stories.

The character work in this book is some of the best I’ve read from SMG. Everyone feels so real, and these characters can’t just flip a switch and get over their trauma, even at the end you know they’re still a work in progress. My favorite character was hands down Lupe, a girl that Carlota grows up with. She is practical, smart and doesn’t hold back when something needs to be said and she is definitely not your typical “sidekick”. I also really liked Montgomery, at the beginning I wasn’t sure about him, but I really appreciated his arc. I didn’t dislike Carlota but I found myself frustrated by her, which was probably intentional but I wanted to shake her.

The setting certainly shined. The grand, but worn casona in the middle of the jungle, with walls lined with bugambilias and a beautiful cenote. The descriptions of the heat, the animals and the vegetation made it an ideal immersive summer read. Pacing was great, I was never bored, I looked forward to getting either Carlota’s or Montogomery’s point of view of each event (POV chapters alternate).

The main reason that this wasn’t a 5 star read for me was probably the ending, it fell a little flat for me, I wanted more from Carlota and ultimately there wasn’t that moment of female rage and catharsis that I craved. The book was still very good, it was just missing a little bit to be a full 5-star read for me.

CWs: alcoholism, sexual content, sexism, racism, classicism, slavery, colonialism, religious trauma, hunting animals, gun violence, death, needles, blood, medical abuse, mentions of SA not graphic.

Shaking Up the Island

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a wizard… or just an incredibly gifted writer unrestrained by literary genre. Her most well known novel, “Mexican Gothic,” strikes its note in the horror genre, “Velvet Was the Night” is historic fiction and noir, while “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” has taken the science fiction outline of H. G. Wells’ “The Island of Doctor Moreau” and retools it with a fusion of modern themes.

During the 1870’s in a remote spot in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, Doctor Moreau and his beautiful daughter Carlota run a secret sanitarium. The patients are unusual, creations of the doctor himself, they are part human, part animal hybrids. This operation is funded by a wealthy landowner, Hernando Lizalde, whose primary interest is finding a source of cheap labor. Traditional slavery is gone, the indigenous population is rebellious, and importing Chinese or European labor has become costly. Doctor Moreau’s labor force will be Lizalde’s to own, unconditionally.

The Doctor takes great pride in his early results, fantasizing about accolades awaiting him during a fanciful European tour. He has given the world life forms which have never existed. He also has a controlling power over these hybrids. They are dependent on him for life-sustaining injections containing a formula he keeps secret.

Carlota is the dominant voice of this story. A devoted daughter, she feels herself being pulled apart as she perceives her father’s callousness to the creatures he has produced. It dawns on her that he has been needlessly cruel: “He shaped pain into flesh.” She feels a responsibility to assume control at the same time she is being pressured into a future she has no control over.

The third main character, Montgomery Laughton, is recruited to oversee the operation of the residence, the post of mayordomo. He is a disillusioned wanderer, burned by love and fueled at this point by alcohol. After an initial shock he befriends the hybrids and finds himself adjusting well to his position and the relative anonymity it provides. He is significantly older than Carlota and strong protective feelings emerge– as well as a physical attraction he understands would be doomed by the age difference.

This paradise starts to unravel as Doctor Moreau’s results are not paying off satisfactorily for his investor. Then, as now, the world demands support from the cheapest labor pool. Business demands results. Morality and ethical questions are insignificant when faced with the bottom line.

“The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” is an intoxicating read, transporting us to another time and place in history. The various movie treatments of the H. G. Wells original bring expectations of ridiculous-looking special effect creatures. Here the written word mixes with the imagination to provide stronger images and to enhance the enjoyment rather than spoiling it.

Thank you to the Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for providing the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheDaughterofDoctorMoreau #NetGalley

3.5 stars

I'm always keen to read a new novel from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, because I feel like her works have intriguing, lush settings. On the minus side, though (*cough* Mexican Gothic), I find the pace can be too slow and deliberate before ramping up for the conclusion.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a retelling of The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells, set on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico during the 19th century. Instead of vivisection like the original novel, this Dr. Moreau uses gene splicing to create human/animal hybrids, which fortunately made this novel more historical sci-fi than gory horror. Our two viewpoint characters are Carlota Moreau, the doctor's daughter, and Montgomery Laughton, his British overseer (and his name is definitely a nod to the 1932 film, Island of Lost Souls).

The Good:
--I loved the setting, and Moreno-Garcia's descriptions really made Yaxaktun come alive for me. I also think that placing Dr. Moreau within the historical tensions in 19th century Yucatán added another dimension to the novel that I found interesting (even if a bit underused).

--The Daughter of Doctor Moreau ended in a far more hopeful manner than Wells's original novel, and I appreciated that!

The Meh:
--The pacing, especially of the second part in 1877, felt a bit too slow to me. So much time is spent on Carlota's romance with Eduardo Lizalde, and it's all bad feelings and lingering unease but not much action. It probably didn't help either that I guessed the twist at the end of Part Two pretty early on. The pace in Part Three picked up exponentially, but at that point you're over two-thirds of the way through the novel.

--I wish more time had been spent on/with the hybrids, because other than Lupe and Cachito they remained a vague group, and even after finishing the book I couldn't have named or described most of them. And even though we spent more time with Carlota's childhood companions, I didn't have much grasp on their character motivations, especially Lupe. In the end, they weren't as fully developed as I would have liked.

In Short:
I enjoyed visiting the world Moreno-Garcia created here, the descriptions were lush and immersive, but I wish the pacing had been a little tighter and fast-paced.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for my review.

The story takes place in the Yucatán of Mexico, during the gothic period when the Mayan population conflicts with the Mexican descendants of Spain. The story surrounds the Daughter Carlotta, who is raised to listen to her fathers word. She grows up isolated and has friends who are part animal/human and created by her father. Makes for bazaar interaction between them all. The beings are referred to as hybrids. However, they all have major deficiencies in development.

There is another character Montgomery Laughton, who works as an aid to the Dr and takes care of the hybrids. He had a difficult life and is broke and is an alcoholic. He has feelings for Carlotta which I didn’t think fit the story.

The doctor is supported by the Lizaldes who provide research funding for the doctor. The premise is that he is creating beings to work on the plantations which Lizaldes owns.

The story takes a turn when Eduardo, Lizaldes son desires Carlotta and the Lizdales decide to pull the money for the experiment because of frustration with no results!

The book takes a page turning episode at the end.

For me the book was ok. I do not really read science fiction so I guess this was a good example of one. I didn’t relate to any of the characters" But, are you expected to if it’s science fiction?

It’s worth a. Look for a fast fun read if you read sci fi..

3.5 stars, **not a horror**

I loved Carlota, the beautiful, fierce, ethereal and naïve daughter of Doctor Moreau. I also loved Montgomery, Doctor Moreau's troubled majordomo - a man with a "sickness of the soul." I loved the play on HG Well's oft-retold premise.

I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit of a slow read for me. For a good portion of the book, the plot languishes almost as if it's an organic part of Yaxaktun (the setting of the novel). It takes a while for the story to kick off, but boy when it does it's GOOD.

This review was posted on my blog on July 18, 2022 at https://www.thecuecard.com/books/doctor-moreaus-return/

I’m excited that Tuesday is the pub date of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s new novel The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. I was able to snag an early review copy and quite enjoyed it.

It’s about Carlota, age 20, who lives with her beloved father, a doctor/scientist, on a farm in the outback of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula in 1877. Carlota had been saved by her father Dr. Moreau when she was young of a serious malady and now he experiments on creating hybrid creatures that are part animal and part human. So far though he has not perfected their full health or longevity. Still the hybrids live on their property and are Carlota’s best friends, especially since she’s grown up so isolated and without knowing her deceased mother. Yet Dr. Moreau’s benefactor is growing impatient waiting for better results from the doctor’s lab so he can use the hybrids as workers on his land.

It’s a mysterious plot that lured me from the start, especially with Dr. Moreau’s hiring of a 29-year-old British property caretaker named Montgomery, who seems quite taken by Carlota and drowns his past sorrows in alcohol. Fast-forward six years and life on the farm takes a turn when the benefactor’s son Eduardo falls for Carlota and the unpleased benefactor pulls the farm’s funding and plans to take what he thinks is his. The consequences set off a reckoning that will change everything.

I found the novel a fun summer read and a page-turner, which is based loosely on the H.G. Wells classic The Island of Doctor Moreau, published in 1896. There’s been a couple of movies made of it, notably the one I recall from 1977 had actor Michael York playing a shipwrecked survivor who comes upon a remote island where a mad scientist is carrying out sinister experiments on the island’s inhabitants. It was scary for me then and I think I only watched glimpses of it.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau takes a different tack than the original, re-imaging the story all quite creatively and plausibly on the Yucatan peninsula in 19th-century Mexico. I liked the daughter Carlota’s perspective who seems to find out things about her father’s secrets, lies, and obsessive scientific creations along the way that ruptures her world. Montgomery, too, is an enticing character, who alternates chapters with Carlota and takes up the hybrids’ cause.

This is my first read of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books and I was impressed by her writing and historical details of the times. I’d like to read more of her work. Have you read her novels: Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night? This latest novel could be my pick of the summer. It has the allure of being a bit eerie, mysterious, and something you can’t stay away from till you find out what happens. Check it out if it sounds like something for you.

I love retellings. It’s like reading your favorite book again and again and it’s always different. I really enjoyed The Daughter of Doctor Moreau! I was hooked from the very first chapter. The author has a way with words that catches and keeps your attention. Very unique take on a great story!

There’s so much about this retelling of The Island of Doctor Moreau that I would have expected not to like, and yet I found it completely mesmerizing, couldn’t put it down, and can’t stop thinking about it. I often have that reaction to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novels, and I wish I could understand how she works that magic.

I like how the author incorporates criticism of racism, classism, sexism, the eugenics movement, and Mexico’s history into this fantasy set in 1870s Yucatán. I love the author’s writing style. Although it gets off to a slow start, the story grabbed my attention and would not let go.

I think the author has a very good grasp of human nature. She tells her story in chapters alternating between the perspectives of our titular character Carlota Moreau, and the doctor’s majordomo, Montgomery Laughton. Her characters often make choices I found frustrating, yet I could understand why they acted as they did, and I was always rooting for Carlota and Montgomery. Moreau’s hybrids are also interesting, sympathetic characters.

Note that the book contains violence, death, occasional swearing, and premarital sex. Although this isn’t the sort of gentle, happy story I tend to favor, I found the ending satisfying.

Thanks to Del Rey for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a quick read that focuses on the fictional daughter of the titular doctor.

Carlota Moreau is the obedient daughter who is devoted to her father. She has grown up with the hybrids that her father creates and considers them family. When financial circumstances force some decisions, Carlota is mostly concerned with the well-being and care for the hybrids.

While I have never read the book “The Island of Doctor Moreau” I found this to be an engaging and interesting story. Set in the Yucatan, the story utilizes historical events that were occurring in the area at the time. This also adds to the story and makes it more engaging.

Overall, the story is about a young woman who must learn who she really is and make some difficult decisions along the way.

My introduction to the Mexican-centered fantasy of Silvia Moreno-Garcia was her re-telling of the Cinderella story, Gods of Jade and Shadow. Now she offers a fresh interpretation of H. G. Wells’s classic novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau. Instead of retreating to a hidden island to perform his experiments, this Dr. Moreau seeks the relative solitude of the Yucatán jungles, on an estate owned by a wealthy man in search of cheap, malleable plantation laborers. Under the pretense of developing such workers, Dr. Moreau creates human-animal hybrids from various animals. They are, alas, less than functional, with rapid aging, joint problems, and other issues. Only his beautiful, meek, and secretly rebellious daughter, Carlota, is perfectly human. Dr. Moreau needs a majordomo to run the estate and care for the infirm hybrids, so he hires Montgomery Laughton, a drifter heavily in debt and drowning a broken marriage in drink. Isolated and surrounded by lush forest and fascinating creatures, Montgomery begins to slowly form a friendship with Carlota, and to heal.

When the landowner’s charming and egotistical son arrives at the estate, he is instantly smitten with Carlota, thereby setting into motional a cataclysmic chain of events.

Like other of Moreno-Garcia’s adventures, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is strongly character-driven. Maturation and healing are the twin lenses that focus the action, which begins slowly in the near-static serenity of the estate and builds to a breathless climax. At first, I found Carlota childish, especially her constant verbal sparring with her two closest hybrid friends. Her flirtation with the landowner’s son struck me as dangerously naïve. As the story went on, however, I noticed the parallels between her increasing understanding of the world at large and of herself. Her capacity for acceptance—of her friends, of her father, of Montgomery with his tortured past, and of her own true nature—emerges as the moral and emotional center of the book.

I haven’t read everything by this author. Some of her books are not in a genre I care for but literally everything I have read by her has been of the highest quality. It’s been many years since I read The Island of Doctor Moreau but from what I remember of the original story this is an excellent retelling. Carlota is a sheltered girl, and perhaps more faithful to the man she thinks her natural father than he deserves. I don’t know whether to praise the interesting twist on the story of giving Dr Moreau a daughter or the excellent work in making the story fit the time period more highly but either way this is an excellent book. If this book doesn’t quite sound right to your taste I’d suggest reading the discriptions of her other books and choosing the one that sounded best to you. Everything I’ve read by her has been so good and so different from her other books that I think almost any reader could find something by her they’d enjoy greatly.

I love the way Moreno-Garcia writes, and this book was no exception. Her prose is always so atmospheric and makes it easy to get lost in the worlds and characters she creates. I loved the historical setting of this story, and I really appreciated the note at the end that summarized the major conflicts of this period of Mexican history. Despite the rather limited backdrop of the story itself (it takes place largely in one isolated ranch), it felt infused with life, culture, and history, which is a true testament to the author's skill at weaving an engaging narrative. Additionally, the science fiction elements of the story were fascinating and proposed interesting questions about personhood and the ethics of genetic manipulation. My favorite thing about Moreno-Garcia's writing here and in previous books, though, is the depth of the characterizations. Carlota was the subject of a riveting coming-of-age story about developing her own agency in a time and culture that treated her largely like an object. Montgomery, on the other hand, was struggling to deal with his past and self-loathing after being abused in his childhood and abandoned by the love of his life. Both characters were compelling, and they had excellent chemistry together.

There were only a couple of things I didn't like about the book, and they were mostly due to personal preferences rather than actual problems with story execution. For example, Montgomery's pining for Carlota felt weird to me due to the age gap and him having watched her grow up for six years. I understand that it was normal in the time period of the book's setting, and it wasn't written in a creepy way. However, I just couldn't get past the idea that it would be the equivalent of me pining after a college student I'd known since they were in middle school. I also don't particularly care for the narrative choice of re-visiting the same scenes from multiple POVs, especially when the previous POV ended on an impactful moment. This book did it multiple times, and while it wasn't done poorly and added some extra context, I still found it annoying at times.

Overall, though, this was a very enjoyable read with compelling characters, rich prose, and fascinating historical and science fiction elements. Therefore, I rate The Daughter of Doctor Moreau 4 out of 5 stars.