The only version of The Island of Doctor Moreau that I know is the 1996 movie with Val Kilmer, Marlon Brando, and Fairuza Balk. That being said, I was instantly drawn into wanting to read this book. I am a fan of retellings and this gothic twist to a sci-fi classic had all that makings for something I would love. I had a great time and I got lost in the prose, but I did not love it.

I did love Carlota, our main character, and thought she was an essential element to this version of the Moreau universe. I will say I did love the first 20% or so, but then we have a 6 year time jump and it just pulled me out of the story. The format of the story broke the flow for me and the pacing was just off for me. Aside from the 6 year time jump, each chapter alternates between 2 different characters: Carlota and Montgomery. Sometimes this format works for me, but there was just something about this story where it didn't this time. I struggled with the progression of the plot and I think a lot of it was how detached I felt from this format of storytelling. I really did not care much for Montgomery, his past, or any part of his story. I would have loved an entire story from the POV of Carlota - as the title of the book even suggests a bit.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia does a wonderful job at pulling the reader into the time period with the history, politics, and culture, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough for me to make me fall in love with the book as a whole. The cover is absolutely exquisite and rich with so many colors - I love that so much! I know so many people who will devour this book and probably put it on their Best of 2022 lists, but this book just did not have that impact on me.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia releases July 19th

This retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau from the viewpoint of Carlota gives us a different perspective from which to view the hybrids and the slow train wreck that is their lives. It adds a fresh feminist twist to the original story that is both rich and satisfying. As with some of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's other novels this one isn't high action and although it can feel long-winded at times it absolutely transports you back to nineteen century Mexico. I like the writing style here and the fullness of the characters. I definitely recommend this to fans of Moreau.

This was an incredibly well written and interesting book, it just wasn't the read for me. Every now and then I try to get out of my comfort zone and some experiences are better than others! I think that this book will be loved by many, I'm just the wrong audience.

H. G. Wells Island of Dr. Moreau was one of my favorite books as a girl. The hybrid humans and their crazy creator was fascinating and the 1930's movie with Charles Laughton really captured the spirit of Wells' characters.
Speaking of capturing Mr. Wells spirit, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Daughter of Doctor Moreau does it beautifully! Ms. Moreno-Garcia's new book is a brilliant, evocative take on the classic.
Dr. Moreau's beautiful daughter, Carlota, grows up on the island paradise that is their home and also a compound with a hospital. Her best friends are about her age, Lupe and Cachita. They are hybrids created by the doctor and engaging characters who will win your heart as you fall into the rhythm life in the exotic retreat.
Disruptions to their every day life are caused by Doctor Moreau's patron, Hernando Lizalde. It's his money that keeps the place going and enables the doctor to carry on with his research and "experiments". One day he shows up and brings a new manager, or mayordomo, to oversee Lizalde's property, the doctor and everyone and everything else. The man who will be filling the role is Montgomery.
Montgomery is an alcoholic and a sardonic presence. He's a man who has seen it all and drinks to forget the beautiful, rich wife who left him in the Yucatan, where he could never make the kind of living she expected.
An outsider, he is slowly drawn into life with the doctor and his creations and develops a special soft spot for Carlota.
Told in the alternating voices of Carlota and Montgomery we learn more about them both as time passes and with it possible changes and threats to their idyllic life. What happens will keep you reading until the last page!
I love Ms. Moreno-Garcia's work, having read Mexican Gothic and reviewed it on this blog. I will be looking forward to reading more of her titles. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is one of the best books I've read recently and I was completely involved in the world and the characters the author created. If you are looking for a great book to enjoy this summer...or anytime, look no further!
Thanks to NetGalley for the DRC!

This is the best sort of retelling/reimagining.

It takes a story that was...good, to start out with. The Island of Doctor Moreau is gruesome and disturbing at times, and Wells makes it extremely clear. But anyway. It takes this story and makes it SO MUCH BETTER. As in, lyrical storytelling, lush descriptions of the environment, and a story that, while sticking to the general themes, enhances the tale to something far grander and more important.

Instead of just following Montgomery, this book has the reader joining Moreau's daughter, Carlota as she tends to Moreau's hybrids and grows into adulthood. Carlota obviously wasn't in the original story, but you gain so much by having her here, now. To understand Moreau, you have to understand Carlota.

I think Silvia Moreno-Garcia has such a talent for writing, and this is a reimagining that I think both fans of the original story and just fans of her work will enjoy.

Thank you to Random House for the earc!

I received this ARC free in exchange for an honest review.

This book was slow to start but push through because after a few chapters you become attached and want to binge read it!!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia didn't captivate me as much as I would have liked; Moreno-Garcia's usual vivid imagery and settings are apparent, yet the story didn't hold my attention.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Silvia Moreno-Garcia does it again by bringing us into a magical world where women are allowed to grow and make their own choices! This story was like reading a coming of age story that is part traditional and part otherworldly.
Carlota is a young lady who is grappling with the nuances that come with being a woman and yet society also telling her that she should be obedient like a doll. Like any young girl she is in love with love and doesn't see anything wrong in her life until she meets Eduardo who changes her life forever. She is suddenly faced with the pressures to get married in order to help her father continue doing what he loves in the name of science. Unlike everyone else in her life there is one person who disagrees with this and that is Montgomery. He offers her a different perspective and at times I found him irritating because it felt like he was just someone else telling Carlota how to live her life. Fortunately, Carlota learns to decide for herself what is best for her and out of all the supernatural that she faces, that is where the real magic lies.

I definitely recommend this book and can't wait to get my special Waterstones Edition (it has sprayed edges!!) Also, will provide a more in depth review when this gets published!

*Thank you NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I first started reading this novel, I felt bamboozled by Silvia Moreno-García because I expected something similar to her previous gothic horror novel, Mexican Gothic. I am glad she gave me something different from what I expected!

Moreno-García’s writing is amazing in how she develops and presents her story using vocabulary rarely used by many authors. She was able to transport me to that hacienda in the jungles of the Yucatán through the eyes of all of her characters.

I usually don’t like to compare authors, but Silvia Moreno-García was able mesh the storytelling of of the great Mexican American writer Victor Villaseñor and romantic science fiction of Margaret Atwood in this novel. Moreno-García is the newest and best Mexican, Canadian, Chicana, Latina writer!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book. What are creative novel! I enjoyed the female protagonist and the twists and turns. Very well written.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I may be coming into this was a bit of a disadvantage, having not read the source material that this book was inspired by, but I saw a new Silvia Moreno-Garcia book, and who am I to say no? The premise of the novel is intriguing, this hidden away life surrounded by the lush exoticism of the landscape. Moreno-Garcia consistently constructs beautiful descriptions. I could feel the heat and humidity of it, see the vibrant green as if I were there myself.

There are also many interesting ideas presented in this book, the hybrids being one of them, the development of creatures that are a cross between man and animal and how the experiments of Doctor Moreau developed as he progressed with his research.

The story is told through dual perspectives - Carlota's (the titular character) and Montgomery, and English man hired as the majordomo. Despite the fact that Carlota is the central heroine, I was less interested in her storyline. Something about her, or the way she is written, feels entirely detached from the world around her. She seems a step back, unlike Montgomery, who felt like a man of flesh and blood. Perhaps it was because Carlota's flaws weren't so easy to distinguish, perhaps because she reads like any other raven-haired femme fatale. It was this lack of interest in her sections that slowed the pace of the book for me.

It's an interesting story, and it is very vibrantly told. Moreno-Garcia has a gift with language, I only wish she would flesh out her main character more.

I’ve loved Dr. Moreau since I saw the movie years ago. Dr. Moreau is a scientist living with his daughter and household in a remote part of Mexico. To begin with it all seems very ordinary. They are trying to hire an overseer. Enter Montgomery. He’s a drunk and altogether unhappy, just getting through life day by day. When Montgomery visits, he sees what Dr. Moreau’s life with is all about. Human C animal hybrids.

The story focuses on Carlota, Dr. Moreau’s daughter. She’s gentle and beautiful and wonderfully suited to the life she loves. She loves where she lives and the people she lives there with. But is she more than she seems? Will she find love? She is still a girl/ woman. She dreams. She yearns.

This book was wonderful. I love the realistic tone in a sci fi/fantasy story. The imagining of Dr. Moreau’s daughter is done so well and gives a magical perspective to a story already told. The female point of view is refreshing, because let’s be honest.. we girls think a bit different from the men.
Wonderfully done!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Silvia Moreno-Garcia for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, coming out July 19, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

First of all, I have several books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I love her writing. I learned Spanish, so I have a great love for Spanish culture. I haven’t read the Island of Dr. Moreau, but I know it’s science fiction based. It’s a familiar story that’s been portrayed in movies and other book re-tellings. I’ve listened to the Madman’s Daughter, which is similar.

The main character Carlota Moreau is the only child of Dr. Moreau. She grows up wealthy and secluded in a beautiful hacienda on the Yucatán peninsula. She is an educated woman who experiences some freedoms not afforded to other women.

Dr. Moreau is known as a genius or a madman on the island. He loves his daughter and his experiments. He’s built a life for himself and his daughter.

Montgomery Laughton is an Englishman who becomes the overseer. He helps Dr. Moreau with his experiments. He’s depressed and drinks too much. He forms a bond with Carlota.

The Lizalde family finances Dr. Moreau’s experiments on the hybrids. The hybrids are part human and part animal, designed to obey their master.

The arrival of Eduardo Lizalde causes an upheaval. He is the son of the Lizalde family. He pursues a romance with Carlota, which causes a series of unfortunate events.

The book is told from Carlota and Montgomery’s perspectives. I really enjoyed their perspectives. I was really excited to get into the story. But, to be honest, part two was a little dry for me. It felt like it had a lot of telling what was happening, instead of showing. I also didn’t like Eduardo’s character. I know he was the bad guy, but he creeped me out.

I think things really picked up in part three, which was my favorite part. There wasn’t as much mystery as I thought there would be in the beginning. I think it ended up being more science fiction. Since I’m familiar with the story, there weren’t too many surprises. However, I loved part three! I think it had the most action and was the most interesting. I was hoping for it to be that fast paced throughout the book.

Overall, I loved this book! I loved Montgomery and Carlota as characters. They worked well together. I loved the setting and time period of the novel. I thought it fit perfectly. I think there could’ve been a little more from the perspective of the hybrids. I felt like I didn’t really know who they were or what they were supposed to look like until part three. I couldn’t picture them as clearly. It was a little unclear how other people on the island viewed them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys creature science fiction and gothic novels!

I am a huge fan of H.G. Wells Island of Doctor Moreau and have seen almost all the film adaptations. I’m also a huge fan of Silvia Moreno Garcia. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it delivered.

Carlota Moreau, the main character, grows up in a gothic like fairy-tale in the Yucatán. Her best friend is a hybrid, part human/part large cat, and she assists her brilliant scientist-father in his experiments in vivisection. The story follows her as well as Montgomery, a assistant to Doctor Moreau. I loved both characters and their relationship with each other.

This was so deliciously gothic in a unique way. Typically it’s dark castles and brooding darkness, but this was gothic in the jungle. Bright colors, hot sunshine, sparkling fountains and a cenote. The world building was elegant and immersive.

I will read this again and recommend for anyone who loves gothic horror, beautiful prose and a dash of romance.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was such a good read. I’m a big fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and this one did not disappoint!

This is spin on The Island of Doctor Moreau, and focuses on his daughter, Carlota. Doctor Moreau hires a new overseer for the estate where he practices his experiments, and some years later, the son of his patron stops by for a visit and sets of a chain of reactions that no one could have guessed.

I really enjoyed this story and loved the writing. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a gift for creating such a lush atmosphere that you feel like you're in the story yourself. The characters were so well written and fleshed-out. Having Carlota and Montgomery be our POVs was perfect because they each had such different perspectives on what was happening during the events of the story. I also liked the hybrids and would have loved to have one or two POV chapters from Lupe or Cachito.

The author mentioned on Goodreads that this isn't horror, which I'm glad I saw before starting the book. If I'd went into this thinking it was horror, I'd be highly disappointed. It doesn't seem like the book is being marketed as horror, but the subject matter lends itself to horror. This is more historical sci-fi, which I had never read before but quite enjoyed. The pacing seemed a little slow at some points but overall I really liked this book. I highly recommend it.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia knocks another one outta the park! I've never read The Island of Doctor Moreau, though I'm familiar with the story. This sets the story not on an island, but on the Yucatan peninsula and gives us the historical context of a very real conflict, The Caste War of the last half of the 19th century.
As always, Moreno-Garcia gives us an education while entertaining the hell out of the reader. I will be buying this when it comes out! Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC !
Pub date: July19, 2022

*A full review will be posted to NetGalley, Goodreads, my blog, and Amazon closer to publication!*

The first book I read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia was Gods of Jade and Shadow, followed by Mexican Gothic, both of which I absolutely loved. I have read a few more of her books since then and I was SO excited for The Daughter of Doctor Moreau! The Island of Dr. Moreau is also one of my favorite H.G. Wells classics, so I was even more excited about this one. I'm happy to say that Silvia Moreno-Garcia has done it yet again and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I really loved the atmosphere created in this story that had such a wonderful mix of mystery, intrigue, and a tinge of horror notes mixed in there. This is not the most fast-paced story, but rather has a somewhat inconsistent pacing at times, but it always kept me engaged throughout the entire story. The characters were well-executed and fully developed and I found myself completely immersed in this plot. Overall, a highly recommended read for any fans of the original, historical fiction, or sci-fi!

This book reimagines The Island of Doctor Moreau in 19th century Mexico. Carlota, the titular daughter, grows up in isolation on an estate in Mexico where her father experiments with genetic engineering and making hybrids out of animals. Carlota assists her father by taking care of his lab and the hybrids he creates along with Montgomery, Moreau’s heartbroken, somewhat surly mayordomo. Their situation is tenuous at best as Moreau’s patron, Lizalde, begins putting pressure on him and threatens to stop financing all his experiments if he doesn’t start producing useful workers. Lizalde’s son then enters the picture and begins romancing Carlota and things begin to spiral.

Those that are already fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia will likely enjoy this latest book. The descriptions of the setting and the sense of place in this novel is excellent. I was a little bogged down at how long it took for Carlota to come into her own but the ending was satisfying enough.

This is a modern version of the classic The Island of Dr. Moreau. I wish I had read another Moreno-Garcia book before reading this one. I did not enjoy the story. There wasn't much going on.

Carlota is a young girl growing up in her father's grand estate in the middle of nowhere. All she knows is the nature surrounding her as well as her father, their majordomo and the hybrids his father has created. One day, the son of the man financing her father's research comes to visit. That's when things go sour.

If you love sci-fi, historical fiction set in the 1800s Mexico, you might want to enjoy it. I personally expected more, and the ending could have been more grand.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.