“An interesting family we are, Dr. Moreau’s twisted mistakes.”

Carlota Moreau lives with her father in Yaxaktun, along with 29 hybrids, experimental crosses between humans and different animals. Montgomery Laughton joins them as caretaker and assistant to Dr. Moreau. One day, visitors arrive at Yaxaktun and threaten to disrupt the lives of its inhabitants. Carlota, Montgomery, and the hybrids will have to make difficult choices with potentially deadly outcomes.

The first portion of the novel was a bit bland. It had a moment of intensity, depicting a scene that was shockingly gross, but that didn’t make up for the rest of the drawn out storyline. Many of the scenes were repeated from both Carlota’s and Montgomery’s perspectives without any new groundbreaking revelations. The result was a frustrating and boring first 100 pages. After viewing the absolutely beautiful cover, I expected the story to be just as lush, but the writing fell short for me. The descriptions of the characters, their surroundings, and their movements in the space were written with a very matter-of-fact tone.

About halfway through, things start to get a little more interesting. The drama starts to build and you can feel the tension in the air. I predicted the twist from the very beginning, but I enjoyed seeing how it played out. The romantic scenes were a little too gooey for me but likely reflected the language of the times. I personally could have done without them. For me, the book really redeemed itself in Part Three. I could picture the events in the final 50 pages as scenes in a Western movie. I couldn’t stand Carlota’s meekness for most of the book, but she ended up winning me over in the end. Seeing her transformation was the highlight of the story.

Don’t skip the Afterword, where Moreno-Garcia explains some of the history of the region, which provides context to the story. 3.5 stars.

There's a lot to love about The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, beginning with the signature style that is boldly rendered in this story, and complete with lyrical links back to the original story. A book that builds well upon the classics.

Moreno-Garcia has such a gift for making monsters have humanity that is believable. There points of contention intermixed with science, gender, and political strife.I

I was extremely excited to see how Silvia Moreno-Garcia would approach this well known classic. She did a fantastic job!! She included enough details that anyone who isn't familiar with the original work can still enjoy this book. Absolutely loved the setting and characters.


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Moreno-Garcia has such a gift for making humans out of monsters and vice versa. The way she weaves in questions of science with questions of gender, identity, and race through the political unrest in 1800s Mexico is so impressive and her tenacious heroines never disappoint.

Truly a genre-bending mastermind, SMG does it once again! The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is an evocative and lush story that immediately envelops you. Her writing instantly transports me back to a wilder Mexico, ensconced and lovingly embraced by the jungle, heat, and sun against foreign forces and conquistadors looking to cash in on its riches.

<b>“Women were butterflies to be pinned against a board.” </b>

Within this story there are many layers that echo the similar theme of subjugation. There’s the colonizer layer that is ever present, we’re reminded that Dr. Moreau is French, he is funded by rich Spaniards trying to break Mexico into lining its pockets, and the undercurrent of tensions between them and the rebels and native indigenous people is rampant. It demonstrates a country in flux, on a precipice in history as forces collide.

But there’s also Carlota’s layer, her quiet but growing chafing against her confines, no matter how gilded they are. We see her naïveté transform slowly as she begins to question her world, her father’s true motivations, and how to use the social constructs of the times to her advantage. We see how she comes into her own power and strength to upend the world of men, which was fascinating and satisfying.

I will say, having known the source material for this, I was prepared for more difficult passages on animal experiments. While there is one scene relatively early on that was a bit unsettling, by and large the hybrids are simply characters unto themselves with unique personalities, which I appreciated. While the health and pain of the hybrids is by no means brushed away, it’s not overtly or salaciously described so for fellow animal lovers like me - fear not, you can get through this!

While the main ‘twist’ or reveal felt like a long time coming by the time its revealed, it certainly landed with an impact and was very well executed. I will say the second half did have pockets of pacing issues, but in hindsight I think it did need those moments to provide space for the story. This isn’t about action back to back, but about small and some big moments that define the characters and their paths ahead. Giving this a few days in my head after finishing definitely makes me appreciate this much more. I will say though, Carlota’s stupid naïveté at the end was at odds with how quickly she was scheming and learning while courting Eduardo