The Daughter of Doctor Moreau draws inspiration from the H.G. Wells novel. It follows the story of Carlota the daughter of the doctor who makes all the hybrids and what happens when outsiders decide to invade their paradise.

Moreno-Garcia does not fail to disappoint. This book was a bit of a slow burn. Unlike other books of hers that I have read we get to the supernatural twist right away. But then it felt like "ok but what's the mystery or plot". You get to that, but not until what it feels like is halfway through the book. Mostly this follows the story of Carlota the titular daughter and her growth and journey in discovering who she is and her transformation from innocent child to adult.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I Love Silvia Moreno-Garcia with her gothic stories. The setting this book take place is my first time reading. It is a slow burn. Check TW.

This definitely gave me Frankenstein vibes and I was all here for it! This was just as good, if not better, than Mexican Gothic.

Mexican Gothic has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time and when I saw I had the opportunity to read this one I thought I would give it a shot.

This is a book that was inspired by the classic The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. Carlota Moreau, the daughter of Doctor Moreau has an unusual relationship with her father, Doctor Moreau. When he starts to struggle financially there is a chance his financial pain will go away but only if Carlota marries the wealthy son.

I have to admit, this book really dragged for me. I felt that the characters were boring and that the plot wasn't much better. I hate to leave a bad review and maybe this one just wasn't for me.

The HG Wells classic The Island of Doctor Moreau explored the dangers of unexamined science. Author Silvinia Moreno Garcia takes a turn retelling this classic tale in her new book. Jumping off the events in Wells' novel, Dr. Moreau's funders have decided to pay a visit, threatening to upend a delicate balance between scientists and their creations.

This fun twist gave a more human aspect that builds on the original story. Attempting to splice genes of animals with humans in order to cure disease Dr. Moreau has not found success. The funders are hungry for results, and he must protect his daughter and his creations. A young Englishman helps maintain order while the daughter helps manage the house and look after these creations. The son of the funders becomes infatuated with the daughter. They threaten to come back with violence when he doesn't get his way. They must find a way to defeat these forces with the help of rebels and their wits.

I enjoyed the reversal of perspectives in this narrative. The original gives hints of Heart of Darkness. A fear of non-white people overtaking the world. In this version, it is nature that most be protected from clumsy imperialists. I enjoyed this so much more than the original. It breathed new life into a dark origin story.

One thing you need to know about me: I hate magical realism in literatyre and anything that vaguely resembles or gives off magical realism vibes. It’s just not my cup of tea. While The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was pitched as historical science fiction, and it definitely was that, it felt too close to some of the magical realism novels I have read. Had I known it, I surely wouldn’t have requested it, because I now stir clear from the genre, as it’s not for me.
Genre mix aside, I found this to be extremely boring; for the most part, nothing really happened, and when something did happen it felt either disconnected or predictable or even absurd, because why would someone say or do certain things, even in the 1800s?
I didn’t like any of the characters. The female protagonist had the same personality as a loaf of unsalted bread, and the male lead was honestly cringe and creepy. I did not care for any of the others, especially since none of them felt like they had a personality and I could not tell them apart. If you ask me what their names were and what they were like, I’d not know.
And don’t let me started on the “relationships”… I understand they were supposed to portray a certain kind of dynamics between different characters, but in my opinion it was poorly done and felt like lazy writing. I rather they were not there at all, to be honest.
For some reason, I also expected the writing style to be something more. I heard Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing described as lush, beautiful and all the good adjectives you can come up with. I was left a bit underwhelmed. I am not saying it was bad, just not as good as I was lead to believe, there weren’t any memorable passages for me and it was forgettable.
Overall, I was disappointed. There are so many things you could do when writing a retelling of The Island of Doctor Moreau; I do not think that setting the story in Mexico is enough to make the reimagining worth reading. At the same time, the historical background was the only interesting thing for me, and I wish we had gotten to see a bit more of it.
What annoyed me the most, as it’s often the case, is that the potential was there, it just was not exploited as it should have, and the pitch turned out better than the actual book. I don’t even know who to recommend this to, maybe to magical realism fans. If you enjoyed The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina or The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, this may be for you.
I am now debating whether I should read Mexican Gothic or not, since I disliked this book this much. On the one hand, it’s a completely different story and genre and a friend of mine whom I kinda trust really liked it, on the other hand I fear yet another disappointment. As usual, I am asking you to please let me know, if you’ve read both the novels in question.

Inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, Moreno-Garcia instead sets her reimagining of the well-known story in 19th Century Mexico, using the very real historical conflict of The Yucatan Caste War, between the Maya people and the Mexican government, as a backdrop to explore the political ramifications of the hybrids' "otherness". That said, you do not need to be familiar with Wells' original book, or even the historical inspiration, to enjoy this novel.

While I did ultimately enjoy this novel, the biggest challenge while reading it is that it starts a little slowly. That might lose some readers early on, but that setup is important—making you think at every turn by asking heavy questions about science, religion, colonialism, resistance, colorism, and the agency of women—leading to an action-packed second half.

I've read a number of Moreno-Garcia's novels and while this one is not my favorite, it is inarguably well-written with an engaging plot and solid characters. I just didn't connect with it as much as some of her other works.

If you're a fan of reimagined classics, I'd say this is definitely one of the better ones.

Thanks to Random House Publishing, Del Rey Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF after 15% -- I was excited to see this world again but this was more of a fiction with scifi/horror sprinkles and I'm not interested in that.

Book Review of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Moreno-Garcia sweeps readers into a world of dazzling and horrific scientific experiments in her retelling of H.G. Well’s The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Set against historical Yucatán during a time of conflict and upheaval in 19th century Mexico, the author takes the bones of the original and layers and cuts bits and pieces of Gothic tones, strange sciences and mixes themes of colonialism, exploitation and morality.

Although, I admired what the author was trying to do, sometimes I felt there was too much for the characters to unpack in the story during the time given, and I ended up feeling somewhat disconnected.

Part of the allure and horror of the original story falls into the discovery of Doctor Moreau’s experiments, the strange animals.

Told through the eyes of Doctor Moreau’s daughter, Carlota, readers become aware of just how far reaching her father’s experiments have gone.

The conflict between the hybrids humanism and their innate animal selves is ever present.

This was by far my favorite part of the story. The pain, beauty, and conflict was deftly-woven.

There is a touch of romance, but I believe what Moreno-Garcia would like readers to focus on is Carlota’s lack of autonomy, much like her father’s hybrids and the upheaval and revolt each threatens.

Packed with relevant themes and infused with science fiction horror, I would recommend this to fans of Moreno-Garcia and the genre.

Absolutely stunning book. Lush descriptions, complex characters you deeply care about, and a gorgeous setting in the interior of the Yucatán, which I’ve been lucky enough to visit recently. Like her other books, this novel is a fascinating character study combined with an intriguing, twisty plot.

I'm a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing, and this book is another example of how her descriptions of the settings and characters truly paint a perfect picture in my mind. A creative way of retelling "The Island of Dr. Moreau", Moreno-Garcia beautifully blends the sci-fi an horror aspects of the story with historic events of the time occurring on the Yucatan Peninsula. Fans of gothic horror, science fiction, the original "Island of Dr. Moreau, and feminist retellings will enjoy this novel.

I have a love hate relationship with my good sis Silvia. I had high hopes for this because I loveee the Island of Dr Moreau. But this…just wasn’t it for me. I’m not a fan of pretty writing and no plot and that’s exactly what this was. Also, the pacing with this was one was totally off and it caused me to dread picking this back up.

Another hit from Sylvia Garcia Moreno. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and pacing of this one, and this author is quickly becoming autobuy for me. It also helps that it has great cover art!

I really love this authors writing and ideas, but the execution tends to feel a little lackluster for me, leaving me wanting a little more depth! I do love the evocative writing though, and since I’m a fan of any retelling, I still enjoyed this overall.

This is a great book. Excellent world building. A blend of sci-fi and historical fiction. It’s so well written. This is my first book from Silvia and I’m looking forward to grabbing all her books.

**Many thanks to Del Rey/Random House/Penguin Random House LLC and Netgalley for an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book**

First Read- Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Hm... This book is a bit of a headscratcher for me. While there are some things I really, REALLY loved about it, there were an equal number of things that had me stumped.

BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY

1. The scenery descriptions of Mexico were bar none, some of the most beautiful I have ever read. Ms. Moreno-Garcia's reputation for description preceded her, and she nailed it. I loved to chew on every bit of beauty that she brought to the page. Stunning!

2. Male toxicity, and bad patriarchy. Carlota is an object of beauty all the way through, and the key word here is OBJECT. How others perceived her was perfectly done for the 1800's. And, it's also sad to see that so much has not changed.

3. Montgomery. Oh, Montgomery. Apart from Lupe, you were my favorite character of the bunch, you sad, strange little man. I was rooting for you. I was.

WHAT SLIPPED THROUGH THE CLAWS

1. Carlota. I had a really, really hard time with her. On one hand, she seemed really assertive, but then on the other, meek and bland. She flipped, then flipped again, then flipped again, to a point where it happened multiple times within pages of each other, and I could never get a good read on her character. I also feel like there was more potential to her character that was not explored, or explored too late.

2. The pacing and theme. For me, this book took me two weeks to finish, which is very strange. I have a feeling that this was maybe due to the fact that I did not connect with Carlota's character. Though I appreciate and respect her culture, her attitudes towards faith, and that side of her, I was not invested in her character as I should have been. That made the book seem longer. Also, as I understood it, this was marketed as a horror-adjacent or gothic book, but I never had that feeling.

3. Utilizing the hybrids. For a book loosely based on the Island of Doctor Moreau, one of the key parts to that book was pretty much sidelined, and only brought out a few times for mostly shock value. I was disappointed.

VERDICT
This book was an interesting read, but not for me. My expectations were high and it did not meet those expectations. However, this book does not put me off to any more books that Ms. Moreno-Garcia has written. I will still give her other books a try.

Sadly, this is one I just couldn't get invested in. Moreno-Garcia's books are either a loved or disliked book for me it seems. I do think this is a has target audience that would love it.

I'm a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing, Mexican Gothic and The Beautiful Ones, in particular. If you are also a fan of these works and are enticed by the idea of transformation horror and historical science fiction, then I believe this book will also appeal to you. I enjoyed the complexities held by the main character and the place she holds in this world of her father's making. I got from this book what I most hope to see from BIPOC storytellers crafting stories set in similar time periods - an unflinching critique of colonialism and how it makes liars out of oppressors and their agents alike.

The way that Moreno-Garcia was able to accomplish this with her signature writing style and understanding of human nature makes this a book I'm happy to have as part of my collection. I look forward to picking it up again.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of this title. I enjoyed reading this title. Would recommend for my library.