This is a sci-fi in the vein of Frankenstein - set in the same rough time frame and with the same human experiments elements that make Frankenstein sci-fi rather than fantasy. It is never described as magic, just science perverted.

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is, apparently, a retelling of a book by H. G. Wells called THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU. I hadn't heard of that book before, and I didn't want to google the synopsis in case it spoiled things, so I'm just going to take it as read that it was a retelling. Some moments might mean more to readers familiar with the book inspiring it, as there might be particularly clever references etc.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this story. I think my main issue was that the book would often have a chapter recount a set of events from one perspective (it's a dual POV book from Carlota and Montgomery's perspectives), and then retell that event in the next chapter from the other's perspective. Not only did this feel very repetitive, but it was also really hard to keep track of what was happening.

The chapter that retold the events from another perspective would start <em>before</em> the previous chapter, showing the lead up. But it wouldn't signal it was back in the past, so it felt like it was continuing chronologically, and then the event we'd already seen would happen again and I was left trying to reconfigure the timeline in my head. This probably happened every third chapter.

This book is a reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico. A good story like this needs a quiet afternoon, a sofa and a warm blanket. Moving and heartfelt! Enjoy!

This is the second book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that I've read, and I'll be looking forward to read more by her.
The sad thing with reading an ARC PDF on the netgalley app on my phone is that I don't get to enjoy the beautiful cover, but the story made up for it :)
I enjoyed the setting and lush, vivid descriptions with historical facts, the two narrations/POVs, the overall plot- inspired by the Island of Doctor Moreau, and the commentary about ethics, colonisation and exploitation. There were not a lot of details about the doctor's process, probably an early version of genetic engineering, but enough discussions and mystery around it to give a sense of secret, visionary research.
I think I failed to fully connect with a few main characters, I wished Ramona was more fleshed out for example, but I felt like Carlota was vividly portrayed, enjoyed reading Montgomery's backstory and both were interesting to follow.

I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

*** 2.5 stars ***

To say that I was excited to get “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau” would be a understatement. I’ve never read the original “The Island of Doctor Moreau”, but I was somewhat familiar with the idea (thanks to a once favourite show of mine, Orphan Black), so I thought this would be fresh, maybe spooky spin on the old story. Additionally, while I haven’t read “Mexican Gothic” yet, I have seen enough praise for it that I was looking forward to reading that one, too, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work in general.

From the start, the book went in an unexpected, for me, direction: the story focuses on Carlota Moreau, the daughter of the quirky Doctor Moreau, who’s fled France and is living in the jungles in Yucatan with his daughter and his “hybrids”, the creatures he creates as a mix between human and animal. Carlota lives a secluded life away from people, her only friends being the house maid and two young hybrids of age similar to hers. Because of her isolation, Carlota instead leads a life of books and dreams, and also develops her skills and knowledge of science while helping her father take care of the hybrids. Later on, a sulky majordomo is brought – an Englishman called Montgomery Laughton – who, despite his love for the bottle, also takes good care of the hacienda where Carlota and her father live. As Carlota grows older and more beautiful, their quiet way of life in the jungle might be at an end.

In theory, the book sounds fabulous. A dash of science fiction, the potential of a forbidden romance, maybe a little bit of horror, with the introduction of the hybrids…

The problem is… nothing all that much happens really. Due to the lack of major events, smaller ones are blown out of proportion, the book contains not a small amount of petty arguments between people who essentially love and care for each other, but each time there’s this atmosphere of an almost-disaster and drama, that doesn’t truly deliver, when the reader is sure that the characters won’t really hurt each other in any way. There was the feeling, as well, for me, that since the daughter of Doctor Moreau is the main character, there should have been maybe more focus on her empowerment, but aside from the very end, I would not say that Carlota had much to do or say that was of any consequence for where the story went, for the most part. In fact, the truly world-changing events happened despite her best wishes and efforts, at least as she expressed and thought them at the time of the events.

The other thing that bothered me a bit was the fact that the hybrids were not well fleshed out, aside from Lupe only, not even Cachito, I didn’t feel like any of them had much personality. I wanted to root for them and their humanity, but I didn’t feel like I was actually shown enough to see the said humanity.

I absolutely loved Gods of Jade and Shadow, and now am really excited to keep reading the rest of Moreno-Garcia's work.

This was very different to Gods of Jade and Shadow, and as fantastical historical fiction does differ slightly from my usual reads, but I still really enjoyed it. Part 1 I wasn't sure where it was going to go, but the plot's pace swiftly picked up as the book progressed. There were some good twists, and the characterisation was strong.

I'd definitely recommend being familiar with The Island of Dr Moreau before reading this too!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars

I’m a huge fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, this is the fifth book of hers I’ve read and the first one I didn’t enjoy. The writing about the atmosphere and the time the book is set in is interesting. Everything else was pretty lacklustre felt kind of, for lack of a better word, dry (especially Montgomery’s point of view chapters which I didn’t enjoy at all). For a relatively short book, the pacing dragged and the characterisation wasn’t especially strong.

I think I expected this to be mostly horror focused so was taken aback by how much focused on the various romantic feelings going on. Horror and romance don’t have to be mutually exclusive, of course, but in this book it wasn’t balanced well.

Moreno-Garcia continues to be a must buy other for me, but The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was not for me.

Is there a genre that Silvia Moreno-Garcia can't write?? Apparently not!

Another absolute cracker of a story that had me hooked the whole way through with its superb writing, lush setting and complex characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm beginning to sense a trend with Moreno-Garcia's books. I see the synopsis and think, "OMG, this is going to be the best thing ever!!!" and then fall in love with this absolutely breath-taking covers. But when I read them I often feel like I'm missing something? Maybe my expectations were just too high, but I had the exact same experience with "Mexican Gothic".

I really did love the beginning. It was so stunning to be back on Doctor Moreau's island (only this time re-imagined set to a backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico, which in itself is brilliant as it gives a much-needed change of scenery) and see Carlota's childhood. And to have Part 1 culminate in such a stunning way? Brilliant! I was so excited because I hoped the rest would be equally fast-paced. But sadly, I found part 2 a little dragging. It describes Carlota's teenage years, we see her beginning to question everything she has ever know and loved. But. It could have been much shorter for me. And again, after a stunning conclusion (if a bit obvious, but still, the way it was revealed was amazing), I practically raced through part 3 to see how it would end. I feel the pacing could have been a bit tighter in part 2, as it would have made it even more exciting for me personally.

The biggest problem I had was that it just didn't quite live up to Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau", which I found much creepier and terrifying somehow. I do love how she brings her stories to new and exciting backdrops, and I love reading about the history of a country I honestly don't know much about. But I felt like it could have been used even more, especially when it came to the rebels.

Maybe it was also that I didn't really connect with the characters. I can barely remember anything about them, which is not a good sign. I feel like they lacked depth for the most part (and the ones I did love didn't get enough time to shine for me), and that also kept me from fully losing myself in the story.

All in all, I did like the setting of this book. Hands-down the best thing about this book. The atmosphere was beautiful (if not creepy enough for me personally), and with a few tweaks to the pacing in the middle, I would have really loved this. But as it is, it just, unfortunately, fell a little flat for me.

I've read and enjoyed books by this writer before, so this seemed like a good bet as an ARC request. To be perfectly honest, the first part of the book left me a bit cold and felt very underplayed, as it introduced a number of characters (including one of our protagonists, Laughton) and left others somewhat thinly sketched. The setting itself seemed more solid than the characters within it.

The basic premise of the book is that the eponymous Dr Moreau has ended up in rural Mexico, plying his trade as he attempts to make successful animal-human hybrids - we find out later in the book that the man bankrolling this considers the results his property, potential workers to replace the uncooperative native population (partly in revolt at that time against colonial forces) or workers brought in from elsewhere. Moreau himself is significantly more of a tinkerer, and by the time the later parts of the book happen and more is revealed about the outcomes of his work, the true range (and inhumanity) of his work becomes more and more clear.

The storyline covers a period of 6 years, from the arrival of Laughton to act as Moreau's major domo through to the appearance of two young men, one of them the son of Moreau's landlord and employer. This unsettles everything, as results have been lacking and Moreau plans partly to use his daughter to try and stabilise the situation. There's a not massively subtle underpinning here of 'who are the real monsters?' as Moreau's creations prove themselves more human than both the doctor himself and the incomers.

All in all, I enjoyed reading The Daughter of Doctor Moreau even if the title itself is a bit of a bait and switch, since we end up knowing much more about the interiority of Laughton than we do of Carlota, partly because her lack of experience of the outside world leaves her a little two-dimensional. The setting itself remains partly the star of the book, to be honest, as well as the overall world-building.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

I confess I have never been much of a fan of The Island of Doctor Moreau. However, I also never pass up any new releases from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, so I decided to give this re-imagining of the tale a try, and it actually worked incredibly well. The story was transported from an island to Mexico and given a feminist slant. All the characters were compelling and well crafted, with the narration shared between Carlota and Laughton. The plot was intriguing and perfectly paced, and I was always keen to turn the page to see what would happen next. The ending, too, was satisfying overall. It's hard to know how to classify the book (as is the case with several of this author's works) as it straddles a few genres, but the closest I can say would be 'historical fantasy-horror', so if that sounds like your sort of thing, I recommend giving it a read. It gets 4.5 stars from me.

(This review will go live on my blog, Goodreads and across social media on 5 July 2022, as per your preference to hold reviews until at least 3 weeks prior to release date. The links below will be active at that time.)

This book was a homage to the original book but provides more depth in the portrayal of the lush intoxicating setting. It becomes oppressive and strange but rarely gory and horrific. I have not read this eminent authors works before but intend to seek them out now. A strange read (as expected) but ultimately satisfying.

I was very excited to read this book however it didn't click for me... I reached the 30% mark and I still didn't know the main premise of the book and I actually didn't care for any of the characters. With so many books in my TBR, I decided to pass on this one but I'm sure that the book will be enjoyable to many people.

This book was really not what I was expecting - I feel like I say that a lot, maybe Im just not great at judging what a book is going to be like.

The first thing that hits you when you open the pages of this book is the deep and wild scent of the jungle. The dense humidity, the salty air of the cenote, the sheltered heaven of Yucatan. I don’t think I have ever been so full body slapped by the atmosphere from a book before.

Silvia Moreno - Garcia was so on ball with this one. It sort of lulls you in the first half. Slightly knowing the original story this was based on it was so not what I was expecting. But in the second half you are hit with the full world drama we normally know from Moreno-Garcia.

There is so much history in this book. It’s set in such a precarious time. After the original Spanish conquest but just at the beginning of trade colonisation from Europe. The rainforest was vast - a lot bigger than it is today. The Maya still had a foot hold in the dark canopy.

Carlota loves her home, her friends and above all else the land. She lives in a dreamy world of reading, learning, swimming and play - she is wild and free. She lives this sort of dream - until she is forced to awaken, and awaken the part of herself she has hidden deep.

What a fantastic book! I loved Mexican Gothic - had high hopes for this one - and loved it too! Silvia is such a brilliant writer and it was a pleasure to read The Daughter of Dr Moreau from start to finish.

Unbelievably immersive and atmospheric, a plot that was unique and kept me guessing, great characters, an interesting historical backdrop - even the romance was 10 out of 10! It’s one of those books that’s as close to perfect as it gets for me, in a category of its own, a real journey that takes you away from reality and that you don’t want to end.

Side note: At first I was worried about any animal cruelty storylines but she skilfully avoided anything upsetting or unnecessary.

Can’t praise this book high enough and cannot wait for her next!

I will preface this by saying I'm a huge Silvia Moreno Garcia fan, and The Beautiful Ones is one of my favourite books this year.

But this book was a let down, extremely repetitive and a bit predictable. The characters didn't have much life to them, so I never really got emotionally attached. And the relationships between characters never became fleshed out enough to be believable, I would have like to see more of the unstable relationship between the doctor and his daughter.

I'll always pick up one of Silvia Moreno Garcia's book but this one wasn't for me.

In Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s book, Dr. Moreau has a daughter named Carlota that he has raised in his own cult-like environment, teaching her that she is to be meek, gentle, and obedient: just like his hybrids.
She is the most precious of his possessions because her beauty can be used in his quest for further funding for his experiments. - creating more "monstrous" hybrids of humans and animals.

This is a deep, dark and complex novel that is filled with horror, romance, coming-of-age, and prejudice. Who exactly are the real monsters?

Definitely recommend this book.

I'm a huge fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work, and this read a lot like a mix between Mexican Gothic and Untamed Shore. It has her trademark blending of history and the fantastical, with the languidity of the writing and setting underlining the sudden forays into brutality.

I'm afraid I've never read the original Island of Dr Moreau, but I really enjoyed how Moreno-Garcia used the the conceit of animal-human hybrids to explore themes of humanity, colonialism and place- does Carlota Moreau belong with the hybrids, and in what sense is she her father's daughter? And how much, ultimately, does she want to be? It was especially gratifying to see hybrid characters Lupe and Chachito really come into their own in the second half of the book- Lupe in particular is a great foil to Carlota and a wonderfully prickly character in her own right.

Thoroughly absorbing, a strong sense of place, and with a plot that gripped me and wouldn't let go. In other words, classic Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This is a retelling of The Island of Doctor Moreau.

I really did enjoy this! The story telling was spectacular from Moreno-Garcia and I was invested throughout. I would happily pick up another read by Moreno-Garcia as this was a brilliant book by her.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a historical novel with sci-fi elements woven into it. The story revolves around Doctor Moreau and his little family especially his daughter Carlota and his assistanst Montgomery. The book is set in Mexico in the 19th Century.
The book is categorized under horror, which I didn`t see in the book at all. As I already mentioned above it is a historical novel with sci-fi element, but no horror.

First things first, I gave this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed the story itself. Moreono-Garcia has an amazing way around words to keep you hooked through the very first page. The characters were absolutely perfecty created and they felt so real. The only issue I had that it wasn`t long enough for me. I wish it would had more pages and more story, but I guess that`s how good books are. Praise asaide, the true only issue I had was that I would have loved to read more of mexican history and such detaisl, but overall a very likeable read. I enjoyed how Moreno-Garcia played with the trope "Scientist plays God". Hope to see more of that very soon.

I can absolutely recommend this book for already Moreno-Garcia fans and for those who wants to become one! Thank you again Netgalley for this chance!

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau does indeed feel much like a modern iteration of classic speculative fiction. It has a relatively simple premise and plot, written in polished prose that feels like a very traditional novel. The ideas aren't that revolutionary, but the characters are endearing (even if I kinda wanted if to be just Carlota's book) and there is some well-handled theming of what it means to be human. I do wish this had gone a bit deeper, as the backdrop of Mexican history felt a little decorative rather than fully implemented, and I don't know that the hybrids were taken in particularly interesting philosophical directions beyond the obvious. But ultimately this is a book that brings a 19th Century story into a new perspective, and does so smoothly and convincingly.