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| WELCOME, new Blogger buddies and old Wordpress followers!!! |
I... DID IT! I moved to Blogger!!! (Hence the lack of comments and followers on here... *sadface*) But after weeks of going back and forth on the merits of Blogger and Wordpress.com (not the self-hosted site), I've finally decided to go with Blogger, which I'm super glad about so far! I've subscribed to some truly incredible blogs on here but I can't wait to visit even more sites, so leave me a comment and a link to your blog if you have one--I'd love to check it out!
Without further ado, here's my FIRST EVER review on Blogger!
Author: Megan Shepherd
Part of a series? Yes
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Length: 420 pgs (hardcover)
Genre: YA gothic thriller
Source: Library eBook
In the darkest places, even love is deadly.
Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.
Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.
Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.
Opening Lines:
The basement hallways in King's College of Medical Research were dark, even in the daytime. At night they were like a grave.
EEEEPP!! I got chills down my spine just from reading that!
SQUEE-worthy: If you know me in real life, you've probably heard me mention this book a bunch of times recently. I mean, let's be honest: my evangelical zeal about this book probably reached madness-like proportions but I can't help it! It is THAT good. The thing that really sold me about The Madman's Daughter was the brilliant writing. The concept can be the coolest thing on this planet, but if the writing isn't strong enough to back it up then it's a dud for me. So imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find out that debut author Megan Shepherd not only came up with an AH-MAZE-ING concept (a twist on H.G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau!) but also has the writing chops to execute the story to perfection. I mean, check it out for yourself (keep in mind that the following is told in the voice of Juliet, the daughter of a famous scientist):
He had Lucy's same fair skin and wide-set eyes... I timidly evaluated his tall forehead, the helix of his ears that projected only a hair too far from the skull. Good-looking, I concluded.
And this:
My heart tore, just a little, right along the ventricular septum.
I mean, WHOA. Talk about defining a character's voice!! Throughout the entire story I literally feel like I'm IN Juliet's head, as if I am her, faced with all these terrible choices, and frightening emotions, and coldly logical--almost eery--instincts. The writing is just so well done, and when you throw in a creepy Gothic mystery, a steamy love triangle, and plot twists that would make your head spin, it becomes nothing short of perfect.
"Meh" Moments: NONE. I was sucked in from start to finish and was sorry for the book to end. (It didn't help that the book ended on a pseudo-cliffhanger either! Gah!!)
For fans of: H.G. Wells, Lost (the TV show), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Buy or Borrow? A definite buy! I'm clamoring to get a copy of it, and rest assured that I'll be first in line for Ms. Shepherd's second and third installment in the trilogy!
Let's chat!
What's your take on putting a different spin on an old classic? Brilliant idea or literary suicide?
On a separate note, in honor of my move to Blogger from Wordpress, I'm hosting my FIRST-EVER GIVEAWAY soon! (So excited!!!)
Here's a clue at what I'm giving away:
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| Can you guess what it is? |
Is that Peeta from the Hunger Games on right?? :)
ReplyDeleteHaha good guess! But nope! :) Care to make another wager?
DeleteHeck yes! Game of Thrones! LOVE. I'm currently participating in a read along of that series. Dany is probably my favorite character so far. I've actually been listening to the audio books but I've decided these are books I must own in the physical! So were you using Wordpress before? I've actually been considering moving my blog to Wordpress from Blogger. But I hadn't decided yet. Kim @ Bookmark To Blog
ReplyDeleteHaha! YEP!! 'Tis Game of Thrones, indeed! Super-duper excited about it since it's my very first giveaway, EEEP! I'm hoping to have it up by this weekend, so fingers crossed.
DeleteAnd yes, I was on Wordpress.com before, which is NOT the self-hosted Wordpress.org platform. I think if you want to move to Wordpress, definitely do the ".org" platform, only because the free/basic ".com" version has some coding deficiencies that I find lacking.
As for the Madman's Daughter: you have GOT to read it. Like, NEED-TO-READ status. It IS amazingly creepy. AND incredibly atmospheric... AND thrilling... I can keep going on and on!
Oh, and also- the Madman's Daughter has been on my list. It looks amazingly creepy.
ReplyDelete