While I thoroughly enjoyed the writing, I have to say that the gothic style just isn't for me, which is unfortunate because I really like the way Silvia writes.

While I usually really enjoy Moreno-Garcia's work, this one didn't particularly grab me. I think I am kind of done with reimaginings of classic stories. This was fine, but not for me, perhaps.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was a book I was really looking forward to and I was so excited to have been approved for it via NetGalley. I like the original H.G. Wells story and I really enjoyed Silvia Moreno-Garcia's retelling of this tale. She has thoroughly made it her own. The setting and the characters are fascinating, but I think I was hoping for a little more sci-fi fantasy and body horror elements than what we ended up with. Either way though, this novel is well worth picking up if you love this author. I'm looking forward to whatever she decides to write in the future.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
By Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is a sweeping historical fiction and light science fiction tale set in lavish nineteenth-century Mexico, that is the perfect read right now. This is also an HG Wells retelling from a similar title, The Island of Dr. Moreau.

I thought that the story was told well capturing Silvia Moreno Garcia’s creative story telling signature style of incorporating real historical events and the gothic style, with a motley crew of characters that will stay with you long after you have finished the novel. The story is atmospheric, dark, with horror elements that is just so exciting to read about – there are diseases, a sanitarium, and hybrids from research. Ooooh its so good, I really enjoyed this one.

I also enjoyed the narration of Gisela Chipe whose performance brought each of the characters alive in this gothic horror to die for.

This is a different take on HG Well's Island of Dr. Moreau centering around his daughter Carlota. The story takes place on the secluded estate located on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico as Dr. Moreau does his secretive work with human/animal hybrids which is funded by a generous benefactor. Carlota has never really experienced life outside the estate which she loves. Carlota has grown up here and her father's research has not produced the desired results. Carlota attracts the attention of a wealthy suitor which could be the answer to all their problems or it could end in disaster as the secret experiments of the estate are revealed. I was intrigued by the premise. This works better in some respects more than others. I think I would have connected to this book better had I more than a vague idea of the premise for the original it was based on. The conflicted young woman/romance elements worked well here but the whole Yucatan Caste War element was kinda clunky. Overall I liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me this free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

A spin on the H. G. Wells classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, this book reimagines the doctor has a daughter and lives in a grand estate in the Yucatan, against the backdrop of political unrest in the 1800s. The doctor, however, is keeping secret and not delivering on the promises he made to his benefactor. When conflict arises, what will happen to Carlota and the residents of the compound?

I liked this twist on a classic story. The writing was very atmospheric, as I could feel the oppressive heat and claustrophobic air. I really liked the character of Montgomery, he was an interesting and relatable in midst of the chaos. I will say that I saw the twist coming from a mile away, but that didn’t decrease my overall enjoyment of the book. The ending made up for it. It was the right amount of suspenseful for me, without being too scary. Obviously if you know the premise of the original, you know that there is a little bit of body horror involved, but it is very mild in this version and definitely more historical sci-fi than horror. It is fairly slow-paced, with building foreboding and tension. This was my first Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel, and I definitely want to try more. Also, side note that is one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen.

I desperately wanted to love "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but it just didn't work for me. Turning one of the most famous science fiction/horror stories into a gothic romance is ripe for potential, but the plot just did not move. I can handle a slow novel, heck I can handle a slow novel from Moreno-Garcia, but something about this one just did not connect. I am disappointed, but Moreno-Garcia is one of the most interesting novelists working today, and I'm still going to pick up whatever she releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

I truly wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it and felt no connection to the characters. I skipped ahead a bunch, read, skipped again, read, and still... it is a 'no' for me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 out of respect for the author.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia hits it out of the park again. I love the atmospheric descriptions and weaving of a story we know with new stories about what happened next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent continuation/reimagination of the original. It's tighter, the characters are more thoughtfully painted, and the exploration of of the original content within the context of modernity is nothing short of brilliant!

Right after I finished The Daughter of Doctor Moreau my thoughts were a mess and I honestly didn't know how I felt about the story in whole.
I knew I liked Mexican Gothic better than this one, but also those two stories are totally different that it would be unfair to compare them.

Once again, Silvia Moreno-Garcia managed to give the atmosphere a role itself, and the place of the story was unique, well described and easy to imagine.

This historical retelling was told in third person following two perspectives: Carlota's, who is the daughter of the doctor, and Laughton's who is an employee.
Getting into Laughton's head was more interesting to me, especially because of his battle with his own demons that made him take the job in this peculiar place.

The only thing that didn't make much sense to me was the motivation to keep up with the project.
At first it was to have free labour from crestures who wouldn't have human rights (now when the slavery was illegal), but when experiment after experiment failed, one had to wonder why waste all that money on laboratories when it can be used to decently pay people for their work instead.

Overall, this was a good book with some action packed scenes and historical references.
I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

In the Daughter of Doctor Moreau, author Silvia Moreno-Garcia does a beautiful retelling of the original by H.G Wells - The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Carlota has always lived at their remote estate in the Yucatán peninsula, with her father, Doctor Moreau. Her father was hired as a scientist to create workers for the Lizaldes, one of the most powerful families in the area.

It takes a minute to get used to the sci-fi areas of the story - the workers are called “hybrids” and are half human/half animal. Moreau’s experiments come out different each time, resulting in all kinds of different combinations of features.

When the Lizalde family gets a little too close, Carlota must decide what to do to save “the best place on earth.”

Thank you to @netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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'The Daughter of Doctor Moreau,' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an immersive retelling of the H.G. Wells classic. Now set colonial Mexico, it is beautifully reimagined.

I really enjoyed this book. I like retellings and enjoyed seeing this envisioning of Shakespeare's <i>The Tempest</i>. The thought of a mad scientist hiding in the jungles of Mexico with the human-animal hybrids he created was very entertaining.

I also enjoyed the alternating chapters focused on (but still told in 3rd person!) Carlotta and Montgomery. It was interesting seeing the things that a young woman found important, verses an adult man who is a servant to the family.

I will say this wasn't my favorite of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books but I will continue to read everything she writes!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this title! This book started out so strongly with such creepy vibes, but felt a bit rushed towards the ending though. Calota is a lovely and honestly somewhat relatable protagonist. I also enjoyed the way this book portrays classism and racism among Latinos as a whole, which is often something we don't think of immediately.

This is a let down! Moreno-Garcia is capable of creating incredibly atmospheric prose, and really compelling characters - but both were missing from this. It was thematically garbled, I wasn’’t sure what story the book wanted to tell, and as a result I think it failed to tell any effectively. Moreno-Garcia is still a talented writer, and this is still a very readable book, and an interesting spin on the classic, but it isn’t, in my opinion, up to the author’s standard.

As I've mentioned before, I'm always in awe of how with each subsequent novel Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes, she can switch so effortlessly from genre to genre which have included noir, fantasy, gothic horror, magical realism and now historical sci-fi.

I haven't read The Island of Doctor Moreau but this novel is a re-imagining of sorts and takes place on the Yucatán peninsula in the late 19th century. As with her prior novels, the main standout for me, is the writing, which is stellar. However, this has been my least favorite novel of hers. All her novels have been slow burns and usually have a minor twist, which I figured out beforehand but by the end, I was not wowed. It has an interesting premise and for the most part, my attention was riveted but by its conclusion, I was expecting more.

Despite it's shortcomings, I still would recommend this novel.

To say I was disappointed in this book pains me more than anyone else. I fell absolutely in love with Moreno-Garcia's other work, Mexican Gothic. So, I was thrilled to receive an ARC copy of her newest book. Unfortunately, this book was a slog to get through. I couldn't connect with either of the main characters and I was really bored thought the entire narrative. I know this book was not a horror, but because it is based on the gothic tale of "The Island of Doctor Moreau" I thought we would at least get some atmosphere. I made it to 30% though the book when I decided I needed to put it down.

I don't mind a slow moving plot that sets things up for the latter half of the novel, but literally nothing was even happening in the first third of the novel. Not even Moreno-Garcia's lyrical writing could keep me going. I saw other reviews that say it picks up at the 70% mark, but I don't think any book should pick up when almost the entire story was told.

I am so sad this book did not work for me, but I will continue to pick up this author's work in the future.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I seem to be in the minority with my opinion, but I think this book could have been better. I was tremendously excited to read a book inspired by the original Dr. Moreau tale, but with a Mexican folklore twist. To me, everything fascinating and heritage based seemed crammed in as an afterthought. It lacked an immersive quality that I was looking for. I would have rather seen more changes to the original that took me to another world, instead of a story that didn’t stray as far as I’d like and seemed to deviate into explanations and definitions.

It’s an interesting story, but that part isn’t new. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the hybrid creatures. The writing is immersive and wonderful. Overall, it isn’t horrible, but it had so much potential that just wasn’t realized.

Wow. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was dreamy in both a cozy and scary way, if that makes sense. This was a vivid story full of twist and turns that left me unexpected binging the last 50% because, more than anything, I was SO intrigued.

This story seemed to fall into two "parts" in my opinion - the first part, which was getting to know the eclectic characters and the colorful backdrop of nineteeth century Mexico. Character development was pretty good but there were some pieces that I would have liked to know more about, on a deeper level.

The second half of the book took on more of a gothic tone and caught me a bit off=guard, given the rather "simple" story that had begun. While the first half felt a bit more literary and " Isabel Allende" to me, I think fans of Moreno-Garcia will feel right at home in the second half.