The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is another winner from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Atmospheric and moody, with a pace that feels appropriately languid, I nevertheless ate this book up in just a couple of days. Carlota is a gripping main character, pulling the reader along as she discovers and rediscovers the world around her, including herself and her relationships. This book feels like a stifling hot day that finishes with a plunge into satisfyingly cool water. A must-read for fans of Moreno-Garcia and The Island of Doctor Moreau alike.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Entertaining despite a rather predictable plot. The writing is also quite repetitive and the characters are all based on known stereotypes. I've also had Mexican Gothic on my bookshelf for some time and it'll likely stay there, unread, for a while longer.

Not knowing much about Doctor Moreau previously, this book sucked me right into the tale. Silvia Moreno-García does a good job of weaving the story to a climax that has you sitting on the edge of your seat with the reveals. I appreciate the dual POV’s that gave us more insight then had it been singular. My heart was aching for Carlota and the heartbreak she had to endure. I did not suspect for one second that she was one of Doctor Moreau’s experiments until it was revealed. I think Moreau did love her but at the end of the day he was a scientist which made his personality the way it was. I absolutely couldn’t stand Eduardo and knew that he was going to be a disappointment from the beginning. I loved the fact that Carlota and Montgomery’s relationship didn’t develop romantically. It felt so genuine and real, she loved him but not in that way. This is now my 3rd book by this author and I’m continually impressed how unique each experience has been.

Firmly grounded in both the Yucatan peninsula and in a constant state of unease, Moreno-Garcia once again succeeds in creating a haunting, ethereal story that stays with the reader long after the last page. I loved this retelling and found it almost impossible to put down.

I read The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells in high school and that was when I fell in love with sci-fi /gothic horror. So I was pretty excited when I discovered this retelling from Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Moreno-Garcia’s story is set against the lush and vibrant backdrop of the Yucatán peninsula with Dr. Moreau’s daughter, Carlota, front and center.

This was a relatively quick read (under 300 pages) and a seamless fusion of history and science fiction with the added elements of gothic horror in the mix.

Moreno-Garcia brilliantly juxtaposes the morality of Dr. Moreau’s creations against the historical realities of racial conflict and exploitation during the Caste War of the Yucatán. Though this is further explored in the Afterword, I think the story would have been stronger if this context was more present within the narrative.

The pacing of this book is on the slower end of the spectrum, especially in Part Two. However, Moreno-Garcia’s writing is beautifully descriptive and haunting nonetheless.

Thank you @netgalley and @delreybooks for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an excellent book. I have not read The Island of Dr. Moreau but that did not take away from anything in this. Part historical fiction, part sci-fi, and some mystery - many genres spun into a magical, slow burn story that we expect from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And nobody is doing it like her. I loved the setting of this against 19th century Mexico. Garcia’s writing is immersive and captivating, it’s impossible not to be put under its spell. There’s a lot of layers here and I don’t want to give too much away, but I think it all REALLY works. Going into the book without much knowledge of its synopsis or any knowledge of the source material made this reading experience surprising and exhilarating. I flew through this and would definitely recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an e ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I read Mexican Gothic a while ago and just did not enjoy it at all. I wanted to give the author another chance with this book. The plot sounded very interesting.
This one was better than Mexican Gothic but it just didn’t wow me like I had hoped it would.
I think this author just isn’t for me. Not a bad writer but just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House for the ARC

This is my second book by Moreno-Garcia, and I think it’s just time to admit I don’t love her work. Like Mexican Gothic, it is a slow pace met with no shocking endings or real crescendo in the end. I find myself wondering why I wasted the time. The story follows Carlota, in a re telling of the classic story, and her father - as well as “the hybrids”. Hypothetically, this sets off an interesting event chain, but I find myself simply not interested. It just wasn’t a good book, frankly.

The concept of this book is very cool. A lush setting and a very weird subject matter. Unfortunately, the execution fell very flat. I loved Mexican Gothic but this story lacked the pacing and suspense that made me inhale the book. Reading the Daughter of Doctor Moreau was like being on a really long trip to absolutely nowhere.

The main characters felt vert flat and the hybrids should have produced so much more interest and instead everything felt bland. This could have been a great story about personal agency and what freedom really looks like but the messaging never landed.

It was a miss for me-which is a disappointment-I think Silvia is an excellent author.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy in exchange my honest opinions.

I dnfed this books I didn’t enjoy this. I lost interest in this and didn’t like it. The writing wasn’t for me.

I loved MEXICAN GOTHIC, and THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is a worthy follow-up! I really appreciated the nuanced ways in which this book interacted with the original text, adding nuance, perspective, and challenges to the narrative as presented by Wells. Felt of a piece with the original while also providing twists I could not anticipate! Moreno-Garcia is great at atmosphere and slow-burn tension.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a weird one. I will preface with saying I've never read the original Dr. Moreau so I was intrigued by the weirdness of animal-people. This wasn't my favorite of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, however, it's still worth a read. Although I was surprised at every reveal, I was left feeling like they were very predictable looking back on all the foreshadowing.

Excellent retelling of Dr. Moreau. I loved the gothic horror/romance. The author does a wonderful job balancing the atmosphere and suspense.

This was pretty good, it definitely has that gothic feel that I love. It started a little slow for me, but by the time I got midway through I couldn't put it down. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect going in....I have not read the original that this is based on, nor have I seen the movie (I heard there's a movie). So, reading this as it unfolded was all new. I liked that Carlota grew and changed as the book progressed. By the end she was no longer a shy, naive and meek young lady. The twists were unexpected. All in all, a good read.

As a side note, I went back and forth between reading and listening. The audio was well done, but I preferred reading this time.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The book was well written and the plot was interesting. I found myself zoning out. Maybe I'll come back to this one. I think I just read it at the wrong time.

I've never read The Island of Doctor Moreau, but I feel like this was a really interesting interpretation. On audio, I loved the various accents she used (both French and regional) to distinguish between the various characters. We get to interact with Moreau's hybrids and grow attached, all while the world tries to tear them away from us. I particularly enjoyed Laughton's perspective as a newcomer to all of this. This features Silvia Moreno-Garcia's classic worldbuilding magic, with everything feeling luxurious. But as usual, there's a darker side... and it's executed gorgeously.

*Thank you to PRH Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*

I will definitely be recommending this one! This author is becoming one of my favorites and I will continue to read their work.

enjoyed this a lot. silvia moreno-garcia is a queen. enough said.

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

Disappointed to say that I had a hard time getting into this one. I think it’s more of a me problem. But I normally love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books.

I am a big fan of the Island of Dr. Moreau. This was an interesting take on the original and there was enough for fans of Wells original tale but it is not required to be familiar with that to read this fantastic novel.