I have no previous knowledge of The Island of Doctor Moreau, so I can't really comment on how this fares as a reimagining of that story, but I did read a brief synopsis to try and guide my reading of this book!

My first book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and I can see why so many people are captivated by her writing, it is incredibly vivid particularly in describing the setting of the story, which were probably my favourite parts of the novel.

I didn't really feel like I connected with any of the characters, they felt like they all lacked a bit of depth - i don't know if maybe the point is to read the HG Wells novel first to understand some of the characters better, but a lot of the central characters are new for this book and i don't feel like they were really fleshed out, and knowing what we know about Doctor Moreau from the start, the twist in the middle felt kind of predictable.

There are some great examinations of what makes a person human, on morals and ethics of scientific experiments, which was really interesting, but it was very slow paced with only some pick ups of action - I felt like it dragged on for a long chunk of the book without the story really progressing at all.

It's marketed as horror, but I would definitely say its more historical fiction with a scifi twist. I am a huge scaredy cat, and I was not freaked out by this book in any way, I wouldn't say it's creepy or terrifying, more - strange? If that's the right word? I'm not a horror reader so I'm not sure what that would be described as if it is a subgenre of horror, but yeah, it wasn't scary or anything like that.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's latest offering is an extraordinary science fiction-historical fiction retelling of a classic, HG Wells The Island of Dr Moreau, Moreau is a vivisectionist, a story with its focus on ethics, monsters, religion, power and science. Here, the setting shifts to 19th century Mexico, with its sweltering heat in the southern Yucatan peninsula in the 1870s, echoing the original dark themes of a genius or deranged scientist's development of human-animal hybrids. The beautiful Carlota Moreau with her striking presence, grows up on a remote hacienda, plagued with fragility, her life overseen by her father, having the company of Ramona, the housekeeper, Lupe and Cachito. The melancholic British Montgomery Laughton, with his past trauma, is hired as Dr Moreau's assistant. Moreau's scientific experimental creations are being funded by a man with his own agenda, Hernando Lizalde, from Merida, with a son, Eduardo, who turns up at the hacienda.

Carlota is set to lose her naive innocence as she begins to ask questions, secrets that lie behind locked cabinets and padlocked doors are set to be revealed, what is the truth that lies behind her father? The author ventures into territory Wells never did, the turbulent history of the Yucatan and the caste war, exploring class, exploitation, the role and status of women, and colonialism. This is a richly atmospheric sensory delight of a disturbing and vibrant novel, unsettling, captivating and enthralling, with a romance, and its complex characters, asking what is it to be human, who exactly are the monsters and raising the issue of what limitations should be placed on science, given the potential horrors and dangers that could arise.

In many ways, this multilayed retelling improves on the original, I particularly enjoyed the development of Carlota into a strong and determined character. I have no hesitation in recommending this wonderful piece of sci-fi historical fiction highly. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I was so excited for this one as all of her books have been amazing and this one did not disappoint! thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an arc of this book.

Carlota lives on a remote estate with her father, Doctor Moreau, and the hybrids that he creates in an attempt to find a cure for her illness. Their lives appear idyllic until the appearance of their benefactors son and then their world is upturned and secrets revealed. I loved the setting of this book on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and the tie in with the historical events of the time. This book was a definitely a grower for me. Initially it felt slow paced and a little dreamy which reflects the lives of Carlota and her father who are so cut off from the outside world. However with the appointment of Montgomery as the estates overseer the outside world begins to intrude. It is in the second two sections of the book that the pace and the suspense increase as secrets unfold and lies are uncovered. I couldn’t put this book down but didn’t want it to finish! I’m not sure I would describe it as some have as a horror but more of a gothic sci-fi. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I loved it and will be recommending it to my friends. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have the ARC of this much anticipated book.
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Thank you to Netgalley for the arc of this book to review in advance.

I will start by saying that this certainly wasn't my usual type of read. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau. While I have never read the former story I did have an idea of the plot.

Our story is located in an isolated estate Yaxaktun we follow the experiments of Doctor Moreau and the creation of the hybrids through the eyes of the doctors daughter Carlota Moreau.

The estate is backed financially by the wealthy Lizdale family with Doctor Moreau as the overseer and Montgomery as his mayordomo and assistant. After 6 years the arrival of two gentleman one of them being Eduardo Lizdale causes problems and threatens Yaxaktun's fragile balance.

I have to say I do love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing style she brilliantly sets the scene and captivates your attention to the story being told.


Overall this book was a fascinating read and I would recommend it for fans of the gothic and science fiction genre.

I really enjoyed this book. As a fan of H.G Wells I was intrigued at this retelling of 'The Island of Doctor Moreau'. And I was so happy with the result. Silvia's writing blends sci-fi, romance and history seamlessly together to create this vivid and creative story.

I liked the MFC Carlotta. She knows what she wants and stands for what's right. I also liked Montogomery the other POV in this story, however, his story was a sad one but one that can be resonated with.
The sci-fi element of the story is great. The hybrids all have their own unique personality and we find out enough about them that we can become emotionally attached to them even though they're not 'main characters'. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy

Hi and welcome to my review of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau!

Ever since Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has become an auto-buy author for me. I love how all her stories are entirely different genres but they all portray a side of Mexican culture and heritage I know little about.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is no exception. First of all, I love that it can’t be put into a single genre box. The overall feel was historical fiction, but there are definitely some science fiction, fantasy and horror influences as well. An unusual but truly terrific combination.

The title will have rung a bell: it obviously refers to The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. I hadn’t read it before tackling The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, but I’d heard of it and I was suitably intrigued by the premise that the doctor might have had a daughter. As the author confirms in her afterword: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is indeed loosely inspired by H.G. Wells’s story, but once again she manages to set her story in Mexico, against the backdrop of a real conflict: the Caste War of Yucatán. In the meantime I’ve read H.G. Wells’s Doctor Moreau and although it was rather enjoyable I do very much prefer Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s take on things.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is told from the POVs of Carlota, the doctor’s natural (read: illegitimate) daughter, and Montgomery, the estate’s mayordomo / the doctor’s assistant. The doctor’s work, sponsored by a wealthy businessman, involves the creation of hybrids, humanoid creatures with various animal parts and traits, who are used as workers on the land, but the doctor’s two most successful hybrids live with him and his daughter and Carlota basically considers them her siblings.

Despite the hybrid thing, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau reads mostly like historical fiction, steadily burning towards the blast that threatens the only life Carlota has ever known. Life prevented me from bingeing this book, I know I would have if I had been able, and I was always looking forward to going back in.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is incredibly atmospheric, something I really look for in a story. The words evoke the same feeling the cover does, I really felt like I was there in the tropical heat, with the flowers, the fountain, walking in the jungle, swimming in the cenote.

I had a fantastic time with The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and if you’re looking for a sensory and genre-defying reading experience, this is definitely one to add to your TBR.

Massive thanks to Jo Fletcher Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I spotted the title of this book and thought it might be a sequel to The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells - which would be very interesting to read! But it's not that. It is described by the author as loosely inspired by the original book. Still enough for me to be interested!

The setting is different. This novel is set in Mexico, somewhere on the Yucatan peninsula. Dr Moreau is alive and well and living in a remote setting with his daughter and his hybrids, carrying out his experiments. I can't really give much more of a description without spoilers! The hybrids are part of the story, but they are not the central characters, this novel is very much focused on father and daughter. The book is organised in several parts and for me, it became really gripping in part three and I raced through 25% of the book in a single sitting. Had all of the book been this good, it would have been a five star read - but none of it is bad, just not as good as part three!

I'm glad that the author explained at the end that the book was only loosely connected to the original. Having read The Island of Dr Moreau recently I felt that the loss of human traits in the hybrids and gradual reversion to their animal origins was missing from this novel but as it is only loosely connected, I accept that it is different.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I would highly recommend reading the original Dr Moreau first and then following up with this one. They are very different novels based on similar themes and both are excellent reads.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A really interesting take on Wells’ original. I found it a little slow to start but once it got going, I loved it! The characters were bold and memorable and the plot satisfying.

I had been looking forward to reading The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And it didn't disappoint, very well written and gripping book

First of all, let's address the (hybrid) elephant in the room: this is not a horror story. The author, Silvia Moreno-Garcia herself, went to Goodreads to clarify this and explain that it's a science fiction and historical novel.

Nothing wrong with that, obviously, but alas, I did not venture into Goodreads until I was half deep in the novel, wondering where the horror was hiding.

That being said, I did enjoy the story and loved most of the characters. I suppose I would have loved it more if I was not constantly waiting for something that was never really there in the first place, but again, that's not the story's fault, nor the authors. Was it the marketing campaign? Was just a general missunderstanding? I really do not know.

The daughter of Doctor Moreau tells the story of Carlota Moreau, a young girl living with some of his father's infamous hybrids in Yaxaktun, the problems that flourish after the unexpected visit of Eduardo Lizalde and his cousin Isidro, and the uncertain future of a place full of "monsters" that should not have existed at all.

The writing style is simply magnificent, and the use of Spanish words (the hacienda, the azulejos, the mayordomo...) add both to the story and the landscape as well. The antagonists are not caricatures, something that I always appreciate, and the rhythm is both slow and steady, making it almost impossible not to read just another chapter, just to see what happens. There is also some romance in the mix as well.

To sum up, Silvia Moreno-García writes a reimagining of a classic, but does so in a way that feels unique and original. I am sure it is going to be very well received by the audience it is aimed for.

I didn’t realise before I read it that it was inspired by ‘The Island of Dr Moreau’ but I don’t think that made a huge difference. However I definitely should have researched at least that far because that general genre or sci-fi isn’t normally what I read.

To me, it read like the journey and character development of the daughter of a Dr Frankenstein and the impact his work had on her and the others around him. I enjoyed the dual pov and I thought Montgomery was really compelling asa character.

Look at that cover. Look at that cover! LOOK AT THAT COVER!!

Okay… Moving on…

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is a retelling of THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU by H. G. Wells, but you don’t need to have read the original to enjoy this one. It sticks to a similar time period but shifts the story to Mexico, and takes a look at themes of womanhood, personhood and colonialism. I do think THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU losing some of the eerie, unsettling horror of the original, but personally, I think it more than makes up for that with what it adds in both fleshed out, fully considered, complex characters (both of Carlota Moreau and the supporting characters) and it the gorgeous setting.

I loved the POV of characters of Carlota and Montgomery, and how the relationship between them was twisty and complicated and imperfect. I loved the way Eduardo’s arrival began to shift all the precarious dynamics within the house and the way that he wasn’t made a 2D caricature either, but had layered motivations of his own.

The writing is rich and the setting immersive. Moreno-Garcia really draws you into the 19th Century and into the isolated jungle where the beautiful estate is beginning to show signs of a sort of decaying past glory. A wonderful reimagining of a classic, that will breathe fresh life into Wells’ work for readers familiar with the original, and yet is a completely riveting standalone for those who want to take it entirely on its own merits.

This was a really interesting read. I haven't read the original Doctor Moreau so I cant comment on how this was different but I loved the inclusion of real history. The setting was so lush that I could see myself there so clearly! Silvia Moreno Garcia has a way of writing that is fast paced but also descriptive and this book was no different. I was expecting it to be Horror so was a little disappointed that it was more Sci-Fi but that does make sense when considering the original.
Not an instant Fav like Mexican Gothic was for me but still an great book!

really interesting and unique plot. Silvia moreno- Garcias style of wrtiting is so beautiful and lyrical and the worlds she describes sound so magical. The characters are imperfect yet intriguing and thouroughly enjoyable to read about. I loved this story.

Huge thank you to Netgally & Quercus Books for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love retellings, so this retelling of The Island of Dr Moreau was very promising. The story follows Carlota, the Daughter of Dr Moreau, in their house in Yaxaktun where the doctor has experimented and created half human / half animal hybrids, akin to HG Wells original story. I'll not say much more than that as to avoid spoilers!

I read this book very quickly, but aside from Carlota, didn't really connect with any characters. I wish I did! That's not to say I didn't like this book (I definitely did), and really enjoyed the kind of 'unleash the beast' vibe. But I don't know, I would love some more avenues to be explored more. Maybe I'm too fussy! But enjoyed this book and will pick up more of Moreno Garcia's work.

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.