"The air in my crumbling attic chamber smelled of roses and formaldehyde."
Review: I wanted to love this book, and I'll admit that in the beginning I did. I absolutely loved it. So let me start by what I didn't like so I can end this review on some positive notes.
I must first say that I'm not deep into the Young Adult world, in that, there are probably hundreds of YA books out there right now that I have not read and have no intention of ever reading (ie. any John Green book). With that said, how I feel about this book, as compared to my review of the first book in this trilogy, The Madman's Daughter, should not be any real indication on how much I truly do like this book. There were just a few things I wasn't too thrilled with.
The romance aspect of all Young Adult novels is one I have yet to become accustomed with. I suppose there is some truth to the saying, "sex sells", but in the case of the literature I've read, I strongly feel it can stand on its own without any need to romance whatsoever. Unfortunately, teen angst is alive and well. Younger and younger generations yearn for it in just about everything they read. You can't even pick up a mythylogical story without having that forced upon the story. Anyway, without dwelling on it too much, the only part of the book I could have done without is the obvious triangle going on between Juliet and Edward and Montgomery.
As for the rest of the book I find the storyline of Juliet and what she's made of, both inside and out, to be quite brilliant. Megan Shepherd has managed to take a timeless classic, that I honestly didn't see coming, especially in this second book, and make it relatible to today. I'm not sure if it will make this younger generation want to go out and read Frankenstein afterwards, but it's a good way to engage minds in that general direction.
This second book leaves off, somewhat, where it left off, with Juliette going back home after the island she was stranded on, to her knowledge, ends up destroyed. She thinks she left behind her two loves for good, but she couldn't be more wrong. Who does she truly love? Why? And most importantly, why is there a brain in the hatbox of her best friends fathers study? All these questions and more will be answered in this second book. And the ending does not disappoint either. It leaves the long cast of characters (friends) journeying someplace new where they can hopefully figure out their next more, but who they're traveling with and where they are going, might leave them worse off than where they were.
Summary: Inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this tantalizing sequel to Megan Shepherd's gothic suspense novel, The Madman's Daughter, explores the hidden natures of those we love and how far we'll go to save them from themselves.
The romance aspect of all Young Adult novels is one I have yet to become accustomed with. I suppose there is some truth to the saying, "sex sells", but in the case of the literature I've read, I strongly feel it can stand on its own without any need to romance whatsoever. Unfortunately, teen angst is alive and well. Younger and younger generations yearn for it in just about everything they read. You can't even pick up a mythylogical story without having that forced upon the story. Anyway, without dwelling on it too much, the only part of the book I could have done without is the obvious triangle going on between Juliet and Edward and Montgomery.
As for the rest of the book I find the storyline of Juliet and what she's made of, both inside and out, to be quite brilliant. Megan Shepherd has managed to take a timeless classic, that I honestly didn't see coming, especially in this second book, and make it relatible to today. I'm not sure if it will make this younger generation want to go out and read Frankenstein afterwards, but it's a good way to engage minds in that general direction.
This second book leaves off, somewhat, where it left off, with Juliette going back home after the island she was stranded on, to her knowledge, ends up destroyed. She thinks she left behind her two loves for good, but she couldn't be more wrong. Who does she truly love? Why? And most importantly, why is there a brain in the hatbox of her best friends fathers study? All these questions and more will be answered in this second book. And the ending does not disappoint either. It leaves the long cast of characters (friends) journeying someplace new where they can hopefully figure out their next more, but who they're traveling with and where they are going, might leave them worse off than where they were.
Summary: Inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this tantalizing sequel to Megan Shepherd's gothic suspense novel, The Madman's Daughter, explores the hidden natures of those we love and how far we'll go to save them from themselves.
Back
in London after her trip to Dr. Moreau's horrific island, Juliet is
rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget her father's
legacy. But soon it's clear that someone—or something—hasn't forgotten
her, as people close to Juliet start falling victim to a murderer who
leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes. Has one of her
father's creations also escaped the island? As Juliet strives to stop a
killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness,
she finds herself once more in a world of scandal and danger. Her heart
torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an
obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.
Her Dark Curiosity
by Megan Shepherd
420 pages
Balzer + Bray, 2014
Young Adult Fiction
Read in 5 days
Rating: ★★★★
To learn more about Megan Shepherd visit her site here.
