Arc Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genre: Adult Fantasy / Retelling / Historical Fiction
Publication Date: July 19th, 2022
Publisher: Del Rey
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨

“Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius, or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.” (Goodreads)

I am always down to read a book by this author! Her plots are always very unique and out there. In a good way, of course! Although this wasn’t a top hit for me, I still liked the world she created and learning who Carlota really was.

The book is told from two point-of-views, Carlota and Montgomery. Each one has a different take on religion and the world around them. I think that is why they pair so nicely together. Carlota is optimistic while Montgomery is realistic. I can’t say that I liked one more than the other. I felt for each character in different ways because each one has a different background and it comes to light on the pages. They both continue to make choices they deem are right and sometimes love can make us foolish.

There are other characters, some I liked more than others. It was interesting to feel more for the hybrids than humans but I guess that doesn’t take much when you look at our own world. Humans can suck sometimes. I do wish that there was more from the hybrids, especially more detail in the workings of Dr. Moreau. The reader only gets snippets here and there but nothing too wild really ever happens.

For me, the biggest letdowns were what I mentioned above and the romance. I knew who I wanted Carlota to end up with and even though that came true it was very much a side side plot and the ending just left me unsatisfied after them having a few great scenes together.

I can’t compare this to the original work since I haven’t read it but it does have more curious than anything to want to check it out.

Overall, this was a good read but it just needed a bit more in areas for me.

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