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A review by mynameismarines
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
2.0
I struggled with this book. To put it simply, it was light on plot and thus repetitive, and featured one of my least favorite things ever: the ill-conceived love triangle.
Juliet is abandoned by her father on the heels of a controversy surrounding his work and research. Soon, her mother dies and she's left to fend for herself in London. That is until a few twists of fate reconnect her to her childhood friend/father's servant, Montgomery. She convinces him to take her to the secluded island where her father now lives and the rest is thin plot history.
The pacing in this book was all over the place. I'll admit that I was both intrigued by the premise and the main character during the first 70 or so pages. Here was a girl who was a victim of circumstances beyond her control, and yet she was smart, strong, hard-working, brave and there was an air of mystery about her. The story took a turn for the boring right about the time Juliet and Montgomery boarded a ship and we read about them just kind of hanging out on a ship. The main character took a turn for the annoying when she got to the island and (1) - thought more about which boy she should choose than her own personal safety which was at great risk and (2) - made decisions that made no actual sense.
There were big ideas and concepts at play in the background of this novel, from mental health to the ethics of science and the author glossed over them clumsily all to focus on a love triangle that was incredibly lopsided. She did a disservice to her own character by making her interested in the second half of the triangle, Edward, when she repeatedly told the reader she had 0 interest in him. But... but... he was *close* to her and he had a penis and he was fond of generally raping her space, and she just a lowly woman, after all. So even moments after she declared things like, "I could never love him," our heroine would think things about her upcoming decision between the two men. Which makes no sense. Because you just told us you didn't like him.
The worst of it, though, was really that Juliet would start thinking about boys at the worst moments possible. Human-beast running after you? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? Some servant just died at the hands of an unidentified monster? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? Fire spreading throughout the place where you live? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? And etc.
The islands had all the makings of an interesting plot, but mostly Juliet runs around and gets lost. And when there is looming danger, she always escapes it but we aren't really sure how. There was one scene where a beast was literally outside her window and she was sewing on her bed. Granted she was nervous and scared but reading, "I heard the beast but concentrated on my needlepoint..." Well, that really just highlights the jist of the overall problems with this story.
Juliet's father was a shell of a character. He was a mustache twirling kind of villain and his "madness" as I mentioned is never truly explored. Returning to my earlier point, some big ideas were completely mishandled throughout the story. Juliet worries for a large portion of the story that she's inherited her father's madness or tainted by his blood. It gets to a point where she fears proximity to her father, or being on the island itself, is turning everyone mad. But, by mad she means people defend themselves? The worst of Juliet's madness is a curiosity over her father's work.
I felt Montgomery was also a poorly developed character and I didn't feel one bit for him. Edward was vague on purpose, thanks to a plot twist, which meant that when he wasn't petting Juliet, he was clenching his jaw a lot, and his eyes flashed lots of tense emotions.
In the end, Juliet came to the island, Juliet ran around the island, Juliet leaves the island. And in one sentence, I saved you 400+ pages. You are welcome.
Juliet is abandoned by her father on the heels of a controversy surrounding his work and research. Soon, her mother dies and she's left to fend for herself in London. That is until a few twists of fate reconnect her to her childhood friend/father's servant, Montgomery. She convinces him to take her to the secluded island where her father now lives and the rest is thin plot history.
The pacing in this book was all over the place. I'll admit that I was both intrigued by the premise and the main character during the first 70 or so pages. Here was a girl who was a victim of circumstances beyond her control, and yet she was smart, strong, hard-working, brave and there was an air of mystery about her. The story took a turn for the boring right about the time Juliet and Montgomery boarded a ship and we read about them just kind of hanging out on a ship. The main character took a turn for the annoying when she got to the island and (1) - thought more about which boy she should choose than her own personal safety which was at great risk and (2) - made decisions that made no actual sense.
There were big ideas and concepts at play in the background of this novel, from mental health to the ethics of science and the author glossed over them clumsily all to focus on a love triangle that was incredibly lopsided. She did a disservice to her own character by making her interested in the second half of the triangle, Edward, when she repeatedly told the reader she had 0 interest in him. But... but... he was *close* to her and he had a penis and he was fond of generally raping her space, and she just a lowly woman, after all. So even moments after she declared things like, "I could never love him," our heroine would think things about her upcoming decision between the two men. Which makes no sense. Because you just told us you didn't like him.
The worst of it, though, was really that Juliet would start thinking about boys at the worst moments possible. Human-beast running after you? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? Some servant just died at the hands of an unidentified monster? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? Fire spreading throughout the place where you live? WHICH BOY SHOULD I TAAAAKE? And etc.
The islands had all the makings of an interesting plot, but mostly Juliet runs around and gets lost. And when there is looming danger, she always escapes it but we aren't really sure how. There was one scene where a beast was literally outside her window and she was sewing on her bed. Granted she was nervous and scared but reading, "I heard the beast but concentrated on my needlepoint..." Well, that really just highlights the jist of the overall problems with this story.
Juliet's father was a shell of a character. He was a mustache twirling kind of villain and his "madness" as I mentioned is never truly explored. Returning to my earlier point, some big ideas were completely mishandled throughout the story. Juliet worries for a large portion of the story that she's inherited her father's madness or tainted by his blood. It gets to a point where she fears proximity to her father, or being on the island itself, is turning everyone mad. But, by mad she means people defend themselves?
Spoiler
Edward kills one of the creations and she's all OMFG HE'S A MURDERER, EW, WHAT IS HE? Meanwhile, Montogmery has been helping to make these beasts and she's all, "...but, he's good at his CORE, see?" It's confusing. We don't get Juliet's sense of right or wrong because she thinks with her vagina.I felt Montgomery was also a poorly developed character and I didn't feel one bit for him. Edward was vague on purpose, thanks to a plot twist, which meant that when he wasn't petting Juliet, he was clenching his jaw a lot, and his eyes flashed lots of tense emotions.
In the end, Juliet came to the island, Juliet ran around the island, Juliet leaves the island. And in one sentence, I saved you 400+ pages. You are welcome.