Series: The
Madman’s Daughter (bk. 3)
Genera(s): Gothic
Horror/Historical Fiction/Sci-fi
Subjects: retellings,
experiments, scientists, love, death
Setting: An estate in the Scottish Moors
POV/Tense: 1st
person POV, past tense: Juliet Moreau
Age/Grade
Level: Teen
Length: 388 pgs.
HC/PB:
Hardcover
List Price: $17.99
Publisher: HarperTeen:
Balzer & Bray
Summary/
product description:
“After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along
with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a
remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von
Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies
in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s
secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be
present within the manor’s own walls.
Then
Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific
experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where
the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and
promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark
footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.
With
inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the
Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we
love—even our own humanity.”
My Review: As I’ve said before, this is the only
Historical Fiction series I have enjoyed, and the only hist fic series I had
read to completion. These books are dark, gothic tales with a mix of horror and
sci-fi. They are very different from most Hist Fic YA out there that usually
fall into two categories: Steam Punk/Hist Fantasy and Realistic. These books
have mystery and romance and horrifying acts of science.
A Cold Legacy
is the third and final book in the Madman’s Daughter trilogy. All the books are
retelling of classics that have Doctor in the title. This one is the retelling
of Dr. Frankenstein. The first book was a retelling of the Island or Dr. Moreau
and the second was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Retellings are wonderful because
they take elements from stories you already know about and change them or twist
them in some way. I personally have not read any of the books that these books
are based off of, but I’ve seen some movies.
Set with a
backdrop of the Scottish moors, a cold legacy is especially creepy. It’s winter
in the book. Likely February. There’s misty fog and storms, but no snow. The
setting becomes a character itself. There’s characters from the previous book
and new characters. There are many twists and unexpected ones at that. I was
caught by surprise by some of the events. One near then end didn’t surprise me
so much, but it wasn’t fixed the way I thought it would be.
Without
spoiling the book, I can tell you that Juliet learn about the secrets of Dr.
Frankenstein from Elizabeth and she tries to revive someone. Lucy becomes less
of an airhead and more determined and important. Juliet and Montgomery plan to
have a wedding at the mansion. There is no long triangle issue at all here.
Juliet helps Lucy find a way to rid Edward of the Beast since Lucy and Edward
love each other, and the Beast is still obsessed with Juliet. Stuff happens in
this book. The climax is epic and the story isn’t open ended, but I would like
to read an enovella from a different character’s POV. I can’t wait to read
Megan’s next series, The Cage. If she can make Hist Fic interesting to me, then
I’m sure her regular sci-fi will be just as awesome.
Cover Art
Review: Interesting landscape image. The girl is wearing a red bow on her dress
like the previous books. The cover when printed looks too dark compared to the
image online.
~Haley G
My blog:
http://breathlessbookreviews.blogspot
No comments:
Post a Comment