Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

Title: Her Dark Curiosity (The Madman's Daughter #2)

Author: Megan Shepherd

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island--and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebidding the life she once knew and trying to forget. Dr. Moreau's horrific legacy--though someone, or something, hasn't forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father's creations may have also escaped the island She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of 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.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we'll go to save them from themselves. 

Unlike when I was reading the first book, I knew what I was getting myself into when I picked up Megan Shepherd's Her Dark Curiosity. And though I had some trouble getting into the story at first, I still found myself loving it by the time I finished. 

Despite having been back in London for a few months, Juliet can't seem to stop thinking about everything that happened on her father's island…especially the moment Montgomery pushed her away on that dinghy and chose to stay behind and hunt down her father's creatures. Juliet is trying to move on and stop thinking about her father's experimentation, but it's difficult to do when she still has to find a way to cure herself of her illness. And when people who have wronged her in the past start getting murdered, Juliet can't help but think some of her father's creatures could be involved. Determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard, Juliet has to decide just how far she'll go to save herself and those she cares about. 

Her Dark Curiosity was quite different from the first book, The Madman's Daughter. Where the first book was more focused on Juliet's quest to find out the truth about her father and discovering what he had been doing on the island for all that time, this one was more introspective, in a way. Her Dark Curiosity was alpa bout Juliet coming to terms with who she was, and thanks to her father's experiments, what she was. Because of that, there were many moments when the story felt darker, sometimes going further and darker than I thought Megan Shepherd would take it. But in a way, I really enjoyed reading the darker parts of the story because it allowed me to see a different side of the characters. It will be interesting to see where the story will go in the next book, especially since it's supposed to be inspired by the story of Frankenstein.

For better or for worse, Juliet is her father's daughter and that's something she struggled with all through Her Dark Curiosity. It was interesting to see her inner battler, watching her come to terms with the fact that she had darkness in her, and accepting that "darkness." The character that surprised me the most, though, was Lucy. I had only briefly seen Lucy in the beginning of the first book, but I got to now her more this time around. I didn't think she would end up being such an important part of this story, but I'm glad she did. It's hard to talk about the other characters that play an important part in the story without giving some of it away, but I will say there were parts that made me really happy, and others that broke my heart a little. So make of that what you will. Again, it will be interesting to see what will happen to everyone in the final book.

Though I may not have been completely convinced I would enjoy it when I first picked it up, the more I read, the more I loved Megan Shepherd's Her Dark Curiosity. And like with any series, I'm excited to see how it will all come together in the third and final book.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1)

Author: Megan Shepherd

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: January 29, 2013

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London--working as a mad, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true. 

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward--both of whom she is deeply drawn to--Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius--and madness--in her own blood. 

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. 

By the time I read Megan Shepherd's The Madman's Daughter, I had heard a lot about it, but I didn't really know all that much about what it was actually about. But that may have been a good thing, because it means I went in with a completely open mind.

Ever since the scandal involving her father, Juliet Moreau has gotten by working hard and keeping her head down. Nut she's always wondered if there was any truth to the accusations made against her father. When Juliet runs in to Montgomery, her father's young assistant, she gets the chance to travel to a mysterious island to see her father again. But when she gets there, Juliet quickly realizes that something isn't quite right. ANd how does Edward, the shipwrecked boy they picked up on their way to the island, fit into it all?

Before I started reading, I only had a vague idea what The Madman's Daughter was actually about. With this type of book, though, that may have actually been for the best. I also knew that it was based on The Island of Dr. Moreau, but, again, I only vaguely knew what that was about. All that combined allowed me to start reading The Madman's Daughter with an open mind. And as a result, I think I enjoyed this story a lot more than I would have otherwise. Because this story definitely grabbed my attention and kept me interested the whole way through. But more than that, the story also piqued my curiosity. I just wanted to find out more about everything. I wanted to know more about Juliet's father. I wanted to find out more about the island and its inhabitants. There was just so much happening in The Madman's Daughter and that just made me a happy reader. The only thing I had trouble with is the creatures that Dr. Moreau was creating on the island. I just had seem trouble picturing them as I was reading. I don't know if it had to do with the way they were described or just the concept of them, but I just couldn't picture them. Or maybe I was just over thinking it and trying too hard.

I found Juliet to be a very interesting character. She was very much ahead of her time, and, in a way, her situation is what forced her to be that way. Juliet had to learn to survive on her own and that made her stronger than most of the girls she grew up with. But there were still instances when Juliet acted exactly the way you would expect a girl her age to act. Like with Montgomery and Edward, for example. Each boy had his own appeal: Montgomery was the childhood friend and Edward was the mysterious new boy. Personally, I leaned more towards Montgomery, because something rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning as far as Edward was concerned. And as it turned out, I was right to be concerned about him, but I'll leave it at that for now. It will definitely be interesting to see how things will play out with everyone in the sequel.

Megan Shepherd's The Madman's Daughter was intriguing to say the least. It was the kind of story that kept me interested and engaged, leaving me wanting to know exactly what was going on. If you have yet to give The Madman's Daughter a try, I strongly recommend you do.

Waiting on Wednesday (64)

For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers showcase books they are particularly looking for to. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing this a little differently. Like I did last year, each week I will be talking about books that are coming out early next year from different publishers. Up first are January 2013 releases coming for HarperCollins.

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
January 22, 2013

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to there, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life. 

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her…even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she's headed back to California--and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one…With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal. 

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

Though I haven't read the second book, Hallowed, I am still really excited about the conclusion to this trilogy. When I read the first book, Unearthly, I completely fell in love with the story and the characters so I can't wait to finally get back in that world. You can be sure that I will be reading the second book before Boundless comes out so that I can be ready for it.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

January 29, 2013

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself--working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor's handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father's madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius--and madness--in her own blood.

It wasn't until I started going through all the publishers' catalogues that I discovered The Madman's Daughter and from then on I couldn't get the summary out of my mind. The story sounds really intriguing and like it has a lot of potential so I'm really looking forward to reading Megan Shepherd's debut.

Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton
January 29, 2013

Your strength in heart and hand will fall…

Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.

The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.

As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world's darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.

Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy, Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.

Again, I have yet to read the second book in this series, Wings of the Wicked, but I am still looking forward to reading the conclusion to the trilogy. Like with the Unearthly trilogy, I kinda fell in love with this story when I read the first book, Angelfire, so I can't wait to get back into it. 

So these are the January 2013 HarperCollins titles I'm looking forward to. If you hadn't already guessed it, January really can't come soon enough. Be sure to keep checking back each week to see what books I'm waiting on from other publishers.