Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

50 reviews

katiefronk's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Animal death, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content

mcluster1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a great read. SMG always creates the most thought provoking and unique books. The book was, imo, as enthralling as Mexican Gothic. 

Knocked a star for the weird relationship between Carlota and Montgomery. nothing physical happens between the two, but I struggled with a man in his 30s (?) lusting after a 14-18 year old. Just a little icky 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Colonisation, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Addiction, Misogyny, and Medical content

aformeracceleratedreader's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I really enjoy Silvia Moreno Garcia's writing and every book I've read of hers has been quite good. I'm not super familiar with The Island of Dr Moreau save the Simpsons parody of it, so I didnt know what to expect when I first cracked this book open (didn't even know this book was inspired by it when I first picked it up). 
Carlota did get on my nerves here and there throughout the book, she's young and isolated with her dad controlling her so she did some stupid stuff, but once she came into her own, I liked her a lot

her ripping Eduardo's face off to protect Lupe, immaculate

. 
I didn't like Montgomery thirsting over her considering he met her when she was a child and he is approx. 15 years older than her. Like a line I really didn't like was him saying she would make the best/most perfect/most beautiful prostitute. But otherwise, I found his character interesting in some aspects and liked the perspective his character brought on various social issues.
The hybrids were great! I wish we could've had more from them since what we did get was kind of wonderful.
I did guess the "twist" of this story correctly and was unsurprised when it was revealed, but it didn't take away my enjoyment of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement

kshertz's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Excellent idea and execution. HG wells eat your heart out. Looking at that story through a woman’s eyes and colonization felt essential. It was bold and mysterious. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t see the twist coming, though it was right there in my face. While I always prefer happily ever afters, this story was told how it would more likely happen and I think it’s a great story to stay up all night and enjoy. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Colonisation, and Death

the_wistful_word_witch's review

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

My book club chose this one for our spooky season read. I'd heard a lot of good things and the blurb was intriguing, so I was excited to read it. 

Unfortunately, for me, it didn't live up to the hype. It's not a bad book by any means, but it didn't really stand out either. The writing is good, and the world-building is exceptional. But I was a bit let down, character-wise. I felt that the titular character of Carlota was a bit of a milquetoast, although it was kind of to be expected, given her history. It's not until the very end that you really see her develop. Montgomery feels out of place, and I never really could figure out why he was there. I would have preferred reading more about the hybrids though, as the small glimpses into their characters were fascinating.

The ending left me a bit 'meh' and I had a harder time finding inspiration for my review. A solid book, ultimately, but just not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Violence

pvbobrien's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Slavery, War, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Addiction, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Chronic illness, Medical content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Cancer

aardwyrm's review

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There's a good novella in this book if you chopped out a lot of nothing. The premise is intriguing, the prose is good, and Carlota isn't a bad viewpoint character. But 2/3 of the pages are taken up by tedious romantic drama that goes nowhere and could have been set up in a chapter. Montgomery also sucks a lot of life out of the story. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has many strengths, but writing a compelling protagonist man is not one of them. The human-animal hybrids who should be the stars of the story are barely there, but in them there's the bones of something great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

caidyn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Probably my second favorite book by this author! It's an imaginative retelling that takes liberties and expands the original story in great ways. Moreno-Garcia knows how to weave a historical fiction story and it was another fantastic read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Death, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement

cozyteareads's review

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Racism, Blood, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Medical content