Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

42 reviews

annemaries_shelves's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

4.25 stars

Absolutely read this book in the summer!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's skills with atmosphere and setting descriptions meant I felt the heat and sounds of the jungle, experiences all the more enhanced by the heat wave we're currently experiencing. 

I haven't read The Island of Doctor Moreau (only familiar with the premise) so can't comment on the re-telling aspects, but I thought SGM did a good job of creating a new story wholly her own. As mentioned, the atmosphere and setting were fantastic, and I appreciated the characters. None of the characters are even close to perfect - in fact, Carlota and Montegomery in particular are frustrating in their flaws, but damn did I enjoy reading the dialogue, inner monologues, and character interactions. I think some readers will be frustrated with Carlota but I thought her quite realistic considering her upbringing and she really grew over the course of the novel. I would have liked more exploration of her feelings during/after the reveal, since the novel wraps up pretty quickly afterwards. 

SGM had a lot to say thematically about colonialism, disability (coded with the hybrids), family relationships, religion, and power dynamics (to list a few). Doctor Moreau is one of those people so blinded by his own intelligence and goals, that he sees the ends justifying the means, and views everyone under his care/responsibility as lesser. The slow breakdown of his relationships and interactions with his daughter and the hybrids as more information is revealed highlights the power of knowledge (and religion) is maintaining control. 

I would have loved to see more on-page scenes with the Mayan rebels, but will have to content myself with what's given to us. The afterword on historical context was appreciated. I always learn something new from her novels. 

As with her other novels, the pacing is uneven - though I can never decide if it's intentional (I'm leaning that way). The first half is almost always slower than the second half, where the action takes off (and this novel fits that model). 

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It's a fun and relatively fast read, with some good themes and a solid though somewhat open to the future possibilities ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Blood, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Violence

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Child abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Classism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Slavery, Colonisation, and Sexual harassment

phantomgecko's review

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? No

4.0

I enjoyed it. Don't really have notes.

Though, a small comment. I, being a romantic, did indeed want Montgomery and Carlota to come together in the end. But I respect the author's choice. Carlota was true to her character, and that's great.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Classism

alicelalicon's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Sexism

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, Child death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

readwithbells's review against another edition

3.5

So I was expecting a different book than the one I got. This was marketed as more of a gothic sci-fi but it’s definitely not, it is a true historical fiction with some sci-fi elements that focuses on a woman’s position in the late 1800s on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. SMG’s characters are still immediately engaging and I really liked the use of the hybrids as a metaphor for race during the period. I just wish I had known it was going to lean into historical romance more than sci-fi because I LOVE her horror and was expecting that style of a book—to that point, the small bits of body horror in this book were great! I would have loved more of that. That’s not her fault at all nor is it the fault of the book and I definitely feel comfortable recommending this to people wanting a twist in their historical fiction. It just wasn’t what I was really looking for.

I’m also really pleased that SMG didn’t have Carlota fall in love with Montgomery. That felt vaguely icky to me at first but it was handled so well and I’m so glad she got to be the one to kill Eduardo!! That was a great moment.

I do want to add that the setup for this book feels like it takes forever but when it pays off it really pays off. I personally find most of SMG’s payoffs to be worth the wait, but if you are someone who wants to skip to the action, this might not be the one for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Body horror

Minor: Animal death

amartin48's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

This is an excellent book for lovers of fables! Nothing terribly challenging or unpredictable happens, but it is an entertaining read that takes you right where you want to go, with a pinch of mystery along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Death, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Confinement, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and War

javafenn's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I would have finished this book much, much, much sooner if I hadn’t been dealing with health issues and small children. I have never read The Island of Doctor Moreau but I love that Silvia Moreno-Garcia took one genre and story then created a whole new story with a beautiful blend of genres. She’s excellent at creating these unique stories with a familiar feel to them. The book tells the story of a young girl who helps her father with his scientific studies without knowing all that he is truly doing as well as that of a young man who comes into the doctor and his daughter’s life when she was but a girl. Each does as the doctor’s tells them until one day it all comes to a very catastrophic head. All set in Mexico, Carlotta, Montgomery, and the hybrids must figure not only who they are but also what.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Blood, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Racism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Body horror, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, Colonisation, Racism, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent