A review by readwithbells
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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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