Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd (The Madman's Daughter #2)

Goodreads Summary:

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 rebuilding 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.

Publication Date: January 28, 2014

Her Dark Curiosity was such a frustrating book! It had so much potential to be a great sequel to The Madman’s Daughter, but the characters ruined a lot of the story for me. However, I’m still invested enough in the series to read the final book in the trilogy. I also really enjoy the author’s writing style and really love the feel of the atmospheric novel. Some spoilers appear in this review regarding The Madman’s Daughter.

I think my main issue with the novel was Juliet. I remember liking her in the first book, but she became too wishy-washy in regards to her relationships with the men in her life. I actually don’t mind love triangles but the love triangle in Her Dark Curiosity was just annoying when Montgomery returned to London. Montgomery was unbearable in this one and lost all his likability in my eyes. He was so self-righteous and it irritated the heck out of me since he deserted Juliet at the end of the last book. I prefer Edward and despite his major flaws, I love his tortured complexity and innocence when not taken over by his darker urges.

I did like the Jekyll/Hyde twist and the mysteries surrounding the King’s Club. I wish more of the book had focused on the murders instead of the romance. Hopefully, this will be the case in the third book. I really liked how the story ended and I think the author has the opportunity to finish the series strongly.

I did find the author’s descriptions compelling and felt transported to late 19^th century London. I love the mood of the books and was thrilled seeing some familiar island faces in London.

Juliet is 17, but the series has a lot of crossover appeal. I will finish out the series and just chalk up some of the disappointments to middle book syndrome. If you haven’t read the first novel, I highly recommend it. It was a 4.5 star read for me and stood out as one of my favorite YA books of 2012.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this novel for review!