Book Rating: PG-13
Violence: PG-13 (There are intense and descriptive scenes of animal vivisection. Just the word is horrifying without knowing the details. There's a monster killing people on the island).
Sex: PG-13 (Juliet nearly gets taken advantage of by a middle-aged surgeon. There' several instances of intense make-out sessions, but nothing ever become of them).
Language: PG (words such as da** and he** get used every once is a while).
Substance Use: PG (Everyone just drinks a lot of brandy).
Juliet Moreau is the estranged daughter of a former London doctor who was involved in a scandal a few years before. After her mother died, she was employed by the medical university as a maid. Then, by chance she runs into her old childhood friend and servant Montgomery who agrees to take her back to the island where her father had disappeared so many years before.
I was surprised at how dark this book was. From the very first chapter I knew that this would be different than any book I've ever read. Just in the first chapter, a rabbit's brutal vivisection was described which ended with Juliet decapitating the poor thing. It made me sick and usually I'm pretty good when it comes to dealing with violence.
When Juliet reaches the island, she discovers her father is in fact the madman that all of London society claimed him to be. She grows scared of the man and the things he's created. But there's really no way off the island. The only people she actually cares for on the island itself are, Montgomery, Edward the castaway, Alice, the servant girl with a harelip, and Balthazar, the brooding human-like creation of her father.
One thing I loved about this book were the descriptions. I knew exactly what the jungle looked like, how the compound worked, how far away the compound was from the docks and ocean. The author never went overboard on detail. It was enough to get you through. Then she added a little bit more to add to the picture you already had.
I loved the character of Juliet. She had a lot of background to her character which gave her purpose and understanding of the world, as crazy it was. She's hard-headed and a fighter. Not a fighter in the sense that she goes around with a sword, killing anything that crosses her path, but a fighter in the way that she plans to have things work out in the way she planned them. She doesn't give people a choice in whether or not to believe her or do things her way. They HAVE to do it her way.
I wasn't necessarily a fan of the love triangle, because I loved both boys equally. Though the twist at the end certainly leads it to be more interesting.
The reason I'm giving this book four stars is because after all the build up of how tough and smart Juliet was, she does the typical horror movie thing and shouts out, "Hello? Is anybody there?" When there are footsteps outside the door. And what d'ya know. There was. I also felt like there was something missing. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it seems like the end happened too easily. They weren't accosted by any monsters when the monsters themselves were supposed to be attacking the compound. Juliet's father didn't come and seek her out. There just seemed to be gaps.
But, I loved the story overall. It was purely original and I freaky. I loved it.
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