Book Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

Title: Her Dark Curiosity

Author: Megan Shepherd

Series/Standalone: The Madman's Daughter Series (Book #2)

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Romance

Pages: 422

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Year Published: 2014

Format: Audiobook

"To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island- and the secret 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 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 tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we'll go to save them from themselves."

My Rating: 3.5/5

This story wasn't what I expected it to be. I will say that there is no reason that you have to continue with the series. If you felt content after the ending of The Madman's Daughter and you don't want to continue you definitely don't have to. This one felt a little disjointed from the first. For me, that might be because of the change of scenery that we see and after reading the description I see that she was getting inspiration from another classic dark thriller, so that makes sense. I think if I can get my hands on the next book I will continue the series, but I don't think this is a series that I will purchase as an all-time favourite. I did really enjoy seeing some characters in a different setting and the exploration of different characters in London. I loved the dark themes and thrilling aspects. Some parts that weren't my favourite were romantic relationships. I loved that the author spoke about sex, and sexuality from a modern woman's perspective. I just didn't feel like the romantic relationships between characters just didn't feel genuine to me.

I would recommend this series to anyone who likes classic, dark thrillers and who are looking for reads inspired by those classics. The audiobooks are great as well and may be available through your library if you're looking for alternative reading options.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny