Friday, January 23, 2015

*Early Book Review* A Cold Legacy (The Madman's Daughter #3) by Megan Shepherd

**I received this book for free from (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins) via (Edelweiss) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Book Blurb*

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.
 


*My Thoughts*

A Cold Legacy brings the The Madman's Daughter trilogy to a close. Juliet Moreau, her best friend Lucy Radcliffe, fiance Montgomery James, Edward Prince, and of course loyal to a fault Balthazar, have escaped London after Juliet killed 3 men belonging to The King's Club. Arriving in Scotland at the invitation of Elizabeth Von Stein, descendant of Victor Frankenstein, Juliet faces her destiny once and for-all and it may not be what she wants it to be.

A Cold Legacy, based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, is full of surprises, revelations, a creepy house with secret passages, a doctor who not only cures ailments and illnesses, but also continues part of the Frankenstein Oath of Perpetual Anatomy. A child who is as dangerous as any of Dr. Moreau's experiments, and a character who surprisingly appears from the first installment and gives Juliet some interesting guidance.

A Cold Legacy is the ending that Juliet has been heading towards ever since learning of her father's secret experiments. Can she put her father's legacy to death once and for-all, or does she carry on his bizarre experiments? Will she use her own expertise in surgical procedures to go out on her own, or will fate give her another option? Or, will she take the road that her mother took and avoid science altogether?

Juliet has truly believed that there is a darkness within her that she can't control. She has tried to walk the straight and narrow, but always ends up getting deep into troubling situations. With Montgomery and Edward along side, things haven't exactly been easy, nor does she make things easy on herself. Montgomery is keeping secrets from Juliet while claiming to love her, while Edward is struggling with the Beast who is within a hair breadth of taking over completely.

I will say that Edward is definitely the most interesting character in this entire trilogy, with Lucy and Balthazar close behind. Right from the start, he befriended, and nearly won Juliet's heart but Lucy affections give him a bit of hope. He made things very interesting for everyone in Her Dark Curiosity. Now, with Juliet trying to find her own way in the world without grasping her father's legacy, hope my be on the horizon to live a normal life.

If you want my feelings of the romance between Juliet and Montgomery, there's really not a whole lot to say. They've known each other almost their entire lives. He's saved her life, and has managed to stay by her side while she continue her struggle with light and dark aspects of her personality. My negative is that HE kept a really important secret away from her, when he should have told her about it long, long ago. He also hug on when he probably should have let her go and learn from her own trial and errors.

In the end, A Cold Legacy does not smear or ruin the original Frankenstein. It builds on the legacy of Victor Frankenstein, and adding Juliet into the mix, just made things a bit more interesting. I love the setting of Scotland, and a creepy castle where things aren't always what they seem. I don't think this is the best of the trilogy, but I won't sway anyone from reading it or making their own feelings known.


Author - Megan Shepherd
Title - A Cold Legacy
Series - The Madman's Daughter # 3
Published by Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Genre: Historical, Young Adult
Format: E-Book, 400 pages




2 comments:

  1. I'm nervous, I finished book 2 a couple of days ago with Juliet pissing me off and snoozing over a lot of parts. I hope I like this better, book 1 impressed me and I'm hoping reading this isn't a waste of time.

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    Replies
    1. I think the whole Frankenstein background was a brilliant idea. Gives Juliet more depth to her character in that we can finally see her skills at work.

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