The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a historical fantasy based on the 1896 H.G. Wells novel

The Island of Doctor Moreau. 

In this version Doctor Moreau lives on a lush Yucatán estate with his daughter Carlota and has been tasked to create and build a labor workforce of human/hybrid creatures for his employer Mr. Lizalde. When Mr. Lizalde’s son falls for beautiful Carlota the entire estate including majordomo Montgomery and the hybrid creatures that depend on Doctor Moreau will be thrown into the battle of wealth and privilege they never asked for. 

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is told in alternating POV’s between Carlota the girl who loves her father, hybrid family and the beautiful estate she was raised on and Montgomery an unhappy Englishman and drunk hired to care for the property and not ask too many questions. Naive Carlota falls head over heels for their patron’s son (Eduardo) when he arrives at the hacienda looking for rebel Indians and Montgomery finds himself both jealous and worried for her romantic young heart. But Carlota comes from a society where young women are a commodity with very little voice in their future and she is torn between her duty to her father’s creations and her heart. 

Silvia Moreno Garcia weaves a beautiful tale of  science gone wrong, colonialism, first love and a daughter’s blind devotion. Through both the POV’s of Carlota and Montgomery she shows the reader a beautiful untamed land during a turbulent time in history. I highly recommend it to readers that enjoy both historical novels and speculative fiction. 

5 stars