Book: The Madman's Daughter

I'd like to start off this review by stating that i have not read many gothic novel's and therefore do not know to much about them.  And I would also like to state that before reading this review it's very important to understand that this book is meant for the older YA readers ( somewhere from 15 or 16 and up). 

That being said this book was beyond my wildest dreams. While I have not read The Island Of Doctor Moreau myself, I know the plot and story very well, along with many of the social topics that it has.  Still the book took me by surprise. First of all with its very dark tones and gruesome details. But than the pace,setting, and characters took me all by surprise. 

This was a book that I myself am shocked that I liked so much.  I read this book in less than 24 hours- I think this is the fastest I have ever read book that was a little over four hundred pages long (Now yes, I also got lucky and had the time to just sit and read it all)! This was the first book in a long time to have me curled up in bed reading way late into the night. And it was the first book to ever make me jump while reading. That's how drawn in I was. 

As for the characters they were pretty interesting and kept the story moving a long. Juliet was fairly standard but she did have little twists to her that made her memorable. 

And truth be told this was the first love triangle I have liked in a really long time.  Mostly because the two guys were more interesting than most. 

The only draw back to the book? Well clearly the story is very gruesome - it could have been worse and the author did a wonderful job, however it still turned my stomach at many points.

Over all if you can stomach the novel I say it's a must read. 

( YA 15 and up) 

Stars: * * * * 4.0              LEVEL: TWISTED

Book: Univited

So when I started this book I had sadly forgotten what it was about. So the first few chapters did through me a little bit.  But needless to say I was totally into it.
I really liked Davy and found her to be a pretty believable character given her lifestyle and upbringing.
For the first 50 pages of the book I really liked. the first 150 as well. But soon after I started to feel myself drifting. The spark just wasn't there. And while the book was well thought out and had many great points something in the story was missing. The ideas are all good. But there was nothing to the way that things played out. All really great YA books and books over all really need that swift grace. that ease that carries the readers flawlessness into the next word. This book did not have that. It felt at times very man made.
As I read on the many good points like the people and the set up of the laws and all the moving parts around Davy was very good things like the world building fell sort. By the end of the book I had very little idea what the word around Davy looked like. Also I found many things by the end of the book very hard to believe * SMALL SPOILER* I'm sorry but it felt like they would have spent a lot more money on camera's and had people spying on the computers. * SPOILER DONE* 
Also how gruesome the book got by the end bothered me to no end. I'm sorry but I found that the author had so many different ways and place she could have taken things that she really cheeped out in the end.
With so much going for the book I found that the last 100 pages of the book really made it hard for me to give it a positive review. Is it a good book? sure in many ways it is, but that does not change the fact that I don't want to read any more books like this. Authors stop using gruesome details to shock the reader. It only shows a lack of real talent on your behalf.
Over all it had many great moments even though I was ultimately let down, I still look forward to reading the next book in the series.


( YA - 15 and up)
STARS: * * * 3.2          LEVEL: KILL ME GENE 



I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book