Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Fiica doctorului Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

31 reviews

alixbx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

You most likely will not like either of the characters from whom we hear this story: Carlota & Montgomery. Carlota is childish and selfish to a fault and it is very rarely endearing. Montgomery struggles with addiction and is jaded by his ex-wife for who he went into extreme debt to try an keep her married to him. Carlota instigates fights with everyone and Montgomery buys into any disagreement no matter what. Eduardo is a brat. Doctor Moreau is an absolute jerk beginning to end. The only redeemable characters are the hybrids, specifically Cachito and Lupe. Ramona is also a gift. By the end epilogue, Montgomery is somewhat likable because he has the most character development of anyone in the book, but the epilogue's end is really confusion. This next section is really important and contains some level of spoilers and will be marked as such, but if you have any sexual triggers, it'll be important for you to read it.

There are two sexual triggers in this book: age-gap attraction and undisclosed beastiality. The signs that Montgomery is attracted to Carlota are evident pretty early in the book, but it is unclear what their age-gap is until much later in the book. Since Montgomery has already been married and divorced, you can surmise there is a notable age gap, but about 2/3 of the way into the book we learn that it is a 15 year ago gap. The bulk of the book takes place when Carlota is 20 years old and Montgomery is 35. He meets her when she is 14 and still play dolls, and even discussing watching her grow up. It's really uncomfortable to read. Later in the book, there are sexual encounters between Carlota and Eduardo Lizalde. I was not keen minded enough to realize that Carlota herself is a hybrid, shame on me, but she has sex with Eduardo multiple times before it is revealed that she is part jaguar. Eduardo still wishes to have a sexual relationship with her for the remainder of his time in the book. So we learn after the fact that we have this unknowing beastiality and then it becomes a desired sexual encounter. I had to take a break from the book for several hours to really process if I was going to finish it because that's just not something I really want to read about, but I was able to overcome it only because I don't like Eduardo so I never wanted there to be a sexual relationship between Carlota and him, but also because I just don't care for Carlota's character either.

In thinking about all the trigger warnings, my love of Silvia's other book (Mexican Gothic), and the epilogue - I'm not regretful that I've read this book, but I am not as impressed with this story. It is rated lower on average by readers than Mexican Gothic, perhaps because some of the other content in the other book being even more controversial than this, but the plot of the other book is resolved much more neatly than this one. Do not expect a happy ending or a concrete vision of an ending, either. I think I honestly had more questions than answers by the end of it. The only thing I can say positively is that Carlota

doesn't end up in any romantic relationship

and it is so rarely seen for stories where there is a female lead character.

My best advice - really look at the trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: War

Beastiality, One-sided attraction, Age-gap attraction, Age-gap sexual content

lpantoja0295's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Taken from my Goodreads since I saved it there first...This story had all the ups and downs. There was love, heartbreak, suspense, triumph, joy, fear, sadness. I enjoyed Moreno-Garcia's storytelling in Mexican Gothic, and still can say enjoy it after reading The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. also loved Carlota and Montgomery's POVS and thought it was well done. Sometimes dual POV can be a hit or miss with the timeline, but that wasn't lost here. At least didn't notice.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual harassment

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A reimagining of the universe of Dr. Moreau, this book tells the story of his daughter and her first experiences with reality. 

I had higher hopes for this story, but in the end I found it somewhat bland and predictable. While it was fast-paced, the story wasn’t anything groundbreaking. It was an enjoyable read, but nothing special. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️

Tropes: Mad Scientist, Genetic Modification

3rd Act Breakup?: Yes

The Praise: The side characters really stood out to me in this one. The hybrids really clawed their way into my heart.

The Critique: I felt kind of misled by the potential romance that was set up between Carlota and Montgomery

and how it never came to fruition.

Final Thoughts: Overall the book just felt kind of…fine. I didn’t have any strong feelings either way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Slavery, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

apgodsen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the narrative created in this novel. I also appreciate the fact that relationships were not forced, and characters were allowed to grow individually. The character growth of Carlota was excellent, and Montgomery is really just a big old softie which I love. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Cancer and Infertility

meat_muffin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

Wow, not gonna lie, this book was PAINFULLY slow and boring. Sure, the prose was pretty, but nothing??? happened??? for the first HALF of the book! I was just waiting for plot! Overrated, not gonna lie

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Pregnancy

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Half of the book is more about atmosphere than plot. Be patient, because you will get a thrilling climax once you get over the hump and see how the author subverts Wells’ sci-fi classic in the best possible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Murder, Dysphoria, and War

Please remember to be aware of animal-human hybrids, death of a spouse, grief over a lost relationship, financial struggles, dehumanizations of slaves, attempted rape, animal violence, first sex experiences, narcissism, surrogacy, and experimentation on animals.

moreau's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

SPOILERS FOR THIS BOOK AND THE ORIGINAL DR MOREAU AHEAD
I think this book was ruined for me because I'm too big a fan of the original book, I honestly think it's a safe bet to say I'm the biggest Island of Dr Moreau fan alive today. On it's own, this book is really good but I can't help being annoyed by the fact it's different to how I interpreted Wells's novel. First of all, why is Montgomery straight? Even Moreau being married at one point changes his character a lot but I can live with that, Montgomery seems so queercoded to me that it felt weird hearing him crush on Carlota and talk about Fanny. I also don't get his last name being Laughton? Charles Laughton plays Moreau in the 1932 film, so I assume it's in homage to that, and Montgomery's actor did have an atrocious name (Hohl) but Val Kilmer also played him and Kilmer is a cool ass name, I think I've always just imagined Montgomery's name to be.. Montgomery Montgomery. I really liked Montgomery and Moreau's characters in this, they're reminiscent of the original characters while having their own depths and charms. I also really loved the Mexican cultural aspect of this book, I found it very interesting and added to the story. I wonder if Carlota's name is a reference to Lota, the panther woman in the 1932 film, if so that's really cool. I found this book severely lacking in the actual hybrid aspect, the hybrids aren't as animalistic as I think they should be. There's no M'Ling too, he's my favourite hybrid. But yeah, the hybrids just felt like more people. They don't have their finger classing, they don't have the law, the House of Pain does appear but not very much.. it just felt so lacking. How do the hybrids act so civilized when they don't even have The Law? You could get rid of every aspect of this book relating it to Dr Moreau and it wouldn't be that different. I did like Carlota becoming most beastly as the book goes on, I'm a sucker for female rage portrayed by being a cat girl. This just felt more like Cat People than Dr Moreau honestly, if it'd focused more on the sci-fi and horror aspect I'd have been more into it. I also hope Eduardo isn't supposed to be Edward because Eduardo sucks. Also also Moreau dying at the end threw me off, I think it's really interesting in the original book how long it goes on after him and Montgomery die, you get to see Edward and the beast people deal with it and it's rather deep. But yeah, if you aren't as autistic about Moreau as me this is good.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror and Pregnancy

bubblegirl858's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

One of Silvia’s more interesting book. I like that it was based on another story. I didn’t like her female lead in this book as much as her other books until right at the end, and even then it is 50/50. The plot was super interesting and fascinating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol