There are many a times a book is stuck within okay and I liked it. It's safe to say Her Dark Curiosity is definitely one of those few. So we are back to a square one. Juliet Moreau is back to a square one, in London. Nothing much happens in the former part of the book. But when this book decides to go down a dark and gory path, it is merciless. |
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 secrets 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 of 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 is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.
Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets 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 of 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 is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.
A flower itself was rare enough in winter. I knew all too well how much care and tending they needed to stay as fresh as this one was. It lay all by itself on a patch of sidewalk wiped of snow as though someone had left it for me, creamy white petals radiating from a gold center, a delicate stem no thicker than a boot lace. |
I swear I have a vivid imagination. In these situations, I was always holding my book a safe distance away from my face in case the Wolf of Whitechapel or something worse jumps out. All these fantastic albeit creepy moments got me thinking why couldn't I have picked this up sooner.
Parts like these were perfect.
Ominous settings flawlessly to put in place to set the characters and the readers up for such moments. I like my settings dark and awful. But I love it even more when my characters have a little malice at heart.
Parts like these were perfect.
Ominous settings flawlessly to put in place to set the characters and the readers up for such moments. I like my settings dark and awful. But I love it even more when my characters have a little malice at heart.
Lucy twisted her neck to stare at me in horror. "Juliet, what have you done?" |
Juliet's smart and vicious with scheming, I can definitely assure you chemicals are her best friend. However intelligent, she doesn't want to admit that she has that darkness in her heart and she is just as mad as her father.
"No serum can change who you are. Nor should you change. Genius or madness - it all depends on who's telling the story." His hand stopped tapping, and that humanity flickered again in his eye. "You're perfect as you are, my love." |
The Beast was a necessary aspect as someone introducing Juliet to her evil side whilst she was in denial. In fact, at times the Beast felt like the true image of Juliet's darker side.
And in this book, I surprisingly liked the supporting characters a lot. Like a lot a lot. The friendship and support from these characters are just wonderful. Secrets were obviously kept when necessary but this isn't the kind of book to involve only love interests in the main plot and girl friends involved when convenient. Everyone just sticks together.
And in this book, I surprisingly liked the supporting characters a lot. Like a lot a lot. The friendship and support from these characters are just wonderful. Secrets were obviously kept when necessary but this isn't the kind of book to involve only love interests in the main plot and girl friends involved when convenient. Everyone just sticks together.
"Very well. We go together." He glanced at me. "Now I understand why you're friends. I thought you were the most impossible woman in the world, but now I see there are two of you." |
I just love how the author has created such a dark and mysterious story in a historical context. Basically, it was all the vicious parts that captured my attention most and really kept me going. Juliet was the kind of protagonist more young-adult books need. She's strong and independent. Despite the abundance of dudes here, she didn't depend fully on them. She gets things done herself and along the way she does make mistakes. Maybe even allow her evil to take over a while, but she realises them even as she lived in denial that it was all her father's work that she had this dark part in her soul. She kept her violent tendencies on a tight leash.
Notice how I said the friendships part was great and not relationships. Let's face it, the romance sucked big time.
Notice how I said the friendships part was great and not relationships. Let's face it, the romance sucked big time.
He'd won my affection, but his betrayal had left my heart dashed against the rocks, broken and bleeding. |
Even Lucy was infatuated with a dude that she barely knew. We basically get a bunch of the "I love Montgomery but he betrayed and abandoned me" and "I'm only with Edward and making out with him because I'm lonely. No, I can't love a murderer" parts a lot. At points like this, Juliet was insufferable.
She was reckless. She was lonely. She conveniently hooked up with Edward for one night out of desperation. After a good night's sleep and she woke up being like nahh, actually you should know Montgomery is my one and only love. Just saying
She was reckless. She was lonely. She conveniently hooked up with Edward for one night out of desperation. After a good night's sleep and she woke up being like nahh, actually you should know Montgomery is my one and only love. Just saying
"... but I've never stopped loving Montgomery. I thought you understood that." |
I'm done with this triangle. I prefer neither Edward nor Montgomery. Let us just go back to the part where everything was dark and gory and we can pretend everyone was a strong independent women who don't need no man.