The Summer Blogger Tour: Dana Square

Today we have Dana from Dana Square. Dana is a 17 year-old from New York with a love of books, movies, TV and make-up (girl after my own heart!) She blames her brother for her love of books, which is nice because the only thing I blame my brother for is my hight complex. ;)

You can also find Dana on TWITTER.

For this post Dana and I have had ourselves a little book club! We both had The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd on our reading list and I thought this would be a really fun was to tick it off. Bellow we've answered some book club style questions and I will warn you now, if you haven't read the book then there are some MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.

Got quite a few things to talk about in my #bookclubreview with @danasquare for our Summer blogger Tour post :) pic.twitter.com/5ZbTlpNLaV
— Mily (@TheYANightstand) July 5, 2014

What were you’re first thought’s when finishing The Madman’s Daughter?

Mily: That I needed book two! This is such a good book, a lot darker than I imagined it would be but still really amazing. I’ve not read the H.G. Well’s book so I can’t make any comparisons but for me it had a very strong Frankenstein vibe to it. Shepherd’s descriptive skills are insane – no pun intended – which made the whole book creepy and completely captivating.

Dana: That ending! WHAT WAS THAT? I got teary eyed. I have seen some of the movie because of my grandmother and now I need to read the original. I knew the basics of the story going into it, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it like this. I loved that it had this genre bending feel to it. It was historical, romantic, filled with science fiction, and there were fantasy elements as well (the shapeshifting thing).

Mily: I totally agree! I had been told this book was good but I really didn’t think it was going to be THAT good. I know right? How could he leave her?

Dana: I need to buy book two now because of that cliffhanger.

Do you think the wait Juliet defines herself as the book progresses?

Mily: I loved the change in Juliet throughout this book. From her need to be part of society to her bold un-lady-like out bursts towards the end. She fines her own voice and comes to terms with the animal inside her, which I’m not sure I would have been able to do. I think that by the end of the book Juliet is stronger and much less naïve. Although at times I still found her a little selfish. Especially at the end with Balthazar!

Dana: I don’t think Juliet was that great of a female protagonist despite the evident progression in character. I definitely disagreed with her actions during multiple parts of the book. I think she was very hypocritical at the end and selfish. She was by no means a perfect and impartial narrator. At times I liked that she was flawed and had these contradictions; it made for an interesting internal conflict.

Mily: I don’t know. I think you’re being a little harsh on her. Okay, I completely agree what she was selfish at the end but I found that her flaws made her endearing.

Dana: She annoyed me a lot. It didn’t take away from my love for this book, but I am not her biggest fan.

How did you feel about the relationship between Juliet and her father?

Mily: I hate him. Full stop end of story. I think that he got what he deserved and I hope that Jaguar had a right old chow down on the not-so-good doctor! I hated the way that he acted with his daughter and the fact that he only ever saw her as a means to push his scientific discoveries forward. I pitied Juliet because of this and I found that as the book went on and their relationship became more tenuous that I was glad, because at least this way Juliet can see what a monster her father really is.

Dana: He is a horrible human being. Juliet and her father had a very interesting relationship. I agree that I loved the character development we see in Juliet from beginning to end, where her opinion of her father is concerned. At the beginning she believed his lies and doubted the truth. By the end of the book there is zero doubt that he is the true abomination of this story.

What was your least favorite part of the book?

Mily: The cover! I actually loved pretty much all of the book itself although that cover is leaving little to be desired! I get it; I just wouldn’t have picked it up in a shop.

Dana: I think the cover is pretty, but it could have more to do with the story. My least favorite part was how unsympathetic Juliet was for Balthazar and Edward, especially Balthazar. Edward was winning my heart by the end of the story even when she found out the truth about him. Balthazar was innocent in this and yes he was deformed, but she felt it was best for him to live on that island. That just makes me like her less.

Mily: I agree with you there. Juliet had sort of won me over but in that moment I wanted to slap her. I think I secretly love Balthazar. Not like romantically but the way you would love a sibling or a pet.

Dana: How could you not? Balthazar was so innocent in all of this.

What did you think of Montgomery’s decision to stay behind? What choice would you have made?

Mily: You mean apart from the fact it broke my heart? I kind of saw it coming, not a long way off but from the moment the three of them were getting ready to leave the island. I wanted to throw the book at his head and tell him to get in the damn boat but at the same time I understand why he did it. It was actually quite moving, that he would choose his responsibilities over his love for a girl he’s been parted from for so long. If I were in his position I probably would have left. I think that my heart would have won over my head, although I would have insisted on taking Balthazar! I still can’t believe Juliet even considered leaving him behind!

Dana: IT BROKE MY HEART, TOO! I didn’t expect it. In my head I was hoping he would make Balthazar come along, which that whole situation angers me. I really loved Montgomery’s loyalty to those he wronged. I would have thrown Balthazar on that boat and hit the road jack.

Did you feel like there was any redemption for Juliet’s father, Dr. Moreau?

Mily: Maybe sixteen years ago but now, no! He’s a monster, mad with power and incapable of seeing reason. I’m glad he died and I hope that Juliet can see that she’s nothing like him.

Dana: HAHA no; when Juliet was a baby, perhaps. He was too far off the deep end for redemption.

Mily:  I guess that’s a resounding no then!

If you had been in Jaguar’s potion would you have chosen to regress? How would you cope finding out that you we’re all human?

Mily: I don’t know. I think I would have had some kind of psychotic break if I had found out I was made from a collection of animal parts but I’m not sure I would have been able to give it up the way he did.

Dana: I don’t think I would have been able to give up the humanity. That would definitely be a crazy thing to find out, but I wouldn’t go back.

How did you feel towards Edward? Did you hate him? Love him? Pity him?

Mily: I pitied him. It wasn’t like he was going around killing people for fun. I had this uneasy feeling about Edward at the beginning but by the time we find out that he’s the ‘monster’ I had completely forgotten about it and was in total shock. I mean I wouldn’t have chosen him over Montgomery but I had respect for him. I wish they could have found a way to make him better. To make him human.

Dana: I fell in love with Edward. Montgomery was a great character, but Edward was in a lot of ways this lost soul and I loved the complexities in his character. He couldn’t control who he was and his actions weren’t his fault. I really connected with him from when they rescued him. I was rooting for him from the beginning, but Montgomery was a great male love interest too.

@TheYANightstand @SJBouquet Edward just wanted to be loved #TheMadmansDaughter #bookclub #SummerBloggerPromoTour
— BookNerdSquared (@danasquare) July 18, 2014

Mily: No! How could you choose him over Montgomery? I’m shocked Dana…

Dana: I think my love for Edward grew more so after finding out he was the monster. Don’t get me wrong I loved him before, but I am crazy about sympathetic villains.

How did you feel about the experiments Dr. Moreau was doing? Did you think Montgomery was just as bad as the Dr.?

Mily: We had this discussion back when I was going my GCSE’s and we talked about Frankenstein and his motives for what he was doing. I have more sympathy for Frankenstein but essentially it’s the same kind of thing. They were playing God, although Moreau was hurting the creatures in the process. He was cruel and his experiments were inhumane.

As far as Montgomery is concerned, in a way yes I think he’s just as bad. He was messing around with things that he shouldn’t be. Although as far as a human being he was kind and nothing like the Dr.

Dana: Moreau was a perfect villain and not one of those villains that you could sympathize with. He was evil and he thought he was doing something good. He called himself a god.

Montgomery though was a good person and had the ability to love. But in many ways he is worse than Moreau because he knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. I don’t think Moreau ever saw what he was doing was wrong. Yet, Montgomery does the right thing in the end and takes care of what he did, dealing with the consequences.

Mily: I don’t want to agree with you because I’m a little in love with Montgomery but I do. Moreau was certifiably insane. Montgomery was not. I hadn’t looked at it that way before.

Dana: I still think he is a good person, but his actions are worse than Moreau’s in my mind. (P.S: I think that it is really cool that we can display different sides by liking different aspects of the book J. )

What was you’re favorite moment from The Madman’s Daughter?

Mily: Well to start with there was the moment when Montgomery finally kisses Juliet! That was hot!! But I think that my favorite moment was when Juliet shouts at her father for the first time:

“You’re a female. You can’t control yourself.”

“The hell I can’t.” I pushed off the table, swinging my fist.

If only she had hit him! I think it would have made my day, although Dr. Moreau did get his fare share of punches thrown at him.

Dana: I really loved the moment when Juliet connects everything together and we realized who the monster was. Edward III being the literary name that Edward was given by Moreau. I also really loved when Edward tells Juliet that the picture was of her and her mother. It was so sweet and I loved it.

Mily: So in other words you just loved Edwards? ;)

Dana:  That would be an accurate observation. ;)