This was a retelling of the Island of Doctor Moreau, from the perspectives of one of the origial characters (Montgomery) and a new character, Carlota Moreau, who you can guess who she is from the title. It takes place over about 8 years, but really it is mostly when Carlota is a young woman.

I haven’t read the Island of Doctor Moreau, so I’m not sure how much of it reflects the book. Montgomery isn’t a doctor in this novel (though he is an alcoholic) and it seems from a brief glance at Wikipedia, that none of the human-animal hybrids are the same either. There are two main ‘hybrids’ (rather than beast-folk) in this novel, Lupe and Cachito, who reflect some of their genetic ancestry, but are very human in their actions and thoughts. The other hybrids we only get some brief scenes with, but from that we know that Doctor Moreau’s work turns out creatures that exist with significant pain and deformities.

The main conflict in the book starts to arise when the son of Moreau’s patron appears at their villa. A whirlwind romance between Carlota and Eduardo ensue, with the encouragement of the doctor himself. Part of the conflict is that Moreau’s patron was looking for docile workers but Moreau’s results were not satisfactory – so he started to cut off funding. The doctor hoped that through a marriage, he’d be able to continue his work. There’s a big spoiler, that I won’t reveal, though you might catch on throughout the novel (I certainly did).

It was a good read, lots of interesting ethics with the hybrids themselves. Also all the background politics in Mexico (at that time), propel along some the scene setting and the reason for the conflict. I felt the world building was definitely the strong point of this novel.

I wasn’t annoyed by the characters, but I didn’t like them a whole lot. Carlota was sheltered, Montgomery a temperamental companion, and Eduardo a clear controlling jerk. Moreau himself was also a complete patriarchal asshat with a god-complex. So there wasn’t a lot to like in terms of characters. I didn’t dislike them (aside from the ones you should dislike), so it wasn’t hard to read. However, I wish there was just a bit more to like with the characters. It also just seemed that everyone was always in a bad mood, or would just cause nitpicking fights in every other scene.

The best part was definitely the last part of the book, where some of the revelations around Moreau’s work are revealed. It was just the right amount of tension and action, so it concluded at quite a clip.

I don’t think it’s my favourite of Morena-Garcia’s work, but it was still entertaining.