A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Release Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Series: The Madman’s Daughter, Book 3
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Read my review of The Madman’s Daughter HERE.

Read my review of Her Dark Curiosity HERE.

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

Immediately after finishing Her Dark Curiosity, the second book in the series, I was DESPERATE for this one. Out of the three gothic novels that this series is based on – The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein – I’ve only read Mary Shelley’s. I, in fact, actually had to write a paper on Frankenstein and Dracula, focusing on the elements of gothic literature. This series all-in-all really was a total home run for me because I really enjoyed learning about gothic fiction and Shepherd’s trilogy was a perfect embodiment of the elements from that particular era and genre. Anyway, that being said, Frankenstein was the only one I’ve read and that’s why I was SUPER excited to get to A Cold Legacy.

Some details were a bit foggy in my mind since I read Her Dark Curiosity. I read it at the beginning of last year, so it took me a while to remember what exactly happened. I could remember the last few pages, and little bits and bobs of information, but it’s the events leading up to the climax that I couldn’t remember. I think I’ll have to re-read this series (as well as the original stories) because I’d love to see the different links and what Shepherd has taken and reimagined in her fantastic series. 

However, I don’t think this book had the same “shock" factor the previous books have had. The climax and twists all felt kind of meh, and I was left slightly underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy how it ended, but I wish it went out with more of a bang. The previous two books were absolutely perfect when it came to executing plot twists, such as who Edward really is, Juliet’s past, etc. The end of this book however, it felt like the information that came forth was just a bit redundant, and while it did change the past, at this point it was almost as if it was stretching it just a teeny bit too far. Maybe it’s been too long since I’d read the last two books in the series, but I seriously didn’t think that the information revealed was too shocking.

The characters remain pretty much the same as the preceding books. Juliet becomes a bit less mood-swingy I’m glad to say, but she does make some awful decisions that kind of makes you want to bury your head in the sand. Lucy becomes a part of the main cast in this book, but boy is she annoying. I felt so mad at her sometimes for being so stupid, honestly.  Anyway, there are some new characters come along as well as the return of some old ones, lots of interesting new things to learn, and I like how the classic stories and this new retelling blend so well together.

Dark, seductive and thrilling as always, A Cold Legacy was a fantastic end to a bewitching series. Shepherd’s take on Frankenstein is wonderfully gruesome and brilliantly completes the gothic trilogy and tale of the madman’s daughter. I’m sad to say goodbye to a series that I’ve loved from the start, but of course, I’ll always be excited to read whatever she has next in store! That being said, I can’t wait for The Cage–Megan Shepherd’s next trilogy is sure to be even better than her first.

If you like this, try...

• This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee ● Goodreads
• The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell ● Goodreads
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray ● Goodreads