16182308Title: A Cold Legacy

Author: Megan Shepherd

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: January 2015

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Historical

Series or Stand Alone: Series, Book Three

 

 

Synopsis can be found here.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Review:

Ahh! I waited anxiously for a year for this third and final book to come out in The Madman Daughter’s trilogy. A twisted retelling of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Juliet arrives to a very creepy and mysterious house in Scotland with a very sick Edward, a heartbroken Lucy and secretive Montgomery in tow. But as they stay at the mansion, all signs point to Elizabeth von Stein’s lie – that Dr. Frankenstein’s notes and theories have NOT been destroyed. As Edward grows sicker and Lucy grows more despserate, what measures is Juliet prepared to take in order to save her friends? And at what cost?

I really enjoyed the plot twists and retelling of Frankenstein. Shepherd does a wonderful job of taking the original story and turning it over and over again to something fully believable in her world with her characters. There are a lot of fun references to the original as well as some great mention of events from the past two books in the series, which were retellings of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Island of Dr. Moreau. That said, the book stands on its own two feet and the events leading up to this final installment are well crafted and nicely woven. I never felt like she was trying to re-create the Frankenstein book – only that she understands the books so well that it’s more of a homage rather than a retelling.

That said, there was some serious romantic drama in the book I didn’t care for. Yes, a little bit stems on the secrets Montgomery is keeping from Juliet, but a lot of it is superfluous. I never had a strong interest in Montgomery, finding Edward the far more interesting and superior of the men. Also, Juliet and Edward had a bit of thing in the last couple books, but in this one a HUGE bucket of ice water has been thrown on both of them. Now we are to believe that neither of them have romantic feelings for each other and they’ve both grown out of it. Sorry but there was so much time and effort put into this love triangle, I had a really hard time believing that now Juliet only sees Edward as a friend and vice versa. (especially when I like Edward way more). Juliet goes on and on about how strong her feelings are for Montgomery, but I don’t see it. It doesn’t leap out of the page. I don’t buy it. So – what?

Also, while I love the book overall, Juliet has to be one of the stupidest girls ever. Also, she’s a genius. Let me rephrase. She’s super book smart and can manipulate and recreate science. She problem solves and is through and through a scientist. Then why does she act so dumb? There were so many times that I wanted to reach into the book and shake her and say, “For a smart girl, you are pretty dumb.” I’m not going to go into it, but it def. bugged me. Like how can a girl reanimate the dead, but then decides to tell a hugely inappropriate secret that is just OBVIOUSLY going to turn out bad? (eye roll big time)

Overall, A Cold Legacy is a great ending to a very strong trilogy. It’s my least favorite of the three and the ending didn’t work out the way I had hoped but it was still a well written and fun ride with haunting settings, darkness and a cold shiver.

Rating 6 Good