Review: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (#1) by Theodora Goss

 

 

Title: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (#1)

Author: Theodora Goss

Published by: SAGA PRESS

Released: 2017

Source: Library

 

Synopsis: Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts:Trigger warning for death of a parent and death of animals. I am very sensitive when it comes to animal death, it affects me much more then people death.

 I loved this! It was such an entertaining and fun story. It also felt very unique from other books that I've read. It's a gem of a story.

One of the things I love about it is it has this great Found Family element. I'm always a fan of stories where people or aren't necessarily related come to depend and form tight bonds with each other. They all came from different circumstances, but they just fit perfectly together. This also has a really good Girl Gang vibe to it. The characters are what really makes this story.

I also loved the whole famous monsters of literature angle that this worked with and changed up a little. We get famous monster daughters, kinda. We've got Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Justine Frankenstein, Catherine Moreau, and Beatrice Rappacinni. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson also make appearances. Each character is unique and important to the story.

I also really enjoyed the way this story was told. It starts off normal, but then you quickly realize that this is a story told after the fact. The girls are writing down their adventures and they will pop into the narrative to tell the writer to tell the story right. They will complain about how they are portrayed in a certain section. It's a unique way to tell a story. Not everyone is going to like the little interruptions to the main story, but I thought they were very fun. They also worked to help flesh out the characters even more.

I also really enjoyed the humor of this. Mary Jekyll has become the keeper of these girls, she tries to be the voice of reason. Diana can be very funny, but she's also the craziest. Diana is probably the one who made me laugh the most by just seeing the other girls try to make her behave.

I'm so excited to continue with their adventures. I've got the next book ready. This is a great story. I was never bored reading it, it had a really great pace. It was a lot of fun. I had a vague sense that I would like it, but I didn't realize that I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. I recommend this one 100%.

 

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 5/5

I Loved This! Girl Gang for the Win.