Review: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Title:  A Cold Legacy 

Author: Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Publishing Date: January 27th 2015
Pages: 400
Genre: YA Gothic Horror/Classic Retelling/Historical Fiction
Series: The Madman's Daughter #3
Source:  Audio

  

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. 

This one was a very sad anticipated read for me. I love this series and its great to see it come to an end but also sad to say goodbye. Luckily Megan Shepherd has a  new series coming out and I will for sure read it. I Love Love Love her writing. This book continues the story of Juliet and her friends as they travel to Scotland to see the decedents of Dr. Frankenstein. So Exciting. The book picked up right at the end of Her Dark Curiosity and just took off. I felt this book was the fastest pace out of all the books and it was jammed pack of stuff. It almost felt like three stories in one. I loved it. The beautiful writing was back, my beloved characters were back, the story just increased with excitement and thrills. It was the perfect end to an amazing series. 

Juliet and her friends (Lucy. Montgomery, and Edward) are off to see the help and take refuge among Dr. Frankenstein's decedents- Elizabeth's family home, the Von Stein manor named Valentine. They travel all cloak and dagger style until the reach the manor where they find not answers but more secrets. More darkness. More craziness. Juliet of course struggles more with her identity, is she turning into her father, as she is tempted with Frankenstein's science. 

This book was so good. I loved The Madman's Daughter, enjoyed Her  Dark Curiosity, but this book blew me away. It was such an intense book and the perfect ending. I had a feeling I would love this book because out of the three classics, Frankenstein is my favorite story. 

Again, Megan Shepherd did an astonishing job of blending her own story with the classic and of course tying it in with the other classics that inspired her series. One of my favorite things to see in retellings is a series that is connected using different tales. Shepherd did this in way that seemed effortless and meant to be. I loved the fact that they were classic horror retellings. I feel that these are under appreciated when it comes to retellings. 

The writing was beautiful and dark just like the previous books. This one felt a bit more dark than Her Dark Curiosity bringing me back to the creepy darkness of The Madman's Daughter. The question of humanity, what is right or wrong, is playing God ever OK when the end justifies the means. All these questions and so much more. 

The dark science and the madness wasn't all that filled this book,. We have romance between Juliet and Montgomery. The book doesn't focus on it solely but it is a big part of the book. What I liked was the romance matched the characters. It wasn't over done for the sake of romance being included. Juliet and Montgomery are very different but what they both share is the need, the desire to save their friends and escape the darkness that has shrouded them for well their entire lives. The romance is there and of course Montgomery is sweeter than Juliet but only because Juliet is so scientific. She does love Montgomery and it really shows in this book. Their relationship did hit some bumps in this book but of course they are great together and Montgomery will never leave her side, I am sure of it. 

All the wonderfulness of the diverse characters were in this book and maybe even more. We have Lucy, and she fills the book so much more in this installment. I do love her so. We have Edward. Not as prominent as the last book but still a big part of it. We have Juliet and Montgomery. We have some old ones reappear... not giving that away. We also have some intriguing and delightful (and not so delightful) new ones. The characters just rock, each and every one. Shepherd has a way with character development that I just love. 

The ending was fitting, it filled me with sadness but fulfillment. I feel that I have closure and although there were some parts that were hard to get through and very tearful, I am happy with the ending. Sad to see it end though. This will remain one of my all time favorite series. The books are gorgeous too.... So yes they will look great sitting on my shelf. 

The perfect ending with all the greatness of the prior books. 

Megan Shepherd was "born" into the book world, growing up in her parents' independent bookstore in Western North Carolina. She is the author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2013), and THE CAGE trilogy (Balzer+Bray/2015). When Megan is not writing, she can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. She is represented by Josh Adams at Adams Literary.