Author: Megan Shepherd
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Science Fiction
Source: Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss
Goodreads
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.Review by Nara
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.
*Spoilers regarding the romance from previous books. Although tbh, it's pretty obvious who she ends up with*
A Cold Legacy was definitely a lot more enjoyable than previous books in the series, in part due to the fact that if you've made it this far into the series, you're probably pretty invested in the characters, but also because the romance was a lot better done. No more annoying and unnecessary love triangle, and more focus on the relationship between Montgomery and Juliet. Probably the worst part about Her Dark Curiosity was how Juliet constantly led Edward on when it was annoyingly obvious that the one she was in love with was Montgomery, and I'm infinitely glad that Shepherd decided not to continue with that in this book.
On the other hand, I feel like A Cold Legacy definitely lacked the eerie, creepy atmosphere of its predecessors. Perhaps because we were facing a more known enemy rather than some unnamed mutant beast or serial killer. There was definitely enough tension to keep the pace rolling, though, as well as all these smaller mysteries which kept you interested.
Shepherd put a nice twist on the original tale of Frankenstein, bringing the creepiness and intrigue of reanimating a dead body. Honestly, though, I just had to stop myself overthinking about the science of the process and try to enjoy the horror/scifi side of things. It was so hard though...there were so many things iffy about the science. Like how the heck you would reattach a severed spinal cord from a decapitated head. Mel actually brings up a really good point at the end of her review too.
I feel like A Cold Legacy was a very solid conclusion to the series, which in itself was pretty enjoyable overall. If you're looking for retellings of some of the more unconventional classics, this series is not a bad one to go for.
Liked it
Ratings
Overall: 7/10
Plot: 3.5/5
Romance: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 2/5
