This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 The Mad Scientist's Daughter is a beautiful book. Even if you're not a science fiction fan and don't care for stories about robots (side note: Robots are cool! What's wrong with you?) this book has definite cross genre appeal. 
 There is just SO much to this story. We follow Cat from childhood to adulthood and experience everything in between. Her first boyfriend, bullies at school, university, marriage, the death of her mother. All the highs and lows of her life. I think this grand overview worked in the context of this story - though at the expense of some secondary character development - because we got to see the relationship between her and Finn develop, adapt and change over time. Sometimes it was sweet, other times it was pushed to the limits. There were no easy so solutions or fade-to-black happily ever afters. All actions had consequences - both positive and negative and their relationship didn't exist frozen in time. I really appreciated the authenticity and honest of it all. 
 In addition what made this book so heart warming for me was the way if raised questions about the nature of love. What does it mean to love someone and be loved in return? Can love conquer all? What lengths should you go to be with the one you love. The list goes on. I thought the constantly evolving relationship between Cat and Finn (from tutor-student to potentially more) was beautifully constructed and more romantic than I would have ever expected. 
 Now before you begin worrying that this book is all about love, I think The Mad Scientist's Daughter also raised some fascinating questions about the nature of human consciousness. Specially, what makes someone human and when does "sentience" become human thought and intelligence. Where is the line and how will we know when we've crossed it. I think these are interesting questions to be asking ourselves in an age of constantly evolving technology and ideas of Artificial Intelligence. There was one particular scene that reminded me A LOT of Hal in 2001: A Space Odyessy and I think Cassandra Rose Clarke drew some interesting parallels. 
 So though, The Mad Scientist's Daughter is science fiction, it is also a romance. And it is an interesting blending of the two. There are no heroes or heroines. It is simply the story of their lives over time. I think some amazing conversations can spring from the reading of this novel and it will definitely have a home on my shelf for years to come. 
 Recommendation: Even if you don't consider yourself a science fiction fan READ THIS BOOK. It is gorgeous and thought provoking and fascinating. Even better - try and get someone else to read it at the same time. It's a novel that demands to be talked about.