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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
After having my eye on this book for quite some time, I was finally in the mood for a good YA story. Beasts of Prey has had a lot of hype surrounding it, and I'm happy to say, it did not disappoint.
It follows the story of Koffi and Ekon. Koffi is an indentured servant at a zoo, who lost her father at a young age and has been barely surviving with her mother as they toil under the thumb of a cruel taskmaster. Ekon has his sights set on the Sons of the Six, an elite band of warriors who keep the peace in their town. The Shetani is a mythical beast that has terrorized the town for a long time. Dead bodies show up on the edge of the Jungle, and everyone lives in fear of the Shetani. No one has seen it and lived to tell the tale.
One night, a disastrous fire at the zoo sets some things in motion that pulls Koffi and Ekon together, both of them determined to find the Shetani. Ekon wants vengeance for the slaying of his father, and Koffi wants to use it to buy her and her mother's freedom. Both are highly motivated, determined to hunt the beast down in the Jungle. They are in a race against time, and encounter all sorts of mythical beasts and magical creatures in their pursuit.
This story is highly engaging, full of characters that are well fleshed out, with varying motivations and relatable problems. Koffi must deal with her emerging magical powers, and Ekon must deal with the fear of failure. He desperately wants to be a Son of the Six, but at what cost? Even the side characters in this story are well done - from Ekon's brother, to a formidable priest, to Koffi's little "brother"... I flew threw this book.
What really stands out, however, is the worldbuilding and culture. You can tell the author put her soul into creating a world so magical, so deeply ingrained in culture, history, and language. It's absolutely breathtaking. The author does a phenomenal job of interweaving plot, characters, and worldbuilding, where one is not sacrificed for the other.
My only contention is that there were a few scenes that I feel didn't do much to advance the story, and like most YA books, the romance felt unnecessary. It wasn't overdone, for which I was grateful, but it did feel stilted.
All in all, this is a fast-paced, tasteful, engaging read. 4/5 stars, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.
*This review originally published on Booknest.eu*
It follows the story of Koffi and Ekon. Koffi is an indentured servant at a zoo, who lost her father at a young age and has been barely surviving with her mother as they toil under the thumb of a cruel taskmaster. Ekon has his sights set on the Sons of the Six, an elite band of warriors who keep the peace in their town. The Shetani is a mythical beast that has terrorized the town for a long time. Dead bodies show up on the edge of the Jungle, and everyone lives in fear of the Shetani. No one has seen it and lived to tell the tale.
One night, a disastrous fire at the zoo sets some things in motion that pulls Koffi and Ekon together, both of them determined to find the Shetani. Ekon wants vengeance for the slaying of his father, and Koffi wants to use it to buy her and her mother's freedom. Both are highly motivated, determined to hunt the beast down in the Jungle. They are in a race against time, and encounter all sorts of mythical beasts and magical creatures in their pursuit.
This story is highly engaging, full of characters that are well fleshed out, with varying motivations and relatable problems. Koffi must deal with her emerging magical powers, and Ekon must deal with the fear of failure. He desperately wants to be a Son of the Six, but at what cost? Even the side characters in this story are well done - from Ekon's brother, to a formidable priest, to Koffi's little "brother"... I flew threw this book.
What really stands out, however, is the worldbuilding and culture. You can tell the author put her soul into creating a world so magical, so deeply ingrained in culture, history, and language. It's absolutely breathtaking. The author does a phenomenal job of interweaving plot, characters, and worldbuilding, where one is not sacrificed for the other.
My only contention is that there were a few scenes that I feel didn't do much to advance the story, and like most YA books, the romance felt unnecessary. It wasn't overdone, for which I was grateful, but it did feel stilted.
All in all, this is a fast-paced, tasteful, engaging read. 4/5 stars, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.
*This review originally published on Booknest.eu*
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“I know I'm too much, but I don't know how to be less.”
“Nightmares hunt like beasts of prey vanquished in the light of day.”
“You should never apologize for being who you are,” he murmurs. “Or make yourself small so that others feel big.”
“Nightmares hunt like beasts of prey vanquished in the light of day.”
“You should never apologize for being who you are,” he murmurs. “Or make yourself small so that others feel big.”
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liczyłam na więcej magicznego zoo ze stworami, a nie wędrówkowego questa, podczas którego najpierw musimy się bardzo spieszyć, a potem zmieniamy zdanie, jak pojawia się szersza perspektywa.
Fantasy "Afryka" w porządku, ale reszta raczej miałka i przeciętna.
Fantasy "Afryka" w porządku, ale reszta raczej miałka i przeciętna.
I don’t think it was the book… but this thing was SO freaking SLOW. Like.. nothing was happening and I don’t think I cared until the last 10% of the book when things finally started actually HAPPENING.
I believe it was me but the book needed some tweaking as well.
I believe it was me but the book needed some tweaking as well.
Rating-4.5
Thanks to Penguin Teen for advanced reader copy!
”Once upon a time, another lifetime ago, she'd been someone else, a girl with hopes and dreams and loves and wants.She'd been a girl caught between her heart and her mind.In the end she'd chosen both ,a scarier thing, but the braver thing"
Beasts Of Prey is definitely going to be a fantastic debut by the author, it is lush and vividly imaginative.The author rightfully called it Pan-African, while I am not well learned with much lore and myth surrounding the continent of Africa I could still tell that the author had paid an ode to them by including numerous elements.If you are curious about them, make sure to check Ayana's note in the end where she goes in detail explaining how she was inspired to write them into the story
Koffi a young girl indentured to the infamous Night Zoo with full of deadly beasts accidentally causes a damage to the zoo facing the wrath of the notorious zoo keeper, in order to gain freedom for herself, her mother and her dear friend Jabir she barters with the zoo keeper- she promises to capture the most dreaded creature in the land, the Shetani in exchange for their freedom. Ekon is a book obsessed young and smart aspirant who would stop at nothing to join the brotherhood called The Sons of the Sixth faces a predicament which costs his opportunity to become one while narrowly escaping the Shetani itself, in order to reclaim his position he decides to capture the beast himself. Koffi and Ekon meet in an unusual circumstances becomes reluctant alleys while neither of them being completely honest with each other's mission.
The story is narrated in dual POV with occasional backstory of Adiah which I totally adored, those little flashback chapters are my favorites to read, the chapter titles were so fun and thoughtful too. The plot is engaging, writing is flawless and pacing is decent, all though it takes a while for the book to pickup it ended up having lot of twists and turns that kept me turning those pages faster.All in all it has all the elements of an adventurous YA fantasy, the beasts in the story according to the author were inspired by real mythological beasts for most part.I found them and the information about them to be quite fascinating, the characters are well written with a subtle romance which I thought was sweet
It ended on a tear jerking chapter including a bittersweet goodbye and a cliff-hanger-so yah there is that, we need to wait for the next book for a while. The book also reminded me of Children of Blood and Bone which I loved, overall I really enjoyed this book!
Thanks to Penguin Teen for advanced reader copy!
”Once upon a time, another lifetime ago, she'd been someone else, a girl with hopes and dreams and loves and wants.She'd been a girl caught between her heart and her mind.In the end she'd chosen both ,a scarier thing, but the braver thing"
Beasts Of Prey is definitely going to be a fantastic debut by the author, it is lush and vividly imaginative.The author rightfully called it Pan-African, while I am not well learned with much lore and myth surrounding the continent of Africa I could still tell that the author had paid an ode to them by including numerous elements.If you are curious about them, make sure to check Ayana's note in the end where she goes in detail explaining how she was inspired to write them into the story
Koffi a young girl indentured to the infamous Night Zoo with full of deadly beasts accidentally causes a damage to the zoo facing the wrath of the notorious zoo keeper, in order to gain freedom for herself, her mother and her dear friend Jabir she barters with the zoo keeper- she promises to capture the most dreaded creature in the land, the Shetani in exchange for their freedom. Ekon is a book obsessed young and smart aspirant who would stop at nothing to join the brotherhood called The Sons of the Sixth faces a predicament which costs his opportunity to become one while narrowly escaping the Shetani itself, in order to reclaim his position he decides to capture the beast himself. Koffi and Ekon meet in an unusual circumstances becomes reluctant alleys while neither of them being completely honest with each other's mission.
The story is narrated in dual POV with occasional backstory of Adiah which I totally adored, those little flashback chapters are my favorites to read, the chapter titles were so fun and thoughtful too. The plot is engaging, writing is flawless and pacing is decent, all though it takes a while for the book to pickup it ended up having lot of twists and turns that kept me turning those pages faster.All in all it has all the elements of an adventurous YA fantasy, the beasts in the story according to the author were inspired by real mythological beasts for most part.I found them and the information about them to be quite fascinating, the characters are well written with a subtle romance which I thought was sweet
It ended on a tear jerking chapter including a bittersweet goodbye and a cliff-hanger-so yah there is that, we need to wait for the next book for a while. The book also reminded me of Children of Blood and Bone which I loved, overall I really enjoyed this book!
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated