Reviews

Beasts of War by Ayana Gray

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ethana's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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? It's complicated

2.75

I hate to say it but this book was disappointing. I liked the first two installations of the series fine- the world building and setting is so vibrant and definitely a highlight, and I especially enjoyed reading about Ekon and his struggles with anxiety and fighting back against religious indoctrination. But this book just did not stick the landing for me for one big reason: the plot. Spoiler ahead.

Everything just felt far too convenient. Their camp is attacked but pretty much every character that matters are the only survivors. New quest is unlocked: find the rest of the gods and ask for their help, but they've only got about three weeks. They manage to find Amakoya and she sends them on a quest to find a bracelet. This is where the problem started to worsen because I still don't know what the point of this quest was beyond to run down the clock and needlessly pad an already long book. They think they found the bracelet but don't manage to get it and decide to move on. They don't so much find Atuno or Itaashe so much as they conveniently find them (usually just in time to rescue them from some new threat as a literal deus ex machina). There are far too many instances of the group getting conveniently rescued by just the people they're looking for in this book just in the nick of time. One of these times they're conveniently rescued nets them three benefits: they meet Akande, who just so happens to have the real bracelet (the one they tried to steal earlier was a fake, rendering the plot point even more pointless in retrospect), *and* Itaashe happens to show up too! So few of the events that take place in this book feel earned because they just happen to the characters while they're wandering vaguely in a direction. And the book ends with the gods just showing up and doing pretty much everything so the plot can be wrapped up in a neat little bow, rendering the involvement of the protagonists all but pointless.

The characters also felt like a point of struggle in this book, with Koffi especially feeling all over the place from chapter to chapter. She starts the book with silver pocks on her shoulder that seem to spread the more she uses the splendor, meant as a sign that keeping it in her is taking a physical toll, but this is implemented inconsistently throughout the book. There's a few instances where she experiences pain using her gift, but most of the time she's fine, and little attention is given to her having to hide this from strangers. The spread of the pocks is also inconsistent and all but forgotten by the book's conclusion. Her personality shifts are also seemingly meant to be a symptom of the splendor as well, but she just barely felt recognizable as the Koffi from the previous two books. She just came across as so much more generic in a really disappointing way.

The side characters also suffered as the book went on, and they seemingly have little to do beyond provide generic banter. Granted, I read Beasts of Ruin last year so my memory of it isn't perfect, but I don't recall the other daraja being quite so one-note as they are in Beasts of War. There's so much going on in the plot that it feels like there's little room in the plot for anyone who isn't Koffi, Ekon, or maybe Akande. And don't even get me started on the pointlessness of Zain's last second death.

I wanted so badly to enjoy this book. The world has so many interesting places and unique creatures to explore, as well as so many interesting character dynamics that could have been explored but ultimately weren't. The plot is disjointed and overly contrived, with story elements coming and going seemingly on a whim. The Untethered show up to create tension but are otherwise ignored. The potentially complicated romantic entanglements of Ekon, Safiyah, Koffi and Zain are only half resolved by hastily murdering Zain at yhe last minute and seemingly forgetting Safiyah exists. The climax took place so fast and wrapped up so easily I was left confused and wondering "That was it? After all that fuss, that was it?"

kaceyjoy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

geeky_spider's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

4.5

bethjanereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

Such a good conclusion to this story! I loved meeting all of the gods and how everything concluded. Ekon’s anxiety rep is just so perfect. The last however many pages had me in a chokehold. And Zain! 😭😭 super cute epilogue I loved it!!