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lexiscee 's review for:
Beasts of Prey
by Ayana Gray
I was debating whether to give this 4 or 5 stars, but honestly, it deserves 5!
There are so many layers to the story. The worldbuilding is interesting and intricate, the characters are bright and distinctive on the page, and Gray's writing style is really doing it for me.
Beasts of Prey is a Pan-African fantasy inspired by lore, animals, language, and even historical figures from many different African nations, as Gray explains in her author's note. Gray also explores forced diaspora. You can really feel her love and devotion to the world and the story that she's created, and it gives the book that extra layer that makes the world come alive.
I also love that she included an annotation of her first chapter in the back of the book!
It does have some classic YA tropes, but I loved the main characters and the central theme of finding yourself and overcoming past trauma. The story follows two main characters: Koffi, an indentured beastkeeper of the Night Zoo, and Ekon, a trainee for a band of religious warriors called the Sons of Six. When Koffi accidentally unleashes magic she didn’t know she had, called the splendor, it gets her in trouble with the owner of the Night Zoo. She finds herself teaming up with Ekon, who is trying to prove himelf worthy of being a warrior, in order to track down a monster called the Shetani.
I also ended up enjoying puzzling out how one of the POVs connected with the others.
This is a great beginning to the series and I recommend it if you're looking for a story with multiple POVs, great characters, monsters, magic, and a creepy jungle!
There are so many layers to the story. The worldbuilding is interesting and intricate, the characters are bright and distinctive on the page, and Gray's writing style is really doing it for me.
Beasts of Prey is a Pan-African fantasy inspired by lore, animals, language, and even historical figures from many different African nations, as Gray explains in her author's note. Gray also explores forced diaspora. You can really feel her love and devotion to the world and the story that she's created, and it gives the book that extra layer that makes the world come alive.
I also love that she included an annotation of her first chapter in the back of the book!
It does have some classic YA tropes, but I loved the main characters and the central theme of finding yourself and overcoming past trauma. The story follows two main characters: Koffi, an indentured beastkeeper of the Night Zoo, and Ekon, a trainee for a band of religious warriors called the Sons of Six. When Koffi accidentally unleashes magic she didn’t know she had, called the splendor, it gets her in trouble with the owner of the Night Zoo. She finds herself teaming up with Ekon, who is trying to prove himelf worthy of being a warrior, in order to track down a monster called the Shetani.
I also ended up enjoying puzzling out how one of the POVs connected with the others.
This is a great beginning to the series and I recommend it if you're looking for a story with multiple POVs, great characters, monsters, magic, and a creepy jungle!