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devansbooklife's review against another edition
4.0
"But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all the cages"?
I really enjoyed the vivid world Rachel Vincent created. I would love to see some of the creatures drawn out in color. The descriptions were detailed however some things were hard for me to picture though my brain tried. I would have given this 5 stars but the ending left a lot to be desired. I understand that this is a series, but I felt there were some glaring plot holes. I would like to think the follow upbook will answer more.
The story is fresh and unique without being unbelievable if that makes any sense. The cruelty some of the characters exhibited tore at my heart, but I felt it made the tension between the humans and the cryptids more palpable. It was a living breathing monster of fear and rage that supported the story line.
I really enjoyed the vivid world Rachel Vincent created. I would love to see some of the creatures drawn out in color. The descriptions were detailed however some things were hard for me to picture though my brain tried. I would have given this 5 stars but the ending left a lot to be desired. I understand that this is a series, but I felt there were some glaring plot holes. I would like to think the follow upbook will answer more.
The story is fresh and unique without being unbelievable if that makes any sense. The cruelty some of the characters exhibited tore at my heart, but I felt it made the tension between the humans and the cryptids more palpable. It was a living breathing monster of fear and rage that supported the story line.
fleurhoplof's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
librariansrule's review against another edition
4.0
Such a great premise, so hard to put down! Loved that there wasn't a single vampire in the mix.
Plus, it's set in Oklahoma, so that's a bonus, too.
Plus, it's set in Oklahoma, so that's a bonus, too.
nyeran's review against another edition
4.0
- “An hour ago, I would have sworn that a man's body wouldn't fit in a standard trash bag, and that even if it did, it'd be too heavy to lift."
- "Pieces always fit better than the whole," he said. "And a corpse weighs less after you drain the blood."
- "Spoken like a true psychopath.”
Non c’è il romance.
Non c’è il romance.
Non c’è il romance.
NON C’È IL ROMANCE.
♠ Una parte di me avrebbe voluto dargli cinque stelle solo per questo. Purtroppo sono una brutta persona e se ne prende quattro. Solo quattro stelle perché le prime 50 pagine sono di una lentezza soporifera e la storia comincia a farsi interessante solo dal momento in cui Delilah si ritrova mal menagerie. Solo quattro stelle perché la risoluzione finale è stata fin troppo tranquilla, prima di quel momento ci sono stati stupri, smembramenti e torture e benchè la spiegazione sul perché non uccidere nessuno abbia senso mi ha lasciata un po’ con l’amaro in bocca. 4 stelle anche perchè sebbene la maggior parte dei pov non mi abbia infastidito, ne confusa, ne abbia rallento la lettura ho trovato alcuni capitoli altamente inutili. Tipo quelli di Charity, madre di Delilah, quello di Metzenger e di Kevin, avrei preferito più capitoli visti dal pov degli altri prigionieri dello zoo.
♠ Prigionieri dello zoo che sono, senza dubbio, la parte interessante di questo libro, le loro vite, le loro interazioni con Delilah, sono allo stesso tempo divertenti e dolorose ed è bellissimo che tra tutti non ci sia nessuno/a che abbia il ruolo di stronzo/a senza motivo, tutti sono amichevoli e si aiutano perché sono tutti sulla stessa barca.
Delilah è un personaggio divertente e coerente e a questo punto ormai questo è tutto ciò che desidero da una protagonista. Lo stesso vale per Gallagher che GRAZIE A DIO non è l’interesse amoroso, o meglio, in questo libro, se escludiamo alcune scene dove Delilah arrossisce non sembra esserci alcun sentimento tra i due oltre al voglio essere il tuo campione e smembrare chiunque ti faccia del male. Quindi, buono. Spero solo rimanga tutto così anche nel secondo.
E sopratutto spero che la storia si faccia ancora più viva perché sebbene questo libro tenga incollate alla lettura non accadono grandi cose, come già detto, l’evento finale lascia un po’ a desiderare.
- "Pieces always fit better than the whole," he said. "And a corpse weighs less after you drain the blood."
- "Spoken like a true psychopath.”
Non c’è il romance.
Non c’è il romance.
Non c’è il romance.
NON C’È IL ROMANCE.
♠ Una parte di me avrebbe voluto dargli cinque stelle solo per questo. Purtroppo sono una brutta persona e se ne prende quattro. Solo quattro stelle perché le prime 50 pagine sono di una lentezza soporifera e la storia comincia a farsi interessante solo dal momento in cui Delilah si ritrova mal menagerie. Solo quattro stelle perché la risoluzione finale è stata fin troppo tranquilla, prima di quel momento ci sono stati stupri, smembramenti e torture e benchè la spiegazione sul perché non uccidere nessuno abbia senso mi ha lasciata un po’ con l’amaro in bocca. 4 stelle anche perchè sebbene la maggior parte dei pov non mi abbia infastidito, ne confusa, ne abbia rallento la lettura ho trovato alcuni capitoli altamente inutili. Tipo quelli di Charity, madre di Delilah, quello di Metzenger e di Kevin, avrei preferito più capitoli visti dal pov degli altri prigionieri dello zoo.
♠ Prigionieri dello zoo che sono, senza dubbio, la parte interessante di questo libro, le loro vite, le loro interazioni con Delilah, sono allo stesso tempo divertenti e dolorose ed è bellissimo che tra tutti non ci sia nessuno/a che abbia il ruolo di stronzo/a senza motivo, tutti sono amichevoli e si aiutano perché sono tutti sulla stessa barca.
Delilah è un personaggio divertente e coerente e a questo punto ormai questo è tutto ciò che desidero da una protagonista. Lo stesso vale per Gallagher che GRAZIE A DIO non è l’interesse amoroso, o meglio, in questo libro, se escludiamo alcune scene dove Delilah arrossisce non sembra esserci alcun sentimento tra i due oltre al voglio essere il tuo campione e smembrare chiunque ti faccia del male. Quindi, buono. Spero solo rimanga tutto così anche nel secondo.
E sopratutto spero che la storia si faccia ancora più viva perché sebbene questo libro tenga incollate alla lettura non accadono grandi cose, come già detto, l’evento finale lascia un po’ a desiderare.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
MENAGERIE surprised me in the best possible way. It’s fresh, well written, inventive, engaging, and almost perfect.
The story follows a young woman named Delilah, who lives in an alternate reality where most cryptids are kept in travelling circuses. When Delilah publicly discovers that she is a cryptid, she is taken by the circus and must find a way to survive and (if luck holds) escape.
For the most part, Delilah is a solid character. She is realistic, strong willed, and has a good sense of justice. At times, I felt she was a bit slow on the uptake, especially since Delilah is supposedly schooled in cryptozoology. Gallagher was interesting, especially as I pieced together his secret, which certainly changed things as the story moved on. There are plenty of side characters that I easily found myself rooting for, especially when details of their plight surfaced. And the villains are detestable in their actions.
Dark as it was, I deeply enjoyed the subtle world building. It was quite cruel, and yet I was able to empathize with both sides of the spectrum. I loved that most of the creatures were unconventional and each one stood out.
While the prose and pacing are mostly solid, I did find the ending to be quite rushed and seemed to have been written for the sake of drama and shock value. The events didn’t seem to have much of an impact in the final scene, and made the tone feel off. It was like someone turned off the lights in a bight room for an hour then turned them back on with no explanation.
Still, I did enjoy this book quite a bit. There are interesting details that have been laid out for the future and I am curious to see where the story goes.
The story follows a young woman named Delilah, who lives in an alternate reality where most cryptids are kept in travelling circuses. When Delilah publicly discovers that she is a cryptid, she is taken by the circus and must find a way to survive and (if luck holds) escape.
For the most part, Delilah is a solid character. She is realistic, strong willed, and has a good sense of justice. At times, I felt she was a bit slow on the uptake, especially since Delilah is supposedly schooled in cryptozoology. Gallagher was interesting, especially as I pieced together his secret, which certainly changed things as the story moved on. There are plenty of side characters that I easily found myself rooting for, especially when details of their plight surfaced. And the villains are detestable in their actions.
Dark as it was, I deeply enjoyed the subtle world building. It was quite cruel, and yet I was able to empathize with both sides of the spectrum. I loved that most of the creatures were unconventional and each one stood out.
While the prose and pacing are mostly solid, I did find the ending to be quite rushed and seemed to have been written for the sake of drama and shock value. The events didn’t seem to have much of an impact in the final scene, and made the tone feel off. It was like someone turned off the lights in a bight room for an hour then turned them back on with no explanation.
Still, I did enjoy this book quite a bit. There are interesting details that have been laid out for the future and I am curious to see where the story goes.
cathybruce208's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great start with a lot of interesting characters. The alternative history and the world building is really strong.
alikatson's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this book was incredibly intense but a compelling read. I literally stayed up half the night listening to it and eager to see the resolution.
For the series -
For the series -
Spoiler
I was seriously upset to see the blurb for the second book that sounds almost like a re-hash of the first but even darker... I plan to wait until #3 to even consider readingjesslynh's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the premise of this book and enjoyed it. There was some overblown dialog and simplification of situations, but it remained a great start to a series. When I say 'overblown', it felt at times that some of the dialog was pulled from a series from the 80s/90s. Also, there were some dark things that happened in the book that I felt Ms Vincent didn't allow her characters fully invest and/or internalize.
I will definitely move on to the next books and hope that some of the situational and dialog issues get smoothed out.
I will definitely move on to the next books and hope that some of the situational and dialog issues get smoothed out.
michalice's review against another edition
5.0
I love Rachel's work, so when I saw Menagerie on NetGalley I knew I had to read it. I love the world it is set in, similar to other books that I love, where creatures of all shapes, sizes, and abilities live among humans, hidden away to save themselves from being subjected to testing, or murdered. Ever since the reaping, anything that isn't fully human is tested for thier humanity. Those failing the test are killed, sent for testing, or kept as sideshows in Menageries, to be viewed and ridiculed, tormented and used as entertainment
After fifteen years, Metzger's Menagerie is back in town, and although Delilah doesn't want to go, she accepts the tickets her boyfriend paid a fortune for, and goes with him and thier friends. But going to the menagerie reveals something that Delilah wasn't expecting. Delilah is against everything that Metzger's Menagerie stands for. Yes, these are dangerous cryptids, kept behind bars to protect humans, but they also have feelings, and seeing a young werewolf girl hurt pushes Delilah too far, and something is revealed that she never even imagined about herself.
As the story to Menagerie progressed a lot of secrets were revealed, not only to Delilah, but to the people involved in Metzger's Menagerie. Each time I thought we were going to get a straight answer, something new was thrown into the mix, and that only made even more gripping. Delilah was someone who I rooted for from the moment I began reading. What happens to her was not something I expected, but I admire how strong and determined she was to not give in, to keep on fighting no matter how much it hurt her or how humiliated she was made to feel. The identity of what Delilah is, is unknown till midway through. When it was finally revealed I have to admit it wasn't something I expected, but I love how it added a twist on the whole issue of humanity and genetics. How can a simple blood test really define who or what you really are?
The characters that we see within the pages of Menagerie grow on you, and no matter how much you want to hate some of them, they do end up changing you mind about their actions, especially Gallagher. I loved how vast and different the cryptids were. How they all had thier unique gifts that were put to good use for the entertainment of humans. Menagerie was a truly spectacular read with so much going for it that I don't want to spoil the surprises.
Final Verdict
Menagerie is a book that will stick with me for months to come, each book I read will be compared to this and will have a huge test to live up to the challenge. Menagerie is a must read for fans of Rachel, and is perfect if you like rooting for the underdog.
After fifteen years, Metzger's Menagerie is back in town, and although Delilah doesn't want to go, she accepts the tickets her boyfriend paid a fortune for, and goes with him and thier friends. But going to the menagerie reveals something that Delilah wasn't expecting. Delilah is against everything that Metzger's Menagerie stands for. Yes, these are dangerous cryptids, kept behind bars to protect humans, but they also have feelings, and seeing a young werewolf girl hurt pushes Delilah too far, and something is revealed that she never even imagined about herself.
As the story to Menagerie progressed a lot of secrets were revealed, not only to Delilah, but to the people involved in Metzger's Menagerie. Each time I thought we were going to get a straight answer, something new was thrown into the mix, and that only made even more gripping. Delilah was someone who I rooted for from the moment I began reading. What happens to her was not something I expected, but I admire how strong and determined she was to not give in, to keep on fighting no matter how much it hurt her or how humiliated she was made to feel. The identity of what Delilah is, is unknown till midway through. When it was finally revealed I have to admit it wasn't something I expected, but I love how it added a twist on the whole issue of humanity and genetics. How can a simple blood test really define who or what you really are?
The characters that we see within the pages of Menagerie grow on you, and no matter how much you want to hate some of them, they do end up changing you mind about their actions, especially Gallagher. I loved how vast and different the cryptids were. How they all had thier unique gifts that were put to good use for the entertainment of humans. Menagerie was a truly spectacular read with so much going for it that I don't want to spoil the surprises.
Final Verdict
Menagerie is a book that will stick with me for months to come, each book I read will be compared to this and will have a huge test to live up to the challenge. Menagerie is a must read for fans of Rachel, and is perfect if you like rooting for the underdog.
katietopp's review against another edition
5.0
Quite good. Well written, interesting characters. I'm not sure about the sequel just yet.