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abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
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I thought this was a good book. I had a good time reading it. I liked the characters, Koffi and Ekon. I thought the pacing was off at times. I like the worldbuilding. I'm excited to see what happens in the sequel.
I thought this was a good book. I had a good time reading it. I liked the characters, Koffi and Ekon. I thought the pacing was off at times. I like the worldbuilding. I'm excited to see what happens in the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
emilysreadingbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
anjasfairylights's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
What a debut novel! Love the Pan-African, mythology-inspired fantasy. I canât speak for accuracy or representation, but as a white European person I really enjoyed diving into this book and being led by the author and her detailed, enthralling descriptions of characters and storylines. I look forward to reading the second volume, the plot twist at the end was well put and definitely does its job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
Great world-building, a bit on the predictable side with a cliffhanger ending. Gripping enough that I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel eventually. It's pretty enjoyable, though not mind-blowing IMO, and the African lore was intriguing and great to read. If there are YA tropes that grate your nerves like miscommunication, you might cringe through some parts like I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 â CW: violence, indentured servitude, animal cruelty, death of a parent
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray is book one in the Beasts of Prey trilogy and is a pan-African inspired fantasy. I wasn't so sure about this in the beginning, the pacing was a little weird and I felt like we didn't learn enough about the characters. The last third really brought it up for me.
We have dual povs between Koffi, a Gede girl who inherited her father's debt and discovers she has magic while working in the Night Zoo; and Ekon, a Yaba apprentice to the Sons of the Six a group of warriors. We also get interludes from the perspective of someone called Adiah, where we get a bit more context about the magic they call "splendor" and the social structure and it is the way it is for Koffi and Ekon. They end up working together on a similar goal: find the Shetani, bring it back to Lkossa, and stop the killings that keep happening near the jungle.
Most of my issues with this book are around pacing and character development. I thought we didn't learn enough about the type of person Koffi was before she met Ekon. They seemed pretty one dimensional: Koffi the headstrong one that has to argue about everything, and Ekon the anxious wreck that is constantly trying to prove himself. I thought they spent too much time wandering around the jungle encountering various monsters from myth and legend. They were cool, I guess, but didn't really add anything to the plot. The story around the Shetani is was sold me on it. A classic things are not as they seem message. I also didn't think Koffi and Ekon had much chemistry, but that could just be a me thing.
I love that Gray used so much Swahili and myths and legends from all over Africa. The author's note was really worth the read for further context as to why she made the decisions she did for the book. I'm optimistic that I'll like book two more than this one.
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray is book one in the Beasts of Prey trilogy and is a pan-African inspired fantasy. I wasn't so sure about this in the beginning, the pacing was a little weird and I felt like we didn't learn enough about the characters. The last third really brought it up for me.
We have dual povs between Koffi, a Gede girl who inherited her father's debt and discovers she has magic while working in the Night Zoo; and Ekon, a Yaba apprentice to the Sons of the Six a group of warriors. We also get interludes from the perspective of someone called Adiah, where we get a bit more context about the magic they call "splendor" and the social structure and it is the way it is for Koffi and Ekon. They end up working together on a similar goal: find the Shetani, bring it back to Lkossa, and stop the killings that keep happening near the jungle.
Most of my issues with this book are around pacing and character development. I thought we didn't learn enough about the type of person Koffi was before she met Ekon. They seemed pretty one dimensional: Koffi the headstrong one that has to argue about everything, and Ekon the anxious wreck that is constantly trying to prove himself. I thought they spent too much time wandering around the jungle encountering various monsters from myth and legend. They were cool, I guess, but didn't really add anything to the plot. The story around the Shetani is was sold me on it. A classic things are not as they seem message. I also didn't think Koffi and Ekon had much chemistry, but that could just be a me thing.
I love that Gray used so much Swahili and myths and legends from all over Africa. The author's note was really worth the read for further context as to why she made the decisions she did for the book. I'm optimistic that I'll like book two more than this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Death of parent
meghansarmiento97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
What a fantastic adventure. The learning curve at the start was steep, but after I settled into the story I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the structure of the narrative and the characters that drove it. The lore was so deep and thoughtful. I was enthralled by how she weaved African history and myth into the story. The ending was a bit lackluster but clearly sets up the sequel. Such a great fantasy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Slavery
Minor: Blood
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.5
~ Overview ~
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Writing style: 4/5
Worldbuilding: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Personal Enjoyment: 3/5
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I thought this book was enjoyable but it did take me forever to get through.
What I Didnât Like:
⢠In my opinion it took a bit too long for the characters to get into the Greater Jungle (which seems to be the main plot point in the synopsis).
⢠There were a lot of names being dropped in the very beginning which made it a bit hard for me to keep track of
⢠I think the authorâs clutch phrase is âCharacter A started to [blank] then thought better of itâ (there were so many times that phrase was used that it became distracting)
â˘I donât love how Koffi so easily accepts and finds out that she has magic now. I felt it shouldâve been more drawn out / not so quick
⢠Not a fan of when conflict could be solved if characters JUST COMMUNICATED
⢠A bit confused by the end:Is Adiah dead or not? And in the last chapter there were times when the author wrote âby the time THEY reached the templeâs back doorâ when I think itâs supposed to be just Ekon? And then later he says to the old woman âWhy did you help US?â Like am I missing something? Are these typos?
What I Liked:
⢠The first few chapters definitely intrigued me and although it took me quite a bit to get all the way through, I was interested in finding out what was going to happen next
⢠The writing was both easy to read and has some beautiful lines
⢠The world building felt well-developed and thought out (probably the highlight of the book for me)
⢠OCD rep
What I Didnât Like:
⢠In my opinion it took a bit too long for the characters to get into the Greater Jungle (which seems to be the main plot point in the synopsis).
⢠There were a lot of names being dropped in the very beginning which made it a bit hard for me to keep track of
⢠I think the authorâs clutch phrase is âCharacter A started to [blank] then thought better of itâ (there were so many times that phrase was used that it became distracting)
â˘
⢠Not a fan of when conflict could be solved if characters JUST COMMUNICATED
⢠A bit confused by the end:
What I Liked:
⢠The first few chapters definitely intrigued me and although it took me quite a bit to get all the way through, I was interested in finding out what was going to happen next
⢠The writing was both easy to read and has some beautiful lines
⢠The world building felt well-developed and thought out (probably the highlight of the book for me)
⢠OCD rep
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
book_loving_dragon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Murder