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moeboutuncoated's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
abby_can_read's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
- 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
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
rae_bookmarkchronicles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Murder
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
anjasfairylights's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty
katievallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Abandonment
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Death of parent
julierambaeck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Drug abuse and Death of parent