Beasts of Prey

started off strong After reading the first look and admiring the gorgeous cover, I claimed a review copy. The initial chapters pulled me into this magical world filled with strange and exciting flora and fauna. I enjoyed Koffi's love of family and friends, her natural abilities to care for the night zoo creatures, as well as her stubbornness. The jungle setting was my favorite part of this book. The author painted the world on the pages and I felt as if I was traveling along with the characters. The author also tossed in some surprising twists that kept me reading, despite the too slow of pacing/feeling as if the book was treading place or going in circles. The ending sets this book up to be the first of a duology or series, but after finishing reading, I probably won't read the next book because the characters weren't as well rounded as I'd hoped--they seemed to accept new information/ideas without question and always got out of binds by what seemed to be solutions they didn't have to work for. Also, the addition of Adiah's point of view chapters slowed the pacing down because these chapters were too few, far apart, and left me more confused. If these chapters would have been left out, the book would have been stronger for me. Overall, this was a quick read despite the length and I have no regrets choosing this book to read and review.

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray has been a book that I have been anticipating for awhile now. I was beyond happy to have a copy to read and I wasted no time devouring it (pun intended). This is a book with bite. Who doesn't love magic paired with a sort of coming of age story? Of course, I didn't give this a perfect 5 star review because I was disappointed that the author didn't show more of the beasts and more of the Night Zoo. I really wanted that o be part of the world building. That aside, the rest of the world building was really good. I liked the background explanation for the characters and getting to see how they were impacted by and interacted with the world around them. It made them more relatable. I think the author did a really good job of creating this magical world where magic was ingrained into the core of the world like lifeblood. I would recommend this book to anyone.

For a debut, this was a fairly good book. It was a bit slow in the beginning for me. That may have just been my frame of mind but it took longer than usual for me to care about the characters. I was intrigued by the first bit with Adiah but then it switches to Koffi and Ekon and though I found it interesting with Ekon and maybe his OCD, I wanted more from Adiah. Her little blurbs were the best though they were a bit jarring and I couldn't figure out how she fit with the rest of the story till nearer the end. Despite the Night Zoo being in the description, there is not much about it and the other animals. You got more of that in the Greater Jungle, which was far more interesting than the Night Zoo. I think there should have been way more of that! Especially with the book that Ekon kept looking through as he and Koffi muddled their way through. I am a little frustrated about what a cliffhanger this ends on! It took a bit to get into it but I finally did and then it just ends with so many loose ends! Not one thing is resolved. I don't mind cliffhangers, but they need to solve at least a little problem so I can find a little satisfaction in finishing the book. I don't think I will read the second book, unless it has more things like the Greater Jungle and its mysteries. Still, not bad for a debut.