"Nightmares hunt like beasts of prey, vanquished in the light of day."
synopsis
The citizens of Lkossa all agree on one truth: the Greater Jungle is an evil place and it cannot be trusted. However, some citizens find it necessary to enter the Greater Jungle despite all of the beasts it shelters. The Shetani is the most feared beast. None who have seen it have lived to recall the encounter and its attacks have been increasing. Ekon and Koffi, a seventeen year old boy and girl, find themselves willingly entering the shadow of the jungle canopy to track down the Shetani. One with the intent to capture and the other with the intent to kill.
thoughts & feelings
Have you ever felt intimidated by a book? Or is it just me? The first time I heard of Beasts of Prey I knew that I would love it. I headed straight to Amazon and pre-ordered months in advance. However, the closer it came to the release day the more intimidated I felt. The book quickly hit the NY Times Bestsellers list and Netflix purchased the book rights before it released. I felt a little bit of pressure to absolutely love this novel and write a gushing review about it.
I have sworn myself to be honest in all of my reviews so here is the truth...I LOVED IT! If the second book were available for pre-ordering I would have already ordered it. I am excited but nervous to see what Netflix does for a movie adaptation. I'm sure all of you are having similar thoughts as me: "please, please, please don't ruin this book." We all know that the book is always better but we still hold out hope that the movies won't let us down. Alas, I have wandered so let's get back to the book.
Beasts of Prey had me hooked from the prologue. Ayana Gray has a wonderful way of describing the world of Lkossa and the Greater Jungle through the characters eyes. I loved feeling like I knew each of the settings and could perfectly imagine them through each of the characters eyes. She has mastered the art of descriptions without carrying on and on about each detail. I even read a passage of one of the jungle beasts to my sister because it was that amazing!
"The creature eyeing them had the face and torso of an old, bare-chested man, complete with thinning gray hair and wrinkles etched deep into his features. Two blank white eyes stared back at them like cold milk, unblinking and unmoving. But that wasn't what frightened Ekon; it was what followed after the creature's torso. Where two human legs should have been, instead there were eight long, stilt-like legs that weren't human at all. Each one was bent at the knee and ended in a bare brown human foot."
I do feel the need to caution you for the end of the story. It's a cliff hanger, and like me you will be DYING to know what happens next. I did a little research and the second book is slated to release in 2022 followed by the third and final book in 2023. We only have to wait a year folks!
book tags
Steam Level: clean, passionate kissing
Language: clean
Trigger Warnings: violence, death, abuse, drug use, indentured servitude, murder
Ayana Gray has given the book a PG-13 rating
book information
Title: Beasts of Prey
Series: Yes, I cannot find an official name for the series. However, Ayana Gray has stated that this will be a trilogy (dated 11/24/2021)
Author: Ayana Gray
Rating: 4/5
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