Beasts of Prey is a beautifully written Pan-African inspired fantasy that follows two teenagers on an epic adventure through the jungle. 16 year old Koffi is an indentured servant at the Night Zoo, a circus like attraction that boasts frightening and dangerous beasts. Koffi and her Mother are beast keepers there and they almost have their debts paid off when Koffi does something that she can't explain and that ends up having dire consequences. Ekon has been training his entire life to become a warrior and join the Sons of the Six, an elite group of fighters that keep the city of Lkossa safe. During his test to become part of the Sons, a fire breaks out at the Night Zoo and he and The Sons of the Six are sent to help get the fire under control and stop any of the servants from escaping. This is where he encounters Koffi and the Shetani, a beast that has plagued the city of Lkossa for years, killing innocent people that get too close to the jungle. Somehow Koffi orders the beast to leave them alone, saving both of their lives. After their initial encounter, Ekon realizes he stands a lot to gain if he can rid Lkossa of the Shetani. Meanwhile, Koffi figures out a way that she can free her Mother and herself of their indentured servitude at the Night Zoo, if she can just capture the Shetani and bring it back to become one of the Night Zoos infamous attractions. The two form an alliance and set off into the Jungle to hunt down the Shetani.
This book drew me in write away with its beautiful descriptions of the city of Lkossa, the beasts of the Night Zoo, The Greater Jungle, and the mystery of the Splendor. We get three POV's Koffi, Ekon and Adiah which was confusing for a second until I figured out the purpose of Adiah's POV, which is to give us some backstory for the world building and the mystery around the rift and the Shetani. Ayana Gray did a fantastic job of pulling it all together. I thought the world building was superb and I could picture Lkossa, the jungle, and the beasts all so clearly in my head., As for the characters, they were very likeable. Koffi is strong and a little sassy and Ekon is book smart and possibly has some form of OCD or anxiety that causes him to have tapping and counting behaviors. Their interactions and eventual attraction to one another was very sweet but by the end of the book I was still wishing for more, like we didn't get to know enough of their individual personalities. Hopefully in the sequels we get to know them a little better and see them have more back and forth banter. I mean, they did have some banter, but I still wanted more (which could be just my personal preference). I found the middle of the book to be a little slow for some reason but once I the 60% mark I was hooked an couldn't put it down, there was a little twist at the end that I wasn't expecting that had me shook and I'm sad that I will have to wait so long for the next book! Really solid read and would recommend to fans of YA and YA Fantasy.
This book drew me in write away with its beautiful descriptions of the city of Lkossa, the beasts of the Night Zoo, The Greater Jungle, and the mystery of the Splendor. We get three POV's Koffi, Ekon and Adiah which was confusing for a second until I figured out the purpose of Adiah's POV, which is to give us some backstory for the world building and the mystery around the rift and the Shetani. Ayana Gray did a fantastic job of pulling it all together. I thought the world building was superb and I could picture Lkossa, the jungle, and the beasts all so clearly in my head., As for the characters, they were very likeable. Koffi is strong and a little sassy and Ekon is book smart and possibly has some form of OCD or anxiety that causes him to have tapping and counting behaviors. Their interactions and eventual attraction to one another was very sweet but by the end of the book I was still wishing for more, like we didn't get to know enough of their individual personalities. Hopefully in the sequels we get to know them a little better and see them have more back and forth banter. I mean, they did have some banter, but I still wanted more (which could be just my personal preference). I found the middle of the book to be a little slow for some reason but once I the 60% mark I was hooked an couldn't put it down, there was a little twist at the end that I wasn't expecting that had me shook and I'm sad that I will have to wait so long for the next book! Really solid read and would recommend to fans of YA and YA Fantasy.