I really, REALLY wanted to like Beast of Prey more than I did - because African fantasy novel - duh! And it was still a really good book, with a compelling opening and a climatic, cliff-hanger of an ending. The problem for me was that in the middle of the book it just felt like it got bogged down some with tangent stories that weren't crucial to the overall story and made it easy to put the book down. Koffi and Ekon are great characters, young, flawed but with good hearts. And when their paths intersect their initial intentions evolve as they learn more about the Shetani and what is terrorizing their communities. I love the African folklore that Gray weaves into the story, and the fact that white people have absolutely nothing to do with it. This leaves the focus to be on the culture, and on the quest the Koffi and Ekon go on. The book clocks in at close to five hundred pages, so while interesting and engaging at some points it's not a quick read, although much of it is worth it for the rich backstory Gray creates and the protagonists that are conflicted but easily relatable.