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Menagerie #1
Menagerie
From
New York Times
bestselling author Rachel Vincent comes a richly imagined, provocative new series set in the dark mythology of the Menagerie…
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus big-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus big-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale
480 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2015
282 people are currently reading
18.2k people want to read
About the author
Rachel Vincent
68 books9,764 followers[Note: Though Rachel's blog entries are cross posted here, she does not frequent Goodreads. The best ways to contact her are FB, Twitter, or her Wordpress blog. PLEASE DO NOT SEND HER MESSAGES HERE. SHE DOES NOT CHECK THEM.]
A resident of Oklahoma, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.
A resident of Oklahoma, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,068 reviews
September 22, 2015
If monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?
3 1/2 stars. If it wasn't for the slightly messy and rushed ending, this would be a solid four stars. One thing is sure about Ms Vincent - she knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Menagerie presents a paranormal alternate reality that is unlike anything I've ever read. It's creative, it's fantastical, but the most notable thing about it is just how convincing it is. Vincent is skilled at taking the unbelievable and making you believe in it. And that makes for a story that is compelling, infuriating and scary.
In this world, a wide variety of supernatural creatures all known as cryptids have no fundamental rights. They are imprisoned, collected for private use, exploited and mistreated. They cannot own property or hire a lawyer. In the eyes of the law, they are less than animals. And Metzger's Menagerie is a travelling carnival where you can go and look upon these caged creatures.
When Delilah Marlow visits the carnival, she witnesses the injustices suffered by the cryptids (everything from mermaids to minotaurs). The cruel treatment sparks a rage that brings out a monster lurking under the surface of Delilah's human appearance - a monster even she didn't know existed. Suddenly accused of being a cryptid living in hiding, Delilah begins to lose everything.
"People think they are masters of the universe because they'vre conquered the skies, and the seas, and the heavens. Because they can kill with the press of a button and speak to anyone else on the planet, any time they like. But there are things older and wiser than humanity. Things more powerful and significant. Love, and loss, and birth. Pain, and bliss. Vengeance.
Vincent builds up the story excellently. It is creepy and awful. Imagine one day discovering you were something "else", a something that stripped you of all human rights and property. In Menagerie, it is completely believable. And it is frightening to realise how helpless Delilah is.
From then on, Delilah's life gets worse. We meet an array of fascinating characters and some of the most despicable. Delilah must try to salvage some dignity, stay alive, and figure out exactly what she is before it's too late.
I have to issue a warning - there is violence and rape in this book. The latter is not graphic, but still may be upsetting. The violence, on the other hand, does get quite graphic and gory. While I think older teens may be able to enjoy Menagerie, it is clearly aimed at adults.
But I really enjoyed it. It's a fast-paced, engrossing and thrilling book.
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July 13, 2018
this is my first rachel vincent book.
i'd heard good things about her, but always from readers who like urban fantasy or that kind of YA fantasy romance that i'm just not into. this book sounded like a departure from her usual style, and i've had a lot of luck with sideshow/carnival novels this year, so when i saw it listed as a giveaway on the reading room, i figured "might as well," and then there was WINNING!!
but i did not expect to love it as much as i did.
because, yeah - it's pretty much urban fantasy, BUT it's urban fantasy with all of the romantic elements removed. which, since it's the desultory romancey bits i don't usually dig in urban fantasy, is like getting a box of lucky charms that is ALL MARSHMALLOWS!!
it takes place in an alt-version of our world where cryptids and human-cryptid hybrids walk among us. or, they would walk among us, but because of a few bad apples and some regrettable genocide, any creature even remotely supernatural can be legally hunted down and killed outright, thrown into unregulated facilities for study or punishment, sold to wealthy "most dangerous game" types to be shot for sport, or put into traveling circuses to terrify and delight a frequently hostile audience.
delilah's living in oklahoma, in a bit of a rut and restless about it, when she receives a well-intentioned but clueless birthday present from her dull boyfriend brandon: tickets to metzger's menagerie, where she finds herself an uncomfortable spectator to all manner of caged shifters, oracles, minotaurs, selkies, werewolves, ifrits &etc…
delilah's always been fascinated by cryptids, but more in the biological/mythological way than the "let's put it in a cage and poke at it with a stick" way. and on this occasion she witnesses such cruelty towards the caged and starved creatures that the injustice causes her to respond with a quite inhuman display of outrage.
which comes as quite a shock to the staff, the caged cryptids, delilah's boyfriend and bestie, and delilah herself, who had no idea she was anything other than human all these 25 years.
and suddenly the freedom she has enjoyed her entire life, her plans for the future, her relationships and prospects and the very basic comforts of life are no longer rights to which she is entitled. now that she is legally a monster, all she has is a 4 x 6 steel cage in the menagerie, her wits, her simmering anger and her stubborn refusal to submit; she's a dangerous combination of a woman with a big mouth, no self-defense skills, and no civil rights.
on top of the emotional turmoil of being caged and put in a position where anything can be done to her with impunity, delilah gets to experience further depersonalization because while it's clear she is not quite human, her actual species remains unidentified.
so it's all mystery and action and creature-fantasy and cage-rage and alliances and manipulation and it's just a fun and completely addictive book, which sounds odd for a book about a woman imprisoned like a beast, but it's got were-cheetahs so ppbblltt. i devoured most of it in one huge chunk without even meaning to. i'd intended to just curl up with it for a little bit but then i became so consumed with the atmosphere and the mystery of what could she beeeee?? and then it was like when you set those boundaries for yourself like "okay, i will have just one more bite of pudding" but it goes down so smooth, you have another and then another and before you know it there is no more pudding for anyone else. and you get kicked out of the grocery store.
to me, it was a fantastic combination of an original storyline, a setting that's been delivering for me all year, secondary characters with all sorts of cool powers and traits and a heroine who is reasonably badass and fierce without becoming just a cliché of that type of heroine.
"Get her processed, then put her on the row. Tomorrow, start breaking her."
His instructions echoed in my head.
Break me? Like a stick for kindling or like a pony for riding? Break me like a date, or like a heart, or like a promise?
In the end, it wouldn't matter. I had no intention of being broken.
i definitely appreciate that for the most part vincent resists the temptation to make historical precedent-references to slavery or concentration camps and that she tells her own story without relying upon comparisons to real-world atrocities to give her situations weight.
i see the complaints of others, but i personally loved the multiple POVs, because although *yeah, yeah* the voices sounded very similar, the perspectives themselves were drastically different, determined by how much information the characters had, their individual experiences and backstories, and their actual physical limitations to communicating what they know, which leads to a lot of delicious frustration and was one of my favorite parts. along with all of the seeeeeecrets. and yeah, there are some implausibilities and things left unexplained, but the major questions have been answered. it ends in the perfect spot - where someone who doesn't like it enough to pursue it into the second book has enough closure, but where people like me who are going to be ALL OVER that second book have a lot to look forward to.
questions and quibbles and actual spoilers so back off:
come to my blog!
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August 19, 2015Hey, guys, I just wanted to let everyone know that with MENAGERIE coming out soon (Sept 29, 2015!!!) I'm seeing lots of reviews and "shelving" of the book here on GR. Unfortunately, lots of people are shelving it as YA, and MENAGERIE is NOT YA. Nor is it romance. My publisher classifies it as fantasy/commercial fiction.
While MENAGERIE addresses some (very serious) issues I tend to return to in my work, it is a very different kind of book than I've ever written. It's not simply one woman's story/struggle. The scale is much larger than that, and the stakes are both personal and expansive.
Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about MENAGERIE:
"An alternate world where cryptids (protohuman hybrids) are second-class citizens provides the perfect context for this deftly told dark fantasy, which reflects on what makes humans human. [...] Oklahoman Delilah Marlow, who was raised as a human, shows a cryptid side that she never knew she had. She’s stripped of her rights and forced to perform as a sideshow attraction in a traveling carnival whose human handlers often act more bestial than their charges. Though Delilah resists her enslavement, she learns from Gallagher, her gruffly sympathetic handler, that she has a major role to play in cryptid culture. As depicted by Vincent, Delilah is magnificent in her defiance of injustice, and the well-wrought background for her world sets the stage for her future adventures in this captivating new fantasy series. (Oct.)"
While MENAGERIE addresses some (very serious) issues I tend to return to in my work, it is a very different kind of book than I've ever written. It's not simply one woman's story/struggle. The scale is much larger than that, and the stakes are both personal and expansive.
Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about MENAGERIE:
"An alternate world where cryptids (protohuman hybrids) are second-class citizens provides the perfect context for this deftly told dark fantasy, which reflects on what makes humans human. [...] Oklahoman Delilah Marlow, who was raised as a human, shows a cryptid side that she never knew she had. She’s stripped of her rights and forced to perform as a sideshow attraction in a traveling carnival whose human handlers often act more bestial than their charges. Though Delilah resists her enslavement, she learns from Gallagher, her gruffly sympathetic handler, that she has a major role to play in cryptid culture. As depicted by Vincent, Delilah is magnificent in her defiance of injustice, and the well-wrought background for her world sets the stage for her future adventures in this captivating new fantasy series. (Oct.)"
August 14, 2017
But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?
This is the first book in the Menagerie Series and this one is a winner. It is a dark fantasy.
Deliah Marlow visits a carnival and something happens really bad and she gets arrested. She thinks she is human but what happened at the carnival made people believe that she was a monster. She is then sold to Metzger who owns the carnival, and circus. She is now his property and she has no rights. She is padlocked onto a wagon and treated like she is a monster. They call them cryptids. She is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to perform in town after town. She is on display. Other displays at this carnival are mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons, werewolves, and kelpies. They all are very strange creatures but they all share a bond by being kept in captivity and all are in cages. The question is what kind of cryptid is Deliah since she looks so human? She turns out to be very special.
I really loved the character development of the characters. They were all done so well. Deliah never gave up, she fought and tried so hard to get out of captivity. She was so stubhorn. Ginivieve and her Dad, I felt so sad for. My heart really went out for them. Gallagher for some reason I disliked in the beginning but near the end I began to like him. I thought all of the cryptids were all done so well and they made the story.
This book was so good and it had a different plot and was so different than any book that I have read. It was very creative. It is a dark and gritty fantasy. If you like dark and gritty then I think you will really love this book. I can't wait to read book 2 and already have it on hold on Overdrive.
This is the first book in the Menagerie Series and this one is a winner. It is a dark fantasy.
Deliah Marlow visits a carnival and something happens really bad and she gets arrested. She thinks she is human but what happened at the carnival made people believe that she was a monster. She is then sold to Metzger who owns the carnival, and circus. She is now his property and she has no rights. She is padlocked onto a wagon and treated like she is a monster. They call them cryptids. She is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to perform in town after town. She is on display. Other displays at this carnival are mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons, werewolves, and kelpies. They all are very strange creatures but they all share a bond by being kept in captivity and all are in cages. The question is what kind of cryptid is Deliah since she looks so human? She turns out to be very special.
I really loved the character development of the characters. They were all done so well. Deliah never gave up, she fought and tried so hard to get out of captivity. She was so stubhorn. Ginivieve and her Dad, I felt so sad for. My heart really went out for them. Gallagher for some reason I disliked in the beginning but near the end I began to like him. I thought all of the cryptids were all done so well and they made the story.
This book was so good and it had a different plot and was so different than any book that I have read. It was very creative. It is a dark and gritty fantasy. If you like dark and gritty then I think you will really love this book. I can't wait to read book 2 and already have it on hold on Overdrive.
January 5, 2016
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
MY FIRST FAVORITE BOOK OF 2016!
Okay, on with the review!!
In this traveling circus there are all of these beautiful cryptid creatures & they live in horrible conditions. You only have a few that are really dangerous. Some stuff went down way back when & the government stripped all cryptids of their rights &they were under no protection, even the hybrids. They were treated so horrible in this place I couldn't hardly stand it!!!!!!!
I loved almost all of the characters, well the good ones, but my favorites were Delilah, Gallagher, Claudio the werewolf, his daughter Genevieve & Eryx the Minotaur.
So on Delilah's 25th b-day, her boyfriend got her tickets to go to see the circus & two of their friends came along. Delilah was going to go into a crypto-veterinary school but she dropped out because the only jobs were performing experiments on them & she wanted no part of that! While the group were looking at the different creatures, Delilah felt sorry for them & when one of the keepers started shocking little Genni so she would come out of the dark, Delilah went off, I mean off. She turned into something.....
& she took care of that dude. BUT, this caused all sorts of problems for her, she was taken into custody, freaked out as she had never done anything like that before, had blood work & all kinds of things done & her mom finally told them she was an orphan, that's all I'm going to say about that. Delilah ended up in the filthy cages with the other cryptids since they didn't know what she was. Gallagher was the only person nice to her & he was her keeper. She was supposed to perform for the crowds like all of the other poor creatures. No one cared about these creatures.... but...
& it made me so sad at the things that were done to them. They were starved, beaten, raped, you name it. There are a couple of the evil people that got their just rewards in such wonderful ways, I could have jumped for joy and my inner Hulk was very happy :-)
At some point we find out what Delilah is but I am not telling you, you have to read the book, you have to read the book anyway & then.. we find out someone else is something else too... Gus can express my thoughts when finding these two things out. See below ↓
Delilah set up some things to save all of the creatures & for them all to have their freedom. I was so proud of her! This book is just so good & I hope if you haven't read it you will & I hope you love it as much as I do, but if you don't, that's okay too :-)
MY FIRST FAVORITE BOOK OF 2016!
Okay, on with the review!!
In this traveling circus there are all of these beautiful cryptid creatures & they live in horrible conditions. You only have a few that are really dangerous. Some stuff went down way back when & the government stripped all cryptids of their rights &they were under no protection, even the hybrids. They were treated so horrible in this place I couldn't hardly stand it!!!!!!!
I loved almost all of the characters, well the good ones, but my favorites were Delilah, Gallagher, Claudio the werewolf, his daughter Genevieve & Eryx the Minotaur.
So on Delilah's 25th b-day, her boyfriend got her tickets to go to see the circus & two of their friends came along. Delilah was going to go into a crypto-veterinary school but she dropped out because the only jobs were performing experiments on them & she wanted no part of that! While the group were looking at the different creatures, Delilah felt sorry for them & when one of the keepers started shocking little Genni so she would come out of the dark, Delilah went off, I mean off. She turned into something.....
& she took care of that dude. BUT, this caused all sorts of problems for her, she was taken into custody, freaked out as she had never done anything like that before, had blood work & all kinds of things done & her mom finally told them she was an orphan, that's all I'm going to say about that. Delilah ended up in the filthy cages with the other cryptids since they didn't know what she was. Gallagher was the only person nice to her & he was her keeper. She was supposed to perform for the crowds like all of the other poor creatures. No one cared about these creatures.... but...
& it made me so sad at the things that were done to them. They were starved, beaten, raped, you name it. There are a couple of the evil people that got their just rewards in such wonderful ways, I could have jumped for joy and my inner Hulk was very happy :-)
At some point we find out what Delilah is but I am not telling you, you have to read the book, you have to read the book anyway & then.. we find out someone else is something else too... Gus can express my thoughts when finding these two things out. See below ↓
Delilah set up some things to save all of the creatures & for them all to have their freedom. I was so proud of her! This book is just so good & I hope if you haven't read it you will & I hope you love it as much as I do, but if you don't, that's okay too :-)
March 27, 2016
Menagerie is one of those books that completely split my opinion. Some things I thought were great, others had me barrowing my face in my hands with frustration.
But first thing’s first. The book’s concept is unique and intriguing, and I am happy to say that the execution didn’t make me think differently. The plot is fresh and that, combined with the fact that this novel is devoid of romance, makes Menagerie stand out from other generic books from the genre.
Menagerie starts out with a bang. It is set in a paranormal alternate America in which various supernatural creatures – known as cryptids – exist. These cryptids, although sentient beings and sometimes completely human-looking, have no fundamental rights and are killed, mistreated, tortured and imprisoned. They are seen as nothing more than property. Metzger’s Menagerie is a travelling carnival which houses such creatures under inhumane conditions.
Quite creative, don’t you think? But what really amazed me, was how real and convincing the setting is. Rachel Vincent made me believe that this world exists, that any moment I could go to the zoo and look at minotaurs, hear sirens and touch mermaids. The idea is both compelling and scary at the same time.
So we have Delilah Marlow, our protagonist, who is gifted tickets to go see Metzger’s Menagerie for her 25th birthday. She has never liked the idea of cryptid imprisonment but decides to go anyway. When she witnesses the torture of one of the encaged creatures, Delilah’s rage is sparked and she loses control, committing an act that has horrific consequences.
We watch as Delilah’s life gets turned upside down, how all her rights are taken and in an instant she becomes less than an animal to society. The author did a commendable job depicting Delilah’s horrors and evoking the suffocating conditions under which she must now live. Delilah’s helplessness was palpable and it added a driving force to the entirety of the novel.
Besides the solid world-building, I also thought the pacing was great. Every time I started getting bored something would happen to shake things up. There is no info-dumping or unnecessary description, only what is needed to understand the story and be pulled into the world.
However, there were also numerous things I disliked about this book.
The characters
First and foremost, I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters. I felt for Delilah at the beginning (despite her being a bit of a hypocrite) and seeing her fight to retain some scrap of dignity broke my heart. She is very fierce and stubborn and didn’t just stand by watching others dehumanize her. These aspects of her character made it easy to root for her.
As time went on however, Delilah started getting on my nerves. There are (many) moments when talking back and sticking up for yourself is appropriate, but there is also a line where pride becomes stupidity. Delilah crossed that line all the time. She had no sense of self-preservation. She’s also very much a special snowflake, but I’ve come to expect that from this genre.
Then we have Gallagher, who if I’m being honest, I didn’t like AT ALL. He annoyed me to no end. I’ve been trying to figure out what it was about him I didn’t like, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. I just found him to be grating and inconsistent and his silly “my word is my honour” repetition did nothing for me.
When it comes to the side characters, I think they were done well enough. I felt sympathy for the imprisoned cryptids (though we aren’t told enough about them to truly make me care) and the menagerie workers were appropriately despicable. But again, I didn’t feel a lot of attachment towards any of them, even poor little Jenny.
The reveals
The other big issue I had is very difficult to explain. Basically, I felt that there was a lack of foreshadowing that made the novel less suspenseful and the “reveals” seem cheap. There is this big mystery about how nobody knows what Delilah is. Then suddenly, we are told. But there was no way for us to guess what she was. The reader cannot figure it out by himself because the world was never fully established. We know that mythological creatures exist, but we don’t know the extent. Where are the limits? What is real and what is lore? Delilah could be anything, and that really took some of the fun out of the mystery. It was like the reader was just being served the answer on a silver platter, without having to work for it.
This wouldn’t have been a big deal if it had only happened once, but Rachel Vincent builds the entire story on the basis of these reveals and they just lacked impact.
The writing
I also had problems with the writing style, which is quite unusual for me. It’s readable and easy to get into for sure, but there were things about it that bugged me. Firstly, we have what I call the “speaking eyes”. We all know this one, it’s especially prominent in YA. When characters look into each others eyes and can just read all of the other person’s emotions. Because eyes are the windows to the soul and eyes have faces and they speak. Right. The author used this technique so many times that I started to roll my eyes constantly (pun unintended).
Secondly, there was the POV swapping. You guys know I like multiple POVs. I love fantasy. But I didn’t like the way it was done here. Delilah’s point of view is in first person but all the side characters are in third. That was weird and took me out of the story. Also, it was unnecessary. I think the book would have been stronger had the whole thing been told from Delilah’s POV.
A few other minor complaints
- The ending was too rushed and felt unsatisfactory after 400 pages of reading.
- I thought the way that Delilah’s friends and her boyfriend just abandoned her was a bit unrealistic. And the fact that Delilah never thought about them again made her seem a bit heartless and cold, even if they were idiots for treating her the way they did.
- What on earth happened to Atherton? He’s introduced as this sympathetic character who is different from the others and I was sure he would play a bigger role in the story but then he just…didn’t.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. Please note that this isn’t a YA novel though and contains graphic violence and rape scenes (though the latter is not graphic). As I said at the beginning of my review, this is a solid book, but it just didn’t affect me the way I wanted. I still suggest you pick it up if the premise sounds interesting to you and you like Urban Fantasy.
But first thing’s first. The book’s concept is unique and intriguing, and I am happy to say that the execution didn’t make me think differently. The plot is fresh and that, combined with the fact that this novel is devoid of romance, makes Menagerie stand out from other generic books from the genre.
But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?
Menagerie starts out with a bang. It is set in a paranormal alternate America in which various supernatural creatures – known as cryptids – exist. These cryptids, although sentient beings and sometimes completely human-looking, have no fundamental rights and are killed, mistreated, tortured and imprisoned. They are seen as nothing more than property. Metzger’s Menagerie is a travelling carnival which houses such creatures under inhumane conditions.
Quite creative, don’t you think? But what really amazed me, was how real and convincing the setting is. Rachel Vincent made me believe that this world exists, that any moment I could go to the zoo and look at minotaurs, hear sirens and touch mermaids. The idea is both compelling and scary at the same time.
So we have Delilah Marlow, our protagonist, who is gifted tickets to go see Metzger’s Menagerie for her 25th birthday. She has never liked the idea of cryptid imprisonment but decides to go anyway. When she witnesses the torture of one of the encaged creatures, Delilah’s rage is sparked and she loses control, committing an act that has horrific consequences.
We watch as Delilah’s life gets turned upside down, how all her rights are taken and in an instant she becomes less than an animal to society. The author did a commendable job depicting Delilah’s horrors and evoking the suffocating conditions under which she must now live. Delilah’s helplessness was palpable and it added a driving force to the entirety of the novel.
What was I, if I had no name, no friends, no family, no job, no home, no belongings, and no authority over my own body? What could I be?
Besides the solid world-building, I also thought the pacing was great. Every time I started getting bored something would happen to shake things up. There is no info-dumping or unnecessary description, only what is needed to understand the story and be pulled into the world.
However, there were also numerous things I disliked about this book.
The characters
First and foremost, I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters. I felt for Delilah at the beginning (despite her being a bit of a hypocrite) and seeing her fight to retain some scrap of dignity broke my heart. She is very fierce and stubborn and didn’t just stand by watching others dehumanize her. These aspects of her character made it easy to root for her.
Break me? Like a stick for kindling or like a pony for riding? Break me like a date, or like a heart, or like a promise?
In the end, it wouldn't matter. I had no intention of being broken.
As time went on however, Delilah started getting on my nerves. There are (many) moments when talking back and sticking up for yourself is appropriate, but there is also a line where pride becomes stupidity. Delilah crossed that line all the time. She had no sense of self-preservation. She’s also very much a special snowflake, but I’ve come to expect that from this genre.
Then we have Gallagher, who if I’m being honest, I didn’t like AT ALL. He annoyed me to no end. I’ve been trying to figure out what it was about him I didn’t like, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. I just found him to be grating and inconsistent and his silly “my word is my honour” repetition did nothing for me.
When it comes to the side characters, I think they were done well enough. I felt sympathy for the imprisoned cryptids (though we aren’t told enough about them to truly make me care) and the menagerie workers were appropriately despicable. But again, I didn’t feel a lot of attachment towards any of them, even poor little Jenny.
The reveals
The other big issue I had is very difficult to explain. Basically, I felt that there was a lack of foreshadowing that made the novel less suspenseful and the “reveals” seem cheap. There is this big mystery about how nobody knows what Delilah is. Then suddenly, we are told. But there was no way for us to guess what she was. The reader cannot figure it out by himself because the world was never fully established. We know that mythological creatures exist, but we don’t know the extent. Where are the limits? What is real and what is lore? Delilah could be anything, and that really took some of the fun out of the mystery. It was like the reader was just being served the answer on a silver platter, without having to work for it.
This wouldn’t have been a big deal if it had only happened once, but Rachel Vincent builds the entire story on the basis of these reveals and they just lacked impact.
The writing
I also had problems with the writing style, which is quite unusual for me. It’s readable and easy to get into for sure, but there were things about it that bugged me. Firstly, we have what I call the “speaking eyes”. We all know this one, it’s especially prominent in YA. When characters look into each others eyes and can just read all of the other person’s emotions. Because eyes are the windows to the soul and eyes have faces and they speak. Right. The author used this technique so many times that I started to roll my eyes constantly (pun unintended).
Secondly, there was the POV swapping. You guys know I like multiple POVs. I love fantasy. But I didn’t like the way it was done here. Delilah’s point of view is in first person but all the side characters are in third. That was weird and took me out of the story. Also, it was unnecessary. I think the book would have been stronger had the whole thing been told from Delilah’s POV.
A few other minor complaints
- The ending was too rushed and felt unsatisfactory after 400 pages of reading.
- I thought the way that Delilah’s friends and her boyfriend just abandoned her was a bit unrealistic. And the fact that Delilah never thought about them again made her seem a bit heartless and cold, even if they were idiots for treating her the way they did.
- What on earth happened to Atherton? He’s introduced as this sympathetic character who is different from the others and I was sure he would play a bigger role in the story but then he just…didn’t.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. Please note that this isn’t a YA novel though and contains graphic violence and rape scenes (though the latter is not graphic). As I said at the beginning of my review, this is a solid book, but it just didn’t affect me the way I wanted. I still suggest you pick it up if the premise sounds interesting to you and you like Urban Fantasy.
January 21, 2018
[4.5/5 stars] I am very, very happy with this book. :)
August 22, 2015
OKAY I AM FINISHED.
While the first half of this book was ROUGH for me (I was looking at a 1-star rating for this book, to be honest), I slowly got used to all the disturbing things that went on (oh my gosh am I a psychopath?! That sounded really bad...), and started to get into the story itself.
Basically, once you can get past human captivity, torture, forced labor/slavery, and some sexual harassment... you can enjoy this one. Which makes me feel like a psychopath because HOW CAN ONE JUST GET USED TO THAT KIND OF STUFF?!?!?! It shows how well Vincent wrote it (I was soooo disturbed), but at the same time, it was off-putting and horrifying.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Menagerie by Rachel Vincent
Book One of the Menagerie series
Publisher: MIRA (Harlequin)
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent comes a richly imagined, provocative new series set in the dark mythology of the Menagerie…
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.
What I Liked:
Super long review coming your way, people. No apologies.
If you all were watching my Twitter and Goodreads feeds on Tursday (August 18th), you saw my slight meltdown/very strong reaction to what I had read so far at that point. At only a fourth into the book, I was horrified and disgusted, and very, very disturbed. I was on the verge of putting this one down for good (and I NEVER stop reading a book I start), putting a note on NetGalley explaining my failure to finish, and move on with my life.
Obviously that wasn't the outcome with this book. I went one to read another 50%, and called it a night at 75%. I finished up this book on Wednesday at work. I've decided that I absolutely LOVED the second half of the book, but the first half really marred the book overall. So, three stars! This is my first Rachel Vincent novel (adult or YA), and while I didn't completely love it, I'm glad I stuck it out and muscled through this one.
Delilah is a seemingly normal woman, with a boring boyfriend and great friends and a loving mom. When Delilah, her boyfriend, and two friends go to Metzger's Menagerie, the carnival of beasts, including a Minotaur, sirens, werewolves, etc. While there, she sees one of the handlers goading one a werewolf girl, and Delilah reacts. By sinking her claws into the handler. Claws? What claws? It turns out, Delilah is one of those creatures, though no one knows what kind. She is bought by Metzger's, and she is stripped of all human rights she used to enjoy. But Delilah starts to get to know the other "attractions" of the carnival, and she finds that she wants to help them, despite not being able to help herself. Delilah may be imprisoned, bruised, abused, but she discovers something about herself that she never knew, and will stop at nothing to get her freedom back and win the freedom of all the others.
See my notes below on the first half of the book. It was ROUGH. However, once I got past the things that were disturbing and horrifying - human captivity, forced labor/slavery, sexual harassment, torture, abuse, etc. - I started to get into the story. I feel like a complete psycho for saying "once I got past _______" (i.e. horrible things), but at some point around the 50%, I guess I got desensitized? No, that's not true. At 75%, I was like, okay, things have gotten even more disturbing. But also really intriguing and slightly hopeful!
The tone of this book is incredibly dark and hopeless, emphasis on the "hopeless" part for at least two-thirds of the book, maybe three-fourths. While I absolutely hated seeing Delilah tortured and abused the way she was, I have to say, Vincent did an incredible job of writing this tone and showing the brutality of this particular world. I felt just abut as enraged and panicked and filled with despair as Delilah, which shows how well Vincent dug into the character and the story!
The world-building is incredible, though as I keep saying, it is disturbing. In this world, humans are afraid of surrogates, human-looking monsters. They're afraid of monsters and creatures in general. Delilah has no rights as whatever she is, not even to her clothes. One of the most disturbing scenes was when she had to strip in front of the handlers. Male handlers who were looking in more than one way - not just to see what she is. She is always chained, so any handler can do whatever he wants with her. You see what I'm saying about disturbing? I have to hand it to Vincent though, she really wrote this well. Disturbing, but the world-building is so exquisitely crafted. The carnival has all the mystique and appeal, but behind the scenes, it is a hopeless and cruel place.
Again, the world-building is spot-on. Despite the fact that I struggled with how disturbing things were (see below), I have to say, the world-building was so well done. I couldn't have been so disturbed if the author had toned it down, right?
I really like Delilah, so so much. She finds out she isn't human by sinking claws into his head, and then gets arrested, and then stripped, and then sold, and then has to do humiliating things like strip again, eat disgusting meat, live in a teeny tiny cage, hold her bladder for days. One handler takes every opportunity he can to abuse her in some way, and my heart broke every time. This is why I couldn't keep reading - I hated seeing Delilah suffer, her dignity lost, pride on its way. The thing is, Delilah kept struggling. She kept fighting. She never let them break her, though they hurt her over and over. Delilah is determined, even if she knows no way to escape.
Her main handler is Gallagher, who was there when she was bought for Metzger's. He isn't cruel and abusive, and he goes out of his way to protect her and not to hurt her. Of course Delilah suspects the worst - how could she not? He wants something from her, right? Gallagher is actually a decent person. When you read this book, stay on his side and cheer him on! I lived for the scenes between him and Delilah. There is nothing romantic going on (yet???), no hints, but they seem to know each other without knowing, understand each other on some level. I love Gallagher and I love his role in this novel. He is critical to this story, don't underestimate him!
The tone gets a little more hopeful as we slowly start to know Gallagher and his mind. I can't say too much, but I am happy with the direction of the plot after we finally figure out more and more about Gallagher - and Delilah. The two of them are a great pair, and I felt better about the story, knowing that they were on the same side.
The ending is excellent! I am pleased with the ending, even if it ended a bit twisted. Maybe I really am a psychopath. In any case, the ending could have been much worse, so I appreciate that reprieve. I don't think my heart could have taken any more!
What I Did Not Like:
Clearly I liked a lot of things about this book. But it took me a looooong time to appreciate those things. The world-building? I HATED it initially. This book is disturbing on so many levels. I hated seeing Delilah go from average human to less than dirt. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if she's naked, or cold, or scared, or has a human appearance, or can speak. What matters is that she is a cryptid (creature), and once they figure out what she is, they can start breeding her (oh, yes). This part almost made me sick - but not to worry, this isn't a part of the story for Delilah. This is introduced with another character.
There were so many disturbing scenes in this book. I wanted to shred Clyde (a handler) for abusing Delilah. She is always chained, and of course, it's really easy to do things to a person who is chained. Everyone treats Delilah like filth (with the exception of the other cryptids), so they think they can do anything with her. This broke my heart, over and over. You see why I was disturbed? One thing you don't need to worry about is rape, in terms of Delilah. Not ruling it out for other characters.
There are mentions of forced breeding and rape, FYI. Also violence. Hence my adult warning at the beginning of the book. It's mostly because of the violence in this book.
Still, like I previously said, Vincent did a great job with making this book so incredibly disturbing. But... it hurt. One of the secondary characters, Genni, is the absolute worst off. But if Vincent had made this book lighter on all the torture and abuse and captivity treatment and whatnot, it wouldn't have been as powerful a novel.
One thing that I didn't understand was the newspaper articles and snippets, at the beginning of each perspective/chapter (by the way, there are many perspectives, all in third person, except's Delilah's, in first person). I don't know what they contribute to the story. They're about the scare with cryptids and surrogates that occurred years ago, but they don't seem to add to the plot. Perhaps foreshadowing? Or world-building? I'm not sure. I started to skip them after a while.
So, once you "get used to" the disturbing stuff, you'll enjoy the story. The faster you can stomach it (and Vincent has it going for more than half the book), the easier the book gets to read. It was NOT an easy read, by any means. *clutches tatters of heart*
Would I Recommend It:
You know, despite my rating, it does seem like I enjoyed the book, right? I hope I can convince someone to read this one, and not dissuade (although, if you can't handle the disturbing stuff I mentioned above, definitely SKIP this book). I want you all to know my issues with this book, and while they marred the rating and enjoyment for me, I'm glad I picked up this novel. Vincent fans will probably like this one (how would I know, I've never read any of her other novels!), but anyone who doesn't mind dark, sinister, and disturbing fantasy set in a modern-day world will be intrigued and captured by this novel. ADULT BOOK, OKAY?!
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. Definitely on the positive end of 3 stars. But I can't give this novel 4 stars, knowing just how much I struggled with it for about half the book, even a little more than that. It is my first Vincent novel and hopefully the sequel will be my next one. Although I am totally scared of the sequel... if it's anything as disturbing as this book, I might need therapy!
While the first half of this book was ROUGH for me (I was looking at a 1-star rating for this book, to be honest), I slowly got used to all the disturbing things that went on (oh my gosh am I a psychopath?! That sounded really bad...), and started to get into the story itself.
Basically, once you can get past human captivity, torture, forced labor/slavery, and some sexual harassment... you can enjoy this one. Which makes me feel like a psychopath because HOW CAN ONE JUST GET USED TO THAT KIND OF STUFF?!?!?! It shows how well Vincent wrote it (I was soooo disturbed), but at the same time, it was off-putting and horrifying.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Menagerie by Rachel Vincent
Book One of the Menagerie series
Publisher: MIRA (Harlequin)
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent comes a richly imagined, provocative new series set in the dark mythology of the Menagerie…
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.
What I Liked:
Super long review coming your way, people. No apologies.
If you all were watching my Twitter and Goodreads feeds on Tursday (August 18th), you saw my slight meltdown/very strong reaction to what I had read so far at that point. At only a fourth into the book, I was horrified and disgusted, and very, very disturbed. I was on the verge of putting this one down for good (and I NEVER stop reading a book I start), putting a note on NetGalley explaining my failure to finish, and move on with my life.
Obviously that wasn't the outcome with this book. I went one to read another 50%, and called it a night at 75%. I finished up this book on Wednesday at work. I've decided that I absolutely LOVED the second half of the book, but the first half really marred the book overall. So, three stars! This is my first Rachel Vincent novel (adult or YA), and while I didn't completely love it, I'm glad I stuck it out and muscled through this one.
Delilah is a seemingly normal woman, with a boring boyfriend and great friends and a loving mom. When Delilah, her boyfriend, and two friends go to Metzger's Menagerie, the carnival of beasts, including a Minotaur, sirens, werewolves, etc. While there, she sees one of the handlers goading one a werewolf girl, and Delilah reacts. By sinking her claws into the handler. Claws? What claws? It turns out, Delilah is one of those creatures, though no one knows what kind. She is bought by Metzger's, and she is stripped of all human rights she used to enjoy. But Delilah starts to get to know the other "attractions" of the carnival, and she finds that she wants to help them, despite not being able to help herself. Delilah may be imprisoned, bruised, abused, but she discovers something about herself that she never knew, and will stop at nothing to get her freedom back and win the freedom of all the others.
See my notes below on the first half of the book. It was ROUGH. However, once I got past the things that were disturbing and horrifying - human captivity, forced labor/slavery, sexual harassment, torture, abuse, etc. - I started to get into the story. I feel like a complete psycho for saying "once I got past _______" (i.e. horrible things), but at some point around the 50%, I guess I got desensitized? No, that's not true. At 75%, I was like, okay, things have gotten even more disturbing. But also really intriguing and slightly hopeful!
The tone of this book is incredibly dark and hopeless, emphasis on the "hopeless" part for at least two-thirds of the book, maybe three-fourths. While I absolutely hated seeing Delilah tortured and abused the way she was, I have to say, Vincent did an incredible job of writing this tone and showing the brutality of this particular world. I felt just abut as enraged and panicked and filled with despair as Delilah, which shows how well Vincent dug into the character and the story!
The world-building is incredible, though as I keep saying, it is disturbing. In this world, humans are afraid of surrogates, human-looking monsters. They're afraid of monsters and creatures in general. Delilah has no rights as whatever she is, not even to her clothes. One of the most disturbing scenes was when she had to strip in front of the handlers. Male handlers who were looking in more than one way - not just to see what she is. She is always chained, so any handler can do whatever he wants with her. You see what I'm saying about disturbing? I have to hand it to Vincent though, she really wrote this well. Disturbing, but the world-building is so exquisitely crafted. The carnival has all the mystique and appeal, but behind the scenes, it is a hopeless and cruel place.
Again, the world-building is spot-on. Despite the fact that I struggled with how disturbing things were (see below), I have to say, the world-building was so well done. I couldn't have been so disturbed if the author had toned it down, right?
I really like Delilah, so so much. She finds out she isn't human by sinking claws into his head, and then gets arrested, and then stripped, and then sold, and then has to do humiliating things like strip again, eat disgusting meat, live in a teeny tiny cage, hold her bladder for days. One handler takes every opportunity he can to abuse her in some way, and my heart broke every time. This is why I couldn't keep reading - I hated seeing Delilah suffer, her dignity lost, pride on its way. The thing is, Delilah kept struggling. She kept fighting. She never let them break her, though they hurt her over and over. Delilah is determined, even if she knows no way to escape.
Her main handler is Gallagher, who was there when she was bought for Metzger's. He isn't cruel and abusive, and he goes out of his way to protect her and not to hurt her. Of course Delilah suspects the worst - how could she not? He wants something from her, right? Gallagher is actually a decent person. When you read this book, stay on his side and cheer him on! I lived for the scenes between him and Delilah. There is nothing romantic going on (yet???), no hints, but they seem to know each other without knowing, understand each other on some level. I love Gallagher and I love his role in this novel. He is critical to this story, don't underestimate him!
The tone gets a little more hopeful as we slowly start to know Gallagher and his mind. I can't say too much, but I am happy with the direction of the plot after we finally figure out more and more about Gallagher - and Delilah. The two of them are a great pair, and I felt better about the story, knowing that they were on the same side.
The ending is excellent! I am pleased with the ending, even if it ended a bit twisted. Maybe I really am a psychopath. In any case, the ending could have been much worse, so I appreciate that reprieve. I don't think my heart could have taken any more!
What I Did Not Like:
Clearly I liked a lot of things about this book. But it took me a looooong time to appreciate those things. The world-building? I HATED it initially. This book is disturbing on so many levels. I hated seeing Delilah go from average human to less than dirt. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if she's naked, or cold, or scared, or has a human appearance, or can speak. What matters is that she is a cryptid (creature), and once they figure out what she is, they can start breeding her (oh, yes). This part almost made me sick - but not to worry, this isn't a part of the story for Delilah. This is introduced with another character.
There were so many disturbing scenes in this book. I wanted to shred Clyde (a handler) for abusing Delilah. She is always chained, and of course, it's really easy to do things to a person who is chained. Everyone treats Delilah like filth (with the exception of the other cryptids), so they think they can do anything with her. This broke my heart, over and over. You see why I was disturbed? One thing you don't need to worry about is rape, in terms of Delilah. Not ruling it out for other characters.
There are mentions of forced breeding and rape, FYI. Also violence. Hence my adult warning at the beginning of the book. It's mostly because of the violence in this book.
Still, like I previously said, Vincent did a great job with making this book so incredibly disturbing. But... it hurt. One of the secondary characters, Genni, is the absolute worst off. But if Vincent had made this book lighter on all the torture and abuse and captivity treatment and whatnot, it wouldn't have been as powerful a novel.
One thing that I didn't understand was the newspaper articles and snippets, at the beginning of each perspective/chapter (by the way, there are many perspectives, all in third person, except's Delilah's, in first person). I don't know what they contribute to the story. They're about the scare with cryptids and surrogates that occurred years ago, but they don't seem to add to the plot. Perhaps foreshadowing? Or world-building? I'm not sure. I started to skip them after a while.
So, once you "get used to" the disturbing stuff, you'll enjoy the story. The faster you can stomach it (and Vincent has it going for more than half the book), the easier the book gets to read. It was NOT an easy read, by any means. *clutches tatters of heart*
Would I Recommend It:
You know, despite my rating, it does seem like I enjoyed the book, right? I hope I can convince someone to read this one, and not dissuade (although, if you can't handle the disturbing stuff I mentioned above, definitely SKIP this book). I want you all to know my issues with this book, and while they marred the rating and enjoyment for me, I'm glad I picked up this novel. Vincent fans will probably like this one (how would I know, I've never read any of her other novels!), but anyone who doesn't mind dark, sinister, and disturbing fantasy set in a modern-day world will be intrigued and captured by this novel. ADULT BOOK, OKAY?!
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. Definitely on the positive end of 3 stars. But I can't give this novel 4 stars, knowing just how much I struggled with it for about half the book, even a little more than that. It is my first Vincent novel and hopefully the sequel will be my next one. Although I am totally scared of the sequel... if it's anything as disturbing as this book, I might need therapy!
October 15, 2015
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads.
I knew precisely two things about this audiobook going in: Rachel Vincent wrote it, and she published a blog post stating that “MENAGERIE is not urban fantasy, nor is it romance, nor is it YA.” And, that was enough to hook me because 1. Vincent can write! And 2. I wanted to sample this genre bending story first-hand.
I’ve read a couple of reviews that have compared it to Anne Bishop’s THE OTHERS series, and that’s not too far off base, albeit not 100% accurate either. It’s dark, life after The Reaping made sure of that, and has an alternate universe vibe to it because of the strain between humans and Cryptids. Delilah Marlow’s tale is particularly poignant because she’s free one moment, only to be trapped behind bars the next with fewer rights than a household pet and her injustice unfolds live before our eyes.
A lot of the details were fuzzy, but I have to assume that that was intentional on Vincent’s part, not to mention the added bonus of cranking up the intrigue. The specifics will most likely come in time; however just knowing that there are thousands of varieties of Cryptids to explore, that the grisly specifics of the 1986 catastrophe are forthcoming, and that Team Vengeance is only in its preliminary stage has me riled up for the next installment.
Gabra Zackman was an excellent choice as far as narrators go. Her audiobook repertoire is quite broad which most likely came in handy when she concocted all of the voices for the large cast of characters. Her tone was appropriate when it came to the less than pleasant aspects of this novel, and her pacing echoed the author’s writing well which left little doubt that listeners got to experience the story as Rachel Vincent intended.
To-may-to, to-mah-to—call MENAGERIE whatever you like, as long as you read it. ~4.5 Stars
I knew precisely two things about this audiobook going in: Rachel Vincent wrote it, and she published a blog post stating that “MENAGERIE is not urban fantasy, nor is it romance, nor is it YA.” And, that was enough to hook me because 1. Vincent can write! And 2. I wanted to sample this genre bending story first-hand.
I’ve read a couple of reviews that have compared it to Anne Bishop’s THE OTHERS series, and that’s not too far off base, albeit not 100% accurate either. It’s dark, life after The Reaping made sure of that, and has an alternate universe vibe to it because of the strain between humans and Cryptids. Delilah Marlow’s tale is particularly poignant because she’s free one moment, only to be trapped behind bars the next with fewer rights than a household pet and her injustice unfolds live before our eyes.
A lot of the details were fuzzy, but I have to assume that that was intentional on Vincent’s part, not to mention the added bonus of cranking up the intrigue. The specifics will most likely come in time; however just knowing that there are thousands of varieties of Cryptids to explore, that the grisly specifics of the 1986 catastrophe are forthcoming, and that Team Vengeance is only in its preliminary stage has me riled up for the next installment.
Gabra Zackman was an excellent choice as far as narrators go. Her audiobook repertoire is quite broad which most likely came in handy when she concocted all of the voices for the large cast of characters. Her tone was appropriate when it came to the less than pleasant aspects of this novel, and her pacing echoed the author’s writing well which left little doubt that listeners got to experience the story as Rachel Vincent intended.
To-may-to, to-mah-to—call MENAGERIE whatever you like, as long as you read it. ~4.5 Stars
February 11, 2016
4-1/2 stars -- just short of perfect.
Delilah Marlow leads a pretty dull life, living with her boyfriend and working as a bank teller. Then one night she visits Metzger's Menagerie, a traveling showcase of cryptids -- shapeshifters, mermaids, djinn, a minotaur, among many others -- and is suddenly declared a cryptid herself. She is stripped of her clothing, belongings, bank account, and all her rights, and sold to the menagerie by the state of Oklahoma. Trapped and helpless, she is abused, debased, and starved along with the rest of the captives. But she is determined to keep her sense of self -- and to escape.It feels weird to say I loved this book, considering the dark and horrifying premise, and the mistreatment of the beings held hostage in the menagerie. But love it I did. I was pulled in from beginning to end by the story, which was surprisingly emotionally powerful; by the writing, which zooms along with no flowery descriptions or other distractions; and by how believable this alternate earth felt.
Several plot threads are woven together artfully using Delilah's first-person narration peppered with third-person glimpses into other characters and snippets about "the Reaping," a mass slaughter which happened a few years before Delilah's birth and which turned the US against cryptids, who had until then been living freely with humans as respected and equal citizens.
Delilah's predicament is safely fantasy, but it felt terrifyingly possible to me in light of both US history and current events: the abuse and denial of personhood for slaves; the mistrust and mistreatment of Native Americans; the internment of Japanese citizens during WWII; and the current rise of Islamophobia. The treatment she and her menagerie-mates receive, and the delight some of the human characters take in being able to treat other beings so badly, was tough to read, and made me as angry as if it were a real story. The main thing that made it bearable was knowing that this book is fiction, and surely there would be some kind of justice by the end. None of it was too gruesome -- and I'm pretty sensitive to violence and cruelty -- but it was harrowing.
Through it all, Delilah's voice and spirit shone brightly, and the mystery of what kind of cryptid she might be was intriguing and fascinating. I loved the insights into the other characters and their motivation, as well.
There are a couple weak spots which kept me from giving this 5 stars. First, Mexico is eventually revealed to be a land of sultanates and djinn -- say what? This was the only big misstep in the worldbuilding for this story that I noticed, but it opened the door for me to look back on the rest of it more nitpickily. Why aren't djinn Arabian in this world? Why isn't Mexico run by native cryptids? Why does the US seem mostly like the place we know in this world, but Mexico sounds so very different? Second, part of the big climax is brought about with the help of two cryptids who weren't ever mentioned until they were suddenly convenient, which gave me a whiff of deus ex machina rather than an organic build-up to solving that particular problem. Last, while I admired all the amazing plot twists and turns in this book, there were a few too many twists at the end, which left me slightly numb and overwhelmed rather than thrilled or emotionally moved. But these are all very tiny weaknesses!
There will be two more books in this series, but this one stands alone quite decently, so there's no need to wait for them all before reading this. Although I am now tapping my fingers very impatiently for the next one! Hopefully that one will fill in a bit more about the Reaping, the who, how, and why of which is left as a mystery at the end of this installment.
Highly recommended if you want a dark, breathless, constantly surprising read with emotional depth. Now I've got to find more books by this author, if this is any example of what she's writing. It was so, so good.
February 5, 2017
I enjoyed this book and would give it 3.5 stars . I would probably read a sequel without rushing to do so. The menagerie of the title is in a world where cryptids are showcased in much the same way as the freak shows of days gone by. There was a fantastic array of creatures: shapeshifter, a Minotaur, werewolves, mermaids, oracles, ifrits , sirens, succubi, satyr, centaurs and fae. It was interesting to see these creatures in this urban fantasy setting. None of the creatures are treated well and there is a scene when a female centaur is led past the main character wearing a tatty greying sports bra for example...
We get some snippets about the larger world largely through information at the start of chapters.. I definitely like to see if the author gives us more details in a sequel about how the relationship between humans and the cryptids became so difficult.
In my opinion, the main character was pretty annoying...but not enough to stop me reading!
All in all an enjoyable read..
We get some snippets about the larger world largely through information at the start of chapters.. I definitely like to see if the author gives us more details in a sequel about how the relationship between humans and the cryptids became so difficult.
In my opinion, the main character was pretty annoying...but not enough to stop me reading!
All in all an enjoyable read..
January 4, 2016
"Welcome to the menagerie, where beauty and grace shine from every cage and peek from every shadow. You’ve never seen anything like the exotic wonders within, so keep your eyes open, ladies and gentlemen, because in our world of spectacle and illusion, what you see isn’t always what you get.”
Right off the bat, this is unlike anything Vincent has ever written. So if you’re expecting her usual romantic/fun stories, well, don’t.
Menagerie is a dark, provocative, and disturbing story. It depicts a world where all supernatural creatures, called cryptids, are stripped their rights after the reaping, which left millions of humans dead.
"Remember the reaping? wasn’t just a question. It was something parents said in hushed voices. Something priests advised while they made the sign of the cross. Something politicians shouted from behind podiums. Remember the reaping was a warning not to let history repeat itself. A reminder for humanity not to let its guard down.
Metzger's Menagerie is the largest traveling zoo in the northern hemisphere. Delilah - a once-aspiring crypto-vet - is ready to celebrate her 25th birthday. When her boyfriend gets her tickets to the menagerie, she reluctantly agrees to go. When she witnesses the abuse and cruel treatment the cryptids live through, her rage brings out a monster she had no idea even existed.
She finds herself accused of being a cryptid in hiding, stripped of all her rights, and sold to the menagerie.
"What was I, if I had no name, no friends, no family, no job, no home, no belongings, and no authority over my own body? What could I be?”
Vincent builds the story, world, and characters brilliantly. Mermaids, oracles, sphinxes, Minotaur’s, phoenixes, succubi, fae – there were so much mythology and I loved all of it. But despite all these “monsters”, the humans we meet are the most despicable, and Vincent manages to make all of the characters, human or not, believable and convincing.
Menagerie was scary as hell though. It was awful watching Delilah’s life turn upside down overnight and to see her and the other cryptids suffer so much. But she was strong, she fought for what she believed in and tried to help the other cyrptids. All of this made it impossible for me not to root for her.
Ultimately Menagerie was well-executed, fast-paced, and masterfully written. It might not be the book for everyone because of the dark content, but if you think you can handle the darkness, I highly recommend it.
January 19, 2016
This one is without any doubt amongst the best books I have read in 2015, and while reading it I was often reminded of this quote:
Set in an alternative reality where life will never be the same either for human beings or cryptids after the Reaping it is not the usual or expected story about supernatural beings. When Delilah Marlow, an ordinary woman with an extra-ordinary fascination visits Metzger's Menagerie she expects many things but not the ruthlessness of the workers towards the cryptids that awakens her own monster. A monster, whose existence she did not know about. Accused of being a cryptid, or perhaps something much worse she is stripped of basic human rights, of any rights, and sold of to the exact Menagerie she visited. Delilah discovers that the life of the cryptids is much worse than she had thought and that what hides beneath the surface is powerful as it is unexpected.
Dark. Provocative. Irresistable.
At times I would even describe it as disturbing. It intertwines the supernatural aspect with quite relevant topics of morals, of human rights and so much more. But perhaps the best compliment I can make is that it is very convincing. Both the cryptids and the humans are portayed not quite black and white, but always in between. The variety of different characters, their motivations and their ultimate decisions differ from person to person and reading about them was glorious. I will not go into detail here, for any comment could spoil something either about the plot or the characters and I'd rather not spoil the pleasure. What I will say however is, that I enjoyed the variety of POVs. Only Delilah's chapters are written in first person, the chapters of the other characters are all in third person, again quite a captivating difference that kept me on edge with its intensity.
Another wonderful aspect is the lack of romance, I have grown rather tired of the trope when the love story slows down the progression of the plot and I am happy that the author decided against a love interest for Delilah in this book. I hope it stays this way.
Which brings me to several next points. First, the wide range of creatures. Usually, there are only two or three main kinds(e.g. vampires, fae, werewolves) but in this one? Only in the menagerie there are several dozens of different creatures. My opinion? The more the merrier. I want to know more about every single one.
The writing is precise, thrilling and provides beautiful descriptions. It shows rather than describes and does not drift off into providing unnecessary information, another point I appreciated.
It is very fast-paced, the author masterfully builds the story up while balancing the plot progression with the character development and the high level of emotionality. All in all an amazing read (perhaps with a slighly rushed ending) that is clearly aimed at a mature audience.
Recommended.
I want the next book. NOW!
Set in an alternative reality where life will never be the same either for human beings or cryptids after the Reaping it is not the usual or expected story about supernatural beings. When Delilah Marlow, an ordinary woman with an extra-ordinary fascination visits Metzger's Menagerie she expects many things but not the ruthlessness of the workers towards the cryptids that awakens her own monster. A monster, whose existence she did not know about. Accused of being a cryptid, or perhaps something much worse she is stripped of basic human rights, of any rights, and sold of to the exact Menagerie she visited. Delilah discovers that the life of the cryptids is much worse than she had thought and that what hides beneath the surface is powerful as it is unexpected.
Dark. Provocative. Irresistable.
At times I would even describe it as disturbing. It intertwines the supernatural aspect with quite relevant topics of morals, of human rights and so much more. But perhaps the best compliment I can make is that it is very convincing. Both the cryptids and the humans are portayed not quite black and white, but always in between. The variety of different characters, their motivations and their ultimate decisions differ from person to person and reading about them was glorious. I will not go into detail here, for any comment could spoil something either about the plot or the characters and I'd rather not spoil the pleasure. What I will say however is, that I enjoyed the variety of POVs. Only Delilah's chapters are written in first person, the chapters of the other characters are all in third person, again quite a captivating difference that kept me on edge with its intensity.
Another wonderful aspect is the lack of romance, I have grown rather tired of the trope when the love story slows down the progression of the plot and I am happy that the author decided against a love interest for Delilah in this book. I hope it stays this way.
Which brings me to several next points. First, the wide range of creatures. Usually, there are only two or three main kinds(e.g. vampires, fae, werewolves) but in this one? Only in the menagerie there are several dozens of different creatures. My opinion? The more the merrier. I want to know more about every single one.
The writing is precise, thrilling and provides beautiful descriptions. It shows rather than describes and does not drift off into providing unnecessary information, another point I appreciated.
It is very fast-paced, the author masterfully builds the story up while balancing the plot progression with the character development and the high level of emotionality. All in all an amazing read (perhaps with a slighly rushed ending) that is clearly aimed at a mature audience.
Recommended.
I want the next book. NOW!
March 28, 2016
This was a tough book to read. The subject matter made it hard for me to turn the page. My indignation for the fictional characters ran so deep, I wasn't sure what compelled me to read on.
Please note, there isn't romance in this story. I do however have hope for some in the future. But I also fear it will never come to that.
Meanwhile I'm disappointed the next book isn't out yet. I got this as an audible daily deal. I will be reading the next installment.
The narrator for the audio book did a really good job.
Please note, there isn't romance in this story. I do however have hope for some in the future. But I also fear it will never come to that.
Meanwhile I'm disappointed the next book isn't out yet. I got this as an audible daily deal. I will be reading the next installment.
The narrator for the audio book did a really good job.
January 7, 2016
4.5 stars
It is dark, provocative, at times even disturbing. It depicts a world where cryptids – protohuman hybrids – are harassed and stripped of their rights: it can't be otherwise.
It is beautifully written, evocative and powerfully captivating, though.
I loved it.
~I was provided this book for free on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~
If that girl was a monster, anyone could be a monster. That's why the world was so terrified of another reaping. Because just like last time, humanity would never see it coming.
But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?
It is dark, provocative, at times even disturbing. It depicts a world where cryptids – protohuman hybrids – are harassed and stripped of their rights: it can't be otherwise.
It is beautifully written, evocative and powerfully captivating, though.
I loved it.
~I was provided this book for free on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~
September 26, 2015
This was absolutely brilliant.
August 18, 2015
This book is set in what I can only describe as a sort of parallel universe. It's set in the US but it's completely different to the world that we live in. In Ms Vincent's reality the things that go bump in the night are real and just about every mythological or paranormal creature you've read about is actually corporal. Now here's where things get a little tricky to explain so I will try my best. In 1986 thousands of children were murdered by their parents under some type of compunction but each family was left with a six year old child who had been born in March 1980. These six year olds were not human and it became apparent that somehow Changelings or Surrogates as they are called here are the cause of all the suffering. This time is referred to as the Reaping and consequently all Supernaturals ( Cryptids) became hunted,caged and had all their basic rights removed. Not human, not important just despised Cryptids !
Our story really begins when Delilah reluctantly spends her twenty fifth birthday at a traveling Menagerie. She dislikes the way the creatures appear to be treated and from the start feels uncomfortable When a handler uses a cattle prod on a young werewolf something inside Delilah snaps and a fierce creature hiding inside her emerges which leads to Delilah being considered one of the monsters. Within just a few hours her human life is over and she's sold to the menagerie ! It's a cruel, dangerous place but Delilah refuses to bow down and lose her humanity no matter what the cost!
Oh my I am in awe! This if honest took me a while to fully understand which is why I've tried to explain the Reaping and if honest I'm still not sure why or how it happened. Nevertheless once this got going it felt like a runaway train ride and I begrudged the time I had to sleep last night! If totally honest even when in bed I kept thinking about it and just wanted to know more.
There are far too many creatures and characters for me to describe but I will say that we get frequent different points of view which might sound confusing but please trust me it really is so simple to follow. Delilah is just so strong, never a quitter and compassionate to boot. The handler Gallagher has been charged with breaking her and their interactions are truly fascinating. Is Gallagher totally bad? He's a formidable chap and pretty scary but does not seem to take advantage of Delilah. Just what Delilah is is a tease almost to the end but the reveal makes sense given what has happened to the Cryptids in the past years. It's a hard painful read at times with very dark undertones but it's also an awesome story that resonates and will stay with me a while. This does have an ending of sorts but clearly there's a lot more to come. Yes I did get some answers but the author still has a few more secrets to reveal and I for one cannot wait!
If you love paranormal or urban fantasy then do yourself a huge favour and get this book!
I was given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review
Our story really begins when Delilah reluctantly spends her twenty fifth birthday at a traveling Menagerie. She dislikes the way the creatures appear to be treated and from the start feels uncomfortable When a handler uses a cattle prod on a young werewolf something inside Delilah snaps and a fierce creature hiding inside her emerges which leads to Delilah being considered one of the monsters. Within just a few hours her human life is over and she's sold to the menagerie ! It's a cruel, dangerous place but Delilah refuses to bow down and lose her humanity no matter what the cost!
Oh my I am in awe! This if honest took me a while to fully understand which is why I've tried to explain the Reaping and if honest I'm still not sure why or how it happened. Nevertheless once this got going it felt like a runaway train ride and I begrudged the time I had to sleep last night! If totally honest even when in bed I kept thinking about it and just wanted to know more.
There are far too many creatures and characters for me to describe but I will say that we get frequent different points of view which might sound confusing but please trust me it really is so simple to follow. Delilah is just so strong, never a quitter and compassionate to boot. The handler Gallagher has been charged with breaking her and their interactions are truly fascinating. Is Gallagher totally bad? He's a formidable chap and pretty scary but does not seem to take advantage of Delilah. Just what Delilah is is a tease almost to the end but the reveal makes sense given what has happened to the Cryptids in the past years. It's a hard painful read at times with very dark undertones but it's also an awesome story that resonates and will stay with me a while. This does have an ending of sorts but clearly there's a lot more to come. Yes I did get some answers but the author still has a few more secrets to reveal and I for one cannot wait!
If you love paranormal or urban fantasy then do yourself a huge favour and get this book!
I was given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review
January 21, 2019
1st read - September 2015
2nd read - January 2018
Menagerie is set in a world similar to our own but one where all kinds of supernatural creatures, known collectively as cryptids, exist and are walking among us. Since humans found out the truth about these creatures they have been treated as less than animals, they have no rights, are unable to hold down jobs or own property and don't even have a say in what happens to their bodies or their children. Cryptids who are discovered are placed in the custody of the state, they can be bought or sold and if they're "lucky" they'll end up in a menagerie where people can pay to come and gawk at them through the bars of their cages. Unlucky ones will find themselves hunted & murdered for sport or used for all kinds of horrific experiments and testing.
Metzger's Menagerie is a travelling circus where all of the performers and attractions are cryptids. It travels around America and people pay exorbitant ticket prices to come in and see the "freaks" on display. Delilah visited the Menagerie as a child but now, 15 years later, it has come back to their area and her boyfriend bought tickets for her as a gift. She was kind of curious about the Menagerie and wondered if she would see any of the same cryptids from her childhood but she finds herself horrified by the way the cryptids are treated by their handlers and the Menagerie staff. When she steps in to defend a young werewolf child she discovers something about herself that gets her into more trouble than she ever could have imagined.
I've been a huge fan of Rachel Vincent's for a long time now and I'm consistently impressed with the new and interesting ideas she comes up with for every new series. Menagerie is like none of her previous books, it's much darker in tone and is actually more than a little disturbing in places. This isn't a comfortable read but it was a fascinating one and I was hooked from the very beginning. Delilah was a fantastic main character, one day she's just a normal girl having fun with her friends and then her entire life is turned completely upside down. She is stripped of everything she has ever cared about and becomes less than a second class citizen within a few terrifying moments. It was horrible seeing what she was going through but I admired her for her strength and courage, she is treated as an object to be ridiculed and laughed at but she never loses her humanity. The story actually raises a lot of interesting questions about what it means to be human and it really makes you think about the way we treat people who are different from ourselves. One of my favourite quotes from the story was:
"But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?"
We meet a whole host of interesting characters in this book, Delilah may be central to the story but she's only one of the major players and nothing is quite what it seems. All of the characters are fully three dimensional, they all have secrets and hidden motives and you can never be quite sure who you can trust. Every time you think you have things figured out Rachel Vincent manages to add in a new twist and I gave up trying to predict what would happen next. I loved the pure scope of this world, the sheer amount of different cryptids, each with very different skills and needs, was fascinating. There are characters you'll love, some you'll hate but more than a few who fall into such a grey area that you won't know which box to put them in. The plot unfolds masterfully and I loved the way things played out towards the end of the story, I don't want to say much about what happens but it has definitely left me desperate to get my hands on the sequel and I'm very excited to see where this series will go from here.
2nd read - January 2018
Menagerie is set in a world similar to our own but one where all kinds of supernatural creatures, known collectively as cryptids, exist and are walking among us. Since humans found out the truth about these creatures they have been treated as less than animals, they have no rights, are unable to hold down jobs or own property and don't even have a say in what happens to their bodies or their children. Cryptids who are discovered are placed in the custody of the state, they can be bought or sold and if they're "lucky" they'll end up in a menagerie where people can pay to come and gawk at them through the bars of their cages. Unlucky ones will find themselves hunted & murdered for sport or used for all kinds of horrific experiments and testing.
Metzger's Menagerie is a travelling circus where all of the performers and attractions are cryptids. It travels around America and people pay exorbitant ticket prices to come in and see the "freaks" on display. Delilah visited the Menagerie as a child but now, 15 years later, it has come back to their area and her boyfriend bought tickets for her as a gift. She was kind of curious about the Menagerie and wondered if she would see any of the same cryptids from her childhood but she finds herself horrified by the way the cryptids are treated by their handlers and the Menagerie staff. When she steps in to defend a young werewolf child she discovers something about herself that gets her into more trouble than she ever could have imagined.
I've been a huge fan of Rachel Vincent's for a long time now and I'm consistently impressed with the new and interesting ideas she comes up with for every new series. Menagerie is like none of her previous books, it's much darker in tone and is actually more than a little disturbing in places. This isn't a comfortable read but it was a fascinating one and I was hooked from the very beginning. Delilah was a fantastic main character, one day she's just a normal girl having fun with her friends and then her entire life is turned completely upside down. She is stripped of everything she has ever cared about and becomes less than a second class citizen within a few terrifying moments. It was horrible seeing what she was going through but I admired her for her strength and courage, she is treated as an object to be ridiculed and laughed at but she never loses her humanity. The story actually raises a lot of interesting questions about what it means to be human and it really makes you think about the way we treat people who are different from ourselves. One of my favourite quotes from the story was:
"But if monsters could look like humans, and humans could look like monsters, how could anyone ever really be sure that the right people stood on the outside of all those cages?"
We meet a whole host of interesting characters in this book, Delilah may be central to the story but she's only one of the major players and nothing is quite what it seems. All of the characters are fully three dimensional, they all have secrets and hidden motives and you can never be quite sure who you can trust. Every time you think you have things figured out Rachel Vincent manages to add in a new twist and I gave up trying to predict what would happen next. I loved the pure scope of this world, the sheer amount of different cryptids, each with very different skills and needs, was fascinating. There are characters you'll love, some you'll hate but more than a few who fall into such a grey area that you won't know which box to put them in. The plot unfolds masterfully and I loved the way things played out towards the end of the story, I don't want to say much about what happens but it has definitely left me desperate to get my hands on the sequel and I'm very excited to see where this series will go from here.
August 22, 2016
The more I think about it, the less impressed I am with this book. It was a solid read but it could have been better.
The Good
The world building was rock solid. Unlike a lot of poorly thought out urban fantasies this novel took the time to craft a realistic world. It was disturbing. If intelligent animals could speak this would be their experience of modern life. I had that thought a number of times and it made me really uncomfortable. Which is fantastic. The best sort of fiction pushes me to reflect on the real world and this did.
The nazi- style social control was communicated so effectively that for the first half to two thirds of the novel I had the same sort of sickening horror in my belly that I got when reading historical fiction novels like Between Shades of Gray. That is commendable.
The novel is a sophisticated and mature addition to a genre that is routinely weak and for that reason alone it is well worth reading.
The Bad
The characters motivations were hard to get a handle on and as the novel progressed there were a few occasions where characters acted in ways that seemed inconsistent. I had trouble buying the story more and more as it went on. I know it is almost impossible in a story in which the main character is locked up but I wish the MC had more agency.
The Ugly
The ending felt very rushed. I didn't buy it. It also changed the whole tone of the novel. The writing took the time to develop an effective atmosphere. That atmosphere could have carried the novel for another ten or twenty thousand words and produced a slow burning story that would have better suited the first half of the novel. Three quarters of the way in it suddenly hit overdrive and turned into a frenetic Hunger Games style action plot. It was ok but it felt rushed and the pay off for some plot points was wasted as a result.
In addition, the MC turned into a bit of Mary Sue. I was pleased when some of the other characters called her on it but why spend so much effort building a realistic and engaging world if you are going to blow it up with a ridiculous Hollywood movie-style ending?
Despite my quibbles I would still recommend this to lovers of fantasy. It is original and engaging enough to satisfy even if it doesn't quite hit the mark.
The Good
The world building was rock solid. Unlike a lot of poorly thought out urban fantasies this novel took the time to craft a realistic world. It was disturbing. If intelligent animals could speak this would be their experience of modern life. I had that thought a number of times and it made me really uncomfortable. Which is fantastic. The best sort of fiction pushes me to reflect on the real world and this did.
The nazi- style social control was communicated so effectively that for the first half to two thirds of the novel I had the same sort of sickening horror in my belly that I got when reading historical fiction novels like Between Shades of Gray. That is commendable.
The novel is a sophisticated and mature addition to a genre that is routinely weak and for that reason alone it is well worth reading.
The Bad
The characters motivations were hard to get a handle on and as the novel progressed there were a few occasions where characters acted in ways that seemed inconsistent. I had trouble buying the story more and more as it went on. I know it is almost impossible in a story in which the main character is locked up but I wish the MC had more agency.
The Ugly
The ending felt very rushed. I didn't buy it. It also changed the whole tone of the novel. The writing took the time to develop an effective atmosphere. That atmosphere could have carried the novel for another ten or twenty thousand words and produced a slow burning story that would have better suited the first half of the novel. Three quarters of the way in it suddenly hit overdrive and turned into a frenetic Hunger Games style action plot. It was ok but it felt rushed and the pay off for some plot points was wasted as a result.
In addition, the MC turned into a bit of Mary Sue. I was pleased when some of the other characters called her on it but why spend so much effort building a realistic and engaging world if you are going to blow it up with a ridiculous Hollywood movie-style ending?
Despite my quibbles I would still recommend this to lovers of fantasy. It is original and engaging enough to satisfy even if it doesn't quite hit the mark.
September 23, 2016
A fun and easy urban fantasy story taking place where you could guess. Factoring in a lot of mythological creatures with some twists. What would happen if you weren't quite human? An interesting concept. The series is supposed to have three books. I'm not sure it interested me enough to make a story line out of two more books but it was good as a standalone nonetheless.
This was an audiobook. The narrator was good, not special.
This was an audiobook. The narrator was good, not special.
Want to read
August 10, 2016
August 10, 2015
What a great interesting story that was everything I expected and more. Only complaint, too many POV's.
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November 27, 2016
It was an... interesting read. And not at all like i expected. There was just an element, that just wasn't as expected.
I dragged along at some points, but it was fine. I liked it.
I dragged along at some points, but it was fine. I liked it.
September 18, 2015
The closest I can compare this new series from Rachel Vincent is The Others by Anne Bishop and Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs. It has the same level of nasty tension between people and cryptids as in Bishop's books, and it has mythology more familiar to Briggs. And it's also wholesomely awesome! So, if you are a fan of one or the other, buy it! It has a decent price on kindle.
Delilah Marlow spent all her life thinking she is human. Sure, she is very uncomfortable with human policy towards cryptids, who are treated as animals or objects, not sentient beings, but she is also not strong enough to object it out loud, not when the famous Reaping of 1986 when more than a million children in US got murdered, is still fresh in people's minds.
Then on her twenty fifth birthday her boyfriend buys her a ticket to a famous Menagerie, and she sees a young shifter girl getting abused openly and for the amusement of the customers. Suddenly she turns into a monster herself, and the life as she knows it comes crushing down. In a space of one evening she loses all her rights and gets sold into that same Menagerie to take her off local police's hands.
Vincent writes tenacious, unbending heroines really well, and Delilah is not an exception.
"Drea, why don't you turn a circle and give us a good look?" the talker said, his chest all puffed out, as if he'd had something to do with making me perform.
"Fuck you," I said, nice and clear, in spite of my fuller voice, so everyone could hear.
A couple of teens near the back of the crowd laughed, but the mothers scowled and covered their children's ears.
"Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen," the talker called with an amiable chuckle. "Most of our exhibits were born and raised in the carnival, and they hear a lot of rough language."
"Most of our handlers are full of shit," I added, drawing more laughter from the back of the crowd. "I learned to cuss the same place all of your kids did. In middle school."
Her environment is brutal and her handlers are mostly sadistic and vicious. They don't see anything wrong in how they treat beings surrounding Delilah in their cages. The violence is casual, and because of that it's even scarier than any one-off events. The secondary characters come off in layers, and the closer you get to the end the deeper they get. Gallagher is an interesting character, but so is werewolf Claudio and his daughter Genni, the make up artist, the villains Clyde and Ruyle, Zuylya with her casual bitter acceptance of her lot, Eryx, and many, many others.
This is a fast-paced book, very intense and gripping, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Like Bishop, Vincent exposes racism at its ugliest and sends a strong message of hope and unwillingness to accept things as they are. I loved it. Highly recommended.
Delilah Marlow spent all her life thinking she is human. Sure, she is very uncomfortable with human policy towards cryptids, who are treated as animals or objects, not sentient beings, but she is also not strong enough to object it out loud, not when the famous Reaping of 1986 when more than a million children in US got murdered, is still fresh in people's minds.
Then on her twenty fifth birthday her boyfriend buys her a ticket to a famous Menagerie, and she sees a young shifter girl getting abused openly and for the amusement of the customers. Suddenly she turns into a monster herself, and the life as she knows it comes crushing down. In a space of one evening she loses all her rights and gets sold into that same Menagerie to take her off local police's hands.
Vincent writes tenacious, unbending heroines really well, and Delilah is not an exception.
"Drea, why don't you turn a circle and give us a good look?" the talker said, his chest all puffed out, as if he'd had something to do with making me perform.
"Fuck you," I said, nice and clear, in spite of my fuller voice, so everyone could hear.
A couple of teens near the back of the crowd laughed, but the mothers scowled and covered their children's ears.
"Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen," the talker called with an amiable chuckle. "Most of our exhibits were born and raised in the carnival, and they hear a lot of rough language."
"Most of our handlers are full of shit," I added, drawing more laughter from the back of the crowd. "I learned to cuss the same place all of your kids did. In middle school."
Her environment is brutal and her handlers are mostly sadistic and vicious. They don't see anything wrong in how they treat beings surrounding Delilah in their cages. The violence is casual, and because of that it's even scarier than any one-off events. The secondary characters come off in layers, and the closer you get to the end the deeper they get. Gallagher is an interesting character, but so is werewolf Claudio and his daughter Genni, the make up artist, the villains Clyde and Ruyle, Zuylya with her casual bitter acceptance of her lot, Eryx, and many, many others.
This is a fast-paced book, very intense and gripping, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Like Bishop, Vincent exposes racism at its ugliest and sends a strong message of hope and unwillingness to accept things as they are. I loved it. Highly recommended.
March 28, 2017
Video review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m24Zp...
September 5, 2016
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.
I loved this audiobook! I love it when an audiobook can completely pull me into another world like this one did. I couldn't get this story out of my head even when I wasn't actively listening to it. Everything about this story was so vivid and I really felt for the characters. I bought this audiobook when it was on sale months ago but I had no idea how wonderful the story was at that time. I am so glad that I decided to pick this one up.
The world this story is set in is a bit different than our own. Cryptids are real but they are not allowed to live outside of captivity. That is where carnivals like Metgzer's Menagerie come into play. Cryptids are put on display in cages and petting zoos for the amusement of humans looking to pass some time. Let's just say that it is not an ideal way to live.
Delilah has always been interested in cryptids and even has a college degree in the field. When her long time boyfriend buys tickets to the menagerie, she is not thrilled but goes along to make everyone happy. While at the event, things happen that cause her life to be changed forever. She has no idea what has happened and isn't even sure of what she is anymore. Soon, she becomes an exhibit in the same carnival and her adjustment process is difficult at best.
I loved the characters in this book. It was interesting to see that the real monsters in the story were the humans. All of the characters that were captive like Delilah were easy to like. They all seemed to care for each other and really tried to make the most out of a terrible situation. I think that one of the strengths of the story was the level of emotions that really came through. I really felt the pain of the characters when they were treated ill by the caretakers.
Gabra Zackman did an excellent job with the narration of the audiobook. I loved all of her character voices and really felt the emotional aspects of the story come through. This was the kind of audiobook that I had no problem listening to for hours at a time. The delivery was smooth and well paced. This was the first time that I have listened to Gabra Zackman's narration but I plan to look for her work in the future.
I would highly recommend this book to others. This is a vividly told story that really grabs your attention. I thought that the overall story was unique and completely interesting. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series so that I can find out what will happen to Delilah and the rest of the characters.
Initial Thoughts
I liked this one a lot. The narration was fantastic and really brought the story to life. And the story....amazing! A fabulous listen.
I loved this audiobook! I love it when an audiobook can completely pull me into another world like this one did. I couldn't get this story out of my head even when I wasn't actively listening to it. Everything about this story was so vivid and I really felt for the characters. I bought this audiobook when it was on sale months ago but I had no idea how wonderful the story was at that time. I am so glad that I decided to pick this one up.
The world this story is set in is a bit different than our own. Cryptids are real but they are not allowed to live outside of captivity. That is where carnivals like Metgzer's Menagerie come into play. Cryptids are put on display in cages and petting zoos for the amusement of humans looking to pass some time. Let's just say that it is not an ideal way to live.
Delilah has always been interested in cryptids and even has a college degree in the field. When her long time boyfriend buys tickets to the menagerie, she is not thrilled but goes along to make everyone happy. While at the event, things happen that cause her life to be changed forever. She has no idea what has happened and isn't even sure of what she is anymore. Soon, she becomes an exhibit in the same carnival and her adjustment process is difficult at best.
I loved the characters in this book. It was interesting to see that the real monsters in the story were the humans. All of the characters that were captive like Delilah were easy to like. They all seemed to care for each other and really tried to make the most out of a terrible situation. I think that one of the strengths of the story was the level of emotions that really came through. I really felt the pain of the characters when they were treated ill by the caretakers.
Gabra Zackman did an excellent job with the narration of the audiobook. I loved all of her character voices and really felt the emotional aspects of the story come through. This was the kind of audiobook that I had no problem listening to for hours at a time. The delivery was smooth and well paced. This was the first time that I have listened to Gabra Zackman's narration but I plan to look for her work in the future.
I would highly recommend this book to others. This is a vividly told story that really grabs your attention. I thought that the overall story was unique and completely interesting. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series so that I can find out what will happen to Delilah and the rest of the characters.
Initial Thoughts
I liked this one a lot. The narration was fantastic and really brought the story to life. And the story....amazing! A fabulous listen.
July 23, 2016
I am irritated at myself for having this on my shelf for so long without having opened it.
I loved every minute of this book. It's weird and brutal and violent and unlike anything I have ever read.
The world the author builds here is maybe my favorite part. I have many questions and hopefully I will have answers in the next book!
I loved every minute of this book. It's weird and brutal and violent and unlike anything I have ever read.
The world the author builds here is maybe my favorite part. I have many questions and hopefully I will have answers in the next book!
May 6, 2019
3.5 stars
I had made a point of staying away from YA-type fantasy for a good year and now in the span of a few weeks I read two of them. I know the main character, Delia, is 25 but the book had a distinctive YA feel to it.
First off, I can highly recommend the audio, it definitely added something more to the story. The narrator did a great job of making the book dark and dramatic and her narration made the slower moments seem more purposeful. In fact, I enjoyed this so much I immediately bought book 2.
The series takes place in a world where paranormal creatures exist but haven’t been given any human rights. The descriptions of how the Delia was treated after she showed signs of being non-human reminded me of the height of slavery. She was stripped of her legal rights and thrown into a cage, where she was starved, humiliated, beaten, and threatened with rape.
This is a blend of mythology, dystopian and fantasy all rolled into one, with some creatures I have never even heard of, all elements that made for very interesting world building.
And I was almost giddy with relief that there was no obligatory romance in the story.
I am not going to rehash the storyline but if you are a fan of paranormal/dystopian novels that does not just focus on run/chase scenarios then this should be on your reading list.
I had made a point of staying away from YA-type fantasy for a good year and now in the span of a few weeks I read two of them. I know the main character, Delia, is 25 but the book had a distinctive YA feel to it.
First off, I can highly recommend the audio, it definitely added something more to the story. The narrator did a great job of making the book dark and dramatic and her narration made the slower moments seem more purposeful. In fact, I enjoyed this so much I immediately bought book 2.
The series takes place in a world where paranormal creatures exist but haven’t been given any human rights. The descriptions of how the Delia was treated after she showed signs of being non-human reminded me of the height of slavery. She was stripped of her legal rights and thrown into a cage, where she was starved, humiliated, beaten, and threatened with rape.
This is a blend of mythology, dystopian and fantasy all rolled into one, with some creatures I have never even heard of, all elements that made for very interesting world building.
And I was almost giddy with relief that there was no obligatory romance in the story.
I am not going to rehash the storyline but if you are a fan of paranormal/dystopian novels that does not just focus on run/chase scenarios then this should be on your reading list.
February 14, 2016
4.5 звезды
Из неотправленного письма автору:
«…и если б я знала, что вы та самая Рейчел Винсент, написавшая «Отданную душу», которая показалась мне детским лепетом, то в жизни бы не подошла к этому роману. Но я не знала. Как не знаю и, что вы там ели, пили и курили, чтобы после блеклой и поверхностной «Души» вдруг разродиться «Зверинцем». Такого допинга не существует.
Теперь непонятно, радоваться мне, что не пропустила эту историю, или рыдать. В любом случае, автор, гореть вам (и вашему предполагаемому дил��ру) в аду за мое раздробленное сердце.
С любовью,
Т.»
Итак, я не хочу говорить о жатве, тысячах погубленных детей, суррогатах и прочем-прочем. Все это размазано по тексту тонким слоем и проясняется постепенно, так что если рискнете прочесть – все узнаете. Поймете, почему мир стал вот таким.
А я начну с уже свершившегося факта: да, стал. Обычный и в чем-то нам знакомый, он полон удивительных существ. От внешне неотличимых от людей оракулов и оборотней до мифических кентавров, русалок, сфинксов и т.д. И все они заперты в клетках. Людей растят с мыслью, что криптиды ничего не чувствуют и не соображают. Тупые животные, даже на ступень ниже. И ладно бы обывателям внушали просто безразличие, но им внушают страх, беспрестанно поминая жатву и ужасы прошлого. Потому с самого детства люди начинают ненавидеть «монстров» и с радостью наблюдают за их страданиями, покупая дорогущие билеты в бродячие зверинцы или оплачивая охоту за экзотической дичью.
Делайла/Далила Марлоу не хотела бы отмечать день своего рождения в таком вот зверинце. В детстве их водили с классом на экскурсию, и вид маленькой изможденной девочки-оракула за решеткой так впечатлил Делайлу, что она чуть не выучилась на криптозоолога. Точнее выучилась, но работать не смогла, осознав, что придется запирать милых ее сердцу существ в камеры метр на метр. В общем, героиня полна сочувствия. Но бойфренд купил им с друзьями дорогие билеты, и отказаться никак.
И этот поход в зверинец стал роковым. Не в силах наблюдать за тем, как надзиратель издевается над девочкой-оборотнем, Делайла пытается его остановить, и вдруг выпускает когти и превращается в не пойми кого. Дальнейшее занимает считанные часы: друзья в ужасе убегают, а героиня оказывается в камере, лишенная всех прав – в том числе права называться человеком.
Она – худшая из монстров, ибо столько лет жила бок о бок с нормальными людьми, училась с их детьми, дружила и крутила любовь… Обманщица, притворщица, чудовище. Вот бы еще выяснить, какое именно.
Что лучше: провести в зверинце всю жизнь или попасть туда уже взрослым, сформировавшимся человеком, с воспоминаниями о другой жизни? Что хуже: терпеть беспрестанные пытки или смотреть, как над твоим ребенком издеваются в соседней клетке? Что важнее: называться человеком или быть им?
Я не шутила насчет раздробленного сердца. Да и других органов. Меня словно через мясорубку пропустили, а потом попытались заново собрать.
Это не идеально-гениальный роман, в нем всякого хватает, за что можно поругать, в том числе скомканная концовка, но он пробирает до костей, и я теперь не знаю, как браться за другие истории.
Чтобы было понятно, приведу пример.
Я не люблю насилие в литературе. В последнее время особенно, ибо дань тренду, авторы считают, что чем больше грязи и боли – тем лучше. Мол, в конце все это сиропом залью, и народ порадуется. Меня такие вещи не трогают, они искусственные.
«Зверинец» полон насилия. Особенно первая его часть. Ну представьте, как относятся к несчастным прикованным существам люди-надзиратели? Притом, что они считают криптидов монстрами. Монстрами, которые полностью в их власти.
Но в романе нет смакования подробностей, нет нездоровой страсти ко всему этому. Просто констатация фактов, от которой еще страшнее. Делайлу пытаются сломать, потому что она, в отличие от других обитателей зверинца, мнит себя человеком, и мое восхищение ее стойкостью просто зашкаливает.
Здесь насилие не ради красного словца и привлечения бэдээсэмщиков, здесь просто не могло быть иначе. И да, я это съела. Продралась через начало, почувствовала себя больной на всю голову, когда не смогла бросить, и дошла до конца.
И я ненавижу автора за эту историю, потому что она поистине душераздирающая.
Мир, то как постепенно он раскрывается перед читателем, как наполняется красками и звуками… Действительно, будто медленно приподнимаешь полог и входишь в цирковой шатер. Он оригинален и невероятен.
Рассказчиков много. Точнее, основной, конечно, Делайла, и эти части идут от первого лица. А остальные от третьего, но с POV разных обитателей зверинца и причастных. Оттого погружение в мир настолько глубокое, насколько это вообще возможно.
Тема… сложная. Рабство, насилие, человечность, душа…
Блин, я не знаю, что еще сказать. О главном вроде предупредила.
Еще одно предупреждение: любителям романтики придется потерпеть. В продолжении серии явно что-то будет, но пока не до того.
Ну и… если б я наткнулась на подобный отзыв перед чтением, то в ужасе отбросила бы роман и никогда бы к нему не подошла. Так что да, никому не советую.
Ненавижуненавижуненавижу
Из неотправленного письма автору:
«…и если б я знала, что вы та самая Рейчел Винсент, написавшая «Отданную душу», которая показалась мне детским лепетом, то в жизни бы не подошла к этому роману. Но я не знала. Как не знаю и, что вы там ели, пили и курили, чтобы после блеклой и поверхностной «Души» вдруг разродиться «Зверинцем». Такого допинга не существует.
Теперь непонятно, радоваться мне, что не пропустила эту историю, или рыдать. В любом случае, автор, гореть вам (и вашему предполагаемому дил��ру) в аду за мое раздробленное сердце.
С любовью,
Т.»
Итак, я не хочу говорить о жатве, тысячах погубленных детей, суррогатах и прочем-прочем. Все это размазано по тексту тонким слоем и проясняется постепенно, так что если рискнете прочесть – все узнаете. Поймете, почему мир стал вот таким.
А я начну с уже свершившегося факта: да, стал. Обычный и в чем-то нам знакомый, он полон удивительных существ. От внешне неотличимых от людей оракулов и оборотней до мифических кентавров, русалок, сфинксов и т.д. И все они заперты в клетках. Людей растят с мыслью, что криптиды ничего не чувствуют и не соображают. Тупые животные, даже на ступень ниже. И ладно бы обывателям внушали просто безразличие, но им внушают страх, беспрестанно поминая жатву и ужасы прошлого. Потому с самого детства люди начинают ненавидеть «монстров» и с радостью наблюдают за их страданиями, покупая дорогущие билеты в бродячие зверинцы или оплачивая охоту за экзотической дичью.
Делайла/Далила Марлоу не хотела бы отмечать день своего рождения в таком вот зверинце. В детстве их водили с классом на экскурсию, и вид маленькой изможденной девочки-оракула за решеткой так впечатлил Делайлу, что она чуть не выучилась на криптозоолога. Точнее выучилась, но работать не смогла, осознав, что придется запирать милых ее сердцу существ в камеры метр на метр. В общем, героиня полна сочувствия. Но бойфренд купил им с друзьями дорогие билеты, и отказаться никак.
И этот поход в зверинец стал роковым. Не в силах наблюдать за тем, как надзиратель издевается над девочкой-оборотнем, Делайла пытается его остановить, и вдруг выпускает когти и превращается в не пойми кого. Дальнейшее занимает считанные часы: друзья в ужасе убегают, а героиня оказывается в камере, лишенная всех прав – в том числе права называться человеком.
Она – худшая из монстров, ибо столько лет жила бок о бок с нормальными людьми, училась с их детьми, дружила и крутила любовь… Обманщица, притворщица, чудовище. Вот бы еще выяснить, какое именно.
Что лучше: провести в зверинце всю жизнь или попасть туда уже взрослым, сформировавшимся человеком, с воспоминаниями о другой жизни? Что хуже: терпеть беспрестанные пытки или смотреть, как над твоим ребенком издеваются в соседней клетке? Что важнее: называться человеком или быть им?
Я не шутила насчет раздробленного сердца. Да и других органов. Меня словно через мясорубку пропустили, а потом попытались заново собрать.
Это не идеально-гениальный роман, в нем всякого хватает, за что можно поругать, в том числе скомканная концовка, но он пробирает до костей, и я теперь не знаю, как браться за другие истории.
Чтобы было понятно, приведу пример.
Я не люблю насилие в литературе. В последнее время особенно, ибо дань тренду, авторы считают, что чем больше грязи и боли – тем лучше. Мол, в конце все это сиропом залью, и народ порадуется. Меня такие вещи не трогают, они искусственные.
«Зверинец» полон насилия. Особенно первая его часть. Ну представьте, как относятся к несчастным прикованным существам люди-надзиратели? Притом, что они считают криптидов монстрами. Монстрами, которые полностью в их власти.
Но в романе нет смакования подробностей, нет нездоровой страсти ко всему этому. Просто констатация фактов, от которой еще страшнее. Делайлу пытаются сломать, потому что она, в отличие от других обитателей зверинца, мнит себя человеком, и мое восхищение ее стойкостью просто зашкаливает.
Здесь насилие не ради красного словца и привлечения бэдээсэмщиков, здесь просто не могло быть иначе. И да, я это съела. Продралась через начало, почувствовала себя больной на всю голову, когда не смогла бросить, и дошла до конца.
И я ненавижу автора за эту историю, потому что она поистине душераздирающая.
Мир, то как постепенно он раскрывается перед читателем, как наполняется красками и звуками… Действительно, будто медленно приподнимаешь полог и входишь в цирковой шатер. Он оригинален и невероятен.
Рассказчиков много. Точнее, основной, конечно, Делайла, и эти части идут от первого лица. А остальные от третьего, но с POV разных обитателей зверинца и причастных. Оттого погружение в мир настолько глубокое, насколько это вообще возможно.
Тема… сложная. Рабство, насилие, человечность, душа…
Блин, я не знаю, что еще сказать. О главном вроде предупредила.
Еще одно предупреждение: любителям романтики придется потерпеть. В продолжении серии явно что-то будет, но пока не до того.
Ну и… если б я наткнулась на подобный отзыв перед чтением, то в ужасе отбросила бы роман и никогда бы к нему не подошла. Так что да, никому не советую.
October 20, 2016
4.5
Eu sabia que adoraria esse livro quando eu resolvi compra-lo no ano passado. Estou muito feliz que minhas expectativas foram atendidas.
Aviso de cara para quem não tem estômago para ler sobre qualquer tipo de abuso, seja físico ou emocional, que esse livro talvez não seja para você. Mesmo não tendo cenas altamente gráficas, por muitas vezes fica muito claro o que está acontecendo por trás das cortinas do Menagerie. Não é nada gratuito e sim necessário para ilustrar as condições horrorosas que os Cryptids vivem nessa realidade alternativa que a Rachel Vincent criou.
A progressão do enredo é lenta, mas há uma razão para isso. A autora queria primeiramente nos apresentar para o mundo do livro e todos os seus personagens. Acho que o livro se beneficiou dessa "demora", pois ao final eu já estava apegada a quase todos eles (exceto os vilões, é claro...hehehehhe). Quero muito vê-los nos próximos livros e conhecê-los ainda melhor.
Adorei a Delilah. Ela é uma personagem forte que se recusava a baixar a cabeça para as injustiças de sua situação e dos demais Cryptids. Apesar de não ter sentido um grande crescimento emocional dela, pois ela meio que já veio "pronta", eu gostei que no final do livro ela teve que aceitar algumas realidades sobre a situação de seus comparsas, mostrando a sua ingenuidade a respeito delas. Foi uma experiência que a deixou mais humilde em sua jornada na luta contra as injustiças e também algo que será interessante acompanhar nos próximos livros da série. Como ela irá se virar a partir de agora com toda essa responsabilidade em cima dos ombros?
O outro personagem proeminente é o Gallagher, que eu gostei. Ele ainda me pareceu meio robótico, mas acho que foi intencional da parte da autora, haja vista sua estória pregressa. Não posso entrar em muitos detalhes sem dar muitos spoilers, mas estou também bastante curiosa em saber como o relacionamento da Delilah e do Gallegher progredirá nos próximos livros.
Tendo disso isso, é importante salientar que não tem romance nesse livro. Nadica de nada. A estória é mesmo sobre a realidade injusta que estas criaturas vivem nos EUA, sem direitos e sem nenhuma dignidade. Não "caberia" um romance aqui. Sinto que ficaria deslocado com o resto dos acontecimentos. Achei a decisão da Rachel Vincent de não adiciona-lo muito sensata. Maaaaas, posso dizer que como o livro terminou, o status quo está bem diferente para o próximo, permitindo que momentos mais românticos aconteçam. Não que sejam necessários, mas seria legal ver a Delilah curtindo esse tipo de liberdade.
Existe um mistério maior que a autora apenas menciona com passagens de notícias e menções durante a estória, mas tenho certeza que este será o maior problema a ser resolvido nos próximos livros, pois nada ficou explicado nesse. Quero saber as razões desse acontecimento e o que os Cryptids podem fazer a respeito para melhorarem a sua situação.
É uma leitura muito rápida, se você não se importa com um livro que se concentra mais no desenvolvimento de personagens do que na ação do enredo.
Eu sabia que adoraria esse livro quando eu resolvi compra-lo no ano passado. Estou muito feliz que minhas expectativas foram atendidas.
Aviso de cara para quem não tem estômago para ler sobre qualquer tipo de abuso, seja físico ou emocional, que esse livro talvez não seja para você. Mesmo não tendo cenas altamente gráficas, por muitas vezes fica muito claro o que está acontecendo por trás das cortinas do Menagerie. Não é nada gratuito e sim necessário para ilustrar as condições horrorosas que os Cryptids vivem nessa realidade alternativa que a Rachel Vincent criou.
A progressão do enredo é lenta, mas há uma razão para isso. A autora queria primeiramente nos apresentar para o mundo do livro e todos os seus personagens. Acho que o livro se beneficiou dessa "demora", pois ao final eu já estava apegada a quase todos eles (exceto os vilões, é claro...hehehehhe). Quero muito vê-los nos próximos livros e conhecê-los ainda melhor.
Adorei a Delilah. Ela é uma personagem forte que se recusava a baixar a cabeça para as injustiças de sua situação e dos demais Cryptids. Apesar de não ter sentido um grande crescimento emocional dela, pois ela meio que já veio "pronta", eu gostei que no final do livro ela teve que aceitar algumas realidades sobre a situação de seus comparsas, mostrando a sua ingenuidade a respeito delas. Foi uma experiência que a deixou mais humilde em sua jornada na luta contra as injustiças e também algo que será interessante acompanhar nos próximos livros da série. Como ela irá se virar a partir de agora com toda essa responsabilidade em cima dos ombros?
O outro personagem proeminente é o Gallagher, que eu gostei. Ele ainda me pareceu meio robótico, mas acho que foi intencional da parte da autora, haja vista sua estória pregressa. Não posso entrar em muitos detalhes sem dar muitos spoilers, mas estou também bastante curiosa em saber como o relacionamento da Delilah e do Gallegher progredirá nos próximos livros.
Tendo disso isso, é importante salientar que não tem romance nesse livro. Nadica de nada. A estória é mesmo sobre a realidade injusta que estas criaturas vivem nos EUA, sem direitos e sem nenhuma dignidade. Não "caberia" um romance aqui. Sinto que ficaria deslocado com o resto dos acontecimentos. Achei a decisão da Rachel Vincent de não adiciona-lo muito sensata. Maaaaas, posso dizer que como o livro terminou, o status quo está bem diferente para o próximo, permitindo que momentos mais românticos aconteçam. Não que sejam necessários, mas seria legal ver a Delilah curtindo esse tipo de liberdade.
Existe um mistério maior que a autora apenas menciona com passagens de notícias e menções durante a estória, mas tenho certeza que este será o maior problema a ser resolvido nos próximos livros, pois nada ficou explicado nesse. Quero saber as razões desse acontecimento e o que os Cryptids podem fazer a respeito para melhorarem a sua situação.
É uma leitura muito rápida, se você não se importa com um livro que se concentra mais no desenvolvimento de personagens do que na ação do enredo.
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