01 September, 2017

REVIEW: THE BEAST IS AN ANIMAL by Peternelle van Arsdale


Title: The Beast is an Animal
Author: Peternelle van Arsdale
Series: -
Genres: YA, Fairytale, Paranormal
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release: 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 352

// Goodreads // BookDepository // Amazon //

BLURB:
A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this haunting and deeply satisfying tale.

Alys was seven when the soul eaters came to her village.

These soul eaters, twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly morphed into something not quite human, devour human souls. Alys, and all the other children, were spared—and they were sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think it is. And neither is Alys.

Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul. 

EXPECTATIONS: I don't really remember where I saw this book first but that cover....omg how beautiful it is...I just had to get it and so it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2017. 

THE WORLD: It's a little bit like Uprooted and The Bear and The Nightingale. Partially set in a fairytale partially in a fantasy world. Basically we are in this area of single villages and one of them dies except for the children. So the children of this village get sent to the neighboring village but they are looked upon as cursed and nothing good comes of that of course. Also there is the wood where bad things and evil lives. The villagers are scared of the Soul Eaters and the Beast and so they build a fence around their village which must be patrolled by these mentioned children. They are also the ones that have to go out at night to look after the sheep. And don't get me wrong, it's not just stories villagers are scared of. The Wood really is dark and full of evil and Soul Eaters are real. 

CHARACTERS: Our main character is called Alys and she is a survivor of the dead village. She was actually the only one alive when adults were killed and she is the one with a secret. I liked Alys a lot, she is a good narrator and the way she grows up...there is darkness around her that I really loved. She also really cared for other children that are abused in the village. I would really like to talk about other characters too but that would spoil a great deal so this is where I am going to stop. 

ROMANCE: There is a tiny bit that is far far from the center of the story.

GOOD: This story was so dark and twisted now that I remember it I have only good memories. It's one of these dark fairy tales that you don't feel right talking about in full voice. I really loved it despite some minuses. 

BAD: Okay so I did end up giving this book 3 stars and that was mainly because of a few aspects that I did not like. However, once again to discuss them would be spoiling. 

OVERALL: This is a very dark fairy tale like story that really stays with you. However, I did end up giving it a tree stars rating so just keep that in mind. In general, if you liked Uprooted or The Bear and the Nightingale you should give this one a shot too. 

What do you think about THE BEAST IS AN ANIMAL?

 

0 comments:

Post a Comment