The Beast is an Animal by: Peternelle Van Arsdale
“Alys was seven the first time she saw the soul eaters. Twin sisters, they radiated an energy that excited Alys. Through them she felt the wildness of the forest, and The Beast within it. Too late, she learned of their power to destroy.
By the time she is fifteen, Alys knows too much about both the lure and the danger of the soul eaters. She lives in a world of adults who are terrified of their power, and who cower behind high walls and grim rules. Fear of the soul eatersāand of The Beastārules their lives. Even more, they fear the ways in which The Beast may lurk among themāand within a girl like Alys.
For Alys has a connection to the soul eaters, and The Beast. And she hides a truth about herself that she can reveal to no one, for fear she will be called a witch. As the threat posed by the soul eaters grows, Alys must undertake a journey through the wild danger of the fforest. But the greatest danger is not outside her. Alysās secret about whoāand whatāshe is terrifies her most of all. And in order to save her world, she must also risk losing herself.”
3.5 stars (Almost got 4 stars, but faltered at the end.)
I was really excited when I found out that my local library not only had this book, but that it was in stock and available for checkout without having to sign up on a wait list.
I absolutely adore the cover and it was a big reason that I wanted to read this book. I really didn’t know what to expect beyond the Old Byd Nursery Rhyme on the back of the book, which drew me in and pushed this book to the top of my TBR list.
The book moves along at a slow but steady pace, which I was ok with. It had the feel of an old fairy tale, dark and creepy. At times it even reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, which I really enjoy. Unfortunately once the romantic interest was introduced to the story it lost a bit of its creep factor. The story was still good, it just developed a different feel. I also felt like the end of the book was a wee-bit of a let down. It just didn’t have the bang that I was hoping for based on the creepy way the book started.
On a positive note, this book is a stand alone. It’s gotten harder and harder to find stand alone books now-a-days, so I was happy when this book had an actual ending and not a cliff hanger. This is Peternelle Van Arsdale’s first book and I did enjoy it enough that I will be keeping an eye out for her next book so I can give it a read.
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