Book Recommendation: Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

This is my second time reading this book. And oh, how I love it. I think I loved it even more this second time I read it. When I got the chance to read book two early, I knew I had to re-read this first book right away. And oh, how I am glad that I did. I had forgotten a few things, and I just loved reading it all again. This book is beyond heartbreaking. And full of awful scenes. Yet it is also one of the best books I have read. The writing is stunning. The characters are amazing. And I love the story so much too. Great book.

There is just so much I love about this book. I'm not going to talk too much about it this time, because I don't think I have the words to describe how amazing this book is. I don't usually read adult books at all, but with this one, I'm so glad that I gave it a try. Because it is simply stunning. And I love everything about it so much. Eee. I mean, it's horrible most of the time, but I couldn't help but love it all. So thrilled that I loved the writing so much. And so thrilled with how well written all the characters were. It was so good.

This book tells the story of Delilah. She's visiting the menagerie on her birthday, despite not wanting to go, because oh, this menagerie thing is pretty horrible. They keep creatures locked up and forces them to perform. This world is like an alternative to ours, only with lots of different creatures involved. There are werewolves and griffins and mermaids and fae and so many others. Which is normal in this world. And oh so awesome. Except they are all being hunted because of something that happened in the past. Ack.

Which means that things for the cryptids are not good at all. And it broke my heart to read about it. I won't describe it all, because it's amazing to read about, but yeah. This book is all kinds of interesting. Yet so horrible too. This book just about killed me both times that I read it. All the creatures are being treated so horribly. Abused and tortured and starved and so much more. It broke my heart. I wanted someone to save them. And then Delilah ends up being one of them. In such an interesting and awful way. I loved it.

"You must break her, Gallagher. She is the spark, and if that
spark kindles, it will burn my menagerie to the ground."

I won't say more than that, but gosh, Delilah is all kinds of special. She didn't know she wasn't human, and when it was revealed her whole world crashed down. She lost her boyfriend and friends and family and home and every single thing. She then gets sold to the menagerie. And ahh. This story is just beyond incredible. It's the most heartbreaking and evil thing too. So many awful things happen. So many people get hurt. Delilah too. It's so sad. Yet there is hope too. A lot of it. And that is why I loved this one so much.

I'm not going to say much more about this book. Just that it is all kinds of amazing. And I loved reading about how strong Delilah was. She was so brave and she never gave up or gave in. I loved that about her. Even when she got hurt a lot, she did not stop being who she was. I also adored her mom. Aw. Her friends, not so much. But oh, all the characters in this book. They were all amazing to read about. Though I must admit that I wanted to murder so many of those evil men all the time. They were truly the worst.

There is no romance in this book, but that's okay. Though, I must admit that I ship Delilah and Gallagher beyond words. They start such an amazing friendship, sort of. And I want more between them so badly. They are both adorable. Loved getting to know his story. It's different and all kinds of awesome. Sigh, I just loved re-reading this book so much. I loved everything about it. Cannot wait to read book two shortly. If you guys still haven't read Menagerie, you are seriously missing out. Yes, it hurts to read, but it's good.

 

Menagerie. Spectacle. Rachel Vincent.
The Book Depository. Amazon. First Review.