Fresh Fiction Reviews | MENAGERIE: Stunning Start to a New Urban Fantasy Series

A traveling carnival displays a whole host of cryptids, from minotaurs to
oracles to werewolves. Humans fear cryptids, and anyone deemed to be "not
human" is stripped of all of their human rights. Delilah Marlow's boyfriend
surprises her with tickets to Metzger's Menagerie, never knowing that his
gift
would turn Delilah's world upside down. Now, Delilah finds herself on the
other
side of the cages of the MENAGERIE. Will Delilah succumb to captivity as she
struggles to understand who or what she is?

Rachel Vincent kicks off her new series with a dark, sometimes quite
disturbing
tale that paints a picture of a divided world imprisoned by fear. The world
building is spectacular, almost too well done in fact, as it is at times
difficult to read through some of the brutal tortures the cryptids must
endure.
The violence isn't gratuitous, however, as it's imperative to show us the
harshness of captivity and the stark divide between humans and cryptids.

Delilah has skyrocketed to my list of top heroines! Her inner strength and
fortitude in the face of such horrors is nothing short of heroic. I raged in
anger at the sheer injustices right along with Delilah as Rachel Vincent
carefully draws the reader into this dark and fearful world before showing
us a
glimmer of hope. Delilah doesn't back down, even when her own well-being is
at
stake, and I love seeing her challenge the status quo as she refuses to
judge
based on genetics or appearance alone.

And oh, the mystery of Gallagher! Gallagher is one of Delilah's jailers but
he
seems very different from the much crueler Ruyle. I love how Rachel Vincent
drops little hints and clues as to the underlying story as the unveiling is
simply brilliant.

MENAGERIE is stunning! Rachel Vincent crafts a bleak, forbidding, and
downright
disturbing world and shows us the hope that transcends the darkness. I can't
wait to see how the Menagerie series progresses as Rachel Vincent once again
shows us why she's one of the best writers out there! I admit I was a little
skeptical about a book focused on a traveling MENAGERIE, but Rachel Vincent
has
made a believer out of me! I highly recommend MENAGERIE if you like your
stories on the dark side.

About Rachel Vincent

A native of the dust bowl, Rachel Vincent is the oldest of five siblings,
and
arguably the most outspoken of the bunch. She loves cats, devours chocolate,
and lives on flavored coffee. Rachel’s 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.

About MENAGERIE