Review: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance


Title: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance

Author: Ruth Emmie Lang

Pub. Date: November 14th, 2017

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press

Pages: 352

Format: eGalley/Netgalley

   

Orphaned, raised by wolves, and the proud owner of a horned pig named Merlin, Weylyn Grey knew he wasn’t like other people. But when he single-handedly stopped that tornado on a stormy Christmas day in Oklahoma, he realized just how different he actually was.

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is perhaps the most whimsical read I’ve picked up in all of 2017 & I’m so glad to have read it this holiday season. The Goodreads Synopsis for this book is pretty generous in length but if I’m being honest all I needed to read was the snippet above to know this was one I’d want to read. When introduced to Weylyn Grey, I instantly got the Jungle Book & Charlotte’s Web vibes. Here is a kid who has been orphaned at a very young age & ends up being raised by wolves. He’s not just any ordinary kid though, Weylyn has a special connection with animals and can communicate with all species of animal. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is a multiple POV story told by the many characters who cross paths with Weylyn Grey. They all share one thing in common, their lives are forever changed after meeting Weylyn & witnessing the odd and extraordinary things that occur whenever he is around. This story is special in that it not only asks its characters to suspend their disbelief but also you the reader. I wouldn’t call it Magical Realism which in my opinion has a whole different feel in writing style but it certainly is very whimsical. This is a very character driven story with a underlying message of what makes a home a home…is it a place? or the people we meet along the way?

Weylyn Grey sees himself living in many places & meeting many others from all walks of life but even he has that one person that is his hearts anchor. Mary, the girl he met when he was a young boy & who ran away from home to spend one whole month with him and the wolves. Each chapter starts off in a new place/different year where Weylyn has tried to settle down in but we also see him pop in & out of Mary’s life. This is mainly because he believes he is a danger to those he loves, strange & mysterious things like sudden tornados striking or storms tapering off. It seems he has the ability to manifest & also dispel weather phenomena. We get to see how others perceive Weylyn, some are nicer than others but all come away with a different perspective on life after witnessing things that can’t be explained.

For those readers who love character driven books, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance will prove to be a real treat. This is one boys journey to manhood as he touches the lives of many and discovers that home is what you make it. I really enjoyed getting sucked into this world and the nostalgia it stirred in me when recalling some of my favorite childhood reads. Lang’s writing is beautiful & the imagery left me smiling on many occasion. I did wish we had perhaps less characters introduced along the way & a bit more of the love story that is hidden underneath all of the extraordinary. I’m not typically the one to go for the romance but we meet a plethora of characters & their time with Weylyn is brief, I wanted a bit more of Mary since she is the most important person in Weylyn’s life. Overall, this is one story i’m sure will remain with me for a long time & as a person who has also moved around a ton, I can definitely appreciate the message. Best read on a cool night with a hot cup of cocoa, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is an atmospheric read sure to feed the imagination!

*Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Ruth Emmie Lang for the eGalley copy of Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Monday Bookworms! Hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend & managed to squeeze in some good reads. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance was recently a Book Of The Month pick which made me happy to have my own physical copy, have any of you read this magical book? if so, sound off in the comments down below.

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17 thoughts on “Review: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance”

  5. This seems like an interesting book. I think it could also be interesting to hear the same story told through just one of the character’s perspectives–either Weylyn or Mary. While I do like the multiple POV stories, I think that I prefer when a book hones in on one character and really follows them through the whole story.

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    1. I actually really enjoy Multiple POV stories but only when the characters are well fleshed out. This was told more in the style of peoples accounts or recollections of having met Weylyn over brief periods of time, witnessing the miraculous things that occurred wherever he went. I thought at one point that it was too many characters & it took away from Weylyn & Mary’s story. Def would’ve enjoyed more of the core characters since the ending did seem a bit rushed now that I’m think of it. Still a very enjoyable read 😉

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      1. I like having multiple POV characters, but not too many. Whenever it switches around too much, I find myself uninvested and lose interest. But that’s just a me thing! Different things work for different readers!

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  7. Sort of pulled a lamer and skimmed this review.. just looking for enough key words to tell me you enjoyed it 😉 I have this one my nightstand from BoTM and have yet to pick it up. I was actually planning on going into this a bit blind. I am enjoying doing that lately. Not sure why. But your rating tells me it is a safe bet haha.

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    1. Baha! Let me know what you think on this one. I think I was so in love with the extraordinary parts surrounding the MC that I couldn’t rate It anything less than a 4. Definitely could’ve done better with pacing and plot though. Still, really enjoyed it and hope you do too 🤞🏼

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