The Beast Player

This is a sweet book about love and trust.
It also has a well developed world with compelling mythologies, politics, and webs of human endeavors.
The main characters are beautifully developed; Elin sees the world through such hopeful, observant, child-like eyes. Her innocence gives depth to what could be a very dark story.

HOLY. SMOKES. ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME!!

with a somewhat slow start given a large amount of world-building and character establishment to be done, the start of this book can be a little difficult, but once elin is flung from her mother's arms into the wind, you will be hooked!

reminiscent of books by elizabeth lim and the daughter of the moon goddess by sue lynn tan, this book sees the main character, elin, over a long period of time as she tries to find her place in the world and protect what she loves most. as the daughter of an ahlyo, elin has a special affinity for the beasts that the country uses for protection, but does not agree with the way that they are supposed to be raised. in creating in alternative to raise these beasts, she discovers the secrets behind the country's history amidst political unrest.

i was absolutely blown away by how masterfully this book was written. while the focus is on elin and her journey in learning how to properly raise beasts, there is an incredible and beautiful amount of world-building that perfectly intertwines with the story. i appreciate that there was no info-dumping, and a lot of the relevant details were revealed at appropriate times that coincided well with where elin was in her journey. the writing/translation was absolutely gorgeous in describing the beasts and the way elin saw the world differently than others. i could honestly keep going because the more i think about this book, the more i can say that i liked!!

i highly recommend picking up the beast player, and i'm super excited to get my hands on the sequel!!