Review: XBestia

XBestia by Melissa Conway

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: People who like to think about incendiary topics, people who like a fast-paced YA sci-fi thriller
Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, forced mutilation
Animal Abuse: Killing animals to use their skin and such as grafts

My Thoughts: This book really engaged me right from the start. It raises some interesting questions about genetically altered animals and their uses. I'm really bothered by the idea of animals being killed only to be used in this way. I know it probably seems a bit hypocritical, since I am a carnivore and eat meat, and I like leather, but to me... it's like trophy hunting. I just can't stand for that sort of thing. If you are going to eat the animal, fine. Tan the hide, use the leather, use everything you can. But don't just raise and kill animals so you can transplant a bit of their hide onto yourself. At the same time, I was torn, because, really... horns? A tail? Wings? That would be really cool... So, I was always thinking about all this stuff in the back of my mind while I was reading. In fact, I came here after only reading a quarter of the book to write out this paragraph so I didn't forget, and also so I could add the next book to my wishlist.

And then things became really interesting... but I can't really go into that without spoilers. Suffice it to say this whole book is highly engaging, very entertaining and thought-provoking, and I definitely want to read the next book in this series just as soon as I can. This was an excellent and exciting story, and I very much enjoyed it. While the editing wasn't perfect, there weren't too many problems and they were easily ignored. I really do think a lot of people will enjoy this book, so if you've been thinking about it, don't delay any longer. Check it out.

Series Information: Xenofreak Nation
Book 1: XBestia
Book 2: Mad Eye

Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself on Amazon. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Twenty years into the future, bioengineered animals provide organs for human transplantation. Grafts of animal skin have replaced tattoos in popularity, which gives rise to a unique new demographic: xenofreaks. Bryn Vega’s father is head of the Pure Human Society and when she’s kidnapped by the Bestia Butcher, the most notorious of the criminal xenosurgeons, she assumes it's payback for her father’s anti-xeno activities. Scott Harding is her taciturn jailer—called Cougar because of the claws replacing his fingers—but Scott is not who he seems. Deep undercover for the Xenofreak Intelligence Agency, he’s been given unprecedented immunity to find the Bestia Butcher’s lair and do whatever it takes to bring him to justice. When Bryn is forced to undergo a radical xenoalteration, she discovers a terrible secret: her father is using The Pure Human Society as a front for his own purposes. His willingness to sacrifice his daughter to accomplish them sends her running to Scott for protection, and into the hard-core underground subculture of the very xenofreak society she once despised.



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