Audiobook Review: Spectacle by Rachel Vincent

Series:	Menagerie #2
Pub. Date:	May 30, 2017
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Gabra Zackman
Length:	9 hrs 25 min
Source:	RBDigital

Spectacle is the second installment of Rachel Vincent's dark fantasy series, Menagerie. This series has been a unique breath of fresh air, and totally different from what I was expecting at the outset of first book. This is a dark fantasy series, with some horror elements thrown in, so don't go into this series expecting a warm fuzzy read. It's gritty and shows the worst of human nature at times. But it's sure to draw you in and hold your interest whether you are reading in print, or listening by audio. These books will need to be read in order to follow the continuing story line, and this review may contain spoilers from the first book.

As you know from Menagerie, Delilah, Gallagher and the Cryptids were able to stage a relatively peaceful coup and take over Metzger's Menagerie. This story starts some months later on the very night that the Menagerie's secret is discovered, and the group is retaken. Now our Cryptids will be put on display (and worse) as part of a private collection. I was really worried about this aspect, and feared there would be much harder aspects of this story to read. But I got so absorbed in this story, I didn't have time to cringe or let my imagination run wild. Rachel Vincent has done such a good job with the world-building, I find that my mind doesn't wander or wonder about aspects of the story happening off page.

I enjoyed seeing the Cryptids interacting more with one another in this installment, particularly with the spotlight on different creatures than were prominent in the last installment. Don't worry, your favorites are still there... but we are getting a closer look at some of the others here, particularly the female Cryptids. There was also the introduction of new (and just as unique) Cryptids who were already captive at the new facility. 

With the technology being used by Vandekamp and his staff, Delilah really had to use her brain to craft a plan to get them out of the mess they found themselves in. I found someone of her choices to be quite interesting, but I enjoyed watching her mind work and seeing her actions have results. 

The Vandekamps were good villains. I think they may have been even worse than Metzger and Rule, because they carried out evil acts under a guise of normalcy and civility. But even worse than them were the humans who came to the compound to rent Cryptids for various activities. My heart went out to all of those imprisoned who had their choice, and often their voice, taken away.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book releasing this year, Fury. The narrator, Gabra Zackman, continued to do an excellent job with the narration and performance. I will definitely be looking for more of her work in the future.

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