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    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance: A Novel
    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance: A Novel
    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance: A Novel

    Written by Ruth Emmie Lang

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, Piper Goodeve and Peter Berkrot

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Stopping a tornado was the first of many strange events that seem to follow Weylyn from town to town, although he doesn't like to take credit. As amazing as these powers may appear, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places. From freak storms to trees that appear to grow over night, Weylyn's unique abilities are a curiosity at best and at worst, a danger to himself and the woman he loves. But Mary doesn't care. Since Weylyn saved her from an angry wolf on her eleventh birthday, she's known that a relationship with him isn't without its risks, but as anyone who's met Weylyn will tell you, once he wanders into your life, you'll wish he'd never leave.

    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance tells the story of Weylyn Grey's life from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird. Although he doesn't stay in any of their lives for long, he leaves each of them with a story to tell. Stories about a boy who lives with wolves, great storms that evaporate into thin air, fireflies that make phosphorescent honey, and a house filled with spider webs and the strange man who inhabits it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateNov 14, 2017
    ISBN9781681689999
    Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance: A Novel
    Author

    Ruth Emmie Lang

    Ruth Emmie Lang was born in Glasgow, Scotland and has the red hair to prove it. When she was four years old, she immigrated to Ohio where she has lived ever since. She has since lost her Scottish accent, but still has the hair. Ruth lives with her husband and son on two wooded acres in the Cleveland area. Her first novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award.

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    Reviews for Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance

    4/5

    334 ratings44 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      The characters Mary and Weylyn the building of their relationship. Micah and Clay. The book is awesome. Highly recommend. I gave five ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    • 5/5
      A sweet soft and surreal tale about a gentle boy and the people who know him.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written with great imagery that all ages will enjoy.
    • 5/5
      Started kinda slow but it grew on me. Such a sweet story. Wished there was more from the main character tho
    • 5/5
      Such a beautiful story full of love, adventure, and self discovery!
    • 5/5
      What a lovely story! I couldn’t get enough of it.
    • 5/5
      What a delightful story! I enjoyed it quite a bit.
    • 5/5
      This was a book club book choice that I probably would not have read on my own. It was such a fun audiobook! I was hooked from the very first few minutes. It was a story full of magic and mystery with a sweet, romance and an example of acceptance. I don’t know that it had any really serious message, it was just pure entertainment. And I needed that! I recommend it for sure. It’s great for a light break between serious stories or thrillers. Oh and I absolutely adored the ending!
    • 5/5
      "Weylyn is a mystery to me. A strange, intriguing, oddly charming mystery ..."I couldn't help but get pulled in to Weylyn's character. Somehow he just captures and touches people wherever he goes. He's innocent and unique but also interesting and charming. I also the love Merlin the pig lol! The story is magical, whimsical, adventurous, and captivating. I highly recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      What a great story! I couldn't stop listening. The characters are relatable and real, and Weylyn is such a compelling figure.
    • 5/5
      I loved Weylyn’s pure heart, and the writing style that the author used!
    • 4/5
      This book turned out to be really good. The title turn me off a bit, but the story is good.
    • 5/5
      Loved every bit of this. Magic realism at its finest.
    • 3/5
      This was an entertaining book and I enjoyed it. It doesn't get higher than three stars, though, because it felt like it was lacking a little something...I guess some 'meat' to the story. The author's way of explaining the character through other characters was novel, but I think it would have been a little better and a little more intimate if we'd gotten to hear more of the Weylyn from his OWN point of view.
    • 5/5
      I just read the author's newest book, The Wilder Women, which I loved! Then, remembered that I had her first book on my shelves which I hadn't read! So, I started reading it a little bit each day while my little Havanese ate her meals. Then, today I wanted to finish it. This is a wonderful book! Who wouldn't want to meet Weylyn Grey? "Born in a blizzard, orphaned, and believed to be raised by wolves," what more could you ask for in a book?
    • 4/5
      Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstanceby Ruth Emmie LangI read, or tried to read this, ages ago and couldn't finish it then. I had lost interest. I recently picked it up from chirp very cheap and thought I would give it another try. I think different times, circumstances make a difference in ratings. I was in a different mind set. The audio was very good too.I found it better this time around. I like the subtle supernatural elements, the gentle romance, the ties to nature, and how Weylyn's life is told by others through most of the book.
    • 4/5
      This is very sweet and feel-good. Even though there are many characters of very different ages, it feels like a young adult coming of age story. It even kind of feels like books I read as a tween and teen, probably because the author is my age and parts of the story take place close to the years of my youth. I also appreciate the book's depiction of adults and their lives. People's lives don't all follow the same trajectory. And adults are just older versions of who they were when they were kids.
    • 5/5
      "Weylyn is a mystery to me. A strange, intriguing, oddly charming mystery ..."I couldn't help but get pulled in to Weylyn's character. Somehow he just captures and touches people wherever he goes. He's innocent and unique but also interesting and charming. I also the love Merlin the pig lol! The story is magical, whimsical, adventurous, and captivating. I highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      We are often told that our world needs to slow down, get outside, and enjoy nature more. Many of us seem to have lost our connection with the natural world and it shows in the increase in so many of our ills: obesity, depression, and stress, to name a few. Although the outdoors cannot cure these things, experts tell us that it would certainly mitigate them at the very least. And for anyone who has spent time outside communing with nature and wildlife, there is definitely something a little bit magical about the untamed world. There is more than a little of this magic in Ruth Emmie Lang's slightly magical, charming debut novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance.Weylyn Grey has always been special. Born in June, it snowed as soon as he breathed for the first time. He is orphaned young in a freak storm that he feels responsible for causing and ends up being raised by wolves. He can communicate with animals, he can make plants grow riotously out of control, and he can stop (and start) storms. He is sweetly innocent and as he moves through the world, he touches all he comes into contact with. He never stays with anyone very long, his closest long term companion being Merlin, a talking pig. His adventures are fantastical and wonderful and though his time in each place is brief, he leaves an indelible mark behind himself.Told in the first person by the people whose lives Weylyn moves through, this is a whimsical story with a clear fairy tale quality. Weylyn as a character is both revealed by the narrators and remains just out of reach, quietly elusive. He is a gentle soul with a strong but ungovernable connection to the natural world, as if he was not human born but truly a child of the forest. He is uncomfortable with most people but when he loves, he loves with his whole heart. The writing is slow and measured and the novel feels like quiet mysticism. There is a yearning for home and understanding as Weylyn moves around meeting others who sometimes embrace him and sometimes misunderstand his power. There are adventures within each encounter he has but the plot is less important that the ultimate journey. The second half of the novel slows down a bit and the ending is purposely ambiguous. At its core, this is a fairy tale of a story about difference, love, and acceptance and it will leave the reader feeling contented and at peace, just like a ramble through the woods might.
    • 5/5
      This review is based on an ARC through NetGalley.

      It is difficult talking about this book without giving any of the magical moments away. This story is about the orphaned boy Weylyn Grey, who is special in a very special way, and his life with a pack of wolves, with Mary, with Merlin and so many more wonderful people.
      I loved the epistolary style of this book. It helped tell the story of Weylyn Grey from different points of view. Every narrator had their unique voice and this made the story come very much alive.
    • 4/5
      Weylyn Grey was born in a freak snowstorm and orphaned in another. He spent most of his childhood living with wolves. The weather appears to respond to his emotions, plants grow unnaturally fast around him, and he has a rapport with animals of all kinds. He's a weird, funny, lonely guy.Stories about people with special, mystical powers aren't anything new, but there's something about this one, maybe the way it's written in the voices of the people whose lives he wanders in and out of, that makes it feel fairly fresh. Certainly Weylyn's an interesting character, and the way we see him in different moments in his life through others' eyes makes him feel a little more mysterious and intriguing. He's also quite likeable, and the novel is, too, with a sense of magical possibilities and a sweet low-key love story.It's not perfect; it's a debut novel and I think that does show. There's a slightly off turn of phrase here and there, a (non-magical) plot point or two that that's not quite convincing. There's also an annoying moment where it goes very briefly into "science is awful because it ruins wonder, and it's a virtue to believe in magic without proof!" territory, something I take strong exception to. Fortunately, that doesn't remotely dominate the story, though and mostly it's just a very pleasant read.
    • 4/5
      Told through the eyes of people he meets, this is the story of Weylyn Grey, a possessor of unsual powers who was raised by wolves. As well as being a novel of a mystical man, it is also a tale of love lost and found. For me it was an enjoyable read and it flowed nicely, even though it jumped back and and forth through time from the present to the past and was told from various viewpoints. Looking forward to more from this author.
    • 4/5
      Weylyn Grey has powers he doesn’t understand and can’t control. He can make hurricanes start up instantly, but has some difficulty stopping them; he can communicate with animals; he can make flowers and trees sprout up instantly and convince bees to overproduce honey. But what he can’t do is understand how to control these powers, often a result of his emotional state, and can’t ensure that his spontaneous climate outbursts don’t hurt the ones he loves.

      Weylyn grew up as a lone boy in a wolf pack after his parents died in a freak blizzard. He’s blamed himself for their deaths, and this early trauma has guided his future relationships. Many people come in to Weylyn’s life not quite understanding the mysterious, inexplicable events that seem to occur when he’s around. The light-heartedness and charm of this book reminded me of The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, which my daughter and I read together for a school project, but Beasts offers a little more substance for an adult reader.

      Beasts is a story of innocence and love; it’s charming and full of magical imagery. I enjoyed reading it, but it never got my heart racing. It’s more of a gentle stroll of a story. One of the many positive aspects of this book is that it would be enjoyable for all ages of readers. It’s complicated and deep enough for an adult audience, but also full of enough wonder and magic for younger readers (middle school and above).

      Many thanks to Ruth Emmie Lang for the advance reader copy!
    • 4/5
      I received this audiobook via #LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.What an interesting concept for a book, and I felt it was executed very well! Sadly, I wish more story was devoted to Weylyn's life, his powers, how he got his powers, etc. This should have been a more drawn out series; there was enough intrigue to spread throughout multiple books!!!
    • 3/5
      You MUST go into this book knowing that it is full of magic! It is a wonderful story about the people that we meet and what we leave them with.

      While this book is not my usual cup of tea, I was entertained. I am very happy that I read this book and hope that you will be, too.

      My thanks to netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy.
    • 5/5
      It took me a while to read it because I did not want the book to end. I love Weylyn Grey. Lang is such an exciting new voice in the literature world. Her sentences are so poetic. I can not wait to read more of her books. Super impressed, so glad I took a chance ordering this one from the Book of the Month Club. One of the best books I have ever read, perfect mix of mystery, romance, suspense, plot, character development, imagery, etc.
    • 4/5
      This novel tells the story of Weylyn Grey, a man who controls the weather and lives with wolves. He is a gentle soul and one that you get to know over the decades the book covers. It’s a strange and beautifully fantastic tale. At times it stretches a bit too far and gets lost. The story is told from the point of view of a dozen characters that somehow cross paths with Weylyn. I often found myself wishing I could hear the story from his point of view as well. We finally do get a tiny piece directly from him and I’m glad that was included. Because it covers so many years and so many different people’s lives, it sometimes feels a bit disjointed. It’s almost like a collection of short stories with Weylyn as the connecting thread. His life is a sad one at times and it’s often steeped in loneliness. As a boy he loses so much and yet he maintains a constant level of fascination with the world around him. Despite his magical powers, he is the character that feels the most real to me. BOTTOM LINE: Even though it meandered a bit too much at times, I still enjoyed this story. It was ambitious and in the end I loved the character of Weylyn.
    • 4/5
      I received this audiobook through Library Thing Early readers. There were multiple readers on the audio which is always a plus. Very enjoyable, sweet story with characters you can't help but like. Good pacing and strong character development. Felt very visual with constantly moving geography and timeframes. Weylen is an interesting, multi faceted character who you really cheer for.
    • 5/5
      Such a good book that I've suggest to others already. The audiobook is well narrated and keeps you engaged. The story is one that will hook you from the beginning. Thoroughly engrossing. 5 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      The story of a magical boy from the viewpoint of the people around him. Weylyn grows up with wolves, but that's not the weirdest thing about him. This is a great book. The plot focuses on characters and growth. It is not typical fantasy and I feel really shines in how grounded it is. It is well written, with great prose, and an enjoyable read. It is most likely not a story that is going to stick with me forever, but I feel glad that I read it. The audiobook is narrated by multiple people, and they do a really good job of making the characters come to life.