An Anatomy of Beasts follows A Conspiracy of Stars, and the story of Octavia's struggle of deciding who she wants to be. It begins almost immediately following the events of A Conspiracy of Stars. Octavia has found herself in Mbekenkanush, the Faloii village where she has found her grandparents still alive. But there isn't much time for a family reunion. With her mother gone and her father under Albatur's thumb, Octavia has a choice to make. Does she return to N'Terra to the people she is a part of, or stay with the Faloii and embrace her connection with the planet and the people before all out war comes to the planet?

I really enjoyed An Anatomy of Beasts. I really love the world that Olivia Cole has created. There isn't much that has been left out setting-wise, and I really enjoyed seeing more of the planet in this story. I also really enjoyed the flow of the story with the new elements. It was really cool to meet new characters and animals throughout the story, and I felt like I could really see them in my mind through the descriptions.

The only real problem I had with this story is it felt a little repetitive to the first story. Octavia has her friends Alma and Rondo to help her understand herself, then she gets separated from them. In AAOB, she goes back to N'Terra and finds them again, leaves with them, and by the end gets separated again, although this time she is actually by herself and not with the Faloii. With the internal battle Octavia has throughout the whole story on who she wants to be and her quick rising anger with Alma and Rondo purely because they aren't truly like her, it would have been more powerful for me if she had willingly left them at the end. I also wanted a few more answers throughout the story, as it always feels like we along with Octavia don't know very much at all.

That being said, I again did really enjoy this story, hence the 4 stars. The characters are all likable, the story is intriguing, and the setting is so believable. I am very interested to see where the story will go, as it left it at a cross-roads where really anything could happen. I am totally in love with the fact that there is a focus on the planet being alive and is able to make its own choices. It makes for an unpredictable factor, which is really cool.

I would definitely recommend this series that Olivia Cole has started, as I absolutely love the scientific part of the story and it's unlike anything else I have ever read.