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anna127's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at page 100
This book is super confusing, and 100 pages in I still have no idea what's going on or why any of those things are happening in the first place. Maybe I will try to pick it up again at some point because I hate not finishing book, but right now it's a huge pass for me.
This book is super confusing, and 100 pages in I still have no idea what's going on or why any of those things are happening in the first place. Maybe I will try to pick it up again at some point because I hate not finishing book, but right now it's a huge pass for me.
mnboyer's review against another edition
4.0
There are five different POV/character threads here but here's what you really need to know: A young girl is destined to be thrown out to the sea as a sacrifice, but only after she's impregnanted and gives birth to a daughter, who will then grow up and do the same thing in the same cycle. This is definitely an examination of rape culture in a fantasy setting (if you want it to be). It is also a funny love triangle where this young woman is interested in one man, yet a prince is also interested in her, and really how does a girl choose? Or a better question.... does she really get to choose?
Definitely not going to be a story for everyone but I found it to be a fresh perspective. I didn't really need as many characters as McGinnis inserted, however, I still enjoyed this. I'll be on the lookout for the second piece of this puzzle.
Definitely not going to be a story for everyone but I found it to be a fresh perspective. I didn't really need as many characters as McGinnis inserted, however, I still enjoyed this. I'll be on the lookout for the second piece of this puzzle.
timitra's review against another edition
4.0
Rated 4.5 Stars
I was not sure what I was getting into when I started reading this book but I went along for the ride anyway and what a ride it was.
Given To The Sea is filled with betrayal, treachery and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is also a complex and intricately plotted tale. While I was reading it I was in awe of the author's thought process and imagination in crafting this story.
If you are looking for a unique read I cannot recommend this book enough. I'm not going to lie this book is weird but weird in a wonderfully beautiful way.
I know this book and its characters will stay with me for a very long time and with the way it ended I'm hoping there will be more stories set in this highly intriguing world.
ARC provided through Penguin Random House's First To Read Program
I was not sure what I was getting into when I started reading this book but I went along for the ride anyway and what a ride it was.
Given To The Sea is filled with betrayal, treachery and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is also a complex and intricately plotted tale. While I was reading it I was in awe of the author's thought process and imagination in crafting this story.
If you are looking for a unique read I cannot recommend this book enough. I'm not going to lie this book is weird but weird in a wonderfully beautiful way.
I know this book and its characters will stay with me for a very long time and with the way it ended I'm hoping there will be more stories set in this highly intriguing world.
ARC provided through Penguin Random House's First To Read Program
bookishneverland's review against another edition
4.0
Last 10 chapters were a whirlwind. That last sentence alone was a shock. Poor Khosa and Vincent. Pretty good read.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
2.0
I love Mindy McGinnis and her books are normally great. I think this is a case where a normally contemporary author should not write fantasy. The biggest issue I had with this book is we follow 4 different characters but the chapters are all like 5 pages long which is not long enough to actually get the character's voice and to truly know them because it is constantly switching to another story line.
CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 3
Atmosphere: 2
Writing: 6
Plot: 3
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 3
Enjoyment: 4
CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 3
Atmosphere: 2
Writing: 6
Plot: 3
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 3
Enjoyment: 4
ermalundberg's review against another edition
1.0
1 star
Age rating: 13/14+
I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to finish this. The characters didn’t have enough personality I feel like and I just don’t want to finish this book.
Age rating: 13/14+
I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to finish this. The characters didn’t have enough personality I feel like and I just don’t want to finish this book.
brans84's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Lots of bouncing around, hard to track.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
3.0
Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis is a book I have been anticipating since I heard about it. I loved McGinnis’ other books and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one since it falls into my favorite genre, Fantasy.
This story has multiple POVs and I admit, at first the book felt really choppy as we were jumping from one POV to the next and the chapters were fairly short. The Witt chapters were the ones that made things feel off for me and I suppose it is because the other characters are with each other. With that said, once the story picked up for me, it didn’t seem as distracting.
The world that McGinnis has created is interesting. The Kingdom of Stille has always had a Given who dances into the sea and the belief is that she is what prevents a wave from destroying the kingdom like it did before. Khosa is the Given and was expected to be ready to go by now but before she can, she has to have an heir. The problem for her is that she can’t stand the touch of any other human and now things are at a point where she may not get a choice about what happens. Even though she struggles with human touch, there is one person she is drawn to.
Vince is the third in line for the throne and when Khosa shows up at the castle, he can’t help but be drawn to her even if she is destined to die. As time progresses, Vince does what he can to protect her but his father has made it very difficult for him. He is willing to give up everything to protect Khosa but when the plan goes awry, things change for both of them.
Donil and Dara grew up with Vince but they are considered outsiders by most of Stille. They are Indiri, a race connected to the earth, and they possess magic. While Donil aligns to life, Dara aligns to death and while these attributes help them, they also cause some problems. When Vince and Khosa learn more about them and their magic, things change for all of them.Vince (and his mother) has always considered Donil and Dara family and they are all pretty close but when Khosa arrives, things shift a bit for them.
Let’s talk about feelings for a moment. Dara has always felt something for Vince and now she sees that Khosa has drawn Vince’s attention. This has created some definite tension between Dara and Khosa and it eventually comes to a head. Remember when I said that Khosa is drawn to someone…well that happens to be Donil. There is something about Donil that allows Khosa to touch him without flinching or drawing back. So…now we have Dara loves Vince, Vince loves Khosa, and Khosa has feelings for Donil. We do get to see how things end up for this group by the end of the book but I am curious to see where McGinnis will take this in the next book.
Outside of these relationships, there is another vein to this story and that ties back to Witt’s chapters. He leads the Pietra and they are driven to get more land so that his people can survive. Because of this, a war is coming to Stille and they are in no way prepared to fight such a strong army. Add to that, the agreement Witt makes with Ank, the leader of the Feneen, and they really have no chance considering how much they lost the last time they faced the Feneen. I’m looking forward to how this agreement plays out in the next book as things didn’t necessarily work out as planned for the group in this book.
Overall I found this one interesting. It felt like a departure from everything else McGinnis has written (which I have loved) but that isn’t a bad thing. My best recommendation is to not go into this with any pre-conceived notions about what this book will be about. As with her other books, McGinnis does a wonderful job of creating the world and developing the characters, but that is where the comparisons end. While this wasn’t my favorite book by McGinnis, I still thought the story was solid and am looking forward to the next book to see what happens next for these characters.
This story has multiple POVs and I admit, at first the book felt really choppy as we were jumping from one POV to the next and the chapters were fairly short. The Witt chapters were the ones that made things feel off for me and I suppose it is because the other characters are with each other. With that said, once the story picked up for me, it didn’t seem as distracting.
The world that McGinnis has created is interesting. The Kingdom of Stille has always had a Given who dances into the sea and the belief is that she is what prevents a wave from destroying the kingdom like it did before. Khosa is the Given and was expected to be ready to go by now but before she can, she has to have an heir. The problem for her is that she can’t stand the touch of any other human and now things are at a point where she may not get a choice about what happens. Even though she struggles with human touch, there is one person she is drawn to.
Vince is the third in line for the throne and when Khosa shows up at the castle, he can’t help but be drawn to her even if she is destined to die. As time progresses, Vince does what he can to protect her but his father has made it very difficult for him. He is willing to give up everything to protect Khosa but when the plan goes awry, things change for both of them.
Donil and Dara grew up with Vince but they are considered outsiders by most of Stille. They are Indiri, a race connected to the earth, and they possess magic. While Donil aligns to life, Dara aligns to death and while these attributes help them, they also cause some problems. When Vince and Khosa learn more about them and their magic, things change for all of them.Vince (and his mother) has always considered Donil and Dara family and they are all pretty close but when Khosa arrives, things shift a bit for them.
Let’s talk about feelings for a moment. Dara has always felt something for Vince and now she sees that Khosa has drawn Vince’s attention. This has created some definite tension between Dara and Khosa and it eventually comes to a head. Remember when I said that Khosa is drawn to someone…well that happens to be Donil. There is something about Donil that allows Khosa to touch him without flinching or drawing back. So…now we have Dara loves Vince, Vince loves Khosa, and Khosa has feelings for Donil. We do get to see how things end up for this group by the end of the book but I am curious to see where McGinnis will take this in the next book.
Outside of these relationships, there is another vein to this story and that ties back to Witt’s chapters. He leads the Pietra and they are driven to get more land so that his people can survive. Because of this, a war is coming to Stille and they are in no way prepared to fight such a strong army. Add to that, the agreement Witt makes with Ank, the leader of the Feneen, and they really have no chance considering how much they lost the last time they faced the Feneen. I’m looking forward to how this agreement plays out in the next book as things didn’t necessarily work out as planned for the group in this book.
Overall I found this one interesting. It felt like a departure from everything else McGinnis has written (which I have loved) but that isn’t a bad thing. My best recommendation is to not go into this with any pre-conceived notions about what this book will be about. As with her other books, McGinnis does a wonderful job of creating the world and developing the characters, but that is where the comparisons end. While this wasn’t my favorite book by McGinnis, I still thought the story was solid and am looking forward to the next book to see what happens next for these characters.