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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, Deportation, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
cortanasreadingnook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Death of parent, and Chronic illness
stardust_heidi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Definitely not one to read if you want fluffy fantasy.
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot itself drags a bit, and it ends like it might have a sequel coming? But it also kind of reads like a standalone, so I'm not sure. A few of the main characters were fleshed out, but most of the characters kind of blended into the background. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did, honestly! It mostly felt like a lot of the YA fantasy you can find out there.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Chronic illness, Animal death, and Racism
mjscooke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Set in a dystopian oceanic world where a caste system relegates a large portion of the population to suffer to survive under the glaring heat of the sun, Monsters Born and Made is at its heart a tale of humanities fight for survival and struggles with greed and dominance. Koral has been force to hunt sea creatures throughout her adolescence and when her family's circumstances look even more hopeless than usual she makes a drastic decision to cheat her way into a Hunger Games style race seemingly reserved for the upper classes. Koral is feisty, loyal and fiercely protective of her family and it's a delight to inhabit her perspective throughout the novel. Tanvi Berwah's writing is engaging and it felt like Koral was recounting what happened directly into my brain. I loved every page and sincerely hope to see what happens next in this world.
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Classism
azrah786's review against another edition
3.75
**I was provided an ARC through Netgalley for a blog tour with Lonely Pages Book Tours in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, animal cruelty, death, death of parent, chronic illness, child abuse, domestic abuse, fire, panic attacks, police violence, classism
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Monsters Born and Made is a book that throws you right into the mix, introducing a fascinating oceanic world where vicious creatures roam the waters whilst an oppressive caste system rules the land. The story follows Koral, who’s family are the designated Hunters in society - a position that not only exposes them to constant danger as they have to capture and breed the deadly Maristags for the Landers and their Glory Races, but also alienates them from their fellow Renters who look upon their servitude to the elite class with scorn.
When Koral and her brother fail to catch the last Maristag of the season, it’s a massive blow to their family’s financial situation and their capability to afford medication for their younger sister. With the Glory Race around the corner and its winning prize of gold and glory up for grabs, Koral sees the competition as her chance to help her family. Despite it being strictly for Landers and her ex being the favourite, she is determined to get in and to win and won’t let anything or anyone stop her.
"This is the ocean, and you're a Hunter. You swim with monsters; these people cannot scare you."
Koral is one of those headstrong protagonists that rebels against the system in her own way and following her on this journey, which had her standing up to the machinations and oppression of a classist regime, was as inspiring as it was frustrating. The pacing and timespan overall had a perfect flow to it, with the competition and moments of action having a nice balance with character interactions and the political tensions that are ongoing in the background of the main storyline.
Now I’ll admit that it took some time getting used to the intricacies of the world because there was a lot going on from the beginning. As the story gets rolling you very much get the feeling that we’re only getting a glimpse of this expansive world that Berwah has put so much thought into but the more I read the more engrossed I became. There is definitely a Huger Games vibe to the primary narrative but this story and world are undoubtedly their own, with inspiration from Indian and Greek mythology giving this dystopia a unique edge.
"Everyday people make choices that they think have no impact on their lives. But if you look right instead of left, you don't know who you'll meet and who you'll miss.. Choices can mark a turn in fate that we might never get back."
For me what Berwah exceled with the most alongside the highly entertaining action scenes were the character relationships. Despite finding the beginning a little slow it was the relationships that kept me reading particularly the ones between the siblings as well as Koral’s friendship with Crane. With the romance, which surprisingly took a back seat, Berwah did really well at capturing that ex-lovers tension and history that was always buzzing when Koral and Dorian were in a scene together. The bond between Koral and her Maristag, Stormgold was also beautifully developed.
All in all really enjoyable fantasy dystopia debut and I like that the ending leaves the door open for more stories in the future because I would gladly welcome them!
Final Rating – 3.75/5 Stars
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Gore, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Classism
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Classism, and Torture