Monsters Born and Made is a dystopian fantasy set in an oceanic world. At times it felt like it was all over the place but I still enjoyed it. It was fast-paced, action-packed and engaging. I absolutely loved the vicious maristags but I would’ve liked to see a little more world-building.
I liked Koral as a main character. Her little sister has a chronic illness that requires medication so when her family’s financial situation worsens, she makes a dangerous decision to cheat her way into the Glory Race. Not only is she up against Landers who have trained their whole lives for this - including her ex - but she also has to deal with fellow Renters and a rebel group. I do wish we had more insight into the rebels.
I liked the complicated family dynamics. Korals parents aren’t the greatest - especially her father - but I loved the bond she has with her siblings. I liked that the romance (or past romance) with Dorian is only a small subplot. There’s some good tension between them and it’s obvious they still care for each other but it’s not clear what happened in their past to make them hate each other.
The ending was abrupt with quite a few unanswered questions so I was hoping there would be a sequel. Unfortunately, it looks like this is meant to be a standalone with additional books set in the same world but focused on different islands and characters.

I enjoyed this new world with its monsters and human horrors. I loved the main character and the race premise. The world building was good and I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. This is a great read for people who enjoy an underdog story with fantasy mixed in.

Enjoyed this, but I wished for a little cleaner worldbuilding. Didn't particularly like these characters. Overall good read, love the idea.

A Gritty, High-Stakes Fantasy with Sharp Social Commentary

Tanvi Berwah’s Monsters Born and Made is a gripping dystopian fantasy set in a brutal world where survival is everything. With high-stakes competition, fierce sea monsters, and a protagonist fighting against an oppressive system, this book delivers an intense and thrilling ride.

Koral, born into a lower caste, has spent her life capturing and raising maristags—deadly sea creatures used in the Glory Race, an elite competition that determines power and prestige. When her family is pushed to the brink of starvation, Koral takes a desperate risk: entering the race herself, despite the fact that only the wealthy are meant to compete. What follows is a relentless battle against brutal competitors, terrifying monsters, and a system designed to see her fail.

The worldbuilding is one of the novel’s strongest elements, drawing inspiration from South Asian mythology while crafting a dystopian society full of deep inequalities. The atmosphere is tense, and the action scenes are exhilarating, with maristags bringing a fresh, unique danger to the story. Koral is a determined and resilient protagonist, though her recklessness sometimes makes her frustratingly impulsive.

While the premise is fantastic, the pacing is uneven at times, and some side characters could have been more developed. The romance subplot feels underexplored, taking a backseat to the survival-driven plot. However, the book shines in its exploration of class struggles, desperation, and resilience.

For fans of The Hunger Games and We Hunt the Flame, Monsters Born and Made offers a thrilling, thought-provoking read with an unforgettable setting.

A young woman will compete in a challenge to afford the medicine for her younger sister. Yes, it has a few Hunger Games vibes, but Hunger Games was an awesome story so consider it a complement. Koral Hunter has grown up working with her family to capture the monsters hunted during the annual challenge. She will gain a place in the challenge only to face the monsters on two legs who will kill to win.

*Monsters Born and Made* by Tanvi Berwah is an intense, action-packed fantasy with a brutal world, high-stakes competition, and a fierce heroine willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Set in a harsh, caste-divided society where sea monsters are hunted and tamed for glory, the story follows Koral, a girl from the lower class who enters a deadly tournament meant only for the elite.

The book shines in its world-building—Berwah creates a vivid, dangerous setting that feels immersive and unique. The tension and pacing keep the stakes high, making it a gripping read. However, while the premise is exciting, the execution has some rough edges. The romance feels underdeveloped, and at times, the character relationships lack depth, making it hard to fully invest in them. Additionally, the world’s politics and lore could have used more fleshing out.

That said, if you love fast-paced survival stories with fierce heroines and morally gray choices, this one is still worth picking up!

Refreshing premise but I did feel that the idea needed a bit more polishing before it came to be. It's a bit rough-around-the-edges but it's a very promising debut from a very promising author.

As much as I wanted to like it I just couldn’t get behind it. It had a lot of promise, but didn’t quite come through in the way I would’ve wanted to. Will some people love it, absolutely, will some people dislike it, probably!

This book has such a cool concept, but it fell short for me. I wasn't invested in the story or the characters. They just weren't that interesting to me. At some points I didn't even know how they got from point A to point B because there wasn't enough description. This book just was not for me unfortunately.

Wonderful dystopia fantasy. Great world building and well defined characters. You won't want to put it down.

I went into this one with high hopes and felt, just blah. It was marketed as great for fans of the hunger games, but I felt like I was reading a badly interpreted hunger games fan fiction - right down to the invalid sister, and money tight to the point of starvation at home. The story was hard to follow, and I kept waiting to be sucked into this dystopian world, but I just wasn't.

The mediocre world building makes this a difficult read to get into. The overall lack of development of the world’s history and characters contribute to the lackluster narrative. While I’m curious where the story could go, I would not feel strongly about picking up another book in this universe.

“This is the ocean, and you're a Hunter. You swim with monsters; these people cannot scare you.”

Koral’s family captures monstrous sea creatures to stay alive. Koral and sneaks entry into the Glory Race to provide a better future for her struggling family.

The action sequences were great and I loved the Glory Race, was very similar to The Hunger Games. The chariot races were written really well. I wish we got to see more training and development with Koral and her maristag.

I had a really hard time picturing the world and the monsters. The mythology also went right over my head.

Koral cries a lot throughout the book, which is understandable but also becomes very repetitive. She also gets many serious injuries but somehow manages to keep going. I don’t think the romance was necessary in this book because there was a lot going on that could have been developed more, and there wasn’t much chemistry.
The family dynamic was hard to figue out, I think it was supposed to be a complicated relationship but overall came across as confusing.

I’m excited to read other books by this author!
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

3 Stars

I loved this book! The cover was gorgeous which is what initially caught my eye, but this book sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down!

Super fun read with a GORGEOUS cover!

Once I got about a third of the way through, I could not put the book down! It was a quick and entertaining read and I loved the maristags! My one issue was that the scenes felt a bit choppy so I do think it could have gone through another round of edits/revisions. Also, that open ended conclusion was CRUEL. Definitely one you won't forget.

My roommate also read this book and said it was one of her favorite reads of 2022!

Another dystopia/trail type book that I have been adding to my lists lately.

I definitely have a sub genre that I have clung to. And this would be it haha.

I really enjoyed the more raw edge and brutal world of thisnonw though. It leaned so hard into the classic aspect of the world. And liking politics or not. This was one that makes you pause and consider things in our own world as long as this fantasy one.

And I enjoy books that can keep the fantasy going but make me think about other things too without just giving me real life in my fantasy book. Of that makes sense haha.

It was well written and created an interesting and unique world

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

I do not normally read the premise or plot summaries of books before reading the actual book, but I did read this one and I was immediately interested. This is the story of Koral, who hunts sea monsters in order to make a living and survive on their island. Koral is thrust into a competition and forced to compete for money against high-born competitors so she can help her ill sister. There are a lot of classic YA fantasy elements in this book and I think that they mostly work in this book! There's some South Asian inspired elements as well, which I absolutely loved. This book is definitely fast paced. I read it so fast! I read this while on a family vacation was certainly interested enough to keep reading at any chance I got. The one thing I did want more of was the world building. There were a few times that I was a little confused and had to reread certain sections to make sure I was getting everything. Also would have liked to see more development from Koral. I liked her as the main character overall, but was hoping for more depth there. I did enjoy reading this book though. I thought it was a good YA fantasy and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from the author!

I DNFed about 25% of the way in. It was just not engaging, and the writing was a bit basic. It felt a bit amateurish. I understand the audience is YA, but it could have been more complex.

I absolutely LOVE this book and cannot recommend it enough. I've seen it described as The Hunger Games meets the Scorpio Races and that description couldn't be more perfect. Monsters Born and Made lives up to all of its hype.

Koral is one of my favorite protagonists ever--she's fierce and determined and I found myself rooting for her from page one. Dorian is an amazing character too and I ship him and Koral SO HARD. I also loved the dynamics between Koral and her family.

AND THE WORLD BUILDING. The world that Tanvi created is so vivid and compelling, I couldn't stop reading once I started. I'm really hoping for a book 2 that delves even deeper into this setting because I loved it SO much. I'm obsessed with Maristags and the other monstrous creatures in this book. They're seriously the coolest and unlike anything I've ever read (in the best way!).