A cross between Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpion Races and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, Monsters Born and Made is action-packed and fraught with emotional conundrums. Berwah's novel is an imaginative telling of a race for "glory" that will serve to save one family from their poverty fulfills all its promises of action and adventure, with layers of betrayal, back-door dealings, and unresolved romance. I really had a hard time putting this novel down. Koral's family's tenuous grasp on their social status--unbalanced by numerous and varied threats--grows ever more dire as each chapter unfolds, and the story ends on an enormous cliffhanger.

I love the maristag mythos and the Southeast Asian setting, making this story fairly unique despite its recollections of The Scorpion Races and The Hunger Games. The book is well written and engaging, and I highly recommend it.

Genre: fantasy
What an interesting book! A world full of monsters, and people trying to survive.

There are Landers and Renters who despise each other. Koral, our lead protagonist, is a renter who hunts maristags. Many issues arise where she must enter a tournament and win so her family can be free. But that never goes according to plan.

The story was confusing at times, with issues thrown in here and there but ended up making it feel kind of cluttered. I felt that if it was a story of the race only, it would have sufficed.

I loved all the creatures and monsters in this book. I do wish I could have an illustration of them because it is hard for me to picture what a maristag looks like (or the Capricorn). Huge silver crab, easy to visualize and it sounds horrifying.

I rooted for Koral through it all, because you know she is the bottom feeding who is coming up in the world and rise through the ashes like a phoenix. But there were times that she just didn’t seem too bright. She knew the landers hated her, and still trusted that they would just let her win an obscene amount of money and just leave.

All in all, a very unique fantasy story.

Oh, I do like a newly made world, with a well made and thought out history. It does make such a difference to a book, and this author done it in spades.

The creatures are well thought out and described, and to be honest, creeped me the f out. The characters are interesting, and not always what you expect them to be. And while you do have the obvious feeling of a romance trope going on, you find that you dont mind it so much.

A new series (I hope) as I look forward to the second book.

I'm generally on the fence when it comes to dystopian novels. If they feel too attainable within my lifetime, I tend to not want to read them for my own sanity (hah), but if they're on the more fantastical side, like with Monsters Born and Made, I feel able to connect with them in a more balanced way.

Here, our dystopian society centers around these creatures that plague the seas of this planet, our characters survive only by hunting the monsters down and hoping not to die in the process. This novel is undeniably Hunger Games-esque, but I think the setting gives it a bit of an edge (...as a biased person who was not a huge fan of Hunger Games, because Battle Royal will always take the "death games" top tier slot in my mind), Having this planet that's made up of islands and overrun with oceans/seas full of dangerous creatures was just cool, okay? And the Summer Reading Club theme this year for ALA libraries is ocean-themed, so this book felt very relevant as I was reading it.

Sadly, the pitfuls of this book come in the actual interaction between the characters. Dialogue didn't always feel natural, side characters didn't feel fleshed out/real, and even Koral had moments where I didn't quite understand why we were following her story. There are also a lot of references to things in the book that don't make sense with the setting, but as it's a YA book, I guess that's to be expected.

All in all, I think this was a pretty decent start to this series, but I don't know that I'll be picking up the sequel.

From the first pages I was extremely interested in the world, the monsters, the fights, and the life of these characters. I didn’t quite connect with the characters on a personal level but that is on me and in no way took away from my enjoyment of this story.

I loved the mix of monsters, power, the haves and have nots, rights and titles, the engaging scenes, and the fight for and though it all. The mix of fantasy and political moment plus the monsters really made this story sound out and had me wanting more each page. This is a fun read for those looking for adventure, monsters, and heart racing moments.

This has been compared to The Hunger Games, Fable, and The Scorpio Races and while I usually dislike comparing stories (because each story is an individual) I think in this case they are applicable comparisons. If you liked those stories check this out, if you didn’t, I would still recommend this story because while it had those stories elements it also has a wonderful heart and tone of its own.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Sourcefire Books and I am leaving an honest review.

For more book content, follow me @literaturewithalatte

✨Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah✨

Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 352
Pub Date: 09/2022

📚 Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.

In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers—the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others—if they're lucky—survive.

When the last maristag of the year escapes, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.

But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against competitors—including her ex-boyfriend—who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. As a rebellion rises, Koral must choose—her life or her sister's—before the whole island burns.

📝 A south-Asian inspired YA fantasy that includes elements from HP Goblet of Fire and The Hunger Games.

Our heroine, Koral, fights to care for her siblings the best way she can. I wasn’t too crazy about her but I appreciated how willing she was to risk herself for her siblings. Her past relationship with Dorian wasn’t really fleshed out. I’d like to have read more flashback scenes.

As for the world-building, I really liked the concept, but I wish it was explained a little more. As a reader, I felt that I got vague descriptions of what could have been an awesome world/culture.

The ending was definitely a cliffhanger. I wonder if this will be a series. Perhaps more will be explained in the sequel!

💫Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooksfire for my copy💫

I was very excited to read this book but about 20% in I knew it was not going to be for me. I loved the concept of the book seemed like it would be a twist on a hunger games theme. I had to struggle to get into it and it did not pull me in like I wished it would.

The world building did not complete for me and maybe that is part of the reason I could not get I to it. The main character I didn’t like granted she’s a teen but she is hard to like.

With all that I have said do not pass it by because everyone is different and likes
Different things. I appreciate the chance to read it in advance.

This book is set in a fantasy world where the island they live in is in a sea of monsters. Koral, is part of a hunter group, and in order to try and save her family decides to enter the Champions race on a Maristag that her family has bred. From this setup I think it had the potential to be a really interesting and fascinating book. Unfortunately, for me it really fell short.

First, the book felt like it fell into an overtired trope of a dystopian society with different groups. There are the Landers, the Renters, the Hunters, and some fraction which is the Rebels. Each group is given a very brief history, but not enough substance in the storytelling and it doesn’t feel compelling. Second, the world building felt to sparse. It was more explanatory than built on description and experience. I don’t really understand what is going on; one of the main issues seems to be the heat and unrelenting sun, and yet in other parts of the story it feels like this isn’t really an issue. I don’t have a clear sense of how the people live. Along with this, I just get some general confusion about things in the book, like what the Maristags were, how they looked, and what their nature was. I don’t get how they live in the sea, yet are captured to race on land. I definitely don’t get what she tried to create between them having some wild nature, rules of getting riled up, and then in some way having an occasional bond with their handlers. I also don’t understand the nature of the race; the landers who are the ruling class want to send their kids/young adults into a dangerous and potentially life threatening race? Why is it such a big deal? Why would they give so much gold to the winner? Finally, none of the characters were really that powerful. I would have liked a more complete character arc.

While I do see similarities between this book and the Hunger Games, I don’t think this book managed to reach the complexity or emotional intensity the first book of that series did. Still, if you don’t mind it being fairly one dimensional, it is certainly a diverting and easy read.

I’m not sure why but it took me forever to read this. It was interesting but for some reason, I found myself dreading reading it again after putting it down. Maybe it’s because I’ve read this kind of book before, many times. It unfortunately just didn’t hold my interest enough for me to care about the characters or the continuation of the story.

Koral is a Hunter, capturing monstrous beasts from the dangerous ocean with her brother to support their family. But her sick sister needs help and without money for medicine, Koral has to find a way to help: cheating her way into the Island’s Glory Race. Facing all the odds against her -including her ex-boyfriend and a class rebellion- Koral’s life depends on winning.

Conceptually, this book was good. Underdog teen rising above to help her family out of poverty and debt. But this book just didn’t follow through on what it set out promising and I was really disappointed overall.

This book really lacked world building. What you get is good: small island surrounded by murderous ocean critters, class and political rebellion, underdog rising to beat poverty and class strife. But there are continual references to events outside the book’s plot that are never explained. You keep hearing about the ancestors, but the story of them is barely touched on, despite the importance they play in how the world is designed. There just isn’t depth to the world, though I did like the South Asian inspiration. Koral is ambitious and decently written, but she’s kind of one dimensional and I didn’t see much growth as a character. None of the characters have much growth, really. I was most disappointed by then ending of the book, which was too open ended for me. There is so many storylines that just end without explanation and I felt the book lacked resolution.

This book is overhyped in my opinion. It lacked the depth that I expected from it and felt jumbled and all over the place. A decent read, but I wouldn’t rush to recommend or buy this one.

An explosive debut fantasy.

I loved this book. Koral is my favorite kind of character, one who just doesn’t give up no matter what the world throws at her. While the plot meandered a bit at the beginning, she propelled me through to the intense and climactic second half. Also, with that ending, I’m pretty desperate for a sequel.

The world was my favorite aspect of this book, and, to me, the part that stood out the most from a very crowded YA market. It was this crazy mix of brutal and breathtaking, futuristic sci fi mixed with survivalist fantasy and monsters. It felt like a mash up in the best way. As a stand-alone, I think it left some things unresolved that should have been addressed, but I am assuming this is a set up for a sequel where more of these questions will be answered.

Overall, I eagerly await for more from Berwah!

The description of this book being a cross between The Hunger Games and Fable is pretty accurate! Our young heroine, Koral Hunter faces non-stop adversity and challenges as she enters a race and tries to win her way to financial stability for her struggling family in a stratified dystopian society that is stacked against her. I don’t know if this is a standalone book or the first in a series. If it’s a standalone, beware that the ending feels like the start of a new adventure. If it’s the first book in a new series, I wish it had been listed as such so I’d have expected an unresolved/cliffhanger ending. Otherwise, I did like this story and will read the next one when it’s released.
*Thanks to the author, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for this advance reader copy for review.

Monsters Born and Made followed the typical YA dystopian template: 16 year old girl from a poor family works very hard, her parents are basically non existent, she is forced into action when something threatens her siblings.

That basic outline was the part of the story that worked. It's a YA underdog story, we've seen it before, but we're always here for more.

Where it feel apart was the motivations:
As a Canadian I'm tired of seeing medical costs as a plot driver
It never explains why getting married as her parents suggest is not a reasonable option. Her parents are the worst so she might marry someone nicer and be able to help her sister.
The economic system doesn't hold up. If they are the only people who can capture and sell the beasts because everyone is assigned a job, yet they're still poor because there is a set sale price. What is the motivation to work this assigned job if it doesn't pay enough to support them? Whats stopping them from doing something else? What would prevent them from raising prices on certain ones and claim specialty? The race is a competition after all. Not to mention why has no one thought of breeding? They have to go out and catch them every time,
Poverty works as a plot point in the Hunger Games because everyone in town works the same job so there are no options.
Renters and Landers are the class system. Just really hitting us over the head with the point here.

Reading Monsters Born and Made felt like a breath of fresh air. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, but it's safe to say I am obsessed with the story. The world-building, the characters, the romance- everything about this book was perfection.

Tanvi Berwah's writing is majestic and beautiful. It portrays the scale and perils of the world in which the characters reside really well. Her writing style really draws you in and makes you feel whatever is happening in the story. You immediately understand the dangers of the oceanic world and the creatures that reside in it and you know to be scared of many of them. One of the striking features that I noticed about this book was that the world-building was not confusing at all. It was explained in simple terms which made it very easy to understand.

Koral is honestly one of my favourite fantasy protagonists that I have read this year. She is strong, badass, brave and so caring. Her determination to win the Glory Race was inspiring honestly. I was basically in love with her from the start. The side characters are also done really well. I also really enjoyed reading her and Dorian's scenes together. That knife-to-the-throat scene? *chef's kiss*

AND THAT ENDING? HOLY. CRAP. I just really hope this book is not standalone because I want to know what happens next. My jaw just dropped open when I read it.

Monsters Born and Made is an incredible YA sci-fi/fantasy, one that will make its way to the top of your favourites because of its easy to understand world building and incredible cast of characters. Highly recommend this one!

Check out the aesthetic video I made for this book on TikTok & Instagram @katherinebichler. Click the link below ⬇️

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR1g6R8v/?k=1

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfRj3h...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 STARS

This is one of my favorite reads so far for 2022!! Think The Scorpio Races meets The Hunger Games in this excellent YA fantasy!

Sixteen year old Koral captures maristags in the sea to sell to the upper class Landers to compete with in The Glory Races. When misfortune comes her way, she cheats her way into the Glory Races for a chance to win and save her family from poverty.

This book was so well done! From the world building to the creativity, it had everything you could want in a YA fantasy.
Friends to enemies to lovers trope that is action packed with a fierce female MC.

Add this to your TBR for sure!

Thank you Fire Reads at Sourcebooks for the advance reader copy! 💚 🌊🦌

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! A stunning debut novel. I saw several negative reviews that said Koral lacked depth, but as a teenage girl, I would have made many of the same decisions she did. She had a goal in mind, which was protecting her family. And we all know that teenagers often make mistakes or don’t have the same life experience as adults, so we can’t expect her to be perfect. I think her rage and protectiveness of loved ones was clear, so I don’t consider her to be a bland character at all. The “Hunger Games” was also such a creative idea to do it with mythical creatures. I also enjoyed the relationship between Koral and Dorian, though I wish it could have been developed more. I wish that the next book could be more about this story, rather that world building like the author mentioned in her newsletter.

This book felt all over the place.

If I had to describe this, it's basically a hybrid of ‘The Scorpio Races,’ the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and ‘The Hunger Games.’ So a lot going on and not the most original content, but hey. Tropes work for a reason, right? The thing is, there's so much happening that nothing really feels fleshed out. It's all very superficial, or just lacking, and nothing hooked me enough to actually care.

This is also being pitched as a South Asian inspired fantasy, but none of the actual fantasy elements are from South Asian mythology?? It's very much classical mythology. The only thing used that is actually inspired by South Asia is the caste system and some of the characters' last names. Everything else is very Greco-Roman, which feels out of place in the setting/world the author is trying to create.

It's not a terrible book, I suppose, but it just didn't feel cohesive enough for me to massively enjoy it.

This book started off real good. Then started to lose me in the middle. I felt that it ended a strong note and I think my student will love it. The world building was really good and I enjoyed the fact that their was competition with deadly chariot races!

This is a story about the monsters we are & the monsters we make.

This was so much fun! The world building is fast, but so enjoyable. I loved the exploration of classism in a fantasy world- and the monsters! I’m hoping for fan art once this is out in the world, because @tanviberwah somehow created them from scratch (which I love!). This was an action filled, delightful ride & there NEEDS to be a sequel.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @sourcebooksfire for the eArc!