This book could have been magical and gripping, but it fell far short. It was so hard to visualize what was happening—the race track + elements they were racing through, the creatures and maristags, the very world itself. The characters felt barely there. The entirety of this story was surface-level, and if it had dove deeper and provided more visual context, it could have been wonderful.

This book was not for me. I thought the premise was really cool and interesting, but I just could not get along with the writing style. It wasn't anything bad or even very specific, it just did not work for me, personally. I definitely think that if I could have gotten this on audio, I would have enjoyed it more. DNF @ 20%

In this thrilling and adrenaline-pumping new fantasy, Monsters Born and Made is an immersive tale about a young girl fighting for survival in a competition full of dangerous monsters, tempting rivals, and deceptive players.

This book was a WILD ride! I loved how so much of the novel included the sea—it added such an intriguing and addictive element to the story and its competition.

This was definitely a read that kept me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails through all the action-packed twists and turns, wondering what was going to happen next.

If you’re a fan of the competition trope and love stories full of adventure, love, and betrayal, definitely keep this book in mind!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I did enjoy this book but not as much as I was hoping. I wasn’t as gripped as I would have liked from the first few chapters and it’s taken me much longer to finish it than expected

Monsters Born and Made is such a beautifully written fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. Tanvi Berwah has earned herself a spot on my auto-buy authors list. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out Monsters Born and Made today.

All I can say is "WOW WOW WOW" because I was blown away by this book. I was so in love with Koral and felt like I got to witness a great character that takes you by surprise in the best way. She was so dimensional and realistic while in the midst of a fantasy world. I know it may not have been meant to be a metaphorical story, but we all have "monsters" in our lives that challenge us in different ways. People looked at Koral as if she was nothing, not a worthy competitor who would not make it past the first marker but she had something they did not, a deep desire and motivation to succeed in the face of all the odds and "monsters" she would face along the way. How many of us have felt the same way? How many of us did not let others dictate our success? I think this is why I loved this book so much, it was a situation a lot of us can picture ourselves in, and it made you cheer for Koral to show the world just what she could do.

Thank you Tani Berwah and NetGalley for allowing the chance to discover such a wonderful story and character!

This book was a struggle to finish. There were plenty of descriptions but they were so lacking in detail I could barely understand what was happening. It was a quarter of the way into the book before we're even told that technology like televisions exist, when up to that point the setting was basically described as the Stone Age. It was terribly confusing. The characters felt flat and lacked comprehensible motivations for their actions. I read the entire book but most of the time I felt lost and confused. I wouldn't purchase or recommend this book and I would not be interested in reading anything else by this author.

Fan of The Hunger Games? What about Harry Potter? Yeah, then you’ll find some enjoyment out of this. I wanted to love it, heck, I wanted to like it. There is a great deal of action in the book making the pace fairly fast. But the lack in character development and world building just made this a flop. The world building was strong at first but quickly fizzled out. While this is labeled YA it does have a feeling of more middle grade mixed in. The MC Koral seems to be too loyal, too trusting and a bit naive for the setting of the book making me want to just scream. While the secondary characters were just blah and had no development what so ever. Overall, the book is very predictable and just.. okay.

The idea of the Monsters Born and Made was very intriguing for me. However, the execution did not pan out as well. The world was immensely designed and creative. Unfortunately, I could not relate to the characters and the action was too slow for me. I felt as though the author put a lot of thought into creating the world but not as much thought into the characters behind the story.
It wasn't for me but someone else who enjoys slow burn type stories may enjoy it more.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

This one was so much fun.

I couldn’t put it down!

I loved the main character so much. I also thought the world building was AMAZING. I could clearly see everything in my head.

Plus, it had some of my favorite tropes as well! I’m an absolute sucker for any kind of competition!

I highly recommend to any Ya fantasy reader!

Hoping this becomes a series! I enjoyed the strength of the female character, Koral. Her job as a hunter is to capture Creatures called Maristags from the ocean. They are breeded and sold to provide food and shelter for her family. After losing a catch, but saving her brother, Emrik’s life, she decides to enter the deadly Glory Race. Winning would change her status and provide for her family - except a hunter has never competed with the elite Landers. Many dangers and close calls with death incur, creating a can’t put it down story.

Scorpio Races meets the Hunger Games in an intense race with monsters from the sea in a race that could change everything. The themes found in this book's pages are fierce competition, underdog main characters from low-income families, class warfare, revolution, a forbidden love interest from a family of high status, and a young sibling struggling for her life.
Koral is from a family that only goal is to be hunters of the sea for these monsters of the ocean called Maristag. Once captured, they are to be raised and sold to the rich for the Glory race. So we have Landers vs. renters, and renters have never entered a Glory race today. Monsters Born and Made is an intense, bloody story about a race that can change Koral's life if she succeeds and is not killed. Like all tales, her victory may happen, and it maybe is destroyed just as quickly. I am unsure if we get more stories from this author in this tale, but it does end like we could get more.

Wow! I was sucked into the story fast and didn't put the book down until I was finished. This was fast paced, with lots of action and excitement. I adored this story! It was a ton of fun to read and I thoroughly enjoyed.

The island they live on and how they got there is all really interesting but I wish we could have learned more about it. I really just wish there was more of everything! More about the island, more about Koral, the maristags, landers, etc - more of all of it! Fingers crossed this becomes a series!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wish I had liked this one more. If I'm rating it, I'm going to rate it a 2.5/5. If there is a second one, I will definitely give it a chance. I think it is an interesting concept, but this one drug on a bit. However, I've read several series that the first book starts off slow and then the rest of the series is great! So, I am holding out hope for this one!

I really wanted to love this book because I've been so excited for it and loved the sound of it, but unfortunately, I really struggled to get through it. I would actually have DNF'd it, but I managed to get my hands on the audiobook and carry on reading it that way which is pretty much the only reason I didn't as the narrator was a delight.

The first thing I'll say is that I don't understand where the comparisons to the Hunger Games came from because I didn't get that vibe at all, if I'm honest. My childhood fixation with the Goblet of Fire movie means that I'm pretty much guaranteed to read any book with some kind of cool competition/trials in it, but this one fell a little flat for me.

I did think the concept and world of the book was unique and I was very intrigued by it all and there's some great commentary within the book regarding social and political systems that I thought was wonderfully done and relevant to this day, unfortunately. I also really enjoyed the family focus, like while I do love the found family trope, it's nice to come across a book that has such a focus on blood family!

Unfortunately, I feel like I couldn't really grasp much of what was going on. There was so much going on within the book and I felt like there wasn't enough world building, with some characters as well as other things not fleshed out enough for you to connect with them or get a handle on how it all fit together.

Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games. I also think it would be good for fans of the criminally underrated Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is a dystopian YA which definitely gives off Hunger Games vibes. However unlike the Hunger Games there are some unique and terrifying creatures in this world.

I feel like a lot of world building was thrust at the reader at once in the beginning, so it took me a minute to fully get it, but once you do it’s an interesting world and concept.

The story follows a young girl named Koral who wants to compete in a competition called The Glory Race to win gold and help her family. Koral isn’t always entirely likable but I think she is understandable.

The character I actually found most intriguing was her former love Dorian, and I hope to see more of him. His relationship with Koral as well as his inner turmoil were one of the most interesting parts of the book.

Overall I would say if you enjoyed The Hunger Games or YA dystopian books in general then give this one a try.

I love the Hunger Games trilogy and the synopsis for Monsters Born and Made gave me Hunger Games vibes. Koral is a strong heroine and you immediately start to root for her as she tries to provide for her family and as she enters the race. I love that all odds are against her but yet she still has so much strength. If you're itching for a YA dystopian romance, this is the one for you!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was kind of a mash-up of <i>The Hunger Games</I> (Suzanne Collins) and <i>The Scorpio Races</i>. I love both of those books (in fact, <i>The Scorpio Races</i> is one of my favorite books), and I really enjoyed this one. It was interesting, exciting, and well written. There were a few things here and there that I hope were corrected in the final print.

Koral (16) not a strictly likable character, but neither was she unlikable. She was motivated, determined, and brave. Dorian (18) was hard to figure out—I still haven’t figured him out, to be honest. I wanted to like him, but he kept doing things that prevented me from really doing so. One of my favorite characters was Crane, although she was far from perfect. Every one of those characters had what I will flippantly refer to as daddy issues—Koral’s father was bitter and verbally abusive, Dorian’s was condescending and abusive in general, and Crane’s was absent in every way but what amounts to basic child support.

I had thought this book was a standalone, but the ending has be seriously doubling that. I’m kind of disappointed, simply because I was in the mood for something that wrapped up nicely by the end. This book does not do that. If it is a standalone, that ending was horrible. My rating assumes there will be a sequel.

Note: A little swearing.

When I first started reading Monsters Born and Made there were so many similarities with The Scorpio Races that I was constantly comparing the two. As I made me way further into the book it then shifted and reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games. Nothing wrong with being compared to them, but I felt myself constantly comparing…until I wasn’t. Monsters Born and Made may have made me skeptical at first, but as the soon as the race started and the story got going, it really stands on its own two legs.
What I loved about this book is the story is familiar enough to draw me in close and then once I’m there it awes me with its originality. I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait for the second book to come out. I'm invested in these characters and this story now and I am now a loyal fan.