Three stars I think??

I picked this up in 2023 because it sounded good and the hardcover was very pretty, especially the naked cover. I still think it’s a pretty book, but the content was ehhhh

First thing, I started off with my physical copy and because of the slow start putting me to sleep I looked for the audiobook and it was there without a waiting period so I switched (thank you Libby!). I really liked the narrator, but I still noticed that I was zoning out because the book kept repeating things. When we got to a new scene it was very exciting but it never felt like it lasted long enough. The world building was subpar at best and the characters felt kinda two dimensional. 

Koral was a flat character whose traits were panic, be stubborn, panic some more. Emrick was at least somewhat entertaining but her relationship with her brother felt superficial, same with Crane. The love interest? Don’t even get me started, there was no fucking chemistry and it felt so forced it was awkward. We didn’t really get anything fully fleshed out except for her love for Liria, the youngest sister.

The world building seemed to struggle, which is a shame because I wanted to know more. I feel like if the author took out some of the repeated bits and inserted more about the world it would’ve been better.

Also I don’t understand how it’s South Asian inspired. The general air I got was middle eastern mixed with Greek mythology. Especially with the mention of gorgons and capricorns. The maristags too felt more Scottish inspired with the kelpies.

It was just a very weird feeling I felt.

Red flag number one for the plot was how the leader accepted her into the race no problem so that felt about right when that was revealed.

Also the ending, what the hell was that? It felt like it ended in the middle of a scene and there seems to be no mention of a second book. 

Overall idk how to feel about this one.

Thanks to Tanvi Berwah and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC of this debut novel through Netgalley! It doesn’t affect my review in any way. 

Koral of Sollonia is a Hunter of Maristags. And her family of Hunters have always held the official title of capturing such beautiful and deadly creatures for the Glory Race, which is only held every four years. But to unforeseen events, Koral and her older brother Emrik have failed to catch one in time for the 150th event. And in an extremely oppressive, elite society, the odds are always stacked against the poor. So that’s when Koral decides to participate in this year’s race. This book promises an exhilarating story of rallying against oppression and prejudice and what it means to survive despite all setbacks. 

This book is set in a dystopian society created based off of South Asian foklore. I liked the author’s fast-paced writing with the little element of romance between Koral and Dorian. I applaud how realistically Monsters Born and Made tackles social injustice against the underclasses and how the hatred and discrimination by people with wealth and privilege can power a government to incur unjust authority. And this is experienced by everyone, especially minority communities around the world and I really like how Tanvi Berwah navigates her writing in this standalone. The best I could give this book would be my current rating of 3 ⭐️ simply because I didn’t enjoy it enough. It was inevitably left to the reader’s interpretation on how they think the story truly concludes, but I believe there should’ve been more to Koral and Stormgold’s end. 

It started off a bit slow and I almost put it down a few times…..but holeeeeeeeeeee shit. It got raw and brutal real quick. By the last quarter, I was devouring the book to see what happens. 

Definitely not one to read if you want fluffy fantasy. 

This book feels like a combination of The Hunger Games, a tri-wizard tournament, and The Scorpio Races, but in the way that it doesn't really know what it wants to be? There is a lot going on in this book, and that makes the overall plot a little difficult to follow. It would have benefited from narrowing some of the conflicts and maybe just focusing on the races and the reason that Koral is entering the races. 

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.

I am so happy to have received a digital reading copy of this novel from Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

 [This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**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.

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.

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