I was approved for an excerpt of this book. There was a lot of world building and the flashbacks made it a little confusing to get into but I am intrigued. I would read the rest of this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this excerpt.

This book immediately gripped my attention as it is set in a sort of dystopian world and gives Hunger Games vibes. The writing took me a minute to get into because I feel like there's a lot of world building thrown at you at once, however once you get into it the world is fascinating. I love the creatures, the different castes of people, and the whole set up in general.

The main character Koral is rootable and I found myself really invested in her and her dysfunctional family dynamics. I also think I know what the romance in this book will be and I am here for it. I can't wait to see where it all goes.

Once you get a hang of the world building the writing is fast paced and fun and keeps you pulled into the story. I think if you like dystopian and Hunger Games-esque stories you will like this one. I was lucky to have received a full ARC as well so I can't wait to dive in and finish the story!

This starts off super fun - more dystopian than I expected, I like the main character so far, and I’m excited to read the rest!

Well, it was a rough start in the first few chapters; I had to re-read it. I was having a hard time grasping what was happening. The writing is choppy and the micro-flashbacks muddle things a bit. I also had difficulty perceiving many of the world-building concepts in the beginning, with a lot of lingo being thrown at us at once without further explanation to the references. The sequencing of events feels a little chaotic and skips you around in the start.

However, with all that being said, by chapter four it all starts to smooth itself out and I found myself getting immersed into the story. I think the first three chapters just need a little reworking to give us more depth up-front, to help with the flow and readers’ comprehension.

I already like the main character, Koral, and her struggles within the family dynamics. The story world has a really interesting social structure and a unique atmosphere. Although, I can’t help noticing the striking similarities in the plot to The Scorpio Races. Still, I found the start of this story intriguing and I am definitely interested in continuing to read the full book.

By the end of this excerpt I felt the writing really started to find its flow and the pacing got its rhythm. In the sixth chapter we get hints of some layers being added to the plot that left me wanting more. It has definitely piqued my interest and I would love to find out what happens! It will be going on my TBR list for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the published for this excerpt.

I found this book really confusing. There wasn't a good explanation of what the situation is between Renters, Landers and Hunters or why some some people are relegated to one versus the other. Sometimes I thought the MC was a Renter and other times a Hunter because she uses the two so interchangeably.

I'm not sure if this is because this is an excerpt but there are also formatting issues and words split in the middle.

I actually had the opportunity to have a reread of this sample and I enjoyed it much more than the first time. I has some interesting world building, unlike anything else I have been exposed to. I enjoyed to social structures that we learnt about so far, and I also enjoyed the way the family referenced each other, showing the influence of culture in the writing. So far I think our heroine is fantastic, very strong and vulnerable at the same time.

Thank you Netgalley for the preview of' Monsters born and made'.
I am intrigued after reading the chapter. Definitely going to read when it comes out.

This is a very interesting start to a book!! This excerpt ends with a cliffhanger that leaves me intrigued and wanting to continue on. All I would say is the different terms made me a bit confused about the dynamics of the different types of people, but I did figure it out later on. I definitely know that fantasy books can be hard to understand the world building at first and this one did a fine job. I really like the creatures and the grand event everyone is looking towards.

I am always doubtful with YA as I hear great stuff about every book coming out. This excerpt really helped, and convinced me that I might like the book. I'm definitely putting this on my TBR pile, and if you aren't sure if you need this book, this is sure to win you over.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the six-chapter excerpt of Monsters Born and Made.

I would give this book a solid 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.0 stars. The characters and plot drew me into the story right away, and at the end of the excerpt, I found myself interested in what happened next.

There was a lot of originality in the worldbuilding and magical creatures/beasts that populated the world. I now want a maristag like Stormgold for my own, and I'm fascinated to learn more about the creature. However, the world is complex, and so much information is thrown at the reader so quickly that I didn't feel as comfortable as I would have liked in the environment.

Koral is a solid main character, and I enjoy the side characters of Liria and Crane. The family dynamics, particularly with the parents, are also interesting, and ones I hope are further explored in the rest of the book. The one aspect of Koral's personality that grates on my nerves is a popular YA trend—main characters who have no filter and cannot stop themselves from saying things they know will be taken poorly. So much of the plot thus far has been driven by this main character flaw, which feels a bit lazy to me.

The writing itself is a mixed bag. The descriptions and worldbuilding are solid, with well-written sentences giving the reader the lay of the land. However, it's interspersed with these choppy, short sentences that are supposed to be colloquial but almost pull the reader from the story. That said, it didn't bother me as much as other reviewers.

The excerpt was fun, fast-paced, and hooked me at the end. I look forward to reading the entire book to provide a full review to share with other readers.

The worldbuilding is really perfect, the writing is very very smooth and the plot for now seemed a lot exciting and adventurous to me!
I will definitely read the book!
Thanks to Netgalley for this excerpt.

I was somewhat hooked by this sample and am fairly glad that I got a chance to read the full book. It was a good start, and I urge everyone to stick it out once they get the hang of the writing style.

If you are a fan of the Hunger Games theme, then you will probably like this one a pretty good bit.

I'm sparing spoilers because I feel like that would make you like the book less as you are reading it. It's honestly kind of chaotic, and not in the best of ways. However, I would try to go in with an open mind and understand that the chaos lends to the style of story that we are going for here. If you recall the jumping around that one might expect in action packed movies, this is very similar. It's not one cohesive stream, which for many might be a huge negative. But if you try to lean into that style of writing/reading, it can actually be a fairly enjoyable book.

Thanks for this excerpt! I've been hearing and seeing this book around in the book community, so I was looking forward to reading a bit. I'm not sure if it's just the first few chapters, or if the whole book is like this.. but it's really choppy. MANY super short sentences. Like "I looked around." "Pain in my arms." "Right in my face." (These are actual sentences I grabbed.)

I'm sure some people will love this short fast paced writing.. but it felt a bit off for me. I'm still interested in the story enough though to read the book. But it also sounds like a typical chosen one YA story..

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an excerpt of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
First, the cover is marvelous, and that's what drove me to the book in the first place. Then it was the unique premise. That's why I was so excited to read the first pages. However, I'm not quite sure of what I've just read. I was really excited to read this book, but the first chapters are a bit messy. I hope it is because I don't have all the story, I was confused but it starts off strong, and I was hooked nonetheless.
I am still intrigued as to where the story goes and how.

i had mostly forgotten about this book before seeing some people mention it as one of their anticipated releases of this year, but apprently, ive been waiting for it to release for over a year now!

(this is a review of only the first 6 chapters provided in the sampler but may contain spoilers for those chapters!)

set in a world that is ruled by a system similar to the caste system that was used in south asia, it follows a girl called koral, whose family has been ordered to catch creatures called maristags, which is a very dangerous job.

it starts out with her brother, emrik, and koral going out to the waters to catch a maristag, the last one thats supposed to appear for months and the one that will keep them alive for that time. however, her brother gets injured and since her family cant afford to buy medicine for him and their ill, younger sister, liria, koral decides to join the very dangerous glory races (which no renter, the lower class in this world, has ever done before) and she is determined to win.

the story so far has been pretty good! the writing style is ok and works for me but i can imagine that some readers may find it boring and/or too descriptive at times. i have a love for books that are set near the sea/ocean and this is set in a world that is mostly covered by oceans which is interesting! the worldbuilding has been a little confusing so far but im sure itll start making more sense in the rest of the book. also, the cover is so pretty! there was also a really cool map which was kinda hard to look at on an e-reader but i think itll look amazing on the physical copy. i am excited to see what happens next and will be reading the rest of the story pretty soon!

This book starts off so strong. I was hooked from the first page. The world building seems great so far. I can understand what's happening without too much of an explanation--which is good because then there isn't any info dumping. From the preview, I can tell that this will be a very strong novel full of adventure, emotion, and uniqueness. Again my opinions are just based from the preview and could change once I finish the book when it's out, but this book deserves everything good in the world.

I am glad I read this excerpt and can say I devoured these chapters in less than 30 minutes. Time felt fleeting, and I can definitely see the potential. I wish I had asked for an ARC sooner, but no matter. I am pre-ordering this one!

Pulled in by the cover art and intrigued by the description, I decided to give this excerpt a chance. While I was delighted by the fantastical elements of the story, they get overshadowed by the structural similarities to other books of the genre. The world Berwah is crafting is what really drew me in. The Oceanic setting is incredibly unique to me as a reader and the creatures that populate the pages are enchanting. The maristsags especially caught my interest and I want to learn more about them.
I feel like these elements could really be built on and the story would be much better for it.

However as I mentioned above the storyline is incredibly predictable. The main character possess most of the traits typical of the YA Dystopia heroine: independent, unable to bite her tongue, and bearing the burden of saving her family. I have seen Koral in many other novels under a different name, and while she may come into her own beyond what was given in the excerpt, it was a bit of a letdown to be able to correctly guess exactly what was coming next.

So with all of this in mind, I’d give what I’ve read so far a 3.5, rounded up to 4. I’m curious as to what happens next but worry I’d be able to call every twist and turn.

I only read an excerpt of this book so I didn't know exactly what was going on, but it's easy to read and the synopsis sounds intriguing.

This is a review for the 6 chapter excerpt.

The first six chapters of this have got me so excited to read the book when it comes out! Set in a dystopian world where the population is split into the higher society (Landers) and lower society (Renters). Our protagonist, Koral, is a renter and her family make a living 'as hunters, where they capture and breed ferocious sea animals called Maristags for a chariot race. Times are tough and when her brother is injured, and the last male Maristag escapes, Koral has to make a decision to enter the (probably fatal) chariot race tournament.

This books is shaping up to be fast paced and exciting. It has exciting and dangerous sea creatures (which I love in a book!) and some sort of 'trial' which is also a trope that you can't really go wrong with in my eyes!

I have already pre-ordered this, and will be couniting the days until it comes out!