When I first read the blurb for this title, I knew that I had to check it out.

It did NOT disappoint.

GIVEN is inventive and original. Nandi Taylor's prose and worldbuilding are so spellbinding, so magical, that the story just hooks you in and doesn't let you go. Plus -- you can't ever go wrong with dragons!! ESPECIALLY when tackling them in such an innovative way... I mean, a dragon love interest? SO. COOL.

The setting is incredibly immersive, the main character (Yenni) is strong, ambitious and SO fierce, and the lore is incredibly interesting -- I can't wait to read more of what Nandi Taylor has to offer!

Nothing can go wrong when you have dragons in a story and this book proves that. A romance that keeps you spellbound and cultural exploration that leaves you with more to understand and grasp, this fantasy can be a favorite for many.

This epic tale of dragons and magic is such a page turner I wound up reading straight through the night.

Dealing with topics of racial and cultural differences this story has taken a fairly unique approach to the typical starcrossed lovers tale.

Building an unique and complex world where dragons can live amongst humans, this narrative is relatively easy to follow with an unique approach to dialects and pronounciations.

Strong themes of friendship and trust had me anticipating quite a different storyline and I am happy to say I was not disappointed.

I absolutely love the strong, unapologetic fierceness of the female characters and the change they bring to the world.

This was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year

Unable to read as the "Send to Kindle" feature malfunctioned.

Interested enough that I plan to buy the book

What a <em>disappointment</em>. I couldn't get through <em>Given</em> by Nandi Taylor. It honestly kind of pained me to realize that this novel was going to be a DNF for me, but at about <b>47%</b> I just couldn't take it anymore. To put it bluntly, if you're looking for a novel with flat supporting characters, excessive info-dumping, the author telling <em>you how to feel</em> about the characters yet showing nothing to validate those supposed feelings, and one of the worst ways to write pre-destined / fated relationships by having a male character ignore the rules of consent, well then, by all means, look to Taylor's <em>Given</em>.

For me, this book was <em>super</em> cringy.

I <em>really </em>wanted to like this book. It has an absolutely gorgeous cover and began with one of the best introductions to a world that I've gotten from a book in a long time. I was immediately entranced by the creatures, the rune-lore, the magic, and the people. It was a place I wanted to learn <em>so much more </em>about. The story seemed meant to immerse readers in a new culture and simultaneously allow for commentary on race. Instead of expanding upon these things, though, the majority of it was all tossed out to the side in favor of the main character traveling to a more "westernized," for lack of a better term, nation to learn about <em>their</em> magic and culture. Oh, and to fall in love. Obviously.

<b>Ugh.</b>

Perhaps one of the most egregious thing Taylor does with her novel is to <em>tell </em>her readers who the characters are and what they are like. We are told that the main character, Yenni Anaji, the daughter of the chief of her tribe is an intelligent, caring, and strong warrior. Yet, often I feel like we get little to actually <em>show</em> us these aspects of her character. Instead of caring, she was whiny. Instead of intelligent, she was ignorant and privileged.

We are <em>told</em> that the love interest--gag me--is amazing, considerate, immensely loved and desired by those around him, and treats <em>all</em> women exceptionally well. Yet, all of that is blown to smithereens as Weysh, the dragon, not only <em>assaults</em> Yenni Anaji upon meeting her but even <em>after</em> she makes it very clear she wants nothing to do with his romantic advances <em>he continues them</em>. Rather than doing the <em>bare minimum</em> of <em>learning her name</em>, Weysh insists that she is is "Given," or soulmate, proposes marriage, informs her she will have his child, and snatches her off the ground to fly her off all <em>entirely without her consent</em>.

As if that wasn't <em>bad enough</em>, but even his friends tell him he needs to back off. They do this, mind, not because they think his actions are abhorrent and wrong, but rather because <em>respecting wishes </em>is apparently <em>seductive</em>? And what does resident ignorer of consent Weysh do with this helpful information? He implies he thinks doing so would be <em>dumb</em> because he supposedly <em>deserves</em> her and she's supposed to <em>belong</em> to him because it's how <em>destiny</em> has always worked for dragons. He is also just so condescending toward Yenni Anaji that I found him utterly irredeemable as a person, let alone a love interest.

This guy is <i>so</i> <b>toxic</b>.

I lost track of how many times I <em>cringed</em> while reading this.

Honestly, I couldn't tell you whether the supporting characters ever had a chance to be decent as I don't get enough time with any of them to determine that. Unless they are somehow leading something along for the main two, they're basically non-existent. The worst example of this I have comes in the form of Weysh's girlfriend, with whom he breaks up almost immediately after meeting Yenni Anaji, kind of completely contradicting this idea that he's such a <em>great guy to women </em>that the author posited to us.

Oh, but don't forget that she's still there to tell Yenni Anaji how <em>amazing</em> Weysh is. Nevermind that he stomped all over her heart without any care. Of course, her only purpose would be to convince the woman her ex assaulted the very second he first <em>smelled</em> her that he's actually worth being with.

<strong>OKAY.</strong>

Just a word of advice to anyone looking to write "destined to be" romances: don't do it this way. It's gross, it's cringy, and it's super problematic. Consent is an extremely important aspect of a relationship, I don't care how "<em>destined</em>" it is. If you ignore consent, if you let your characters ignore consent, it's a serious problem.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

I have tried to get into this story for almost a month but unfortunately I can't. Really liked the first few chapters but I have lost interest since. It's an interesting premise but not much is happening at the moment and I am going to call it a day.
If you like magic and dragons give it a shot as you might have a better experience than me

5/5 absolutely loved the story line for this book would definitely read more from this author as I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the characters !!

Thank you netgally for this arc to review. I was so conflicted about this book. I was totally hooked by the description and this wonderful background story. The world building was A++ I felt like I was immersed in this world and with the characters. I loved the HP feel this book has as well. I love Yenni as a stand alone character, she is fierce, strong, determined, and kick ass. Where this fell flat was the male protagonist, Weysh. I hated the insta love troupe. I felt like his presence and her ultimate reciprocation of his feelings finishes her character. He was kind of a chauvinistic pig and she still fell for it. Other than that great overall story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When Yeni’s father gets sick she has to travel to a neighboring empire and try to find a cure, but once she gets there she finds something completely different... I think that Given was just not for me. I did like the fact that there was a boarding school type element but multiple of the tropes that were included and just the genral premise of the book wasn’t intriguing... I didn’t like the love interest at all, and our main character is annoying. I DNFed the book because I just couldn’t get trough it. I really wanted to love it but things didn’t work out...

Thank you to NetGalley, Nandi Taylor, and Wattpad Books for the opportunity to read Given in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, I love dragons. I feel like it can be a bit of a challenge to find a young adult dragon romance book that I can really enjoy. I love the style of the book cover and it's the visual dynamic between the girl (Yenni) and the Dragon (Weysh) that drew me in. Though once I read the description, I was instantly sold.

Not only do I love books about dragons, but I love it when it's about dragons who can turn into humans (hence the romance).

Yenni is from an island clan of people. As a princess, she is able to take a year of experience away from the islands and chooses to go to Prevan Academy for Battle and Magical Arts in Cresh,  an empire on the other side of the world. Yenni hopes that her new knowledge and experiences will bring her a way to praise the gods and find protection for her people (and hopefully a cure for her ill father within that experience).

Upon arrival to Cresh, a black dragon lands in front of her, sniffing and tasting her. She feels attacked, as one who has never seen a dragon before, but passersby take the action in stride. It's a norm there.

Weysh is a dragon. Dragons, sometime in their lifetime (generally before the age of thirty), have an imprinting bond called a Given, basically the one that is their soul mate. Weysh knows without a doubt that Yenni is his given. While those around him, including his family and girlfriend, understand the inclination of finding one's Given, Yenni does not know about this cultural phenomenon and fights the dragon at every turn. I mean, she is a warrior after all...

When Yenni's culture clashes with the practices of Cresh, she is unsure if she should stay. but the deal with her deity is to finish a year of school and return to the Moonlight Islands with knowledge to help her people strive. Though upon her return, she is to be married to another. Weysh believes Yenni will come around. She is his Given, so she must return his feelings eventually, right?

So is it the YA dragon romance I have been waiting for? Not exactly, but it's still an enjoyable read. It felt like it might be a stand-alone, which I was hoping for, but it looks like there will probably be a continuation to the series. Will I keep going? More likely than not! Between dragon rivalries, royal politics, and seeking honest knowledge, this book has a flavorful feel of adventure and flare, with enjoyable dialogue and captivating cultural elements. I will definitely be suggesting this book to the dragon-living teens I know.

Immersive and beautifully descriptive fantasy novel with a rich storyline full of adventure, high-stakes and dragon shifters! Add to this the incredibly diverse cast with a strong, Black girl at the forefront (and on the cover!) and you've got a book you want to share with girls and boys everywhere.

I admired Yennis loyalty to her family and the courage it took to leave everything she knew behind to travel to an unfamiliar country on her own. I found myself connecting to many aspects of her character. Her fierce and confident personality had her standing firm in her beliefs even when it was difficult, but she sometimes took it too far by being stubborn to the point of wallowing in denial. She fought her feelings for Weysh so hard, but I dont blame her for wanting to do her duty as a princess. I thought it was sweet how she first started warming up to Weyshs dragon form while still not being able to stand the man. She definitely liked him more when he couldnt talk, and to be honest I probably would have too. His oblivious attempts at courting were hilarious, but it was him owning up to his disregard of her wants and needs that truly endeared him to me. They both ended up getting some satisfying character growth.

I had to suspend my disbelief a little when it came to Weysh not knowing how to properly interact with a woman, especially considering his track record of hooking up with plenty of them. I'm happy we got the first few chapters to get to know Yennis family. Her bond with her parents and her siblings was really heartwarming. I also really enjoyed Weyshs relationship with his mother and sister. Then we have the amazing friendship between Yenni and a fellow student named Diedre, but I was a little sad Yenni didnt pick up on any of Diedre clues that she was clearly into women. Yenni also made friends with two other dragons named Harth and Zu. The cute couple were old friends of Weysh so they were a good buffer between them. What didnt work however was Yenni having Weysh ex-girlfriend as a tutor and making promises she shouldn't have.

The plot starts off with Yenni going to study magic abroad in the hopes of finding a for her ailing father. Beside being worried for her father, theres also the threat of war looming. If her fathers illness is perceived as enough of a weakness another tribe might try to attack and gain power. Yenni is stuck between a political marriage to form an alliance that will strengthen her tribe or following her heart. Her struggle to deciding what to do created some compelling stakes. The dymanic between the main characters made the romantic plot line very entertaining. Then theres a few antagonists thrown into the mix, like Noriago who has it out for Weysh for no good reason. All that tension made for an engaging pace. Theres also the suspicious circumstances surrounding Yennis fathers illness that added a compelling mystery to the story.

Despite the heavy focus on romance, we still get a well developped fantasy world. I found the exploration of cultural differences between Yenni and Weyshs home very captivating. We also get two well thoughtout magic systems. Runelore consist of painting runes on the skin while singing a hymn that infuses it with divine power. Spellcraft on the other hand is more focused on incantations that need focused intention for the magic to respond. I loved the fascinating magical creatures like Yennis sphinx Ofa so much that I wish we got to see more of them. The shapeshifting dragons were awesome, but it was weird how Yenni would guess what Weyshs was saying when grunting in dragon form. I really enjoyed the school setting and seeing Yenni navigate a new city. I would definitely pick up a sequel if one comes out.

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This may just one of the hardest reviews I have ever written. There was a lot of thought I needed to put into writing what I felt, because there were many mangled thoughts and emotions and often they overlapped and I'm still unsure if I will do a good job. This review might be mildly spoiler-y, do not read if you haven't read Given. It's probably going to be long, put up with me. <3

I've a bit of a soft spot for any Wattpad Novel and I often pounce on request anything that Wattpad publishes. There are very many amazing authors out there and Wattpad gives voice to them and I'll forever love them for that. Given by Nandi Taylor was a book I was very excited for and I was super super thrilled to begin reading it. 

There are many aspects to Given that are very lovely. All the culture that we get to see and especially the deep thought that has clearly gone into the different practices, runes, rules and unique customs of the tribes and people. The absolute confidence with which all these details were laid out had me very impressed and kept me interested in the book. However, it felt to me as if because we don't get any introduction to any of this I didn't get to fully enjoy them or feel the depth with which the meaning of each ritual/custom was practiced. 

Another aspect of this book, of course that was eventually something I truly began to enjoy, was how the idea of consent was handled. Even consent to be pursued. The ideology of fated lovers has a certain ... set of ideas it comes with--even for a reader. This book questions all those ideas and works on actually creating a relationship between the protagonists. A lot of the questions that are thrown at the male lead are those that we often would ask in reality, but never question when we read in a book. And of course, the questions the heroine asks (metaphorically) are hard questions to society on the so-called gender roles that everyone is made to be trapped in. 

I do feel that the author naturally writes a healthy relationship, because it was then when I really fell into the writing. I did feel the parts where the hero was behaving all caveman, was a little stilted. I would've preferred that the relationship was healthy from the start, simply because the message would've come across beautifully without feeling the minor discordant tune of being shown how-one-shouldn't-be-in-a-relationship. Despite that, the growth of their relationship was lovely and healthy and I did enjoy seeing it blossom into what it was. 

It did take a bit to get used to the heroine, given her rigidity to change of customs in the beginning and how she may come off as unbending. However, as the story progresses, there are a lot of changes that take place in Yenni as well and even if there are things she ought to have done/realized earlier, she does eventually, as best as she can.

There were many sudden incidents where things come together/fall apart and this happens many times--be it miracles immediately after a prayer, or an issue fizzling away or what felt like unexplained grudges that suddenly came to an end or just exploded--which felt a little unbelievable after the first two times. 

Three point five stars.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

my rating: 2.0 stars

Given follows Yenni, the princess of the Moonrise Islands, as she goes to school in Cresh as part of a ritual journey before she becomes queen. During her time in Cresh, she desperately tries to find a cure for her ill father. This being her main motivation throughout the story. While at Cresh, she meets Weysh, a dragon kind, and finds out she is his "Given," in other words, mate.

I desperately wanted to like this story. The premise was good and it could have played out well if it wasn't ruined by the male protagonist. I felt Weysh, the main male protaganist, was needy, annoying and unnecessary. The romance was based on insta-love (which I did not like) causing Weysh to spend the entire story pining after Yenni and making statements of love during every interaction. The author then made the mistake of Yenni being reluctant at first, instantly changing her mind and being all in after 5 pages. After their acceptance of each other, Weysh and Yenni had a high school type relationship which I found annoying being that they are suppose to be new adults. This shut the door on the romance for me. I found it immature and annoying.

The story descriptors were amazing and this is one of the reason I held on to the end of the book. The world building was average which I was ok with and was obviously inspired by Harry Potter and the idea of a magical school. The secondary characters added to the story well and played necessary parts in the plot. Yenni, as a female protagonist was a strong female lead and moved the plot along well.

However, there were some things in the plot I did not like. First, the addition of Noriago as a villain was unnecessary. It was unclear throughout the entire story why he hated Weysh. It felt like the author unnecessarily added him because she needed to cause issues for Weysh. Also, the storyline was flat. There was no clear build-up, climax, and the ending did nothing beside make it clear that Weysh and Yenni might figure things out. There was more that needed to be added to leave the reader satisfied.

Overall, I would not recommend this story to another reader and I will not read it again.

Abandoned 100 pages in. Things were moving too slowly, the focus was very heavy on the romance when I wasn't expecting it, and when I put it down, I had no desire whatsoever to pick it back up. I'd rather just quit now and say this much than punish myself by finishing the book and writing a bad review for something that simply wasn't what was marketed to me.

This is the first time I've said this in nearly ten years of reviewing books, but Given reads less like YA fantasy and more like new adult or straight-up adult fantasy romance despite the main characters being eighteen and twenty. Their life experiences, goals, and the way they're written (for instance, Weysh immediately thinking about marriage and children when he's only just met Yenni) just doesn't read like YA. I even double-checked the book's catalog listing on Edelweiss and yep, this is categorized as YA fantasy. Miscategorized, in my opinion.

I received an electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

4/5

Given by Nandi Taylor is like if you took Harry Potter but put them in college. It even also deals with issues like racism and class structure.
Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba is - yup, with a name like that, you guessed it - a Princess of her island tribe kingdom. Sickness is threatening her father’s life and with the blessing of her gods, Yenni embarks on a 1 year journey that takes her to Cresh. More specifically to the post-secondary magic school in which Yenni hopes to learn of the Creshan healing magic. She’s ready to spend her year studying diligently until a man, who also happens to be a dragon, claims that she is her Given.

I’ll be honest, I don’t think it was ever explained what the cultural context or history of what a Given is? Or if it did, I didn’t remember it, or it wasn’t that important, which kind of defeats the purpose of the title of the book...

This book was soooooo... “college-y” for lack of a better word. I honestly had no problem with it; I really quite enjoyed the whole college aspect. It was fun and relatable. That and the characters is the reason that I’m giving this book 4 stars instead of 3. But it focused so much so on the college aspect it really lost its appeal of being a high fantasy book. It honestly felt like college was the main quest (it was kinda supposed to be, I guess?) with all the magical adventure parts coming in as side-quests. I came into this book expecting way more fantasy than I got. If none of the “bad stuff” happened (conveniently during school breaks, might I add) I feel as though nothing would have been lost from the novel anyway. The action aspect of the book just did. not. matter. This was a book about school.

Let’s move on to characters. I thought most everyone was adorably, stupidly cute (I mean this in the best way possible.) Everyone was just so quippy and casual and not afraid to say what’s on their mind. For the most part Yenni was a focused, smart, hard-working girl. She was wary of all the new people and yet very adapting and accommodating. She would comment in her thoughts about the mildly racist things, but wouldn’t speak about them though which I thought she would do. Basically nobody said her name right, but she didn’t care? I liked her a lot until the become so “gushy” (because you know why).

I’ll stop here, even though I could say more because there’s a lot more to talk about. But I do recommend picking up this book if you want a not-so-heavy fantasy book. The beginning of the book is a little overwhelming with all the lore and introduction of their type of magic, but a couple of chapters in and you’ll be reading a fun, amusing story about magic college.

I unfortunately DNF at 66%. I was excited about the half man-half dragon character, Weysh, before reading but soon realized he is kind of a jerk. He thought that because in his culture they have something called Given (soul mates), he was somehow entitled to the MC Yenni-Ajani even though her culture has no such thing. He was so certain this woman would give in to his "charm" and become a housewife and bear his child. It just really turned me off to his character and in turn, made me really not care to know how the story ended. The synopsis claimed there would be a grand adventure fighting magic and dragons and racism all while feverishly trying to find a cure for her ailing father. Instead we end up with forced romance at a magic school. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with this arc.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There is something about this book that just grabs you. Yenni's character is so compelling that you just have to know what happens. The world building was amazing. I really enjoyed how much Nandi Taylor put into this novel. I love a good enemies to lovers trope!

This book was a good debut of a new author. It had signs of this being a debut story as in some parts that story was unpolished and rough around the edges.
The description of this story I find not accurate in some parts as its misleading in some parts. There are some things I had not expected from the blurb like the school part/vibe and lots of growing romance parts.
I really liked the world-building and how this story was developing in that matter. It made this read really intriguing how two completely different cultures had clashed.
I think with better blurb this book would be rated much better!
I wonder what Ms. Taylor would write next!

I loved Given so damn much, it’s all so…*perfect* that I just kinda want to throw up the 5 stars and call it a day.

Man Kissing Hand In Perfection Gesture

Yenni is driven and clever. She’s a warrior, mage, and a scholar. Her father is sick and she is going to get to the bottom of this. She’s a princess that’s going to be promised to another that she’s not hot over, but whatever, she always does her duty.

Weysh is dragonkind with fa-mily issues and a…girlfriend? What? Until he gets his first sniff of Yenni. He’s in his last year at the top warrior/mage college in Cresh. He’s got a plan and a chip on his shoulder as an untethered dragon. But everything changes as his typical MO fails to sway Yenni and he’s gotta shape up.

She makes A-MAZING friends. One of which is a lesbian! One is Asian. Several of which are dragons.

He’s got a couple dragon friends. One nemesis. And an ADORABLE little sister.

She learns a lot of Creshen magic. He learns her runelore. They go flying and exploring and dining together.

What more could you goddamn ask for?!?!

Oh yeah.

MORE.