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.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book!

I have to be honest- I picked this book up entirely for the cover. African/Islander vibes with dragons? YES. I did not read the blurb. I've since stopped doing this because boy have I found some doozies.

Given is the story of Yenni, the princess of a place called the Moonrise Isles. One of the first things we find out about her is that she is a skilled fighter and hunter- and that she is compassionate, as she saves an animal from being hunted by her family.
Yenni is engaged to a man from another island in a political arrangement, and she does NOT want to marry him- she wants to continue to learn rune magic. Her father, the chieftain of the tribe, is very sick and somehow, she convinces her family and the rune leaders to let her travel to mainland Cresh for A YEAR to study at the Academy... and try to figure out how to save him. She thinks this will be easy since she's adept in her island magic- but she's not any good at mainland magic and fails the magic tests, but she's accepted on her fighting prowess alone.
While all of this is going on (in the first 15% of the book mind you) her world is further turned on it's axis with the introduction of dragons, not only dragons, but dragons that shapeshift into human form. One of them, Weysh, claims to be her Given. A Given, he explains, is a fated mate and that she's required to settle down with HIM and give him a baby. Yenni was having none of that.
From there the story progresses as she begins classes and tries to discover a cure for her fathers illness, deal with prejudice the staff and other students feel towards her, and overall grows up.

The Cons:
Weysh is an ALPHA MALE. To the max. My least favorite trope is that of the man who requires the Woman to act and serve as a Woman. In the beginning, he is basically a neanderthal. You will take care of my house and have my baby because you are MINE and I will NOT respect your wishes! He does improve because Yenni actually puts her foot down and tries to get him to realize that he's being an absolute prick... but as soon as he starts to improve Yenni decides she's? In love with him? Yeah no I didn't buy it.

The writing is juvenile. I've read plenty of Wattpad stories that have been decent! This wasn't one of them. It felt like a fanfiction for something else that was just published on a whim.

The characters were so inconsistent! Yenni isn't compassionate at all. Like the choice to not tell her supposed love of her life's step dad there's a way to stop the wither rot? She's running away from one arranged marriage but she's fine with this one?

The synopsis was NOT accurate to what we got when i went back to read the blurb on goodreads. It's definitely not something I would have picked up if I'd known what it was really going to be like. The cover definitely gives off another feeling than what was given in the book. (ha)



Overall, it just wasn't for me. I don't think I'll be reading anything else from this author.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Wattpad Books for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

YENNI AJANI GAVE ME OKOYE VIBES ALL THE WAY!

Ugh I was just so proud of Yenni Ajani and her strength, her determination to save her father, standing up for herself against the people that were low key / high key racist to her in Creshen because of her being from the “Moonlight Isles” as they call it. I mean first they change the name of her kingdom to make it easier for them to pronounce – at least that’s what I’m assuming – the teachers think she’s dumb because she uses runes more than spells for her magic, and like UGH. It just irritates me how racist these people are! But I’m so freaking glad that she calls them out on it and she works so hard to prove that she’s not just some idiot islander.

Whoa okay I wasn’t anticipating ranting in the first paragraph but clearly I had to get that out.

“I am Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba, and you would do well to remember that!”

PUT SOME RESPECK ON HER NAME.

Yes I purposely spelled that wrong because that’s how you say it.

Okay also, I noticed that the book refers to her as Yenni, but she tells people that they should be calling her Yenni Ajani, and even then she feels weird about it because it’s so casual compared to how she is usually referred to back at home, but people butcher her name in Creshen so she had to give them a shorter one I guess. But I thought that was interesting.

Anyway, Yenni Ajani is why I love this book. Sure, Weysh is trying, but I didn’t like how pushy he was about the whole Given thing. Especially because Yenni Ajani doesn’t KNOW about the Given thing, so stop trying to push it on to her! I don’t care that she’s somehow your Given, give her time to process and don’t force her to do something she doesn’t want to do! Damn.

But then I was also sad at how his family – minus his sister – would treat him! Like, hello? That’s your family, despite his dragon. Don’t be so mean to him. I think that endeared me a bit to him, and then when he finally let Yenni Ajani breathe. It took a bit of explaining from his friends, which sucked, but then he respected her space for a bit and that helped me get on his side for a bit.

I need more stories from this world!! I need more books from Taylor! Like, I really enjoyed this one!

The premise of this novel was so intoxicating: a land where people can change into dragon form within a breath. Not only that, but a school exists where students can learn both in human and dragon form. What is interesting is that students also learn spells and runes.

The story changes perspectives between Yenni and Weysh. Yenni is a princess who excels in the art of rune making. Weysh is a dragon/human. Givens are a dragon and a person or dragon destined for each other. Normally, people would die for the opportunity to be someone’s Given, however, that isn’t Yenni. All she cares about is learning healing runes to help her sick father. Of course the last person she wants to see is the only one who can help her.

"I promise you this: I will do my best to listen to you and take your needs and concerns to heart. I will respect you and cherish you as no other man will."

I thought there was so much more that could’ve come from this concept. The love between Yenni and Weysh wasn’t really believable for me. It happened too fast and went from hate to love all of a sudden. I know you can’t help who you fall in love with, but then don’t make promises you can’t keep. I wanted more action and thought something more was going to come. The wait for a big fight was real…but then it didn’t come.

"I will never give up on you. And if you choose to leave, I’ll be waiting until my dying breath for you to return."

Readers would enjoy this because of the world-building. The descriptions of Yenni’s family made me feel like I knew them and the geography made me feel like I was in a Harry Potter movie. After reading the end of the novel, there is potential for this to become a series.

Given is a story of diversity, adversity, and how love overcomes all.

I was given an ARC of given from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Who's this book best for? Readers looking for a strong heroine, battles against sexism, enemies to lover, shapeshifter magic, magical schools, adventure, and diverse cast and culture.

Yenni from page one has such a personality she feels as real as the pages in your hand (or the e-reader). The world and the family around Yenni is just as real, which makes the external and internal conflicts true struggles to be invested in. It was a page turner that honestly the synopsis didn't do justice. I'm very excited this book is out in the world!

This was such a different story than I was expecting based off the synopsis. I feel lied to.

We meet Yenni on her home island about a day before she is to depart for Cresh, and it feels like we get this peek of her island home just to introduce her sick father and potential arranged marriage partner. Because honestly, those two things are constantly referenced throughout the book and we rarely hear about her culture, home life, and traditions. Not to mention the book fails to fully incorporate the racism and struggle Yenni must have (or should have) faced (considering her Island has not been in contact with Cresh for hundreds of years) in such a new environment.

After leaving home she goes to a school and thus begins pages and pages of learning about other magic and combat techniques. And we get drama (of the romantic sort) and a very predictable threat (which of course Yenni did not discover until near the end despite how obvious the culprit is), and of course her Rune magic. But otherwise, this story lacks the reality of the struggle and problematic encounters that some would face in real life, which makes it hard to connect with the characters and to feel fully immersed in the story.

I also did not enjoy the romance. It was there, and I did not hate it. But I did not love it. Yenni refuses to even listen to Weysh during their first few encounters, and afterwards she constantly belittles his feelings and doesn't seem to care that she may be hurting him. Weysh on the other hand starts off as a possessive brute (We WILL get married! Why you will do your womanly duties as my wife, of course! We are Given, you are mine!), and eventually realizes his behavior and becomes more of a passive 'I will do as you say' character. He stays by her side and forgives her even after the countless times she has rejected and hurt him. I did not like them together. It felt like the only reason they even ended up together was because they were Given. Though thankfully, it was not insta love since Yenni fought him for so long.

Other than the romance, the school setting, and the threat on her life, this story fails to really provide an insight into any traditions, culture, discrimination, and culture shock. There are also inconsistencies that bother me. Such as the fact that Yenni never had the thought to help her Given's stepfather after she found a temporary cure. Especially since she is portrayed as a compassionate, selfless, kind Princess who does all she can to help those around her.

Overall, this was somewhat disappointing. I would never have picked it up if the synopsis had been more honest.

I am beyond hesitant to call a book perfect but holy crap. Givenis absolutely perfect.

The world buidling is absolutely amazing.

The character development is top notch.

The relationships were defined and healthy.

The topics discussed were important, current and put into the story seamlessly.

Yenni, the princess to Yirba, goes to Cresh on a holy mission hoping to save her family with what she learns. On her first day there, she meets her Given, Weysh. A dragon.

Givens are dragons’ soul mates. Their first meeting is rocky but as the sequence of events forces them closer together, their relationship turns from threatening each other to helping each other and I absolutely loved it. Yenni also made it her mission to educate some of the population of Cresh on her island kingdom. She faced a type of racism, classism, and sexism throughout the entire book and how she combated that makes her an ICON. She never shoved her way of thinking or living in anybody’s face, something that was done to her plenty of times. She just gently corrected them.

For the most part, LOL. Bottom line, stop reading this and go read Given.

I did not receive the email in time to download my copy, due to inclement weather. Thank you for considering me anyway.

A solid story. It didn't disappoint. A solid 4/5 stars. The character development was well done. The world building was a little lacking for me, but I still enjoyed the story.

Given is the first book in a new YA series by Nandi Taylor. Released 21st Jan 2020 by Wattpad, it's 352 pages and available in hardback, paperback and ebook formats.

This is a coming of age dragon romance with a young female protagonist who is a person of color. She's being sent to another culture for a year long exchange and hopefully to find a cure for a wasting sickness which has struck her father the chieftain of her people.

There were a lot of things to like about this book. The author is an adept storyteller and the background magic systems and world building are compelling and original. I liked that the main character was a minority, that she was fairly intelligent and ethical, and that she was represented as strong and independent.

My reservations with the book are things which potentially will be in the plus column for many readers. A large portion of the plot revolves around her being 'given' (bonded) to the dragon shifter she's literally just met. It's not insta-love, she doesn't just capitulate at once, which is good, but the romance subplot which might well be a plus for romance fans, found me rolling my jaded eyes at several points. I was surprised there wasn't any overt racism or condescension/colonialism from the other characters, since she's a new arrival from a culture/ethnicity which her hosts, the Cresh, haven't seen for centuries.

All in all, it's a well written YA fantasy with a strong romance subplot and female protagonist.

Four stars, it'll be interesting to read what comes next.

THIS WAS SO GOOD THAT I HAVE TO START THIS REVIEW IN CAPS. The author delivers a rapid-paced, suspenseful, gripping, well-written and perfectly executed fantasy. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time that I ended up staying awake until 2am to finish it!

I can’t highly recommend this book enough!

This book was received as an ARC from Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was totally captivated by this story and the well-executed concept. Yenni as the warrior princess is on a mission to find a cure for her father'said illness even when she is trapped on Empire of Cresh but nobody told her that the empire was guarded by dragons. One black- violet dragon Weysh who morphs into human form very muscular and truly looks like the ultimate warrior. Yeni and Weysh develop a bond of trust for one another and she has strong feelings but she battles between a dragon and whether or not Weysh can help her and be the answer she is looking for. I know our young readers will go crazy for this book. This book also had so many interesting references that this could potentially be a future Battle of the Books choice.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

A fantasy with lots of heart. It’s not perfect— the coincidences and “just in the nick of time” moments are plentiful, and there’s a good amount of telling through dialogue where there could have been showing— but teen fantasy lovers will eat this up. I’m looking forward to seeing what Nandi Taylor does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the digital ARC.

I received a complimentary copy of Given by Nandi Taylor from Wattpad Books through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Given was released on January 21st!
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Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba leaves home for a year, hoping to find a cure for the mysterious illness plaguing her father. With her father sick, the Yirba are at risk from other tribes in the Moonrise Iles. She leaves knowing that, as a princess of her tribe, when she returns she will probably have to marry Prince Natahi from the Gunzu tribe to strengthen the Yirba's position. When Yenni arrives at Prevan Academy in Cresh, she expects to study healing magic and focus on finding a cure for her father. She doesn't expect to be followed around by an arrogant and off-putting dragon named Weysh who claims she is his Given and, therefore, meant to be his mate.
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This book was a fun read for me! I loved the rune magic and wish we could have seen more of the Moonrise Iles. The concept of Given reminded me a lot of the lifebond concept in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books. The idea of dragons who can switch between human and dragon form was fun as well! Overall, I found this to be a satisfying read. I was sometimes a little annoyed with Yenni and Weysh, but I couldn't stop reading. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!

Well, at least the cover is gorgeous. First off, I’m still puzzling over how the blurb calls this a “subversive fantasy-romance” when honestly it’s pretty much exactly like every other enemies-to-lovers fated mates romance out there. At best, it suggests an unfamiliarity with either genre that explains a lot about this book.

“Well, because I am a woman who enjoys hunting, and learning about runes, and learning about combat, people act as if I am strange and unnatural.”
“Hmm,” Diedre and Zui said as one.
“But it was once very common for women to do these things. You know what I think? I think it is everyone else who is unnatural.”


Yenni yearns for more freedom. As a princess, she’s expected to marry the prince of a neighboring tribe, and he expects her to give up her “unfeminine” activities – hunting, weapons practice, and runelore, the magic practiced by the people of the Sha islands. So, she undertakes a journey, sanctioned by the gods, to the empire of Cresh in hopes of finding a cure for her father’s sickness. Enrolling at a prestigious Creshen university to learn more about their magic may be the only way to save him, but navigating Creshen culture and prejudice is an almost insurmountable obstacle she hadn’t expected – as is the interest from one very pushy dragon.

I liked Yenni. She’s strong, regal, and not afraid to work hard for what she wants. However, she was painfully oblivious to those who meant her harm, both unintentionally and intentionally. There’s a lot of racism directed at her, but Yenni doesn’t understand why they’re treating her differently – for instance, a classmate asks to touch her hair and then is startled when Yenni asks to touch hers back. It’s 90% through the book before Yenni starts really calling people on the racism – and that’s after she’s revealed as a princess. Most of it’s of the overt variety, rather than microaggressions, and the actions and Yenni’s failure to engage with it made the book read much younger than I expected. One thing that sat uncomfortably with me involved names. Yenni insists on being addressed as “Yenni Ajani” because, in Sha culture, it’s rude to only call someone by their first name unless they’re very close. However, because one-syllable names are only for gods in her culture, Yenni changes her friends’ Creshen names – Harth becomes Har-tha and Weysh becomes Wey-sha – without their input. It was a minor thing, but I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just explain to them why it bothered her and come up with nicknames together.

Weysh furrowed his brow, confused. “So I should simply leave her be?”
“If that’s what she wants.”
“But why? How would that endear me to her?”
Zui threw a quick, fond glance at Harth. “Because respecting a woman’s wishes is one of the most seductive things a man can do.” Weysh shook his head. It seemed incredibly counterproductive, but everything else he’d tried so far had been nothing short of disaster.


And then there’s Weysh. Frankly, he’s awful. His main fault is that he’s painfully honest – blunt to the point of rudeness, and past that. It’s telling that Yenni finds him “less beastly as a beast.” Frankly, he’s awful to pretty much everyone around him. Somehow, though, all of his friends tell Yenni that he’s hardworking, responsible, good with women – but we never actually see that in the book, we’re only told about it. Even during Yenni’s darkest moments, when she goes to him for comfort, he automatically turns the conversation back to himself – obviously, it’s his fault that she’s having problems because he didn’t take proper care of her! It’s only after Weysh is left partially disabled – unable to smell, which is a big deal for a dragon – that he realizes how badly he’s been treating Yenni.

So, what did I like? I loved the magic systems, both the Sha runelore and the Creshen magic. I would happily have read more about Uhad’s 67 laws of casting or why all their incantations need to have “source” in them, but unfortunately the surface is just barely scraped. Runelore, with its hymns and patterns in special paint, was equally fascinating and I loved all the parts involving Yenni explaining it or using it. Disappointingly, while Weysh realizes almost right away that runes would allow him to work magic in dragon form – Creshen magic relies on spoken triggers, and dragons can’t speak – they don’t get around to trying it out until three-quarters of the way through the book.

This is the first in a series, so the book ends without much of the plot points being resolved, leaving the ending a bit jumbled. Overall, this isn’t a badly written book, but it felt like it needed tighter editing to figure out what story is being told. Is it about Yenni’s quest to find a cure for her father’s illness? Her relationship with Weysh? Her adventures in Cresh at the university? I was never quite sure. I think this would work for for middle-grade readers, but it’s a bit light for the YA audience.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

Content Warning: Attempted murder, Violence, Sexism, Prejudice, Discussion of a past Rape, Mugging

"Magic belongs to everyone, Yenni Ajani. Rich and poor. Islander or Creshen."

Yenni, a Princess to the Yirba tribe, has grown up on the Moonrise Isles. Privy to the lifestyle a princess, she understands that the role she has is significant, and demands responsibility. Thus, marriage to a neighboring tribe may be her calling in order to bring her tribe peace with another alliance. Yenni's father, and chief of the Yurbi tribe, however, has fallen ill with a wasting disease. Healers have been trying to keep his illness at bay with the use of Rune magic, to little avail.

Rune magic is a sacred and powerful tradition among the clans that inhabit the Isles, and practiced regularly. Specific runes are passed down from generation to generation, and some, are rarely shared in order to keep their purposes secret. Runes, and many other practices are very different from the world that Yenni must travel to.

"Orire N'jem is a sacred journey, undertaken to honor the Sha—our gods. I must complete the task they assign, and in return my tribe will receive their blessing."

Yenni decides to travel to the land of Cresh in order to study and learn how to help her father. Afflicted with Wither-rot, the tribe's chief is declining rapidly in his health, and Yenni may be his only hope. Upon arrival, Yenni is struck by the completely different world she has landed in. People of all different colors (literally) and origins converge in a city of knowledge. Not only that, but dragons still exist on Cresh—they were killed off over three hundred years ago on the isles. After a strange encounter with one, Yenni learns that she is a Given—a predestined mate to a dragon/human. This turn of events is exactly the distraction that she doesn't need, not to mention with the off-putting man who claims she is his future betrothed.

Weysh, born of the dragonkind, has always been sought out by women. With good looks, charm, and the ability to turn into a dragon, he's utterly irresistible, or so he thinks. When he meets his Given, Yenni, he's shocked that she doesn't bow to the expectations that she's to be his romantic conquest. Puzzled by Yenni's refusal, Weysh endures a painstaking journey to win her favor, with a little humility, and ultimately, some common sense.

Yenni enrolls in the school in Cresh that teaches about magic. This magic, however, is nothing like the "primitive," as Creshians call it, Rune magic she is accustomed to. Through a series of events, it turns out that her only hope in passing her classes and staying enrolled is to be tutored by Weysh.

Through many up's and down's, Yenni begins to learn her way around this new magic, and Weysh, learns how to act appropriately around Yenni. Inevitably, the two learn more about one another, particularly their cultures and customs, and are able to bridge the chasm between them. The problem begs to differ, how will it all end?

Given is a story packed full of original mythology, magic, and world-building. Lands with very different stories are developed well (visually, not so much.) Religion and mythology exist in both the mainland and the Isles, as well as customs, traditions, specifically represented in magic. Weysh, one of few dragonkind, is said to be descendants of the sacred warriors of their god, Byen. Unlike his predecessors, he has the ability to shift between human and dragon form, whereas the original dragons didn't have a human form.

Weysh's character is like chewing on a tough piece of jerky—unpleasant, and off-putting. When he first shows up on the scene, he has no idea that a woman has her own will. He has no concept that even though Yenni is his Given, she still has a free will. Yenni, a princess (although, this is kept secret for most of the story) and warrior, is incredibly driven and has no interest in being his Given because 1) she doesn't know him, and 2) he's incredibly demeaning.

Entitlement is represented in almost every character in some way or another. Everyone wants something, without understanding the full meaning of what it takes to get that, and the sacrifice others must make. I think this story does a good job and creating opportunities for growth in each character and learning empathy. My main issue is that the plot moves very slowly. It allows time for the characters to grow towards one another—which I'm not complaining about. To be honest, it took me a long time to look positively upon these characters. Furthermore, the events that take place aren't incredibly pivotal. I appreciated the way the cultures were built in this diverse read, but the characters themselves didn't impact me on a deep level.

Vulgarity: Minimal
Sexual content: See above content warning.
Violence: Moderate

My Rating: ★★★