I was given an advance reader copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This was a pretty interesting story about a world where magic is prevalent. However, there are different types of magic! When Yenni, a tough magic weilding princess, goes on a sort of year long religious quest to learn new forms of magic at a prestigious school far from home in the hopes of finding a cure for her father's mysterious illness. There she meets a dragon who claims she is his Given (soul mate)! Of course there is conflict, between her and him, between her and teachers, between him and his rival, between her and some mysterious person(s?) trying to kill her.
Overall I enjoyed the story and am sad that it isn't even released yet (publishing 21 January), because I do want to find out what happens next!!
I did have some issue with some of the dialogue. It felt stilted at times. Not realistic. I couldn't quite tell if it was supposed to be the style of this world's language (supposedly West African/Caribbean feel) or if it was simply the inexperience of the author.
Overall I did enjoy it, and if you enjoy YA, fantasy type stories, you may enjoy it too!
#CurlyBookReview #2020Reads #ARCReading #Given #NetGalley

Yenni Ajani, the chieftains daughter, has never travelled off her Island. But with her father becoming sick and their healers having no idea of the cause Yenni knows she has to be strong and travel alone to Cresh to learn all she can about the disease plaguing her father. But nobody warned her that in Cresh Dragons still exist, and certainly nobody warned her about the concept of a Given. When Weysh her supposed 'Given' practically claims her it takes all of Yenni's strength not to kill him on the spot. However, as they get to know each other Yenni realises that Weysh might be her best hope to finding answers about the disease. But with them spending time together feelings begin to develop and Yenni must decide between what's best for her people and what her heart wants.

Yenni Ajani is a headstrong character, not afraid to speak her mind and back on the Moonrise Isle's people listen. The only problem is the Creshans see the islanders as 'less' and almost archaic in their ways. Seeing her overcome these trials and tribulations made for an intriguing read, and I loved that she never faltered in her beliefs. She is though, a young girl, and with that comes all the romance, hurt feelings and the feeling of not really belonging. I really enjoyed following her journey. Weysh was a character I truly disliked at first, and though he grew on me, I still wasn't his biggest fan at the end. His belief that because Yenni Ajani is his Given she should drop everything to become his wife and sire his one Dragon child made him come across as entitled and sexist. Through talking to his friends and Yenni he comes to see the error of his ways, though there are some definite tantrums along the way. One thing I would point out is that the characters fell into the younger age category of YA. There were tantrums, bullheadedness and quick romance that comes with being a teenager, but at the same time I felt the author tried to make them more 'adult.'

I found the premise for this book slightly deceiving. Does Yenni travel to Cresh? Yes. Does she meet Weysh, her Given? Yes. However, there is no mention of the magic school in which the character spend the majority of the book studying in. I enjoyed this part of the book ( always love a good magic school) and liked the authors descriptions of the classes and different types of magic they learn. I found the magic system quite intriguing. With a rather simplistic design, the magic on Cresh comes from spoken words i.e, "source drawn rain dry up and cease' would remove water from a person's being and space around them. The magic on the Moonrise isles is something different. Yenni's people use Runes to control their magic. They sing wordless songs while applying a special paste to their skin and use these to give them speed, less pain etc. I liked seeing the clash between the two types of magic and Yenni's struggle to learn a whole new concept was reminiscent to people having to learn a completely new language.

We see a few subjects being addressed in different ways. Racism with Yenni being seen as quaint and archaic for using Rune's instead of Creshan magic. Her people are seen as lesser and she struggles through a good chunk of the book with overcoming this ideal. There are also hints of Colonisation with the Creshan people controlling the empire, including the Islands where Yenni lives and forcing their ideals and magic style onto others. The author uses her West African and Caribbean culture to show the differences between the people, you could read it in the different dialects, and in how they dressed/acted.

The romance in this book was a bit too quick for me. I felt that Yenni went from having absolutely no feelings towards Weysh, except for maybe wanting to push him off a cliff, to admitting to him and herself her romantic feelings. Whether this was to do with them being 'Given' (she had no choice in the matter etc) I don't know but it felt like she did an almost 360 in the span of a few pages.

Overall I enjoyed this book. Would I run out to buy the sequel if there is one, probably not. But I am intrigued to see where the story goes. 3.5*

Well I wanted to love this one but sadly it just wasn't for me. I couldn't even finish it. It was well into the men with issues territory and I just didn't see that changing in this one. So sadly I DNFed it around 55%.

I didn’t finish this. I know that the character is supposed to go through this massive change, but Yenni is annoying. Yenni whines on and on. About how she is a princess, however, at the beginning of the book, she says that she doesn’t want to abuse her rank. Yenni finds her Dragon (soulmate) name Weysh, who I have pitied through the chapters I have read so far. Although he does do some creepy stuff in their first meetings, this is a school environment where Yenni is to learn how to heal her father and understand dragonkind. She is beyond bossy, bratty, and ignorant at the rich culture around her. It takes her way too long to open her mind to the culture and customs of the Cresh. I will try to pick this book up again because I can feel the possibility of a four-star read.

Within this novel have the gender roles that Yenni fights tooth and nail to change, which is one of the reasons I tried to power through this novel, but I just can’t. Given isn't a bad novel by no means. The world-building, magic system, and history are fantastic!

Tried several times to get into GIVEN, but I struggled each time. I did enjoy the writing style and the plot, I struggle more with the characters then anything else.

I think there is definitely potential for the plot to be explored. However I didn't like the prose, and the world building was barely there as well as character building.
The storyline is unique, and could be done greatly!! This however wasn't my cup of tea...

The description of this book on Netgalley was very misleading: nowhere it was said that it's about a magic school! I was expecting a novel about magic and dragons and set in fictional central Africa and then Bam! off we go to a sorcery school!
It was also very difficult to keep reading because the story and especially the love story in it weren't that interesting to begin with.

Given is the story Yenni Anjani , daughter of the chieftain of an island who is ordered to go attend a magic school in another continent(?!). Given starts off with Yenni's prep to go and ends with the end of her first year.

Besides the dragons and some of the outdated tropes like mating with only one person , shape shifting , Given failed to impress me.

I was honestly expecting some kind of black panther level fantasy with the fantastic cover , but this is just another book where the MCs are the only black people and face a LOOOT of racism.

I felt like the second half lost a little of the steam from the first half of the book, but overall I enjoyed Given. I would have liked a little more world building.

***I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley***

3.5 stars

I love Wattpad books and that was what tempted me into requesting for this ARC. At first, I loved the description and I was hoping for an action-packed fantasy romance, but what I got was more romance. I actually liked the romance because it was well written, and the pacing is quite good.

However, the description on NetGalley didn't fit with the story. There was some kind of Harry Potter feels, and I wasn't expecting a magic school, though. But I enjoyed the world-building!

There wasn't much character development in the story because they just fell in love without much explanation, but this is a chilling romance-read and I would recommend it to those who enjoy fantasy romance!

I'm not sure what to say about this book. The premise is interesting, the world-building and magic were inventive and thoughtful - carefully explained. I think the characters had a unique voice and were easy to like. However, there was an overt redundancy to the book that made it difficult to enjoy for the near 500 pages. The same sequences would occur, charters would basically say the same thing and there was a surprising lack of character growth throughout this book. I also think the character's motives could have been made more explicit. I didn't hate this book, I just wasn't sucked in and as impressed as I was hoping I'd be with this premise.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of Given in exchange for this review.

Given has been hailed as a big contender of a new crop of fantasy novels. Taylor has filled the novel with some absolutely amazing stuff.

One of the reasons why I gave this book 3 stars was because of the pacing. The first half of the story was so interesting I was so intrigued by the plot and the magical elements of the book and I wanted to know what was going to happen next, even though I was a bit confused by everything that we learned so far, but the other half of the story was so slow and I felt not much was happening. I found the setting both refreshing and malnourished. I appreciated that the author drew on a variety of elements to create a setting that felt vibrant and new, with a fresh take on integrating magic into a society. But most of the time I felt underwhelmed.

Overall, I think Given had so much potential and had such an interesting concept for a book, but the pacing of the plot made my enjoyment lowered quite a lot. I appreciated it so much that it was book with such a diverse cast of characters and that it had that very interesting magical elements and a very in-depth world building, but I would’ve loved to see more of that magic and a more complex plot and characters.

Books that feel like a strange mix of elements from other books are often disorienting. I found Given to be a strange mix of magic systems, dragons/shapeshifters, tribal lore/language, romance (kinda), and academia. Most of the ideas I have read elsewhere, and I'm just not sure they came together for a cohesive story in this novel.

Yenni, princess of her tribe and proficient practitioner of runelore magic, is forced to take a journey to the empire of Cresh to pursue a cure for her father's mysterious illness. While there, she enrolls in the most prominent magical school and is discovered by a dragon shapeshifter, Weysh, who declares her his "Given." This means they must eventually marry and create a child that will carry the dragon shifting gene. As you might expect, Yenni isn't thrilled with this pronouncement and drama ensues.

One of my major complaints here is the lack of depth for any of the characters. The background for Yenni is front-loaded and surrounded by terminology and structures within her tribe that are confusing, so by the time she heads out for her quest I still wasn't invested in her success. The cast of secondary characters is long and very shallow indeed. We have several professors, classmates, and family members that are all caricatures and only seem to revolve around Yenni and Weysh, which is exhausting.

Weysh, our dragon love interest, has more back story and is certainly engaging because of it. His advances on Yenni edged the boundaries of appropriate, but he is shut down and punished for it over the course of the book. Ultimately, he is the classic bumbling but lovable guy and that helps keep the book moving as you cheer on his success.

There are several plot points that are implausible, but quite honestly, I'm used to that in YA fiction and can normally role with the punches. This one pushed me beyond my comfort zone, though, and I found myself looking forward to it coming to an end.

The one thing I wanted more knowledge of was the history of how shapeshifting dragons became a part of society. It was hinted that it had something to do with some extensive wars in the past of these countries, but that before that dragons and people were separated. I would definitely have found that to be an engaging addition.

Given is a weird amalgamation of elements that don't quite gel. I likely won't be picking up book 2 (this one is a clear series starter), but could see how it might appeal to some readers, particularly those who like the "enemies to lovers" trope and romance more than substance.

Yenni has never been this far from home. With only her wits, her strength and her sacred runelore, the fierce Yirba warrior princess is alone in the Empire of Cresh. It’s a land filled with strange magics and even stranger people—many of whom mistrust anyone who’s different. But Yenni will prove herself, and find a cure for her father’s wasting illness. She will not fail.

No one warned her about the dragons. Especially not about him.

Yes, there is something powerful and compelling about the violet-black dragon known as Weysh. In human form he’s muscular, beautiful—and completely infuriating. What kind of arrogant creature claims a stranger as his Given; as his destined mate? Yenni is no man’s—or dragon’s—plaything. But other magics must be at work here, because Weysh might just be her best hope at finding the answers she seeks.

Only now Yenni can’t tell if she’s fighting her attraction to a dragon…or fighting fate itself. – Goodreads

The cover. We cannot have a conversation about this novel without discussing how amazing the cover is. Not only does it completely grab your attention but seeing a dark skin woman in the front looking not only fierce but feminine does wonders to me.
But as we all know you cannot judge a book by its cover and the book was okay. It didn’t do anything for me by any means but there were things that I love.
I loved the focus on Yenni, her home and her traditions. I liked the fact that she did not change herself, physically or mentally, to fit in with her new environment. She stayed true to herself while also allowing herself to learn.
I loved the imagery within this novel. Everything was clear and it felt as if it was living and breathing because of this it was why I finished the book.
Here is what I didn’t like. The romance was forced and there was no spark or even connection there. Weysh was such a good character but not for Yenni. There was just nothing there and when they did come together there was still nothing there. I didn’t feel real not the whole dragon and human in a magical world real but the love, the attraction, the chemistry was not there.
The book is focused a lot on that romance, but it is also focused on Yenni trying to find out the source and the cure for a sickness in her village. I wish there was more deep dive on the second part. Its not like Yenni was love struck or anything, it was just a case of a romance that actually didn’t need to happen.
But the other issue I had with this book was how slow it was. As much as I loved Yenni and the imagery, the book overall was not really engaging, and it was easy to put it down.
Overall, it was okay. I was expecting more from this book and it wasn’t SOLEY because of the cover. The summary promises a lot but more importantly a steamy chemistry that you can’t help but love.
This doesn’t appear to be a series, but I would actually love another book within this world.
Overall,
2 Pickles

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Yenni is a Yirba warrior princess. Alone in the Empire of Cresh, Yenni must rely on herself and her runelore to guide her. But the Empire of Cresh is dark and magical, and Yenni must traverse the land and the strange people to find a cure for her father's illness.

But to her surprise, there are dragons. Weysh is a dragon that can transform into a man, but when they encounter one another, he claims Yenni as his Given. Only, when he's in his human form, she's kind of attracted him.

I loved the cover, and the concept was really cool, but it just didn't cnnect with me. The world building is cool, and with all of the magic, I was getting some HP vibes. The romance wasn't insta-love, which we can very grateful for! Unfortunately, the description of this book doesn't really accurately match the book. The setting wasn't really the same, and getting into the book considering the description didn't match was difficult.

Overall, not really my thing. I might try the sequel to this, but only eventualy.

In this fantasy novel, a young woman, adept at her culture's magic, goes to a different country to study at its magic academy, which is run mostly by people-dragons who have two forms. Mostly bullied by her professors, she does find allies, and a young man who insists upon seeing her for the first time that she is his "Given"--his predestined life mate, with whom he will have "dragonlings" and continue his line. Although the protagonist initially pushes back against this concept, she and the man grow closer through a series of adventures and eventually she decides she loves him and takes him back to her country. There are some good ideas in this book (although predestined love interests are all kinds of problematic), but also numerous similarities with other recent fantasy fiction (Genevieve Coogan's series, for example; every book ever that send an undertrained magical person to a snooty magic school) but lacking a good bit of the more compelling aspects of those books. This read to me as a manuscript that needed some heavy editing before it can really shine.

2.5 stars.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of Given in exchange for this review! (The Given e-ARC has 447 pages.)

During the first half of the story I was "hooked" on knowing what would happen to Yenni Ajani during her year in Cresh. The world and magic system was very well constructed, organized, and explained. Runelore magic really interests me and I'd like to know what will happen to Yenni and Weysh after the events in Given. Overall, the story was enjoyable, but my interest was largely held up throughout the novel by the magic system, Yenni herself, and wanting to know exactly what the wither-rot sickness is and how it can be helped.
If it wasn't for those things, I may have put Given down. Many of the chapters seemed repetitive when it came to Yenni and Weysh's interactions with one another; they would see each other and just talk about the same topic with no change in their opinions and resolutions for a large amount of the beginning of the novel. There also didn't seem to be high enough stakes for the troubles that Yenni and her friends encountered, especially with a lack of explanation about Noriago's motives and reasons for his actions.

Yenni is on a year long spiritual journey away from her family. She's seeking a cure for her sick father in the land of Cresh. There she sees dragons for the first time. They are extinct on the islands but in the city there are alive and well. This take is full of magic and tenacity. Mehsh is Yenni's given but she's fighting her urges every step of the way. This is the first in a series.

I’m a sucker for shifter romances in general, so this book caught my eye off the bat. A lot of people seemed to hate on the cover art, and while I do think the illustrations could have been better arranged, the dragon art is what initially drew my interest.

From the way the summary is phrased, I went into this book expecting a journey tale of sorts, with the main character meeting the dragon along the way. However, in the book, Yenni actually meets the dragon at a Hogwarts-like school, where other magical beings study. I really wasn’t expecting a Hogwarts vibe from the book. It wasn’t bad per se, just kind of unexpected and a bit overplayed. I know as a reader I can’t really dictate plot, but I really do feel like the story would have been more engaging if the scene of the book hadn’t been a magical school.

The romance itself is cute, not really very intense or charged. I did appreciate how it slowly built and how Yenni and Weysh come to understand each other. It definitely wasn’t my favorite YA romance, as the characters just didn’t have a really big spark, despite the nature of their relationship. Similarly, I felt like Yenni’s development kind of went backward. She started out really badass, but she struggles at school and by the end, a lot of things about her change in order to be with the love interest. There’s nothing wrong with prioritizing love, but I was a bit let down by the lapse in badassery.

Overall, I think it’s a sweet story and a good introduction to shifter romances if you’re looking to start on the tamer side. But if you’re already really into fantasy romance, I think you’ll be partially let down by this one.

The premise of this book is a dream to romance fantasy readers. The blurb promises a story of a fierce princess from another realm (Yenni) going on a quest to foreign lands and meeting a mysterious dragonkind man (Weysh) with the whispered promise of a relationship. Well, it definitely delivers exactly that. Yenni is a fiery princess who can use magic, however, as her father's health continues to decline she is guided by her gods to seek magical help from another realm. This she does, and as soon as she arrives at her new home, Weysh arrives to mix things up a little.

My favourite part about this book is how vibrant both the characters and physical setting come across. The images painted in my head were extremely vivid and clear, which helped when visualising the story. I also think that the plot is unique enough that it had me intrigued; I had read classic quest books before however not including a dragonkind man, which sets it apart from other books a little. Also, I have to mention the diversity in this book, it is really great to see such colourful characters included in main roles!

Something that stops me fully enjoying this book is the writing style. This is just my personal taste, but I found the style quite jarring at times with the dialogue between characters feeling forced. The pace of the plot also felt a but off due to the 'this happened then this happened' feel of the story. Nandi Taylor is primarily a Wattpad author and this clearly comes through in this novel for me as the chapters feel as though they could have been written on a chapter by chapter basis. If you are familiar with Wattpad this will probably not hinder your enjoyment in reading this book. Unfortunately for me (as someone who does not read much Wattpad/similar stories) it impacted my reading experience enough that I didn't quite finish the book.