Rating: 3.5 stars!

As the synopsis and the title imply, this book is about two characters who are ‘soulmates’ or ‘given’ as it is called in this book. I’m always a bit dubious about books with soulmates, I could either really enjoy them or not like them at all. But since this book also contained dragons, I really had to read it!
This soulmate part was really from one part of this world and was not a thing in another part of the world. In Weysh world, finding your Given is very important. Your kinda disgraced if you don’t. While in Yenni’s world this is not a thing at all, she is just planning to marry for political reasons.
Yenni decides to study in Weysh’s part of the world, to learn more about their magic. As soon as Weysh sees Yenni, he knows she is his Given. And I really struggled with this part of book. He really was forcing himself upon Yenni, even though she was really clear about not wanting anything to do with him. His character was just so annoying to me. But his character development throughout the book was probably my favourite thing of the book. He learned to deal with people, and see his mistakes. I loved that!
I did really enjoy Yenni’s character from the start! She knew what she wanted, and she wouldn’t be distracted from her path. Even is things didn’t always go as planned, she found a way to solve it!
The different magic systems were very interesting, but I do think they could have been explored/explained a bit more. In Yenni’s part of the world there are runes that ‘supply’ the magic, and were just told that there are strength runes and speed runes. But I would have loved to learn more about it. It is kinda the same as for the magic in Weysh’s part of the world. Here they did magic with spells, but again we were told many things. But since Yenni was learning this type of magic, we learned a bit more about this type.
Then we also have the dragons. Which again wasn’t explained, it just was. Which I think worked?! Some people could just change into dragons, and some can’t.
One thing I just didn’t really understood, was the ‘enemy’ in this book. I’m not sure if I missed the explanation but I just didn’t get why this person was so angry at our main characters?! (trying to be vague, since I don’t want to spoil anything).
But besides that, I enjoyed most of the characters, I liked the magic, the dragons were interesting. I just wasn’t sure about the enemy and some part of the ‘given’ were a bit predictable.
But I definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to be reading more from this author!

During the first half of the story, I was really enjoying it. The magic system was really appealing and well explained. The story was generally good. However, it seemed quite repetitive at some points. Overall, I think the ideas were solid, but for me, they didn't feel dynamic enough.

Given is the first book by Nandi Taylor. I can safely say that based on this book, I hope Ms Taylor is planning to write more books. The books is based on Yenni's life. Yennie is a princess of an island tribe whose father, the chieftain, is dying from a mysterious disease. She has to make a journey to find the cure to save her father. She goes to the Empire of Cresh, which is a new land to her full of strange people and magic she has never seen before. She meets Weysh, a dragon who insists that she is his destined mate, what the dragons call his Given. She cannot stand him but eventually she realizes he may be the only way for her to get answers.

From the beginning I was enchanted with the descriptions used to build the worlds Yenni inhabited. I was able to vividly imagine the strange colors of the people and dragons in Cresh while seeing in my mind's eye how striking the white runes must have been on Yenni's dark skin.

Honestly I knew other readers said he was full of toxic masculinity but I adored Weysh from the first time I read about him. He may have been a bit arrogant at first but that is because he was so excited that he was going to have something he always craved, a real family. And let's give him a little credit, he cleaned up so well later on in the book it was easy to forgive his bumbling errors earlier.

As a Caribbean girl, I was able to identify with Yenni, particularly when I saw the way other islanders spoke. 'Mam'selle' is used quite frequently in my country and curry goat is something all Trinis love. The use of 'de' instead of 'the' is something all of us islanders have in common. I think my favorite parts of the boon were when Yenni's fellow islander classmate, Deirdre spoke.

Unfortunately what I was also able to identify with was the prejudice she encountered. I have had ignorant citizens of other countries ask me if Trinidad & Tobago is part of Africa, they have asked if we have running water in our country. Some people were also quite surprised that we have internet and electricity.

I would love to continue this series and see what happens next with Yenni and Weysh. I hope Ms Taylor releases a sequel quickly. Anyone who is into fantasy would love this book and I think it would be appreciated even more by Caribbean readers.

Violence: Mild
Sexual Content: Mild sexual content. Teens can read this book.
Profanity: None
Religious Themes: Talk about gods and demons.
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: One instance of drinking beer and another where a character is depressed and drinking whiskey

The worldbuilding in this book is superb, articulated and so detailed, it makes the culture clash very realistic: we follow the journey of an islander princess to a country completely different from her own, and the author showed her disorientation with many, explicit experiences anybody could live when going abroad -therefore, creating an evolving, relatable protagonist.
The magic sistem is also really good, for each country has its own relationship with power and divinities, and, of course, different magical creatures, first of all: the dragons. The dragons are incredibly fascinating and original, and give a very fresh twist to the trope "dragon kidnapping the princess" we all know.

Starting this book, I honestly didn't know what to expect; I loved the idea, I was curious about it being a Wattpad Books publication, and I was really excited to be reading another POC fantasy story. That being said, the story had good bones, but the rest of the body just didn't feel quite fleshed out enough for me.


What I liked: The culture that is woven into Nandi Taylor's work right from the beginning is astounding. The lore, family history, and the world building was rich and well-written, and was fully incorporated in almost every part of the story. When Yenni Ajani gets to Cresh, the culture shock is immediate; Yenni is one of the only darker-skinned people there, and because she's the princess of the Sha (Moonrise) Isles, she has a deep knowledge of runelore, and is covered in the stark white paint. I loved the commentary on cultural ignorance, from the unnamed microaggressions to the full fledged appropriation of another tribes secret runes, as well as the nuanced critique of Cresh as a colonizing country (where its people are predominantly light-skinned).

In addition to the lush backstory of traditions and magic in this world, Yenni instantly shows us that she's the kind of princess who has a weakness for beautiful animals, and that she's not the one to mess with. As a character, Yenni was funny and so stubborn, but I couldn't have imagined her any other way. And then she meets Weysh, who starts off <em>stupidly </em>arrogant and entitled, but I loved that Yenni was quick to put him in his place.

What I didn't like: I love a good enemies to lovers plot, and while Yenni and Weysh ticked a few boxes, I didn't have any strong feelings about their relationship. In other words, I wasn't rooting for them hardcore, but I wasn't rooting for their downfall either?? I was sort of indifferent or frustrated most of the time, but I would prefer to be fully invested, yenno? The main let-down for me was the writing; the flow was awkward in a few too many places to ignore, and the scenes and characters felt two-dimensional and didn't really inspire strong feelings either way (it got close, but it lacked follow-through).

Overall, it was an entertaining story with a few strong elements here and there, but I was disappointed in the lack of depth and the bare feeling of it all, and by the end, I felt like I wanted more.

I was given a free e-book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

I think books tends to be misleading sometimes base on their summary and the pitch the companies are trying to sell us. For example one of my favorite authors, Amanda Hocking release a Valkyrie Duology series in 2017 or was it 2018? Can't remember... But anyway, I expected a full on fantasy Norse fun and instead I got futuristic Urban fantasy which wasn't bad but it was less what I enjoyed about. So then I got this lovely little book from Wattpad books thanks to the lovely folks at NetGallery and I was shocked cause I thought Wattpad only Fanfic oriented centered around boy bands like One Direction and BTS. Imagine my surprise to learn that it  level up its game and they are diving big time into a full fleshed published books territory!

"From this moment on, I undertake this sacred journey in your name, Oh Most Divine, Watch me and guide me, your servant."

Yenni Aja-Nifemi Ka Yirba is a princess in her tribe who ever since she was small loved to hunt and learn runelore. She thought her life continue in the same direction until her father gets mysteriously sick, her tribe now looking out on her to marry a rival tribe prince and ensure their safety. Yenni then decides to go on a quest to help find out a way to heal her father by going to the prestigious academy for magic in Cresh, the empire that had try over many decades to colonize her home. Everything is suppose to go fine until she loses control for the first time in her life, she doesn't know what shes doing and on top of that there's frustrating dragon boy who proclaims she is destined, Given! Things can only downhill from here, right?

When my eyes first start reading the book I was expecting the usual. A wayward princess going through an epic mystical quest to heal her father, discover earth shockingly reveals and have a big epic fight of massively overly proportional precociousness, right? Nope. Instead, Yenni has to go to a foreign nation that has been a massive thorn for the islands for ages and learn from them different types of magic in hopes of discovering a way to treat her father mysterious illness. Seems like an easier job to accomplish no? Honestly, the author makes no such thing for a lovely girl, Yenni. This determined, headstrong girl has alot on her plate and I felt for her. She simply wants to succeed for her family sake and she fails in everything. She doesn't understand how this new magic works compares to runelore, she flunks in all her classes, frequently deals with everyone scrutinizing her for her islander origins, learns that her people magic is mistreated and ridiculed upon, it feels way too real and close to home. Nandi Taylor didn't shy away from presenting us of how it feels to step into a whole new world here and I appreciate it because despite all of the hardships there's still this glimmer of hope she leaves us on and it makes you want to continue reading and root for Yenni who won't back down.

"Lunacy," she said. "I refuse o wed you, dragon."
"What? You can't say that." Weysh turned to Harth. "Can she said that?"
Harth shrugged. "Apparently so." 

Romances can be a fickle thing, hit or miss to people but this one felt rather special for a whole different reasons. First of, let me explains that Weysh was supposed to be portrayed as this stupid fuckboi for the beginning of the book because he was conveying all this stupid Alpha top male nonsense some romance books love to used in most of their works. Nandi takes this trope and flip that and its both exciting and marvelous. Weysh gets rejected, his ego fractured thanks to our queen Yenni telling him to go find someone else to fornicate and from there on we see how slowly he evolved just like our heroine. He learns to be patient, he learns consent, he becomes a whole new person that wants to be a better self because not only for Yenni but for himself too and stop with all that toxicity that's been plaguing him all his childhood.

The Romance feels made me swoon and I couldn't help been obsessed about it I literally nagged my friend, Ruthie about it. Like this never happens in YA novels. It just doesn't! The love interests stays the same and we all suppose to go along with it and here Taylor says, "NOT IN MY BOOK". I am honored to have that honor of going through such a ride because this makes me question WATTPAD reputation and I want to see more books go through this journey.

The world of Given is unique, the rune magic is interesting, the Cresh magic is fascinating, there's so much history and complexity to the dragons and the people it all feels like its been through a lot of process and consideration. The Islanders and tribal inner struggles against one another was cool and I would love to see more of since it was extremely lacking in comparison to the Cresh empire culture.  I wished we had more time to go through Yenni's home before been whisked away to the academy and the over whole plot of the book which on itself can sometimes be heavily forgotten due to the romance aspect. Perhaps if Given gets a chance and a sequel in the works then it'd be able to touch on those issues.

GIVEN was an experience let me tell you and I recommend it. It does things different that most YA books don't do. It doesn't afraid to go and deal with serious issues and address them, the romance isn't sappy and has more merit and you have a fantastic co leads to get you through this book. Please try it out, for me? ;)

I really wanted to like Given by Nandi Taylor. The cover for the novel is absolutely gorgeous. Plus, it sounded like a more diverse take on Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon, a book I really enjoyed! Furthermore, the summary for Given promises a grand adventure with Caribbean and West African roots with tribal princess Yenni Ajani at the helm of Given--fighting against racism, strange magics, cultures, and dragons--in a race against time to save her father from a mysterious disease known as wither rot. Imagine my surprise when I realized Given was very little like its description and was instead mainly a poorly developed romance that happened to take place in a magic academy setting with very little exposition given--pardon the pun--and absolutely zero likable characters. It was honestly a struggle for me to get past 18% of Given and it was through sheer force of will that I made it to 52%. The only saving graces in the novel for me were the systems of magic, world-building, and the interesting idea of wither rot.

“I will gain entrance to these Creshen’s academy. I’m top of my class, I speak five languages, and I am princess of the Yirba. I will not fail.”

The novel begins in the Moonrise Isles, the home of Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba, daughter of the chief-clan, making her a veritable princess of her tribe. Given hurls a ton of fantastical terms at us to breathe life into the tribe and its islands, and it might have worked, if it weren’t for the fact that as soon as we are introduced to this life and its terms, Yenni Ajani, as she prefers to be called, immediately leaves it. And sadly, everything else in Given occurs just as instantaneously, and as a result, it is difficult to determine what is happening in what feels like one giant event dump or to even care.


Author Taylor tries to set up Yenni Anaji as an intelligent, kind-hearted, and strong-willed warrior princess in very little exposition. We are given so little actual time and description to get to know the characters and the world around them that the author relies on telling us how we should actually perceive the characters . But sadly, instead of the trope the author is obviously going for of a warrior princess with a heart of gold, what she manages to create is a very privileged character who isn't very likable.

“Back home she didn’t have much use for money. If she needed something she asked her mother for it, and more often than not things were gifted to her.”

But even worse than Yenni Anaji is the man/dragon she’s supposed to fall for--Weysh. In dragon form, Weysh smells Yenni’s sent the first time and marks her as his Given, or soulmate thing that’s never really explained, but is expected to somehow understood by both the reader and foreigner Yenni Anaji, who has never actually encountered a dragon in her life. Immediately entranced by her scent and the idea of actually having a Given, Weysh literally doesn’t even bother to learn Yenni Anaji’s name or anything remotely about her. Instead, he immediately proposes marriage and informs her that she should have his dragon baby. On other occasions, he swoops down in dragon form and carries her off without her consent. How charming.

“‘Sweet,’ Weysh said patiently, ‘I’m not some breeding stud you can cajole into plowing a mare. Carmenna is not my match.’ He held her eyes with his own. ‘You are.’’

Given tells us that Weysh is actually a great guy/dragon and that he treated all of his past many female interests--the novel makes sure to emphasize how desired he is by the general female population--and his family really well. But we never see the character in any of these relationships because he unceremoniously dumps his ex, Carmenna, as soon as he smells Yenni Anaji for the first time. I find it absolutely unbelievable that Yenni Anaji could ever develop feelings for the dangerously immature Weysh, who really seems to have no redeeming qualities except that he cannot speak in dragon form.

“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 ended in disaster.”

Given also beats readers over the head with the fact that dragons do not have any feelings for humans when in their dragon form. However, Given contradicts this at literally every turn. In fact, the very first meeting between Weysh and Yenni-Anaji, he drops out of the sky like "some overgrown demon hawk” (definitely not the best description of a dragon I've ever read), and unceremoniously licks her thigh because he is so overpowered by her scent and the fact that he’s found his Given. Ick. And if that weren’t bad enough, the rest of the cast of characters are all completely flat. Weysh’s dragon friends Harth and Zui are supposed to be great--patient and long suffering--I know because the author repeatedly tells me so--but they’re little more than hood ornaments on a nondriveable car.

Sadly, the dialogue of Given is no better than the painful romance or the constant telling rather than showing. There are innumerable nonsensical lines like, “We select only the fat of the meat, the best to take part in training here.” But what was worse was that literally almost every sentence that came out of Weysh’s mouth ended in “lovely.” His mother, his sister, his Given, girls on the street, were all referred to as “lovely.” I wish I had kept a running tally of how many times it was said. Given clearly could have benefited from some more editing.

Despite its issues, Given does a great job of establishing not only its magical systems and its laws, but also its lore. These were the main reasons I gave the book a full star. Author Taylor sets up believable and various magical systems--the Runelore of Yenni Ajani’s home and the more ritualistic Creshen magic. She even establishes that there is a false stereotype for Runelore users--that they sacrifice infants and animals for their craft. It was interesting to see Yenni Ajani try to learn the Creshen way of magic and how it differed from her own. I did want her to succeed at finding a cure for her father’s mysterious wither-rot disease through the use of this new magic on a superficial level, but the novel didn’t let me get to know her father well enough to evoke any real sympathy for him or for his family.

The other thing that Given does fairly well is to establish some world-building and lore. The Moonrise Islands believe in the Sha gods and have a whole strict belief system built around it that actually sets Yenni-Ajani out on her quest in the first place. The Creshen people believe in totally different gods, such as Byen, the Kindly Watcher. Wyesh tells Yenni-Anaji the story of how dragonkind came to be, after of course, laughing at Yenni-Anaji’s own beliefs.

“In the beginning, Byen, the Kindly Watcher, was at war with Movay, Mistress of Demons. She sent her hell minions to destroy the world but was defeated by Byen and his true dragons. After that Byen gave ten percent of humanity the ability to transform into a lesser version of his sacred warriors, to defend the world should Movay’s demons return.”

I thought this was really interesting lore (it actually put me to mind of a simpler version of the lore in Book Review: The Rage of Dragons ), and I wondered if it would have anything to do with the wither-rot disease in the rest of Given. But that mild curiosity and the potential shown by both the magic systems and the world-building was just not enough to get me through the rest of Given. Based on the parts of Given I managed to get through, I feel that perhaps this novel would be better suited for younger audiences, such as intermediate readers, as it is not on the same level of other young adult fantasy novels, with believable romances, realistic dialogue, and developed  characters.

"Great golden sky turtles!"

Given is the compelling and thought-provoking YA fantasy debut from author Nandi Taylor, and is an account of destiny, fate, and faith. It's a tale of respecting culture, holding true to your beliefs, and the ugly cost of ignorance and insensitivity. Touching upon several topics that are currently prominent in our own world, such as gender and racial inequality, I found it rather easy to connect to this book. While its core consists of a romance cultivated by the 'enemies to lovers' trope, it's really a story of love and respect – for your friends, family, and most importantly, yourself.

The strongest aspects of this book all coincide with absolutely wonderful worldbuilding. Of my favorites, the magic system, which differs from region to region based on how "advanced" a society is, is at the top of that list. Yenni is an expert at runelore, but judgemental individuals in this faraway land aren’t hesitant to let her know that the magic she wields is inferior. This culture clash among a diverse cast of characters not only perfectly builds tension, but also makes for pretty interesting banter. Gorgeously portrayed landscapes, a unique plot, and some exceptional moments of intense action made this an enjoyable read.

I believe most of my issues with this book stem from the misleading blurb attached to it. I honestly went into this thinking I'd be swept along on a perilous journey in search for the all-elusive cure, but was instead presented with a magic school. It served its purpose, and did so relatively well, but it was completely unexpected. Also, the supporting characters felt a bit flat to me, and the evolution of both Yenni and Weysh at times felt forced. Taking their young ages into consideration, questionable decisions led to an unnecessary drawing out of conflict resolution. For this being a character-centric narrative, I was hoping these elements would be more powerful.

The description has no mention of a sequel, but the ending doesn't bring Yenni's journey to a conclusion, so I'm hoping this isn’t the last time we visit this world Taylor has created. While Given has its issues, I think it's an engaging debut with tons of potential for growth in the future. Although labeled YA, our young leads are forced to deal with very adult situations, so I would say this could be enjoyed by all. If you're looking for a story of love and magic and dragons, then you may want to give this one a try.

Nandi Taylor’s Given follows an island princess as she goes on a journey to save her family and tribe from a mysterious illness and outside forces, and ends up going on a personal growth journey. She faces difficulties, makes new friends, and even (predictably) finds love.
Many of the typical YA fantasy tropes fit right into this novel, and I didn’t hate reading most of them. Yenni (the protagonist) starts off a little annoying but over time changes as she grows. Weysh (the dragonkind that feels Yenni is his Given-soulmate) obsesses a bit too much about having a dragonling for a 20 yo, but a lot of that is immaturity and insecurity that does shift throughout the book.
Taylor does a good job highlighting real-world issues such as discrimination, colonization, cultural appropriation, and patriarchal beliefs while successfully weaving in magical lore, danger, suspense, romance, and the importance of family.
Things I really liked about the book: I enjoyed the world-building, the different cultures, the POC and diverse characters, the LGBT elements, and the fantasy elements. The book is fast-paced, colorful, and has mostly compelling characters that must face growth and change.
Things I didn’t like, but felt okay with by the end: the plot twists were predictable; I was not surprised by any of the situations faced or by the antagonists.
If you like slow burn shifter romance, YA fantasy, good world-building, and engaging quick reads then this book is for you.

A detailed review will follow on my blog later this week.
*I received an ebook ARC from NetGalley and Wattpad publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.Book: GivenAuthor: Nandi TaylorBook Series: StandaloneRating: 3/5Diversity: West-African and CaribbeanPublication Date: January 21, 2020Genre: YA RomanceRecommended Age: 15+ (romance, some violence, and… lots of romance)Publisher: Wattpad BooksPages: 352Amazon LinkSynopsis: 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.Review: Overall, I thought this was an interesting tale with very interesting characters. For the most part, they’re developed and the book had a lot of interesting lore that I’d love to know more about.However, the book is completely different than what the synopsis leads me to believe. It’s basically a romance. The book also didn’t do well in the writing department. The book didn’t fully incorporate racism and it didn’t really develop the plot well in my opinion.Verdict: It’s worth the read, but it could use some work in my opinion. But it’s got a really interesting concept and I’d love to see it further developed!

You read the book blurb or the synopsis and think "Wow that sounds interesting, good concept" and then the book is completely different from what you expected.
This book kinda had a misleading synopsis.

#BookReview Given by Nandi Taylor.
Yenni is a fierce warrior princess far from her home and kingdom in an unfamiliar city. A city filled with strange magic and people whom she does not trust. But she has to complete her mission of finding a cure for her father.
Though no one warned her about dragons which are very common in the place they live. There is this one dragon who wont stop pestering her. Weysh, sure he is handsome and enigmatic but that doesnt give him the right to call her his Given as his destined mate. And she hates him.... for now.
But a shadow looms over Yenni & Weysh. And she has to race to find all the answers.

That's basically the overall description. Now let's move on to things I liked.
The concept is really very good. Magic school and a shady country/place for dragons and humans alike. There are a lot of funny moments in the book. Especially given the way Wyesh tried to court her. I loved how Yenni stayed true to her culture and yet she embraced a foreign one albeit not easily. A few issues like racism, gender inequality, LGBTQ+ are raised here. People who could shapeshift into dragons. They felt like demigods or tou could call them demidragons. I loved the way the dragons were described it was vivid.

Onto things that I didnt like. The romance, the "difficulties" they all fall flat. The one question I keep having was she could've somehow helped Weysh's stepfather since she knew the cure. The world building was also lacking. We are introduced to moonrise isles and before we have a chance to get to know it we a whisked away to Cresh. The character development and the "plot twists" were a bit underwhelming. It's like the focus was on Yenni and Weysh's romance and the other characters were sidelined. The excitement and rush of a good suspense and plot twist sadly were never felt. This book could use a bit of more editing.

This book is a combination of so many different elements and tropes that didn't quite fit together for me.

Thankyou for approving and giving me a chance to read and give an honest review for this book. I would give this 2.5 stars.

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.