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Given

Nandi Taylor (Goodreads Author)

3.66 · Rating details · 312 ratings · 152 reviews

As a princess of the Yirba, Yenni is all-but-engaged to the prince of a neighboring tribe. She knows it's her duty to ensure peace for her people, but as her father's stubborn illness steadily worsens, she sets out on a sacred journey to the empire of Cresh, determined to find a way to save him at any cost, even though failure could mean the wrath of her gods and ruin for ...more

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Hardcover, 464 pages

Published January 21st 2020 by Wattpad Books

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Sep 13, 2019 ♠ TABI⁷ ♠ added it

Shelves: netgalley, nah-bro

DNF @ 27%

"She's too sensitive," Weysh concluded. "Most women are. I just have to show her I'd never hurt her. Once she realizes that, she'll come running with open arms."

look I came for dragons not men with delusions of what they deserve & why did there even HAVE to be a crap romance? Why couldn't it just be Yenni learning a new culture, struggling with the bias against her own culture, and being badass?? ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Kate (BloggingwithDragons) rated it did not like it

Shelves: ebooks, disappointments, netgalley, unfinished

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.
DNF 52%

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 t ...more

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Nov 15, 2019 Fanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-releases

April 19, 2020: Nothing can go wrong when you have dragons in a story and this book proves that. A romance that keeps you spellbound and cultural exploration that leaves you with more to understand and grasp, this fantasy can be a favourite for many.

November 15, 2019: There's dragon, there's culture, there's POC. Isn't this all I want? Super excited to read this.Thank you, Wattpad Books for the digital copy via Netgalley! ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Leelynn (Sometimes Leelynn Reads) ❤ rated it it was amazing

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 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! ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Kate rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs

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

my rating: 2.0 stars

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

I desperately wanted t Thanks so much to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

my rating: 2.0 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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Jan 26, 2020 Ahana M Rao (Heart’s Content) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, netgally-arcs, fantasy, cant-wait

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. You can find this review of Given on my blog, Heart's Content!

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

This may just one of the hardest reviews I have ever written. There was a lot of thought I needed to put into writing what I felt, because there were many mangled thoughts and emotions and often they overlapped and I'm still unsure if I will do a good job. This review might be mildly spoiler-y, do not read if you haven't read Gi You can find this review of Given on my blog, Heart's Content!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three point five stars. ...more

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Nov 27, 2019 Rachel Penny rated it it was ok

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, ...more

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Sep 12, 2020 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, arcs

Given was a really entertaining read that combined two of my favorite things in books: magical schools and dragons. I typically struggle with character-driven stories but found Given hard to put down. It had just the right mix of interesting, lovable characters and action.

Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba was such a compelling main character. The book is largely based around her experiences attending school in a colonizing country across the ocean from her home, rather than a broader external conflict, ...more

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Mar 07, 2020 Steff Fox rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2020, cringe, diverse-authors, kill-it-with-fire, love-triangles, bad-writing, sensitive-topics, super-problematic, wasted-potential, dnf

| Reader Fox Blog |

What a disappointment. I couldn't get through Given by Nandi Taylor. It honestly kind of pained me to realize that this novel was going to be a DNF for me, but at about 47% I just couldn't take it anymore. To put it bluntly, if you're looking for a novel with flat supporting characters, excessive info-dumping, the author telling you how to feel about the characters yet showing nothing to validate those supposed feelings, and one of the worst ways to write pre-destined / f ...more

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Oct 27, 2019 Monica rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019

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

Title Given

Author Nandi Taylor

Release Date January 21, 2020

Description from Amazon

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 he ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Paige Green rated it liked it

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Given

Author: Nandi Taylor

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: West-African and Caribbean

Publication Date: January 21, 2020

Genre: YA Romance

Recommended Age: 15+ (romance, some violence, and… lots of romance)

Publisher: Wattpad Books

Pages: 352

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Yenni has never been this far from home. With only her wits, her strength and her sacred runelore, the fierce Yirba warrior pr ...more

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Nov 15, 2019 V.S. Santoni added it

I got an ARC of this book from Netgalley. This book is a gem, and Nandi Taylor is a great writer who will only get better with time. Other fantasy writers better watch out.

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Jan 18, 2020 The Book Gawdess rated it it was amazing

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. Yenni 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 s 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. Yenni 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 ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Sage Knightly rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. *These are just some rants. Full rtc

I am utterly shocked 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.

Also, what the heck? 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 thi *These are just some rants. Full rtc

I am utterly shocked 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.

Also, what the heck? 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.

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 behaviour 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. ...more

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Jun 03, 2020 CW Knight rated it it was ok

Shelves: never-again, age-young-adult, high-fantasy, 2-star-meh-read

1.5 stars. This book is a 1.5 star. Just so you can be braced for what type of review this is going to be.

This is a book published by Wattpad, if you couldn't tell by the giant Wattpad logo on the cover. Now, I will not say that makes a book inherently bad. I have found amazing books on Wattpad. I am excited for a few of their upcoming releases. I still strongly recommend reading The Summer I Drowned by Taylor Hale / solacing when it comes out.
But this... This was the epitome of what people mea ...more

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Jun 07, 2020 disa marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Wow this sounds great

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Dec 31, 2019 Paige (Illegal in 3 Countries) marked it as abandoned

Shelves: arc, fuck-yeah-diversity, yabc

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

This is the first time I've said this in nearly ten years of reviewing books, but Given reads less like YA fantasy and more like new adult o ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Destiny Henderson rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-cover, diverse-fiction, slowwww, worth-a-hand-clap, dragons

STORY:
First, this cover *chef’s kiss* is excellent. I’m always in the mood for black female leads, fantasy, and dragons, so I was excited to read this. I liked that the Given conflict started quickly. This certainly wasn’t a bad story but too much of Weysh’s family and college life consumed it. If it was going to be about saving Yenni’s daddy, then I wanted that to be the primary focus and let Weysh’s telenovela happen in the background.

One of the coolest elements of the story was the runelore/r ...more

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Mar 07, 2020 Chelsies Reading Escape rated it really liked it

Shelves: canadian-authors

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

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

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

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

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May 05, 2020 melhara rated it liked it

Shelves: debut-novel, young-adult, feminism, fantasy, canadian, instalove, middle-grade-preteen, dragons, magic

2.5/5

This was an incredibly slow moving fantasy novel. I imagine many may feel inclined to DNF it as there isn't much going for it plot-wise. Also, the action doesn't commence until about 80% into the book (no jokes!)

Even so, I thought the worldbuilding and magic system were exquisite. I also loved the diversity and portrayal of Island (Caribbean) culture/magic versus Creshen (Caucasian) culture/magic (in terms of diversity, worldbuilding and magic, I thought this book did a much better job than 2.5/5

This was an incredibly slow moving fantasy novel. I imagine many may feel inclined to DNF it as there isn't much going for it plot-wise. Also, the action doesn't commence until about 80% into the book (no jokes!)

Even so, I thought the worldbuilding and magic system were exquisite. I also loved the diversity and portrayal of Island (Caribbean) culture/magic versus Creshen (Caucasian) culture/magic (in terms of diversity, worldbuilding and magic, I thought this book did a much better job than Children of Blood and Bone ). I also thought it was great that this fantasy novel touched upon themes of cultural appropriation which I don't think is something I've encountered in a fantasy novel.

Yenni is an island princess who practices runelore (magical runes that are painted on the body) who travels to Cresh to learn their magic and find a cure to her father's mysterious illness. Having never left the island (and being one of the few Islanders that are enrolled in the Creshen academy), Yenni struggles to learn Creshen ways, to understand their vastly different ways of using magic (spellcasting), and encounters discrimination for the first time. To make matters even more difficult, Yenni encounters a shape-shifting dragon for the first time who has taken an immediate liking to her and refuses to leave her alone because she's apparently his "Given"/soulmate! (*barf*)

Despite the interesting world-building and premise, the book itself was pretty mediocre. I hope this is a series because what I thought was a major plot point was not addressed at all by end of the book ((view spoiler)). I also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style - it was incredibly juvenile and felt like I was reading a middle grade novel even though the characters were all in their late teens/early twenties and attending a magical university.

Unfortunately, the weak plot, slow pace and terrible ending (which only tied up a few loose ends and left a major loose end hanging (view spoiler)) makes it difficult for me to give this book a higher rating.

tl;dr - This was a decent book for middle-grade kids and possibly YA on the younger spectrum (age 10-14). It's not a good standalone novel as it feels like it might be the first book of a series. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Ola Adamska rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed-2020

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 comp ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Orianna rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-arcs

I really wanted to love this book, and for the most part I did like the concept. The one thing that really just kept tripping me up was how rushed and patchy some of the writing felt. Characters and scenes fell flat and there were times that I sped through and times that felt slow and I was easily distracted.

I was somewhat disappointed in the ending just because it felt rushed and not fully complete, if that makes sense. On the other hand, I did find Yenni and Weysh quite charming, and they wer ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Spira Virgo rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, fantasy, young-adult, romance, magic, dragons, male-protagonist, female-protagonist, dual-protagonists, m-f-romance

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

Warnings: (view spoiler)

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 go ...more

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Jun 20, 2020 Omou rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own

3.5 will write a review soon!

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Dec 28, 2020 Tiffany rated it it was ok

Given by Nandi Taylor is a young adult Afro-Caribbean-inspired fantasy that I was very excited to read. A young adult book with dragons is so hard to find without tipping into adult fantasy. One of the first things that drew me into this book was the cover. The color scheme and art style is something that most readers are lining up to put on to their book shelves. When I first started reading the book we are introduced to Yenni a princess and warrior of their tribe. Yenni practices in the art an Given by Nandi Taylor is a young adult Afro-Caribbean-inspired fantasy that I was very excited to read. A young adult book with dragons is so hard to find without tipping into adult fantasy. One of the first things that drew me into this book was the cover. The color scheme and art style is something that most readers are lining up to put on to their book shelves. When I first started reading the book we are introduced to Yenni a princess and warrior of their tribe. Yenni practices in the art and study of Rune magic. The concept of Rune magic to me was similar to that of The Mortal Instruments, except with this magic you use paint instead of the stele that shadow hunters use. Like The Mortal Instruments runes these runes are symbols that grant that person or object a power of some sort until its used up and fades away. An example of this is a rune Yenni used in the book to help her feel no pain. Once it’s used up she feels pain again. I mentioned before that this book has dragons, but it’s not your typically dragon beasts that fly threw the sky and protect treasures. In Given we see dragons as dragon kind. A mix between a dragon and human. Think the typical werewolf or other shapeshifters, that’s what dragon kind is. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to know much about dragon kind and how they came to be or the magic system that Yenni tries to master in her classes at one of the finest schools in Cresh.

I was confused where everything was going on in this world. The book included a map which I was grateful and excited about. Who doesn’t love a good map. But with this book Yenni was constantly calling one place one name and then a different one for how the people of Cresh say it and overall it got confusing to know where we were on that map and where we had been. The school she is going to seems to be a mix of magic and physical fighting and training but we never really learned what the school was for.

The characters in Given weren’t my favorite. I found Yenni to be a little annoying and full of herself. I feel like the author was trying to make it off as she’s just very confident in herself but it came off a little rude. “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.” We later see just how privellage she is when she makes a comment about how if she was at home she had no need for money if she wanted something her mother got it for her. It really seemed like she never had to work for anything, which is fitting since she’s a princess but the way we were told that she was this firece warrior who is kind to those around her but she makes a few comments that conridict that statement.

Now moving on to Weysh I wanted to throw something at him. He’s one of the most unlikeable character’s I’ve ever read about. He’s very entitled and treats women around him horribly despite him trying to not be like his father. Once he finds that Yenni is his Given he starts going on about them getting married and her performing her womanly duties to present them with a child. He came on so strong that he seriously didn’t understand personal space or how to respect women.

“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.”

I wish that the plot would have focused more on the whole reason she came to the school. To figure out what is happening to her father. What illness it was and how to cure it. But that plot line took the backseat to the romance between the two. They truly felt like one of the weirdest couples I’ve read about. Despite them being Given they are no way soulmates for each other. I couldn’t believe that they actually were together. Yenni went from hating him to wanting to be with him and forget her marriage that could bring upon war to her kingdom.

Overall this book was really pretty with the cover, the map inside, and the glossary that helped you learn some of the terms and their meanings. The plot and characters really fell flat for me, but with this being the debut novel for Nandi Taylor I’m sure she’s going to improve as she continues writing. Despite it’s flaws it was a quick read for me and I would be willing to give her books another chance in the future. ...more

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Feb 02, 2021 Emily rated it really liked it

4.25 rounded down. I loved this to pieces HOWEVER I had to lower the rating a bit because I felt that it didn’t fully deliver on the initial premise of warrior princess seeks to save her dad and her kingdom. I think a better premise would have been: warrior princess seeks to save her dad and her kingdom meets dragon who is trying to figure out himself and his past at a magical academy and they discover they are predestined soulmates. By the end, the story is about them developing as people and f 4.25 rounded down. I loved this to pieces HOWEVER I had to lower the rating a bit because I felt that it didn’t fully deliver on the initial premise of warrior princess seeks to save her dad and her kingdom. I think a better premise would have been: warrior princess seeks to save her dad and her kingdom meets dragon who is trying to figure out himself and his past at a magical academy and they discover they are predestined soulmates. By the end, the story is about them developing as people and figuring out their relationship with one another, rather than Yenni Ajani saving her home. I definitely think this book could have a sequel more oriented about that, and perhaps Weysh finding and confronting his father, now that the groundwork has been laid (and in fact, I would LOVE to see one, or more books set in this world generally).

Even though it was different to the original premise, I actually really enjoyed the focus on Yenni Ajani and Weysh’s relationship. This was firstly because despite being predestined soulmates, there was NOT insta-love (even though it may have seemed like it at first on Weysh’s part). The pacing was excellent and there wasn’t a lot of reliance on miscommunication to provide tension which was refreshing. The relationship was two-sided, with both acknowledging their faults and having feelings. They also grew as people apart from one another, Yenni Ajani learning to balance her family’s expectations with her own desires, and Weysh learning about the reality of Given (soulmates) and gaining emotional intelligence. (I see some people complaining that Weysh is sexist at the beginning of the book and that’s why they DNFed - he is sexist at first as he firmly believes in gender roles HOWEVER part of his character development is unlearning this and realising gender roles are bogus, which he does.) PLUS there was still plot NOT centred on their relationship to go on! Additionally, the world-building and magic system of the book provided a great backdrop. I adored how dragons were so heavily incorporated into it, and that there were two unique ways of using magic.

I loved all the characters in this book (the good ones of course) because they were all so fleshed out, even minor side characters such as Yenni Ajani’s siblings (I also appreciated the bi-rep in Deidre). Even the villains had backstories that explained (NOT excused) their actions.

The last thing I want to talk about is the exploration of misogynoir. Yenni Ajani comes from the Moonrise Isles, which escaped the colonising terror that the Cresh unleashed on the Sunrise Isles about 300 years prior. She is the only person at the magical academy from the Moonrise Isles and experiences sexism and racism (upfront, and in the form of microaggressions) from many people she meets. I really appreciated that the author included this both to realistically depict Yenni Ajani’s experience as a minority on Cresh and to show how hurtful microaggressions are to POC in reality. ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Anais Piccoli rated it really liked it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced reader copy of this novel!
(recensione in italiano sotto a quella in inglese)

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, relatab ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Brooke Banks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: content-kickass-heroine, diverse, diversity-ownvoices, format-arcs, favorite, genre-fantasy, rating-5-stars, series, diversity-authors, written-reviews

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.

description

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 ...more

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Jun 14, 2020 Mfred rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, poc-character, poc-author, romantic

Dragons! Magic! Warriors fighting dragons with magic! It's a damn delight and you should read it.

Yenni Aja-Nifemi ka Yirba is a princess on a sacred quest to the Cresh empire. There, she must spend a year learning Creshan magic so that she can help heal her father from a terrible, unknown illness that is not only frightening to her family, but destabilizing to the entire island kingdom she comes from. Yenni Ajani would be focused on her studies except there is this giant dragon/ (very handsome) ...more

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Aug 12, 2020 Flavia rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Nandi Taylor’s debut, Given, was such a fun read! And even days after reading the last page, I’m still experiencing a book hangover! I really hope that she writes more in this world, or even continues the series. Actually, I’ll be happy if she continues writing books in general! As tends to be the case, the first thing that caught my attention about Given was the cover. Even with the progr ...more

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About Nandi Taylor

Nandi Taylor

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Nandi grew up devouring sci-fi and fantasy novels, and from a young age wrote books of her own. Her books are an expression of what she always wanted more of growing up—diverse protagonists in speculative settings. Common themes she writes about are growth, courage, and finding one’s place in the world.

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