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Given
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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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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
"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

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
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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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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
*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

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
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

| 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

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

**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
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

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
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

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.

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
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

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
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

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

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
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

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
...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
...more

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
...more

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
(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

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.
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

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

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
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

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
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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Book Lit Podcast: Given | 1 | 3 | Aug 09, 2020 10:53AM |
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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