Week 27 Review: Monsters Born and Made

From Goodreads:

She grew up battling the monsters that live in the black seas, but it couldn't prepare her to face the cunning cruelty of the ruling elite.

Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Fable, this South Asian-inspired fantasy is a gripping debut about the power of the elite, the price of glory, and one girl's chance to change it all.

Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.

In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers―the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others―if they're lucky―survive.

When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.

But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against contenders who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. When riots break out and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose―her life or her sister's―before the whole island burns.

My Review:
Man, this was such a fantastic read! The synopsis sounded so intriguing, and it was, once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down! There was just so much going on that I wanted to know more about, and it was so entertaining!

This island that has maristags surrounding it, I had to know more! We got a bit of background, how they came to this land, and how the race came to be, and this system of Landers and Renters. So that was pretty interesting, and a bit infuriating, to read.

Koral's position is pretty awful. She's a Hunter, the only family to hunt for maristags, so they're elevated above other Renters, but Landers look down upon them, and neither group likes them. That her sister is sick and needs a steady stream of medicine when they don't have their method of income...joining the race was risky, but if she won, the payoff would've been worth it. It was such a compelling and entertianing story! 

I really hope that this becomes a series, or we at least more time in this world. Because it's so interesting, and the way things ended, well, they haven't changed yet, but it's coming. And I want to see that, because it needs to be changed! 

Loved reading this book, and I'm excited to see what Tanvi Berwah writes next! 

Author: Tanvi Berwah 
Read: July 4th, 2022
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a DAC Book, SAC 2022 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Expected Publication: September 6th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars