i received a copy of monsters born and made from new south publishing au in exchange for an honest review.
star rating
monsters born and made review
i have a lot of thoughts about this book. it was a rollercoaster of things happening and trying to remember everything. this book had a lot of interesting ideas thrown in, but also a lot of things that felt too similar to other books. (yes, i understand how tropes work, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out how it should).
the first thing that really stood out to me was the similarities between monsters born and made and skandar and the unicorn thief. firstly, we have aggressive magical horse like creatures that get used in racing competitions. (i could be wrong on the horse connection for monsters born and made, seeing as there’s also water creatures. but these things pull a chariot, so i’m assuming they’re horse-like). while this point is irrelevant because plenty of books feature it: they’re both dystopian in setting.
it’s probably a reach to call them similar, but i couldn’t stop thinking about skandar while reading it. it was off putting and kept disrupting my reading experience. (i’ve seen a lot of people compare it to the hunger games, but aside from the setting and a vague competition, there’s no other similarities). unfortunately, due to the similarities with other books, i found monsters born and made forgettable.
anyway. i enjoy competition books. it adds a layer of tension and creates a fast paced book. so perks for that. (i kinda wish they raced a different kind of creature though. race a polar bear or something?)
another thing i loved was the south asian inspiration. this is a popular trend at the moment, and i’m 100% loving it.
koral was an interesting character for the author to use as an mc. she wasn’t particularly likeable nor was she hate-able. i felt indifferent towards her. i didn’t really care if she lived or died (which isn’t a good thing. we need to be rooting for the main characters).
on a plus side, this book features ex’s to rivals to allies to something more? it’s a big confusing mess to explain, but it works really well within the story. i love characters with history! it makes their romance more believable.
my feelings for this book are a little all over the place. i wanted to love it so bad, but i found that it wasn’t particularly memorable or unique. i feel like there’s a lot the author can learn from this book, and i’m excited to see how her writing improves between now and the next book.
3 Comments
That cover is very cool looking. Too bad you didn’t love it.
I’m sorry this book didn’t stand out for you! The romance certainly does seem unique, though.
I’d definitely read a book about polar bear races.