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Given to the Sea Given Duet Mindy McGinnis Books

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Given to the Sea Given Duet Mindy McGinnis Books

Trigger warning if you need it: This book depicts a scene of attempted rape and examines rape culture in a fantasy setting. There is also some animal cruelty that is mentioned twice.

If you've read anything else by Mindy McGinnis, you know that she writes about social issues. I was surprised by how much of that carried over into her fantasy world. Here, she shows a flawed society full of sexism, racism, and ableism that our main characters have to face. There were some moments I didn't enjoy reading, some moments that felt very empowering, and some moments I don't know what I thought about them. (Specifically, I have conflicted feelings on how the ableism was portrayed. Like maybe it wasn't challenged enough, but this isn't something I know much about, admittedly.)

I've seen several reviews saying the world-building was bad or confusing and so I want to address that. I read a lot of fantasy and I didn't find this world confusing. Maybe you will, we're all different, but don't let that be the thing that scares you away from this book. I actually remember stopping at one point and thinking to myself: "wow, this was easy to get into for a fantasy world," so try it for yourself and see. It's a political fantasy and is a mostly non-magical world. It's more reminiscent of Game of Thrones than YA fae series, so know your preferences. Lots of adult themes. I've been saying it forever, Mindy writes adult books that masquerade as YA.

I enjoyed this world with its threatening sea and different nations with a tangled history. One thing I think would have GREATLY benefited the book though would have been the inclusion of a map! Maps not only show you the land, but they give you an easy reference for all of the nations and groups involved. There are about 4 groups involved in this story, but some of them merged and in the first half of the book I kept forgetting about one of them.

There are four POVs. Two of them are first person, and two are third person. I had a really easy time with the first person narratives (Khosa and Vincent) and blew through them. But then I would get to one of Witt's chapters and just get bored. I really did not enjoy his POV, but I do see why it was important. We needed to see his side to see how things came together. Dara was the other POV and while I enjoyed her character, her POV felt a bit useless since she's already so present in Vincent's chapters. I think hers could have been cut out, but have a hunch that something will happen in book 2 that we needed to have her POV for, though. But I admit, some of the POVs are less interesting than the others.

I mostly liked the characters. Khosa is touch averse and she also spends most of her time in a library. There is a love square involved and two of the characters that like each other grew up together as adopted siblings and I am not shipping that. Nope, sorry.

As for the writing, I've read all of Mindy's books and I wouldn't exactly call her the most lyrical writer, but the imagery in Given to the Sea was so vivid for me! I felt like I had the perfect image in my head for every single scene, and that is very rare for me! She paints the picture without flowery writing (which you may have learned from my past reviews is VERY hit-or-miss for me) so this was just a writing style that really worked for me and sucked me in.

Also, I thought the plot and story arc were solid. It could work as a standalone, but there is room for more.

Overall, I enjoyed the world and characters, but I have definitely preferred some of Mindy's other books. I will be reading the sequel though!


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Given to the Sea Given Duet Mindy McGinnis Books Reviews

For a fantasy debut from McGinnis, I think it was a more than okay read. Not my favorite of her books, and the love triangle kind of made me want to toss it aside. Still, I read it straight through without stopping if that tells you anything.
Overall, this was a solid read, but definitely left me feeling a bit disappointed. It felt like the first half of a story, and I was a little irritated to have paid $10 to read what felt like only half of a book. I understand it is part of a series, but there was NO resolution for any of the characters, which was very unfulfilling. I also was not a fan of how much the story jumps around between different characters viewpoints. I really like the characters, but never felt like I learned enough about each one and their motivations to make the story make sense. I'm honestly not sure if I finding out how the series ends is even worth the money spent to read it.
I had such high hopes for this book and I was sorely disappointed. I only made it eight or so chapters in before I couldn't get through. I found the story confusing and the writing style was really difficult to follow. Every few chapters the perspective changes from first to third and had little indication of what was going on. I tried to read the last few chapters of the book and that was even more confusing, some of it due to the constant jumping from one person to another and also due to grammatical errors that left sentencing undistinguishable. Also, don't expect this to be a happy book. Granted, I love sad endings but there was something about the tragic way that it ended that did not sit well with me. Overall, I would not recommend this book.
A fascinating surprise. Given to the Sea is not at all what I thought it would be. It's a fantasy rich in world building, and given plenty of unpredictable twists, and turns. Even during the times I didn't quite connect with the story, I couldn't stop reading it either.

I absolutely loved this book's setting. McGinnis has created a vivid, beautifully haunting world. It's merciless, and brutal, yet there's something about it that pulls you into it, and has you rooting for those who are trying to change the course of their fate. Given to the Sea is book that centers on the sea, and the land that surrounds it's borders. It's a story about the people who live within the borders, all of whom will do what ever it takes to protect their people, and those chosen by the sea, called The Given.

Character wise, I liked that this book was told from 4 different points of views. Each of their stories are deeply embedded with each other's. Each character has a pivotal role in the story. I enjoyed reading each of their points of views. My favorite characters in the story however, were Donil and Dara, the misfits of the story. I also liked Vincent, the reluctant heir to the throne, and then there's Witt, the brutal leader of the Pietran people. Next is Khosa, the Given. While I didn't connect to one particular character, I liked that this story was written in such a way that not having a character connection didn't effect it.

There are so many elements to this book that I enjoyed. Those outweighed some of the smaller issues I had with the book. It wasn't hard for me to get sucked into this story. McGinnis's storytelling and world building are my favorite elements to this story. However, toward the middle of the book I found myself not being as interested with story, and I'm not really sure why that was. However, McGinnis threw in a few surprises and a strong finish that has me anxiously awaiting the next book's release. I need some more answers.

Given To The Sea is a fascinating fantasy. I loved how the element of the sea is a character all it's own, controlling and ruling all that Khosa and those who live around it's borders do. I really enjoyed the way this story was told. I love the world building, the unpredictable story line, and the book's strong finish. This is unlike anything I've read before. Along with the story, this cover is one I absolutely love!
Trigger warning if you need it This book depicts a scene of attempted rape and examines rape culture in a fantasy setting. There is also some animal cruelty that is mentioned twice.

If you've read anything else by Mindy McGinnis, you know that she writes about social issues. I was surprised by how much of that carried over into her fantasy world. Here, she shows a flawed society full of sexism, racism, and ableism that our main characters have to face. There were some moments I didn't enjoy reading, some moments that felt very empowering, and some moments I don't know what I thought about them. (Specifically, I have conflicted feelings on how the ableism was portrayed. Like maybe it wasn't challenged enough, but this isn't something I know much about, admittedly.)

I've seen several reviews saying the world-building was bad or confusing and so I want to address that. I read a lot of fantasy and I didn't find this world confusing. Maybe you will, we're all different, but don't let that be the thing that scares you away from this book. I actually remember stopping at one point and thinking to myself "wow, this was easy to get into for a fantasy world," so try it for yourself and see. It's a political fantasy and is a mostly non-magical world. It's more reminiscent of Game of Thrones than YA fae series, so know your preferences. Lots of adult themes. I've been saying it forever, Mindy writes adult books that masquerade as YA.

I enjoyed this world with its threatening sea and different nations with a tangled history. One thing I think would have GREATLY benefited the book though would have been the inclusion of a map! Maps not only show you the land, but they give you an easy reference for all of the nations and groups involved. There are about 4 groups involved in this story, but some of them merged and in the first half of the book I kept forgetting about one of them.

There are four POVs. Two of them are first person, and two are third person. I had a really easy time with the first person narratives (Khosa and Vincent) and blew through them. But then I would get to one of Witt's chapters and just get bored. I really did not enjoy his POV, but I do see why it was important. We needed to see his side to see how things came together. Dara was the other POV and while I enjoyed her character, her POV felt a bit useless since she's already so present in Vincent's chapters. I think hers could have been cut out, but have a hunch that something will happen in book 2 that we needed to have her POV for, though. But I admit, some of the POVs are less interesting than the others.

I mostly liked the characters. Khosa is touch averse and she also spends most of her time in a library. There is a love square involved and two of the characters that like each other grew up together as adopted siblings and I am not shipping that. Nope, sorry.

As for the writing, I've read all of Mindy's books and I wouldn't exactly call her the most lyrical writer, but the imagery in Given to the Sea was so vivid for me! I felt like I had the perfect image in my head for every single scene, and that is very rare for me! She paints the picture without flowery writing (which you may have learned from my past reviews is VERY hit-or-miss for me) so this was just a writing style that really worked for me and sucked me in.

Also, I thought the plot and story arc were solid. It could work as a standalone, but there is room for more.

Overall, I enjoyed the world and characters, but I have definitely preferred some of Mindy's other books. I will be reading the sequel though!