Mindy McGinnis

"Khosa is destined to be sacrificed to the sea and struggles to understand her destiny as the kingdom comes under attack and the ocean threatens to destroy them all"--

Given to the Sea

Holly Klein

Gisela Ayala 

I give it 3.5 (maybe if I gave it a second read, 4) because I did enjoy the book! There were four point of views in this book and I think the lower rating had to do with Dara and Witt's point of view. I thought those were totally uncessary. As much as I wanted to love Dara, since she was a total badass, I couldn't get over her feelings for Vincent. I couldn't wrap my head around it! Yuck! I'm hoping her twin brother, Donil gets his own point of view in the next book. NOW THAT would be interesting. 

The story is really interesting, but I really think we needed a bit more of an introduction to the world. I catch on pretty easily to fantasy settings, but I could see where this one would throw people off. 

Either way, Mindy McGinnis writing style is really beautiful and her descriptions and word usage are brilliant!

Duty, fate, desire, and destiny collide in this intricately wrought tale, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas. Although she was born to save the kingdom by sacrificing herself to the rising sea, Khosa's marriage to King Vincent has redeemed her. As the Queen of Stille, she's untouchable. But being Queen hasn't stopped her heart from longing for the King's stepbrother, Donil. And it hasn't stopped her body from longing for the sea itself, which still calls for her. While Khosa is made to choose between loyalty and love, Dara is on a mission for vengeance. Years ago, the Pietra slaughtered the entire Indiri race, leaving only Dara and her twin, Donil, alive. Now, spurned by King Vincent, Dara has embarked on a mission to spill the blood of Pietra's leader, Witt, and will stop at nothing to show his people the wrath of the last Indiri. As the waves crash ever closer to Stille, secrets are revealed, hearts are won and lost, and allegiances change like the shifting sand.

Given To The Earth

Toni Turner

This series is so thoughtful and beautiful and also thoroughly fucked me up. 

Thank you, Mindy, for these wonderful characters, but also for destroying me? I will never be able to forget them. They mean too much.

Cool. I’m gonna go cry some more now!

I NEED THE SECOND ONE.
NOW.
I WANT THAT REVENGE PLOT. 
I WANT FORBIDDEN ROMANCE.
I WANT LESS THAN EVERYONE TO BE SAD. OKAY? LIKE I KNOW IT'S NOT PROBABLE FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING BUT AT LEAST SOMEONE SHOULD?!

danielle bush

I didn't like this book at all... I couldn't get into it at all, I ended up reading about 70% then just kind of skimming through the rest just to see how it would end..

I read the first few chapters, then skimmed through the middle.. and basically skipped to the last couple chapters... I didn't like this at all, in fact I liked it less that the first one. 
I did kind of like the very ending where Khousa? finally actually ended up with the prince guy.. and she had actual feelings for him as she was pregnant with his baby.. and she actually seemed happy.. but that was the best part of both books in this duology..

Celia Adams

Gorgeous cover. Sadly I think thats the best thing I can say about it. 

A short, bulleted review.

•Witt, who was supposed to be the 'bad guy', I think, is the only character I actually liked

•Khosa, Vincent, Dara, and Donil, need to get whatever this love pentagram shit is together. There's a kingdom to save, nobody cares about your feelings

•I am so confused. Not just a little but like, a lot. I think I've got what the main plot was going for, but there were just so many little things that need a lot more explanation

•This book would incredibly benefit from the inclusion of pictures, ESPECIALLY regarding the Feneen. Who I actually liked as well.

Sarah 

This book just wasn’t my cup of tea so to speak. While the writing was good I felt the story fell flat for me. The only character I kinda liked was Dara but even then she needed to grow a pair and move on. If people treat you do poorly don’t stick around. I would still read others by this author though.

Lisa van der Heijden 

Given to the Sea is surprisingly a fantasy novel that revolves around the sea and how to different countries are dealing with it. In the Pietra the elderly and the people you cannot participate in the community are pushed onto the sea in self-made boats to sacrifice them to the monstrous beasts in the sea. While in Stille they offer a young and beautiful girl to the sea; hoping they will be spared. This girl is called the Given. The Given has two purposes in life: give birth to the next Given and dance into the sea towards her death. Given to the Sea tells the story of Khosa (the Given), Vincent (Prince of Stille), Dara and Donil (the last of the Indiri) and Witt (the Lithos of Pietra). 

Though I have read the Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis – and absolutely loved it – I had some reservations about this book since it got some mixed reviews. I had some problems with this book, which I will discuss in a minute. But first the things I loved about the story. 

Things I loved. 
Given to the Sea is a very original story. I have never read something like this before. It is raw and dark and beautifully written. The main subject in this book this of course the sea. Its impendent presence is there throughout the book. All the lives of the characters in this book are connected through their fear and concern for the sea. 

Secondly what I loved about this book was the strain between duty and personal dreams. This was a very important subject throughout the book. Khosa has known all her life that she needs to give birth to a baby girl and dance towards her death. But her body and mind has other plans. Her body does not want to be touched. Which means that getting pregnant for Khosa might be more difficult than her ancestors. When she arrives in Stille she discovers that she might have other dreams then to dance into the ocean and die. While Vincent is line for a Crown and a little he does not want. I think Mindy McGinnis did an excellent job of describing the struggle between having to fulfil your duty and wanting to do your own thing. 

Thirdly, I absolutely adore Mindy McGinnis’ writing style. It is easy to read and understand, it flows nicely and the dialogue is to my opinion realistic for the world and situation these characters find themselves in. For me as a non-native English speaker it is really important if I can easily understand what is written inside a book. I feel like the writing style was clear and good to understand while being unique for Mindy McGinnis. It had the same feeling as the Female of the Species. 

Things I did not like. 
Personally I found it very hard to get into the story. I felt that the chapters were too short. So you did not get much time to get to know the individual characters in this book. And because the chapters are so small there is not much world building happening during the individual chapters. It took most of the book to connect with the characters and understand a bit of their world. This was one of the biggest problems with me because I loved to get lost in a new world or a new story. I did not really got that chance with this book. 

The thing that I most hated about this book was the world it self. What I said before is so true. It is a very harsh, raw and almost cruel world where someone build boats and sacrifice themselves when they cannot participate in their society or where they sacrifice a young girl. For me it felt like the women in this world were only there for one purpose – to have sex with. The words “to bed” and “to bred” were so much used it felt a bit offensive sometimes, like women are priced horses to be bred. This was mostly the case for Khosa (as she needed to have a daughter before dying) and sometimes Dara as well. At least Dara put some resistance against this view of women. I wished the author decided to use different words. What is wrong with just simply the word sex? 

Overall it was a fairly enjoyable and easy read. I would recommend this book to people who love original fantasy novels and do not mind cruel and sometimes a bit depressing worlds.

Sparrow Hall

Kings and queens rise and fall, loyalties collide, and romance blooms in a world where the sea is rising--and cannot be escaped. The first of an expansive fantasy duology from an up-and-coming YA author.

Given to the Sea

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