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Boy - Girl - OY!
The Gender Game
Gender Games
YA Fiction
CreateSpace
September 24, 2016
416
COMES A STORY LIKE NO OTHER...
Welcome to the lands of Matrus and Patrus.
To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit.
Finally, Something a Little Different!
(But did it stick the landing?)
Oh my gosh, Bibliobuzzers. I was so excited when I started reading Gender Game by Bella Forrest. I seriously was. Though the blurb was different than most, it tends to be the case that every YA book ends up being the same book with a different cover. It’s dystopic, which means it will either be all Hunger Games or Selection series, right?
WRONG! So wrong!
This book totally lives up to its unique premise! Bella Forrest, known for her A Shade of Vampire series, truly delivers a complex and interesting new microcosm in the form of a society completely divided into matriarchal and patriarchal “countries”. Her foray into young adult proves fruitful with a debut that is both refreshing and thought provoking. Playing on the stereotypes of the sexes, while also looking deeper into the character traits that separate them, Ms. Forrest creates a completely believable society that debases itself by dividing itself.
Hello, Viggo…
Before you ask, there is an implied love triangle, but development-wise in this book, I never saw it as truly viable. The love interests, Lee and Viggo, are so entirely different. As with many books, the heroine, Violet, is torn between duty and desire, but as with all well-written books, we are drawn in with her. We question her decisions, her opinions and her heart just as she questions herself.
All in all, this has the potential to be a wonderful series.
(Here’s the but:)
Though I don’t know that this is a true “cliffhanger” ending, I felt the ending was abrupt. Important questions are not answered and we really don’t get any “closure”. I hate to feel that way, but I do. I realize that in a series, we have to want more in the next book, but as a seasoned reviewer and blogger, I can say that it doesn’t need to be this way. In truth, it feels very much like this was all written together and then broken into multiple books. Early cover art has the title “The Gender Games” and she noted it was the longest book she’s written, so I think this is very possible. That being said, if Ms. Forrest keeps her insanely-fast production schedule as she has with the ASoV series, it probably will have very little bearing.
So, in short, read it. It’s one of the most interesting YA premises I have read in quite some time…just be prepared for some lack of closure.
Meg, AKA the Queen Bee (QB) founded LitBuzz in 2015 as a way for her favorite authors to more-readily provide books to a legitimized reviewer. At the time, she never thought it would grow to include a dozen people, hundreds of authors and thousands of reviews.
Most of the time, you can find her with a bulldog at her feet in her home office in Pittsburgh, writing content or developing brand campaigns for clients – or sneaking a quick read of a new release.
She’s married to a great guy, has two amazing grown daughters and more animals than sense. 😉
I literally just read the recent 3 books in like 4 days. I haven’t read in a while so it took me a while to get my swing back with the first one but once I did I glided through the second and third book. The series so far has a lot of twists and turns, which I like in a book, but like when you do it at the end of the book and then the reader has to wait like months before the next one comes out its horrible. And also the thing between Viggo and Violet… Oh lordy lordy… We all knew that it really wasn’t gonna work out with Lee and her because Lee didn’t really get her like Viggo did, but seriously… 3 books of pure torture! Sitting and reading as these characters get so close and they are so perfect for each other and the fire glows bright and then someone has to come along and be like “Hmmm, I’m gonna go kidnap this person” or “Hmmm, I’m gonna put this person in a coma.” It’s just like BRUH GO AWAY!!! Lol! But the series is amazing so far and I can’t wait to read more. I really hope this becomes a movie series cause I would love to see it in theaters so that all the fans can see what both these worlds are like besides our imaginations.
This series is so completely interesting and unique! Glad you found it, too!
What age is this book appropriate for? I have a 14 year old that LOVES to read. Sometimes it’s hard to find books that she hasn’t read that are appropriate for her. She has read Hunger Games and Divergent, which I know were compared to this series. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
Hi Nelly! I am so sorry for the delay on responding! This book definitely would be fine for a 14 year old. I think she might really enjoy it. I also highly recommend Rysa Walker’s Chronos series for that age 😉