Author: Bella Forrest
The Gender Game
My reading goal
For Christmas 2017, I got a Kindle and set myself the goal of reading 12 books this year – that doesn’t sound like much to some people but I have really struggled in recent years to make time for myself to read. I’m lucky if I get to read one book a year.
Still, I am ashamed at how long it took me to get through this book. Although, in my defense, I spent a lot of January exploring my new Kindle and was easily distracted by games. I also downloaded a few books to get me started and was reading them all simultaneously whilst I figured out which one to go with… I didn’t end up finishing Gender Game until 31 March 2018.
What is the book about?
The book is set in a world divided by the sexes. Matrus is ruled by women. Patrus is ruled by men.
Skip to ‘What I think’ if you don’t want any spoilers.
How it starts
The MC, VIOLET, is a strong feisty character. From the start she is keen to get her brother back but trying to save him got her sentenced to a working house for criminals. She ends up murdering another inmate – now she will be executed for her crime. But, the queen of Matrus makes Violet a deal. Violet is to go and live in Patrus as a wife to a man she’s never met and assist is stealing an egg.
The middle
As you can guess, Violet has no choice but to take the offer. LEE, her now Patrus husband, is a very private man and only tells Violet what she needs to know. He introduces her to VICTOR, a sexy rugged cage fighter, who they will frame for the crime of the stolen egg. Violet is encouraged to spend time with Victor and ends up falling for him.
How it ends
This puts Violet in a difficult situation when they steal the egg and she flies off with Lee and frames Victor. When they take the egg back to Matrus, Victor kills the queen and takes off with the egg. Violet fights him and he falls from the motorbike-plane (he built in his garage). The book ends with Violet flying off with the egg.
What did I think
The book was alright. I gave it a generous four stars on Good Reads.
I liked the concept. The contrasting counties was interesting. I enjoyed the heated tension between Violet and Victor – a steamy romance will always keep me hooked.
I didn’t like how it ended though. It felt unfinished and was definitely left open for the other titles in the series.
Violet was no better off than she started. She still had no idea where her brother was or how to get him back – he could be long dead. She had lost, Victor, the only man she loved. I didn’t find it believable how she killed her husband. She ended up with the golden egg but we never found out why it is so important. Plus, she will likely be blamed for the assignation of the Queen.
I’m not sure if I’ll read the rest of this series as Violet isn’t a character I connect with – she’s quick to violence and killing with little remorse. It wasn’t a bad read, I enjoyed most of it. There’s just other books I’d rather be reading. I would be interested in reading more by Bella as I do her enjoy her writing style (good pace, strong characters and excellent world building).
Author Ally Aldridge 
Great review ❤
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Thank you – it’s the first time I’ve put a review on my blog 🙂
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