Book Shelf: The Gender Game by Bella Forrest

A toxic river divides nineteen-year-old Violet Bates's world by gender.
Women rule the East. Men rule the West.

Welcome to the lands of Matrus and Patrus.

Ever since the death of her mother, Violet's life has been shadowed by bad luck. Already a prisoner to her own nation, after two unfortunate incidents resulting in womanslaughter, now she has been sentenced to death.

But one decision could save her life.

One decision to enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit.

Everything about the patriarchy defies Violet's identity, but she must sacrifice many things if she wishes to survive the forbidden kingdom... including forbidden love.

In a world divided by gender, only the strongest survive...

More info on Goodreads....


Review:

The Gender Game is Bella Forrest’s latest release and is an absolutely brilliant and addictive dystopian read that will lure readers with its intense, intriguing world, strong protagonist and promising romance!

Nineteen year old Violet Bates lives in a world where a toxic river divides two different gender based societies; Matrus and Patrus. In Violet’s home of Matrus any violence is frowned upon and men have little to no social standing, while in Patrus women are expected to submit completely to their husbands and are considered little more than property. Having been caught attempting to help someone she loves escape Matrus in the past, Violet is already a prisoner when she commits two different acts of womanslaughter, an act punishable by death. Faced with choosing between death and an unexpected proposition, Violet finds herself agreeing to a mission that will see her forced to journey into the heart of Patrus. Living in Patrus sees Violet forced to go against her very nature but as Violet makes sacrifices in order to see out her mission she begins to consider the possibility of finding the one thing she never expected to find in Patrus; love.

Wow! What a read! When I first began reading The Gender Game, I had planned to read only a few chapters to bide some time, but quickly found myself devouring the book—in one sitting! And I very rarely finish books in one sitting. I  loved The Gender Game; loved it. I adored the characters, the setting, the very feel of the novel---everything was just spot on!

Bella Forrest completely captured my attention with The Gender Game the moment I began reading. With descriptive writing, Forrest writes a really entertaining story in the vein of Divergent and The Hunger Games. I thought the world Bella Forrest created was so very clever and loved the part of it she allowed us to explore. I can only envision where she plans to take this series and what more she plans to do with it, especially considering the shocking ending of The Gender Game that readers most likely didn’t see coming.

The Gender Game followed a strong and personable main character. Violet has taken chances in the past for family and faced the consequences, but that doesn’t mean she’s shy about standing up for the underdogs, because as we quickly learn in the story, she’s not. Violet finds herself between a rock and a hard place when she agrees to go under cover in Patrus to get something back that was stolen from Matrus. This means Violet is forced to actually marry a double agent from Patrus and act the role of submissive wife in public—something that goes against her very nature. I genuinely liked Violet. She was a balanced individual who was easy to follow and had personality.

No story would be complete without a hint of romance and Bella Forrest gives us this in Viggo Croft. Ahhhh; Viggo, Viggo, Viggo. Viggo is a warden in Patrus and someone Violet and her husband set out to use as part of their mission. Viggo reminds me of Dimitri Belikov from The Vampire Academy series in the sense that he has shoulder length hair, wears a trench coat and is pretty damn bad-ass. Someone who has a past that makes him symphonize with and be intrigued by Violet, Viggo is a fierce fighter, but a quiet individual, whose relationship with Violet develops over time. Right now Forrest has only allowed the bare minimum to develop between Viggo and Violet, but I really enjoyed their chemistry and the connection they seemed to share.

Completely unassuming and with plenty of twists, turns and developments, The Gender Game is a wonderful read that races towards an explosive ending! I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good dystopian tale and can’t wait for Bella Forrest to release the sequel The Gender Secret so I can once more follow Violet and get to know more about this imaginative world!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review via Netgalley (Thank you guys!)
Publisher: Independently published
Format: Kindle ebook via Netgalley
Release Date: September 24th 2016
Pre-order: Amazon
Final Thoughts: This book is simply BRILLIANT and words cannot say how excited I am for the next book. I NEED it--like stat!