The Gender War (The Gender Game Series, book 4)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
Continue Violet and Viggo's journey in the ELECTRIFYING fourth book of The Gender Game series!

Review: 
The ending of book 3 was another cliff hanger, but book 4 started right where it ended. Viggo was in a jail cell and Violet was being kept captive by the Queen. They both get rescued by an unexpected person, where they go on another adventure into the green to try and escape and get to Patrus to save the King, where they come across another problem.

I read this after reading a great book so I expected myself in a way to not enjoy this book. But it's now got to the stage in the series where I can no longer read it because I'm really not enjoying it. I got 63% of the way through and decided that was much as I was capable of reading. I could guess the ending too, another cliff hanger. Someone will need to let know if it was.

The book itself was quite good, but it was repeating itself again. They get captured, then they escape into the green, come across another problem, solve the problem then rescue more people. It just felt too repetitive it needed something different to happen for once which would make it more exciting.

I personally think if you don't like things being done repetitive then it is best not to read this series. Or if you don't really mind repetitive books then go ahead and read this series. I won't be finishing this book or this series anytime soon, and I'm not too sure if I would even attempt to try and finish them. This is the first book/series that I haven't finished in my life but I think I've got to the point now where I'm really not enjoying it, I can give up and read something better.

So overall, what I have read I would rate this book 2 stars and I don't think I have a favourite character anymore because I am no longer enjoying the series. Lauren; the other blogger, will be getting round to reading the series at some point so look forward to reading her reviews of the full series.

2 stars out of 5

                                                                                                                                    written by Sammie

The Gender War (The Gender Game Series, book 4)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
Continue Violet and Viggo's journey in the ELECTRIFYING fourth book of The Gender Game series!

Review: 
The ending of book 3 was another cliff hanger, but book 4 started right where it ended. Viggo was in a jail cell and Violet was being kept captive by the Queen. They both get rescued by an unexpected person, where they go on another adventure into the green to try and escape and get to Patrus to save the King, where they come across another problem.

I read this after reading a great book so I expected myself in a way to not enjoy this book. But it's now got to the stage in the series where I can no longer read it because I'm really not enjoying it. I got 63% of the way through and decided that was much as I was capable of reading. I could guess the ending too, another cliff hanger. Someone will need to let know if it was.

The book itself was quite good, but it was repeating itself again. They get captured, then they escape into the green, come across another problem, solve the problem then rescue more people. It just felt too repetitive it needed something different to happen for once which would make it more exciting.

I personally think if you don't like things being done repetitive then it is best not to read this series. Or if you don't really mind repetitive books then go ahead and read this series. I won't be finishing this book or this series anytime soon, and I'm not too sure if I would even attempt to try and finish them. This is the first book/series that I haven't finished in my life but I think I've got to the point now where I'm really not enjoying it, I can give up and read something better.

So overall, what I have read I would rate this book 2 stars and I don't think I have a favourite character anymore because I am no longer enjoying the series. Lauren; the other blogger, will be getting round to reading the series at some point so look forward to reading her reviews of the full series.

2 stars out of 5

                                                                                                                                    written by Sammie

The Gender Lie (The Gender Game Series, book 3)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
After discovering the shocking secret buried deep within The Green, Violet has a grave decision to make. 
Trust the woman who saved her, or not?

So far, everything about the woman has taken Violet by surprise. Her behavior has been honest and upfront - a refreshing change for Violet. Besides, with one of her loved ones hanging on life support, and the other close to falling completely out of reach, Violet doesn't exactly have a lot of choice.  

Her only way forward is to embark on a dicey excursion. For this, she knows she needs the Liberators' help - and must be prepared to take whatever risks that comes with. 

But what neither she, nor any of her new Liberator comrades can prepare for, is just how deep the lies of their homelands run...

Review: 
Once again this book started straight after another heart stopping ending in book 2. We are straight into Violet's point of view where she is sat with Viggo, while he is in an induced coma because of his vain attempt of trying to save her at the end of book 2. Violet is currently going through some tough moments with her brother, Ms.Dale and coming to terms with Desmond. She isn't used to people caring for her and her friends but she is worried what she will need to do to repay Desmond for the help she is receiving. 

At the start of the book I could feel myself going into another reading slump, hence why it has took me longer than usual to read the book, so this review may be more critical than others because of the slump.

At the start of the book Violet is still the main character and is trying to help her 'boyfriend' get the laser technology that is required to help with the tears that he has experienced to his heart from sticking too many adrenaline patches on himself. So she ends up going on a mission again with new characters, the ones that have helped her, to get the equipment that is required for his surgery.

The mission experiences a few hiccups and Violet struggles with trusting new people that are supposedly trying to help them. The mission itself was quite interesting to read but afterwards was when I had actually decided that I really started to hate Violet. There is a quote I have highlighted at this moment, I won't include it in this section but if anyone wants to know it's mentioned within the spoilers section below the rating.

So gathering all this information together I'd say that it was a good book, great amount of detail, plenty of scene changes, and another cliff hanger ending. I'm loving the scene changes and the twists that missions have, but I'm actually getting a bit bored of going into the green and something bad happening, and then something having a huge twist and then it gets resolved and the book to end on a cliff hanger. Just eurgh stop doing it there's another 4 books left, change something!

I may only have this opinion because I have definitely got into a reading slump throughout this book, and I can't really decide on a star rating as I have mixed emotions with it. I'm wanting to give it 4 because generally it's a good book, but it is really similar to the other 2 books in the series so I'm wanting to give it 3. This is because I'm actually starting to get sick of the same layout just different events but they're so similar.

Favourite Character: Viggo
Read: 18/07/18 - 23/07/18

3 stars out of 5

Check out book 4: The Gender War

*SPOILERS*

From this point on it will contain spoilers, I will be explaining who my favourite character is and why and will explain why I have started to hate Violet. So if you are not wanting to know any spoilers DON’T read on!! Sorry it has become a lot more informal too, but I’m just expressing how I feel.

Right so to start of with I will explain why I no longer like Violet. 

“Owen, you aren’t even a blip on my radar,”

Why is she so stuck up? Why does she think she’s so perfect. I’m getting quite sick of her to be honest, why does she have to let men do these things to her. I understand Lee was her first boyfriend but surely everyone knows that you only stick with one person and if you don’t like them finish it! 

I understand to have a sort of love triangle in most young adult books now a days but she is just so confusing she lets Owen kiss her when she should really push him away, and to then say that I think it’s quite two faced. 

Throughout the book she starts to get quite big headed and think that she is better than everyone else too and twists people around her little finger and makes other characters quite jealous which I really hate!

Okay so that’s the semi-rant over about Violet, now to explain why Viggo has became my favourite character.

So once Viggo’s operation was done he was obviously on the road to recovery,  I felt like I could relate to Viggo with how he was feeling knowing that Violet was still getting on with her life, while he struggled to get himself back on his feet and she didn’t really consider how he felt. Which is another reason why I hate Violet now. I felt like I could relate with the frustration he was feeling at having Violet around with his physiotherapy sessions because he felt ashamed that he couldn’t do the basic of tasks and having her around made him feel quite self conscious and he felt like he could progress better without her watching his every move.

Once he had fully recovered and was nearly back to his usual strength I felt like I liked him even more as a character because he took it in his hands to try and train the boys and give them a second chance. He went out of his way to ensure that they were treat like humans and not like test subjects anymore. He always seemed to put himself in great danger to save the people he liked too. 

Viggo’s emotions throughout the book were quite strong and I related to them quite well and I understood why he was feeling these emotions at times, hence why he has become my favourite character.

written by Sammie

The Gender Lie (The Gender Game Series, book 3)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
After discovering the shocking secret buried deep within The Green, Violet has a grave decision to make. 
Trust the woman who saved her, or not?

So far, everything about the woman has taken Violet by surprise. Her behavior has been honest and upfront - a refreshing change for Violet. Besides, with one of her loved ones hanging on life support, and the other close to falling completely out of reach, Violet doesn't exactly have a lot of choice.  

Her only way forward is to embark on a dicey excursion. For this, she knows she needs the Liberators' help - and must be prepared to take whatever risks that comes with. 

But what neither she, nor any of her new Liberator comrades can prepare for, is just how deep the lies of their homelands run...

Review: 
Once again this book started straight after another heart stopping ending in book 2. We are straight into Violet's point of view where she is sat with Viggo, while he is in an induced coma because of his vain attempt of trying to save her at the end of book 2. Violet is currently going through some tough moments with her brother, Ms.Dale and coming to terms with Desmond. She isn't used to people caring for her and her friends but she is worried what she will need to do to repay Desmond for the help she is receiving. 

At the start of the book I could feel myself going into another reading slump, hence why it has took me longer than usual to read the book, so this review may be more critical than others because of the slump.

At the start of the book Violet is still the main character and is trying to help her 'boyfriend' get the laser technology that is required to help with the tears that he has experienced to his heart from sticking too many adrenaline patches on himself. So she ends up going on a mission again with new characters, the ones that have helped her, to get the equipment that is required for his surgery.

The mission experiences a few hiccups and Violet struggles with trusting new people that are supposedly trying to help them. The mission itself was quite interesting to read but afterwards was when I had actually decided that I really started to hate Violet. There is a quote I have highlighted at this moment, I won't include it in this section but if anyone wants to know it's mentioned within the spoilers section below the rating.

So gathering all this information together I'd say that it was a good book, great amount of detail, plenty of scene changes, and another cliff hanger ending. I'm loving the scene changes and the twists that missions have, but I'm actually getting a bit bored of going into the green and something bad happening, and then something having a huge twist and then it gets resolved and the book to end on a cliff hanger. Just eurgh stop doing it there's another 4 books left, change something!

I may only have this opinion because I have definitely got into a reading slump throughout this book, and I can't really decide on a star rating as I have mixed emotions with it. I'm wanting to give it 4 because generally it's a good book, but it is really similar to the other 2 books in the series so I'm wanting to give it 3. This is because I'm actually starting to get sick of the same layout just different events but they're so similar.

Favourite Character: Viggo
Read: 18/07/18 - 23/07/18

3 stars out of 5

Check out book 4: The Gender War

*SPOILERS*

From this point on it will contain spoilers, I will be explaining who my favourite character is and why and will explain why I have started to hate Violet. So if you are not wanting to know any spoilers DON’T read on!! Sorry it has become a lot more informal too, but I’m just expressing how I feel.

Right so to start of with I will explain why I no longer like Violet. 

“Owen, you aren’t even a blip on my radar,”

Why is she so stuck up? Why does she think she’s so perfect. I’m getting quite sick of her to be honest, why does she have to let men do these things to her. I understand Lee was her first boyfriend but surely everyone knows that you only stick with one person and if you don’t like them finish it! 

I understand to have a sort of love triangle in most young adult books now a days but she is just so confusing she lets Owen kiss her when she should really push him away, and to then say that I think it’s quite two faced. 

Throughout the book she starts to get quite big headed and think that she is better than everyone else too and twists people around her little finger and makes other characters quite jealous which I really hate!

Okay so that’s the semi-rant over about Violet, now to explain why Viggo has became my favourite character.

So once Viggo’s operation was done he was obviously on the road to recovery,  I felt like I could relate to Viggo with how he was feeling knowing that Violet was still getting on with her life, while he struggled to get himself back on his feet and she didn’t really consider how he felt. Which is another reason why I hate Violet now. I felt like I could relate with the frustration he was feeling at having Violet around with his physiotherapy sessions because he felt ashamed that he couldn’t do the basic of tasks and having her around made him feel quite self conscious and he felt like he could progress better without her watching his every move.

Once he had fully recovered and was nearly back to his usual strength I felt like I liked him even more as a character because he took it in his hands to try and train the boys and give them a second chance. He went out of his way to ensure that they were treat like humans and not like test subjects anymore. He always seemed to put himself in great danger to save the people he liked too. 

Viggo’s emotions throughout the book were quite strong and I related to them quite well and I understood why he was feeling these emotions at times, hence why he has become my favourite character.

written by Sammie

The Gender Secret (The Gender Game Series, book 2)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
Gliding over the treacherous Green in a shaky aircraft that she has no idea how to land, Violet Bates is still in shock. The harrowing events of the previous night play over in her mind as she asks herself question after question. 

Why did Lee Desmond Bertrand behave the way he did? 

What is the truth about the mysterious silver egg stowed beneath her seat? 

What happened to Viggo and where is her brother? Is either of them still alive?

When Violet manages to reach the toxic ground alive, she has landed in a world of unimaginable danger. She has barely time to catch her breath before she is sucked into a perilous journey at breakneck speed - to uncover secrets guarded for centuries and find the only two people that matter. 

Review: 
After a huge heart tearing scene ending in book 1 we find ourselves on another journey with Violet, this time she's travelling on Lee's invention of a flying motorbike travelling northwards not too sure on the direction she wants to go, she is torn between Viggo and Tim. Still undecided she ends up trying to land the flying motorbike and crashes into a tree in the green, where events change for the worse. We also discover the new queen of Matrus and the opinions of her sisters.

I started this book straight after book 1 because the ending of book 1 was so powerful and heart destroying I needed to find out what Violet was going to do after that situation, especially now she is a wanted criminal again!

Violet is still the main character within the book, with queen Elena taking up a big chunk of character profile to start off with. Then throughout the book we start getting Viggo's point of view which suggests that he is now also a main character. The point of views from both of these characters allows you to develop feelings for both and understand their love for one another in a different way.

This book seemed to be not have as many scene changes as much as book 1 which I didn't really like because I thought we were spending far too much time in the green and bad things kept happening it was like we were never going to get anywhere. After 3/4 of the book we took a change of scene where we met more enemies of Violet's.

Gathering all what is said above allows me to make a decision and rate the second book 4 stars out of 5. This is because I'm not a huge fan of staying in the scene for a vast majority of the book with quite predictable events throughout the scenes. But overall it was still a great read because it was fast paced and I felt that Viggo's character had developed quite a lot and we discovered his true feelings.

This book doesn't necessarily have to be read after book 1 but it is advised because you wouldn't understand why a few things happen or why people react like that. The ending of this book is another enticing ending and encourages you to carry on reading the next book within the series.

Favourite Character: Viggo
Read: 16/07/18 - 18/07/18

4 stars out of 5

Check out my review of Book 3: The Gender Lie (tbc)

written by Sammie

The Gender Secret (The Gender Game Series, book 2)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
Gliding over the treacherous Green in a shaky aircraft that she has no idea how to land, Violet Bates is still in shock. The harrowing events of the previous night play over in her mind as she asks herself question after question. 

Why did Lee Desmond Bertrand behave the way he did? 

What is the truth about the mysterious silver egg stowed beneath her seat? 

What happened to Viggo and where is her brother? Is either of them still alive?

When Violet manages to reach the toxic ground alive, she has landed in a world of unimaginable danger. She has barely time to catch her breath before she is sucked into a perilous journey at breakneck speed - to uncover secrets guarded for centuries and find the only two people that matter. 

Review: 
After a huge heart tearing scene ending in book 1 we find ourselves on another journey with Violet, this time she's travelling on Lee's invention of a flying motorbike travelling northwards not too sure on the direction she wants to go, she is torn between Viggo and Tim. Still undecided she ends up trying to land the flying motorbike and crashes into a tree in the green, where events change for the worse. We also discover the new queen of Matrus and the opinions of her sisters.

I started this book straight after book 1 because the ending of book 1 was so powerful and heart destroying I needed to find out what Violet was going to do after that situation, especially now she is a wanted criminal again!

Violet is still the main character within the book, with queen Elena taking up a big chunk of character profile to start off with. Then throughout the book we start getting Viggo's point of view which suggests that he is now also a main character. The point of views from both of these characters allows you to develop feelings for both and understand their love for one another in a different way.

This book seemed to be not have as many scene changes as much as book 1 which I didn't really like because I thought we were spending far too much time in the green and bad things kept happening it was like we were never going to get anywhere. After 3/4 of the book we took a change of scene where we met more enemies of Violet's.

Gathering all what is said above allows me to make a decision and rate the second book 4 stars out of 5. This is because I'm not a huge fan of staying in the scene for a vast majority of the book with quite predictable events throughout the scenes. But overall it was still a great read because it was fast paced and I felt that Viggo's character had developed quite a lot and we discovered his true feelings.

This book doesn't necessarily have to be read after book 1 but it is advised because you wouldn't understand why a few things happen or why people react like that. The ending of this book is another enticing ending and encourages you to carry on reading the next book within the series.

Favourite Character: Viggo
Read: 16/07/18 - 18/07/18

4 stars out of 5

Check out my review of Book 3: The Gender Lie (tbc)

written by Sammie

The Gender Game (The Gender Game Series, book 1)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
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 disappearance of her beloved younger brother, Violet's life has been consumed by an anger she struggles to control. Already a prisoner to her own nation, now she has been sentenced to death for her crimes. 

But one decision could save her life. 

To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit. 

Everything about the patriarchy is dangerous for a rebellious girl like Violet. She cannot break the rules if she wishes to stay alive. 

But abiding by rules has never been Violet's strong suit.

When she's thrust into more danger than she could have ever predicted, Violet is forced to sacrifice many things in the forbidden kingdom ... including forbidden love. 

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

Review: 
This book starts off with a very heart destroying scene where Violet is trying to save her brother Tim by helping his escape from Matrus, because he had failed the testing and was sent to the mines in the North. From this scene onwards it takes a huge turn and carries on with Violet's life after seeing her brother fall into the toxic river.

I started this book in a huge reading slump and was enticed within the first two pages. At the start if the book there is only one main character who struggles with keeping her emotions under control and lashes out if something angers her or someone does something towards her family members. After living in several prisons over several years she is given an opportunity to redeem herself and all of her crimes forgotten if she completes one task successfully. This is when the second main character shows themselves and you get to see the true independent woman Violet is in an environment where she is supposed to be weak and follow men's orders. A third character shows themselves at this point too and is quite close to being classed as a main character because of the amount they are mentioned in the actual story.

These characters stories are well described and are in a great amount of detail for the first book. This leads you to become attached to them and want to keep reading to see what other things happen to them.

Throughout the whole book I felt I was constantly trying to guess what would happen next but I was always wrong, this kept me turning the pages and wanting to read more.

There was only one thing I disliked about this book and to be honest I'm just being picky, it was the ending! It was a proper kick in the teeth and pulled at all my heart strings. It made me want to read the next one straight away, which I did thankfully as it was already out so I feel sorry for the people who read it first and had to wait for the second book.

Overall I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an adventure, huge twists, love stories and a quick simple enjoyable fast paced book that you don't mind pulling at your heart strings. I'd recommend that you have some tissues near by and maybe a pillow to scream your anger into.

Favourite Character: Violet
Read: 12/07/18 - 15/07/18

5 stars out of 5 

Check out my review of Book 2: The Gender Secret

written by Sammie

The Gender Game (The Gender Game Series, book 1)

By Bella Forrest

Blurb: 
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 disappearance of her beloved younger brother, Violet's life has been consumed by an anger she struggles to control. Already a prisoner to her own nation, now she has been sentenced to death for her crimes. 

But one decision could save her life. 

To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit. 

Everything about the patriarchy is dangerous for a rebellious girl like Violet. She cannot break the rules if she wishes to stay alive. 

But abiding by rules has never been Violet's strong suit.

When she's thrust into more danger than she could have ever predicted, Violet is forced to sacrifice many things in the forbidden kingdom ... including forbidden love. 

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

Review: 
This book starts off with a very heart destroying scene where Violet is trying to save her brother Tim by helping his escape from Matrus, because he had failed the testing and was sent to the mines in the North. From this scene onwards it takes a huge turn and carries on with Violet's life after seeing her brother fall into the toxic river.

I started this book in a huge reading slump and was enticed within the first two pages. At the start if the book there is only one main character who struggles with keeping her emotions under control and lashes out if something angers her or someone does something towards her family members. After living in several prisons over several years she is given an opportunity to redeem herself and all of her crimes forgotten if she completes one task successfully. This is when the second main character shows themselves and you get to see the true independent woman Violet is in an environment where she is supposed to be weak and follow men's orders. A third character shows themselves at this point too and is quite close to being classed as a main character because of the amount they are mentioned in the actual story.

These characters stories are well described and are in a great amount of detail for the first book. This leads you to become attached to them and want to keep reading to see what other things happen to them.

Throughout the whole book I felt I was constantly trying to guess what would happen next but I was always wrong, this kept me turning the pages and wanting to read more.

There was only one thing I disliked about this book and to be honest I'm just being picky, it was the ending! It was a proper kick in the teeth and pulled at all my heart strings. It made me want to read the next one straight away, which I did thankfully as it was already out so I feel sorry for the people who read it first and had to wait for the second book.

Overall I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an adventure, huge twists, love stories and a quick simple enjoyable fast paced book that you don't mind pulling at your heart strings. I'd recommend that you have some tissues near by and maybe a pillow to scream your anger into.

Favourite Character: Violet
Read: 12/07/18 - 15/07/18

5 stars out of 5 

Check out my review of Book 2: The Gender Secret

written by Sammie