I recently finished the seven books in the Gender Games series by Bella Forrest. It took me roughly nine months to read all the books. Previously, you may remember my great addiction to the Hunger Games series. I've also read the Divergent series. The Gender Games series reminded me so much of the other series' that I so enjoyed.
The premise was that there were two countries; Matrus and Patrus. Matrus was female-ruled and dominated. Males living there had little to no rights. Patrus was male-run and women living in there were essentially property with no rights of their own. Each warred against the other.
Violet is an orphan along with her brother in Matrus. Her brother, Tim has failed the test given to males to only keep passive males. She doesn't want him sent away to some sort of work camp, so she tries to smuggle him to Patrus, but they're caught. He's essentially sent to work camps and she's sent to a youth prison. She loses track of him from there. She's deemed essentially a criminal and lives in a detention center where she fights to the death for her life. She keeps getting in more trouble. At one point, to try to get her brother back, she agrees to go to Patrus to work undercover with a guy named, Lee to steal back an egg stolen from Matrus.
So she heads to Patrus, where she gives up all her rights. She "marries" and lives with Lee and his dog, Sam. Lee works at science facility that houses the egg. Violet can't go anywhere by herself during the day. Lee asks Patrian warden, Viggo Croft if Violet can hang out with him during the day for pay. A warden is essentially a law enforcement officer. She shadows him to the gym where he trains and around as he does his job. He seems quiet and rough around the edges. They fall for each other.
With Lee's help, Violet does some recon on the area in preparation for their mission which will be several months away. Violet hates waiting. Over time she comes to know and like Viggo. She hates that Lee wants to make Viggo the fall guy for their mission that now includes blowing up the science facility with King Maxen in there while stealing the egg.
They carry out their plan and head to Matrus. Lee has Violet wait on the room while he visits the Queen. After Lee comes back, he sends Violet to visit the Queen and her advisor, but Violet walks in the see that Lee has murdered them. She runs to the roof and Lee is taking off without her, trying to pin the murders on her. Violet catches the edge of the airborne vehicle and won't let go. She shifts the balance and Lee topples out to his death in the gardens below.
Violet tries to assess the situation. Did Lee really try to set her up? Who was he working for? Who can she trust? Violet grapples with trying to learn how to navigate the vehicle. She finds a note that helps her understand what's going on. She ends up in the Green, a dangerous area with deadly air and animals. She crash lands in a tree and falls out. She uses Lee's gear to survive. Finally, she sees what's going on. All the rejected boys of Matrus are housed in a building in the Green for HORRIFIC scientific experiments which enhance their skills. She finds her brother, but can't get him and the other boys out. She needs help.
Patrus pays Viggo to find and murder Violet. He now hates her as he feels lied to and used for her egg-stealing mission. They find each other she convinces him that she was also lied to by Lee.
If I summarized all SEVEN books we'd be here all day, so check out your local library and read the books for yourself. They'll leave you on the edge of your seat. The ending wasn't all the closure I ever needed, but it was a good end to this terrific series. I sure hope it's made into a movie.
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