Gauntlet by Holly Jennings REVIEW

**Sequel to Arena**

Summary:

There's a new game in town: a brutal, winner-takes-all international video game tournament showcasing the world's most elite players and promising fame, prestige, and unbelievable fortune. But there's a catch. The game uses new VR pods guaranteed to push digital warriors to their physical and psychological brink--adapting every time a player makes a move.

As the first female captain and youngest team owner in the Virtual Gaming League's history, Kali is used to defying the odds. But when the all-star-tournament heats up, her determination starts to waver and the pressure of media, sponsors, and the game itself begin to put cracks in her hard-set convictions--and strain her relationship with the one person who matters most.

If Kali and her teammates are to survive, they'll have to find a way to be stronger than ever before. But battling the system may prove too difficult for even the most hardened of fighters . . .

My Thoughts:

At the beginning, it was kind of confusing. Like, things happened in between books that are mentioned but not really explained? Which made the book kind of hard to follow?

The book was well written and interesting though. The new game's system and the pressure of media and sponsors make it even better. Not to mention someone in charge is trying to get them out of the game and ruin their reputation because they revealed the hardships of gamers to the public.

The thing is though, the end was very much a cliffhanger. There'd better be another book, because how are they going to get back to their life, if gaming is their life?

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Arena by Holly Jennings REVIEW

Summary:

The RAGE tournaments--the Virtual Gaming League's elite competition where the best gamer in the world face off in a fight to the digital death. Every kill is broadcast to millions. Every player leads a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.

And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.

Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world--until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she's stuck trying to work with a hostile new teammate who's far more distracting than he should be. Between internal tensions and external pressures, Kali is on the brink of breaking. To change her life, she'll need to change the game. And the only way to revolutionize an industry as shadowy as the VGL is to fight from the inside . . .

My Thoughts:

The beginning of this book was kind of boring. To the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. 

But I'm glad I kept reading, because it got a lot more interesting.

When Kali's teammate Nathan is found dead of an overdose, Kali snaps. She knows many gamers do eventually go mad, but she stands up to it eventually, which saves her life and her team's reputation. The new teammate, Rooke, seems to not like anyone, but she finds out that he has struggled with the same problem and had a friend experience madness like Nathan's.

They start to pull together and work hard to win the final tournament.

The end was a bit sudden though.

However, I really ended up enjoying this book a lot.

My Rating: 4 stars

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**I received this book from Blogging For Books for free to review. Thank you!**