This was a very interesting dystopia. Normally, in dystopias, our protagonist is actively resisting the government, they're part of a rebel group. Think Legend, The Hunger Games, or Divergent. In A Gentle Tyranny, Reina is much more passive, and while that helped the story in some regards, it also harmed it.

Blurb
In a society run by women, built off the backs of men, Reina is approaching her 18th birthday. Soon to pick her career, but unsure what to pick, she is tapped by her grandmother to become the next Matriarch. Before this elevation, her world was black and white. Men must be gentled in order to be safe, and women are superior. As she sees more of Nede though, her beliefs are challenged.

Like I said earlier, Reina is a very passive protagonist. She has her beliefs, but she definitely isn't out in the world changing things. I did enjoy this take, because it felt different. I loved how she wasn't fiery, and thought through her decisions. I loved that her entire goal was to become the Matriarch, and institute change through that avenue. Writing a protagonist who is passive is difficult though, because the story can very quickly become boring. In some ways, that is what A Gentle Tyranny suffered from.

Simply put, not enough happened. Countless pages of this book are devoted to building a lush and complex world, and while I loved that, only so much worldbuilding is necessary. We're treated to Reina learning and discovering herself, but not much happens. Up until the 50% mark, she hadn't had much significant character development. Once we hit 50%, I was much more interested in the book, but it just took a little too long.

The one thing that did absolutely no wrong in this was the setting. As someone who has recently traveled to Belize, the country that inspired the setting, I could picture every scene perfectly in my head. Jess Corban excelled at writing a setting that complimented her story, and I loved the descriptions that accompanied it. From the bright clothing, to the native wildlife, this felt lush and extravagant, while also feeling natural and warm.

Although this is nowhere near the branch of dystopian that I usually read, I really enjoyed it! It's definitely a thought provoking read, which is always something I look for.

Thanks to Jess Corban and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

A Gentle Tyranny is a complex book--it addresses questions difficult questions like equality, power, corruption, and abuse. While one could read it for just the story, you would be missing the whole purpose of the book. As the mother of a daughter and a son, this book gave me a lot to think about.

I suspect that regardless of where you stand on the issues addressed in the book, you will find something that you like and something that you profoundly disagree with. I don't want to go into too much depth, but I do want to provide a warning that this book deals with difficult subjects, including sexual abuse against women. The beginning of the book was hard, as was some information revealed later in the book.

As for the writing, I thought that the build up to the main story was a tad slow. This made more sense when I realized that some of the issues in the book would not be fully resolved. I suspect that there will be a book 2, which I would definitely read.

Finally, I loved the setting in Central America--great addition to the book!

Thank you publishers and netgalley for the free E-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting take on a dystopian novel but with an unclear message.

“A Gentle Tyranny” takes a page out of M Night Shyamalan’s playbook as it seeks to rebuild a society secluded from the rest of the world where reality is what the elders make it and anyone who gets too close to fingering out the truth that lies just outside the walls must be dealt with accordingly.

Trigger warning as I was not prepared the book starts with a discussion on violence against women and touches on topics or rape, trafficking and pedophilia so if that is a sensitive topic to you please enter at your own risk.

The set up of this book is that men have abandoned any sense of self control and surrendered themselves to lust and abuse leaving a coalition of women to start a new order to protect themselves and as the generations progress the methods become more harsh and uncaring towards the males born into this matriarchal society. The construct of finding a new leader was interesting I suppose but I don’t think it accomplished what it was meant to as a lot of what we learned we are able to piece together a handful of chapters in.

I’m not sure what the point of the novel is if I’m being honest. One one hand it almost is an attempt to show that having one gender lead is always going to be problematic which is fair but to preface that with this gutting take on abuse at the moment in time where the decision to start over is made makes it difficult to fault the women overall. Yes it is a correction to the far opposite side of the moral pendulum but when staring in the face of true cruelty it’s hard to judge that choice even more so when we meet the others in the jungle who flat out say that to be a Brute is a choice that shouldn’t be taken away.

I’m very unsure about this one and not enough that I think that the sequel could help my feelings toward it as a whole but it’s a pretty strong question mark overall as I sit here and try to collect my thoughts.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I decided to give this book a chance and I am so glad I did. It was a really interesting book where I was sucked in immediatley. The characters were very interesting and I could really feel there emotions which made the book better. The author did a really good job with the plot line and character development.