Gauntlet by Holly JenningsSeries: Arena #2
Published by: Ace Books on April 4, 2017
Genre: Action, Gaming, Science Fiction, Virtual Reality
Pages: 336
Source: NetGalley
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★★
Kali Ling isn’t afraid of dying. She’s been killed hundreds of times in hundreds of different ways. And she knows there are things much more terrifying than death...
There’s a new game in town. A brutal, winner-takes-all, international video game tournament between the world’s most elite players, 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 gamer makes a move.
As the first female captain and youngest team owner in VGL history, Kali is used to defying the odds. But as the all-star tournament heats up, her determination begins to waver and the pressures of media, sponsors, and the game itself begin to put cracks in her hard-set convictions.
If Kali’s Team Defiance is 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…
HOT DAMN!
Gauntlet owned even harder than Arena!
I liked Arena but had a few issues with it. I didn’t love Kali’s spiral into chaos, which was a big part of the book. But Gauntlet was peeerfect. It was all the awesome bits of Arena, but made even more awesome, and had brand new struggles that I actually really enjoyed reading about.
Kali has to deal with the pressures of running her own gaming team. If I learned anything from Gauntlet it’s that I’d never fucking want that job. She has to handle the bullshit media/press who keep spreading horrible rumours, and then there are the sponsors who basically keep saying, “Fake all your drug test results or we’ll pull your funding.” Basically she has to deal with so many awful people.
It was really heartbreaking to see what the media was saying about the team, then for the team members to have to deal with it. I had much love for the side characters during this!
The gaming in Gauntlet was better than ever! It was crazy intense and just like in Arena, I was glued to my Kindle. I loved the fighting descriptions, the new teams, and the scary ass new tech.
Gauntlet ended in such a way that I wonder if there’s going to be a third book.. I certainly hope so because I’m officially addicted to this series! ♥
Yay! I’m so excited to read this one – I loved Arena! I have it from Netgalley, I think it may be my next read actually 🙂 I’m so glad it delivered; I always get nervous after I enjoyed a first book so much!