The Voting Game: Blog Tour + Giveaway

Today is the official launch of the blog tour for ‘The Voting Game’ by Peter Gulgowski and I’m thrilled to be hosting this wonderful book on my blog!

The Voting Game has cute gay boys, excellent sibling rep, friends thicker than blood and an enthralling plot- you can’t ask for more!

Title: The Voting Game

Author: Peter Gulgowski

Publisher: Self-published

Publication date: 06 March 2018

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

In the year 2084, Every Interaction Counts.

Darrius Young’s sixteenth birthday brings a harsh reality: It’s time to join the Voting Game. Playing is mandatory, and each day may be his last.

In this bleak future’s society, citizens rate their interactions with one another. Highest scorers are members of an elite upper-class. An average score means you can keep playing.

Fall below average? You are taken and killed by the government entity known only as The Bureau.

Darrius has prepared his whole life for this challenge, knowing the reality he will soon face — especially after the death of his mother to the game.

But despite preparation, he’s losing — and not just the Game. Suddenly the people he loves are getting brutally downvoted and taken by the Bureau. It’s soon clear there’s a target on his back, drawn there by the Bureau itself, and Darrius has no idea why.

In a frantic race against time in a society that’s already sentenced him to death, can Darrius save himself and those around him before it’s too late?

MY REVIEW

This book absolutely shook me with its unique concepts and the manner they were portrayed in, and the plot kept me hooked till the very end! It’s a 4/5 rating for me.

The story revolves around the concept of a future where every interaction counts. As soon as you turn 16 you become the newest player of The Voting Game- a death or life situation. Players rate every single interaction on a scale of 1 to 5 thereby helping a person maintain their aggregate score. Highest scorers are members of an elite upper class. An average score means you can keep playing. Fall below average? You are taken and killed by the government entity known only as The Bureau.

This horrifyingly creepy system brings forward something fresh and new that no reader has ever read about. The way it seems to combine some of the best genres like science fiction and dystopian only adds to its allure.

With shocking plot twists scattered all over there is no chance that you’ll be able to let go of this book until you turn the very last page. We explore the life of Darrius Young, the newest player to the game and the sweetest cinnamon roll ever! Innocent, loyal and always ready to lend a helping hand, Darrius is the epitome of purity and his boyfriend Jacob isn’t very far behind!

The two of them make an adorable couple and compliment each other in every possible way. Unlike most books that tend to focus solely on the romance aspect, The Voting Game surprises you with strong and steadfast friendships that are tested over the course of the book. But my absolute favorite has to be the sibling dynamic between Darrius and his younger sister, Jada. Smart, talented and loyal aren’t enough to define Jada, my favorite character in this book.

She’s a precious little girl who seems to be growing up fast in ways that cannot be expressed. Jada is quite mature for her age and literally no detail escapes her eyes, and she always has her brother’s back. I loved how, for a change, the younger sibling was shown as such a supportive and firm character instead of being cast aside after a couple of mentions! Another character whom I loved was Jeremy, the homeless guy. He plays a short role in the plot but somehow he just stuck with me throughout and I still can’t stop wondering what happened to him.

Among other things that I cannot stop thinking about is what happens after the end of this book because The Voting Game ended on a heart-wrenching cliffhanger which left me gaping at my e-reader for far too long.

YOU CANNOT PREDICT THIS FABULOUS ENDING!

Or control the urge to hurl your book at the wall after…

I’m absolutely pumped about the next book and am desperately grasping for more information, especially since I have reasons to believe that the next book, The Voting Legacy will be focusing more on Jada a.k.a the queen of this world.

So to sum up, you absolutely need to go read this brilliantly crafted diverse novel, especially before the sequel come out!

Go on, you’ll thank me later 😉

GIVEAWAY

Now that you’re fully aware how absolutely mind blowing this book is, I’m sure you’ll want to participate in this giveaway!

Multiple winners will be drawn where 1 winner will receive a paperback copy of The Voting Game (US residents only), and 5 winners will receive a digital copy of the book (international residents) so don’t hesitate to enter here.

You can also keep following The Voting Game as it ventures around the blogging sphere and makes a stop at other amazing blogs. Check out the full tour schedule here!

TOUR SCHEDULE

09 April 2018