Author: Madison Fox
Series: The System #2
Genre: Gamer romance, workplace romance, billionaire romance
Pages: 372
Release Date: May 23, 2024
My Thoughts on Forbidden Game
I’m not going to lie, after giving the debut book in this series 4-stars, this book fell a little bit flat for me. Still a 3-star and enjoyable read, but I wasn’t in love with it. I’ll get into a little bit of why below.
This book tells the story between Sydney and Parker. Parker Covington is the billionaire heir to a hotel empire, and also a member of the gamer trio, The System. Sydney Lake is the group’s publicist, and rule number one is don’t date the client. But she and Parker have a solid friendship and a secret past, and it makes it hard for them to stay away from one another.
When Parker is threatened with losing his inheritance and future role at his family’s business if he doesn’t quit gaming, Parker makes a deal with his grandfather – prove that he’s the best speed runner in the game. Sydney joins him on the road for his competitions, which is where the lines start to blur…
He is a golden ray piercing through my cloudy sky.
The sunshine to my ice.
I’ve always been attracted to the sun, but I can’t afford to let it scorch me.
And there is not a doubt in my mind that Parker’s heat would burn me alive.
Sydney lake
I think what made this book a 3-star for me was that I didn’t find the deal with the grandpa very appealing or realistic. I don’t know – I just feel like “oh well watch me win” was childish rather than proving that his gaming was a real and lucrative profession. I understand that it was supposed to make it high stakes, but it almost felt unnecessary. I enjoyed the competitive speed running storyline on its own – I was anxious for Parker!
Another part was that there wasn’t really much conflict between Parker and Sydney. With the publicist/client relationship, I was expecting a little more forbidden love and hesitance to starting a relationship. They decide to be together pretty quickly, and after that, most of the drama is external with Sydney’s resistance to driving and unraveling that backstory, and Parker competing in gaming competitions.
Overall, I did like the book; I just didn’t love it. I liked Parker and Sydney’s banter and friendly relationship from the start. I thought it was cute they went to the gym and could just watch tv together. I loved that we find out all these sweet things Parker has been doing for Sydney without her knowledge like her apartment. And I really enjoyed the competitive aspect of Parker and his speed running – that part was super well done and interesting. I’d recommend this book, but I do think it lacks a little bit of the relationship excitement that’s in book 1!
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know if you read Forbidden Game – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked this spoiler-free book review for Forbidden Game, I’d love for you to share this post!
