8/4/2021 Update: in light of revelations that Jess Corban is a pen name for Jessie Minassian, I will be removing my rating as I do not support the author's beliefs when it comes to conversion therapy.

Growing up, Reina always wanted to be an Alexia and protect Nedé but her grandmother has other plans for her when she nominates her to be the next monarch. Pitted against four other women, Reina suddenly has to navigate the political elite and show the Matriarch she's the best candidate.

In the late 21st century, Tristan Pierce established Nedé as a safe haven for women. The men are gentled from birth while women are allowed to pursue a life free of fear and oppression. In order to assure this, Nedé's men are unable to grow much hair and muscle, making them weak and short lived.

Shortly after birth, they are separated from their mothers and raised to be servants. They are only allowed to perform society's menial tasks while being forbidden from forming any sort of relationship with the women around them. Corban does a brilliant job describing men's lives under this regime, which rightly makes certain passages uncomfortable to get through.
Even Reina, who grew up on a more tolerant farm where the men are allowed to have names, doesn't question this subjugation until later on in the novel.

Reina was an interesting character. I found her grating in the beginning as she dismissed her family's chosen careers but I was happy to see her grow out of that. As she learns more about those destinies, and her family in particular she not only comes to appreciate them, but they help fuel her determination to change Nedé for the better.

She also started out very naïve. While she maintained a secret friendship with a gentle, she still held firm to Nedé's constitution, until the selection process challenged her core beliefs.
I appreciated that Corban didn't make Reina a rebel from the beginning. Given the setting, it's expected that Reina would agree with the status quo, which makes her rebellion all the more poignant.

A Gentle Tyranny was fun well balanced. Once the selection begins, the book flowed well and I had no trouble getting through it. I liked that Reina is slow to change her ideas as it's hard to rebel against one's upbringing from one day to the next, and this was reflected in the book.

My one complaint is that I don’t think Corban developed her world enough. Some of the secondary characters are lacking, whereas the worldbuilding is confusing at times, particularly when it comes to the Brutes. As this is the first book in a series, there's more than enough potential to grow and I look forward to seeing what Corban does in the sequel.

A Gentle Tyranny by Jess Corban was an interesting study in what a matriarchal dystopia could look like. Corban's character arcs are well crafted and the slow build of a rebellion fits Reina's mindset. The lack of a romantic element was a welcome surprise as well, even if I do like the hints of a future relationship.

This book is for older readers as it contains violence and on-page depictions of executions.