So I'll admit it, I was eager to read Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines because the description reminded me of Hunger Games, a book I'm in love with and just can't get over. A girl fighting to the death in an arena while the rest of the world eagerly cheers and boos each move they make - that description fits both Hunger Games and Girl in the Arena. In Girl in the Arena, Lyn an 18-year- old living in Massachusetts has her world turned upside down when her 7th stepfather, a gladiator in the popular Gladiator Sports Association (think NFL without the padding and the tackling but with swords and wild animals), dies in the arena. Thanks to some crazy finagling of rules, the Gladiator Sports Association determines that Lyn must marry the glad who defeated her dad. (heh) Not so fast, Lyn isn't about to spend her life just like her mother- losing husbands to the barbarous sport. So she decides she'll take on the glad in the arena herself, kinda.
Overall, I felt like the book needed more action and less chitchat. Also, while you have to expect a book with a plot like this to be somewhat contrived, it seemed to me that there were just too many "awfully convenient" situations that occurred. While the end left a bit to be desired, I did appreciate that the story wrapped up in 1 book and didn't leave the reader hanging.
Cover: When I first picked up the book, I thought the jacket was great. The girl on the front is intriguing, dressed as a beautiful gladiator (even her toe nails look pretty!) But there is one very big problem with this cover- Lyn shaves her head early on in the book and the girl on the cover has long flowing locks. Glaring!
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