The Female Uprising

The Female Saga #2

by Melanie Bokstad Horev

In Herria’s new All-Clan EVE, women still rule with an iron fist. "The Female Uprising" concludes the Female Saga with a stirring battle for equality and freedom.

Neen, Tem, Ems, and their allies have escaped the fallen Dome in Bells, seeking refuge in a makeshift forest colony struggling to survive. But their freedom comes at a price, as the formidable Herria, tightens her grip on High City, injecting women with the All-Clan serum. The serum that grants women extraordinary power also sparks aggression and violence, and Neen is struggling to see her best friend, Ems, lose herself to its dark effects.

Amidst this turmoil, Neen and Tem's love struggles to endure, burdened by Neen's guarded heart. As they strive to uncover a cure for the serum's fatal consequences, they realize that the key to change lies in revealing a truth about the past.

In this conclusion, alliances will be tested, secrets unveiled, and destinies forged. As the plight of the few enslaved men still alive intensifies, Neen and her companions must decide whether to unite both genders in a fight for freedom or succumb to a world divided by power.

The book is a dystopian tale that challenges society's norms and explores the true essence of equality and freedom. Join Neen and her allies in this captivating finale as they face their most significant battle yet, where the future of humanity hangs in the balance.

Genres: Dystopia

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

Beware!
I read AND write everything dystopian and post-apocalyptic.

If you are still here.
I am a molecular biologist with a Ph.D. who likes to write down the stories that form in my head. The stories are mainly in the realm of dystopia and science fiction. On a personal level, I love all things space, coffee, travel, and sports.
My family is everything to me.

I'll be thrilled if you would subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter:
https://www.melaniebokstadhorev.com/s...

Link to pre-order my newest book:
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Breeder...

Reviews

[Stewart Peirce]

Female Uprising

A good read, both books, well written and move along at a nice pace. An interesting take on a near future Earth run by women for women. The story draws you in and keeps your interest from the beginning. Worth the cost.

[Nərmin]

The second installment of The female saga is fast paced with compelling characters and curious ideas. The writing is smooth and easy read for any time of the day. The ending is nicely done, story tightly woven into hopeful future for the people of this strange world.
While it had some nitpicky details and the preferred direction of the story, I find this duology a good read for dystopian genre lovers.
If you are interested in strange world of female rulers, conflict of the sexes, gene altering technologies and a quick dystopian read, this saga is perfect for you.
Thanks for the dear author and story-origins for providing me with the free ARC.

[al overthrow]

This is great

Really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it turned out to be. Was a bit slow to start but it just kept getting better.

[Kris Cobb]

(I received this copy for the ARC group, so I got to read it early. Eat your hearts out.)

Benglions, Triversers, Evoks, Trabadors, Sixters - all to be forced to become All-Clans by Herria. The injections needed, though, had major side-effects that were ignored in the effort to force all women to be alike.

Neen did not want to be forced to become All-Clan. She also did not approve of the way the men were treated in her world. What to do, though? She and a small group of women - and men - were forced to flee the city to live in the wilderness while they figured out how to defeat the woman who had taken the reins of power into her own hands.

Did they figure out a plan? If so, were they able to accomplish it? This book will keep you reading until the last page to answer those questions.

[Nastacia]

4.0 stars

Great finish to this duology. Grex had the most character development. The other characters were mostly the same, with slight development.

The ending went fast. Weeks and months were jumped but it didn't confuse or take away from the storyline. It was just noticeable.

With the jumps in time, some supporting details were not given but they could be implied. Example: we knew the men were eventually released from the Work Dome but we don't know how. Would that have been nice to know? Yes. Was it pivotal to the storyline? No. Also, we know what happened to Herria. But what about Feldir and the other All Clan members?

Still an enjoyable series that explored extremism on either side of the sexes is detrimental to all of society.

[Nancy Cooley]

The Female Uprising book 2

My, my, my what a ride. This book series is amazing. Wonderful characters, great world building, fantastic technology, just enough fantasy to keep you guessing. Action at every step of the way it was so exciting I couldn't put it down. She wrapped it nicely. But I hope she has another book later to let me know how they are all doing.

[Zuza Anderson]

I have to admit that this was better than the first part. I read it in one day! It's a very interesting concept and it shows that any imbalance is wrong. Creatively shown that everything needs a balance and there is no space for extremes.

[Mary Lapeere]

okay.

I definitely enjoyed the build up. I don’t know why she had to end up pregnant at the end. It was a little predictable, but also kinda weird? There was ZERO spice, which I was kind of expecting. Maybe don’t start the story called “The Female Breeders”? That wasn’t even the main focus, so that was a little confusing. It was a fun dystopian sci fi, timeline was off (as in government reform in two weeks..lol..okay.) Also HUGE plot hole in that they didn’t really address IVF as an option well. They kinda glanced over it. I wouldn’t read this again, but I didn’t hate it. If someone wanted to read it I’d be like okay, I can discuss.

[Nancy (The Avid Reader)]

The Female Uprising is the second and last book in The Female Saga by Melanie Bokstad Horev. The Female Uprising grabbed my attention from the very first page and never let go. The Female Uprising was just as good if not better than the first book The Female Breeders.

There were so many twists and turns that kept me hanging on page after page. I couldn’t take off the pages as I was pulled deeper and deeper into the world of The Female Saga. The descriptions were so vividly written making it so easy to follow and see it play out in my head as if I was standing right there with all the characters.

Women are being injected with a serum that gives them extraordinary powers but it also causes the women to become enraged and very dangerous attacking others.

Neen is doing her best to find a cure for the women so they can save them and not have to lock them up or maybe even worse. But making the cure takes time and then there is no way of knowing if it will work.

It could kill them instead. But you know what have they got to lose after all? Can Neen make the cure in time to save the women? The answers and more can be found by reading The Female Uprising.

I am sad to see that The Female Uprising is the last book in The Female Saga. I love the world that was created for The Female Saga. I highly recommend The Female Uprising to all dystopian fans! Grab a copy of The Female Uprising today!

[Jessie Lee]

There was a lot of build up, the story has a great base. Unfortunately, the ending felt really rushed. It felt like a lot of important things were skipped over.

[Simona O.]

even worse than 1st book. Idea - great, execution - painful

[Ashley LeBaron]

I wasn’t expecting to say this after finishing the first book, but I was actually excited to read this one. I really wanted to see the rebellion get going and watch this society finally start falling apart.

Instead…I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen.

For how short these books are, this one felt surprisingly slow. Most of it was the resistance hiding out, trying to survive, and talking about what they needed to do. There were a couple things that happened here and there, but I kept thinking, “Okay…when is the uprising actually going to start?” Before I knew it, I was over halfway through the book and still waiting.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the multiple POVs, especially the councilwoman’s. Every time it switched to her I found myself wanting to get back to the resistance. We already know she’s crazy and will do literally anything to stay in power, so those chapters just didn’t add much for me.

I did like seeing the consequences of the enhancement serum. Watching this “perfect” society start to crack because of its own choices was probably the most interesting part of the book.

My biggest disappointment was the ending. It felt like the author saved everything for the last few chapters and then rushed through it. After spending so much of the book building up to this huge moment, it was over almost as soon as it started. There was so much potential there, and I just wanted…more.

Overall, I don’t regret reading the series. I actually ended up way more invested than I expected after the first book. I just wish this one had delivered on everything it was setting up because I think it could have been so much better.

[Alex]

High anxiety wondering if they'd get captured for this one! Fingers crossed for the revolution for an equal world while our leading lady Neen is busy creating a cure for the extremists' misjudgements...

I did have to jump backwards a little bit close to the end, wondering if I'd missed something. All of a sudden, things moved very quickly (maybe I was reading quicker today?!) But all in all, the setup was so exciting and fascinating!

The relationships were just fascinating, too. I think I would like to know more about Grex and Em's outcome, and seeing Naal in action would be great.

Loved the authors passion was axiomatic, and that's what I loved most!

"When she was alone, she didn't have to fit anyone's expectations of what she was supposed to be."

[Katie Ryan]

I found this installment more enjoyable than the first. The story flowed better, with fewer time jumps between chapters, which made it easier to stay engaged. I especially appreciated the development in the relationship between Neen and Tem — their growth added emotional depth and intrigue. The plot was suspenseful and kept me turning the pages.

That said, I didn’t feel strongly attached to any of the characters, which made the emotional stakes feel a bit distant. By the end, I was more relieved to finish than sad to leave the story behind. While overall it was a good read, the book felt a bit too short to fully immerse myself in its world.

[Rachel]

I was so ready to give this 4 or 5 stars depending on the ending, but it felt luke there was a massive chunk of story missed out between Herria realising the 'rebels' were just "somewhere over the mountains" and then finding them, creeping in totally unnoticed, and capturing everyone. I actually went back amd re read a chapter because I thought id kissed the planning and conversations over it, but then realised it just sort of doesn't exist?
And then of course there's a pregnancy at the end. can we please, for the love of god, have an ending where the FMC doesnt end up with an unexpected miracle baby?

[MandaC86]

Intriguing

This was intriguing it propelled you to know what happens to them all and leaves you thinking about so much.
I do have to wonder if the enhancements had caused a problem with fertility and when they reverted back it became another cure. Or there was just selective breeding and they weren't allowed to. I did think there wasn't going to be an ending and there would be a book 3 but thankfully it all finished where it was supposed to.
I'm happy that I gave this series a go

[Erika LG]

Neen, Tem, Ems, and their allies have fled the fallen Dome, finding refuge in a fragile forest colony. But their newfound freedom is under threat as Herria tightens her hold on High City, injecting women with the potent All-Clan serum, which grants extraordinary power but triggers dangerous aggression. As Neen watches her best friend, Ems, succumb to its dark effects, the struggle for love and equality intertwines with the search for a cure and a revelation about the past that could change everything.

[Sarah Rowe]

Unexpected ending

Neen's goal was equality and freedom of choice...not just for the women, but also the men in a round about way. She is content in the life she created in an old, abandoned town in the mountains. But as she watches her best friend and several others suffer from a madness induced by the serum created by the High City scientists, she decides to push herself to do more. To find out if she succeeds, read the book

[Val]

Unusual story line

Like book one, The Female Breeders, is set in an unusual world where women rule and men are slaves. I enjoyed reading them both. The main protagonist is engaging, you root for her throughout.
A very engaging tale with a small but clever twist at the end. Look out for this author if you would like an intelligent and interesting read.

[Essie Gray]

I really wanted to like this. but again the lore and history aren't explained fully which doesn't allow the rest of the world building to make full sense. major drawback to an otherwise interesting premise and characters. the story should have been larger and encapsulated so much more than a measly two books with less than 300 pages. if done properly this should have been at least a trilogy.

[Cassandra Lisa]

Wow that was terrible. So weird and rushed like you shouldn't have that big of world/story line without plans to wrap it up. I wonder if this is one of the author's first books.

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Did she need to end it with a pregnancy?! I can't be the only one who felt like that wasn't earned.

[Nikki's Dragon Den]

I loved it. The rebellion was so incredible and I loved the multiple povs. There were so many funny parts but I loved the scifi serum plot and Herrias storyline. From start to end I really enjoyed this duology and will definitelybe reading this author again!!!

[Scarlett]

A book well worth reading!

Enjoyed this book (1&2) so much!
Beautifully written, thought provoking, heartbreaking and the perfect mix of sadness, madness, badness and happy outcomes. Great character's and a storyline and dystopian world that hits home a few times.

[Helly Hansen]

I loved this series! Gonna continue with this author. Excellent writing, plot and idea!

[Angie Smuin]

What a great story

This is a very satisfying end to a fabulous story. I'm kind of sad it's only 2 books. I'd love to see a set of books about their child!

[Melanie]

Great read

An interesting series with echoes of The gate to women's country by Sheri S Tepper, but much darker and more high tech.

[heather robertson]

faith in humanity

The title of book one is misleading and this title could be a little better but overall the story is enjoyable.

[Sandra]

Not as good as the first one, dragged a little but was pretty decent. I would’ve liked a bit more about how life was after the ‘cure’ but I guess you can assume it’s back to how real life is

[Di Worley]

Great continuation

A great 2nd book in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it, learning the struggles and hardships of the characters. Will there be a third in this series?

[W]

I rounded up to four because it did keep me going, like were they dead, were they alive, what’s going on. This duology wasn’t executed the way I maybe would have done it but it was good.