The premise sounds fascinating, albeit a bit disjointed with two rather different stories. But that disparity did make me want to read the book to see how these two stories eventually intertwine. And the genre right up my alley. But after reading the first chapters, I found I wasn’t drawn into the story like I expected. Yes, the story starts off right away with quite a bit of action. And it gives enough world building that I got the premise of the plot, but I didn’t feel any connection to the characters or why I should care. And the whole gender-control reason seemed a bit weak. Or maybe it was that it felt too forced. I guess I like a bit more subtlety in villain’s plots or maybe more complexity. I’d still give it a try and read a few more chapters, but I’m doubtful.