Take a photo of a barcode or cover
is very obviously written in 2013 tho so take that as you will
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
hinted spoilers below. read carefully.
i was completely hooked from start to end and the only thing i’ve been able to think about is neil josten and andrew minyard. their relationship is so painstakingly slow burn and is so reflective of the trauma both of them has faced. their characters are not written to be good people, but ones that have dealt with so much, and find comfort and home with one another. (plus enemies to lovers/still enemies? lol) the found family made my heart ache and i wish happiness for every single member of the foxes. so many points had me freaking out, or having to take a breath away from the book before i could continue. the story is well crafted and the relationship between the characters will have you so invested. i cant. i wish there was twenty more books in the series.
i will admit, amongst my praise, that there are some flaws. the plot is sometimes a bit wonky and confusing, and the writing gets a bit clunky and repetitive at parts. i appreciate that this is self published work though!
please i urge you to read the all for the game series. there are definitely some hard triggers (there are so many cw but coming from someone who is extremely sensitive all sections are easily skippable and it wouldn’t hinder ur understanding of the plot not reading them) but nothing that isn’t dealt with respect and proper explanation afterwards (i wld expect neil to have a bit more trauma/ptsd than he does, but this is a short series i get it) but overall i’m completely and utterly in love with the books. pls read! fall in love with andrew and neil, they need some love fr 😵💫
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide
Some things I liked:
- THAT LAST EXY GAME!! The Exy scenes are always some of my favorites, but there were so many little things (Neil's past on defense, Kevin changing his hand) that finally paid off and it was so good!!
- I loved the found family really coming out in this story!!
- I think the writing and general pacing were best in this book!
- While I have issues with the relationship between Andrew and Neil in this story, I'm a sucker for any romance ever. Plus, Neil and Andrew's relationship really grew on me, both how we got to see their feelings slowly develop and how their trust in each other developed (I especially loved their conversations about and attention to consent).
Some things I didn't love:
- The two antagonists being a mafia/gang and a sports team felt a little unbalanced. Neil being nearly killed by his father around the 250-260 page mark made the rest of the pacing strange. Also, at some point I feel like the story got too big for its breeches and it was hard to believe that Neil can make it out of all of this alive.
- Andrew and Neil's relationship felt kind of rushed? Like within the confines of this book only, their relationship developed at a reasonable to slow pace over the course of the 400 pages. But in the context of the whole series, it just kind of came out of nowhere.
- Andrew had a lot of... flaws that made him fairly annoying. His violence was concerning and made him not really a character I wanted to follow? It's one thing when he gets into violent arguments with his teammates who know him, put up with him, and can handle him. But when he's threatening, like, Katelyn? Also, his whole agreement that his brother can't date anyone that Andrew breaks when he starts seeing Neil? Wasn't always a fan of Andrew, and I feel like I could have been if his character was developed and explored further and if his flaws were treated as flaws.
- Stuart's whole character kind of came out of nowhere, and felt like he came out of convenience. There were a few other things that felt like they were big plot conveniences, but that was the biggest one that I remember.
There are a lot more things that I thought, but that's just some things. I definitely enjoyed my reading experience overall!
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
The story is exiting and the characters are just so damn lovable. But it also makes you think about your own life. Am I Running away from something? Do I let people in or do I close myself off? Do I ask for help when I need it? Am I okay? Can I change my future? Am I living my life?
It also shows how people react differently to trauma and how they deal with it.
And just a little fyi Wymack is my absolute favourite character
Best found family book
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment