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jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Everything I ever heard about this before picking up the books for myself was how much people love Neil and Andrew together. Well, I can tell you: I don't see it. You could say it's my aroace-ness that makes me blind to those things, but I have plenty of ships I love to prove you wrong. I just find that Neil and Andrew have absolutely no chemistry, and I think part of the reason is that we never get any real insight into Andrew's thoughts because the books are written from Neil's perspective.
Now, I'm not sure I should wish we'd gotten Andrew's perspective because I think the author made it pretty clear she's not exactly an expert on mental illness. It's never named what Andrew has (as far as I'm aware), but the whole medication thing was a huge red flag on the amount of research she probably put into that storyline.
But enough about that supposed OTP. You know who had real chemistry with Neil? Kevin. I kid you not, for the whole first book I tried to make sense of why everyone shipped Neil with Andrew while Kevin was right there. And I forgot he had a girlfriend until the 2.5 seconds she appeared around the 75% mark. I swear, the author made her up just to prove Andrew was the only choice.
I would have LOVED to see Kevin and Neil as a couple. Of course, it would have made everything around them go down in flames, but at least it would have been entertaining and I would've enjoyed it. As it stands, I was more interested in seeing what would happen with the mafia storyline (fiddled out too easily) and the championship (suspension of disbelief required, big time!) than any interaction between Neil and Andrew.
And while I'm ranting, let's talk about the whole school and Exy thing.
1) no way would Neil had been allowed to continue playing with the way he disregarded his studies. That might work in a school where the athletes are champions and revered by all, but it's made clear from the get-go that the Foxes aren't that respected. I wouldn't have minded as much if we hadn't seen classes at all or if Neil had actually studied, but the author makes it seem like he NEVER works at all for class, barely even listens when he attends. Making that little effort in college will get you failing grades for sure.
2) the championship rules (like the whole sport, to be fair) made absolutely no sense. To have a round of 2-out-of-3, then most points, then a death match in a tournament is too many rules. Can you imagine that in real life? Only people into fantasy sports and analysts would understand it. It would never work!
3) the way the Ravens can basically do anything they want. If they're the best team in the nation and their stadium is home to the national team, they'd be under constant scrutiny. Yet, they get away with pretty much everything until Neil and Kevin (and eventually Jean) make their big reveals. Seriously, you're telling me absolutely no one would have ever suspected the cult-like team to use psychological torture on their players? Come on.
I almost forgot an important point: consent. It's supposed to be super important to Andrew once his relationship with Neil develops. Which is hilarious because he completely disregarded Neil's consent when they drugged him in the first book. And even in this book, when Andrew basically forces Neil to drink after he said multiple times that he doesn't. So what if he's not on the run anymore? He said no, you respect it. The whole idea of consent seems to be important to the author only when it comes to sex, and it's a big problem.
So yeah, I don't get the hype. A compelling read, but nothing as amazing as the superfans would make you believe.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Kidnapping, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Death, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Moderate: Rape, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Addiction
katerina_l's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
ditten's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You know those books you read and you have to force yourself to slow down even though you want to devour the entire book so fast? Because you also don't want the experience to end. That's this series for me, and especially the third and final book - The King's Men. I am so insanely obsessed with Neil and Andrew and the foxes, and I already feel a little lost having finished the series.
I couldn't be happier to have given these books another shot, I feel like my life is honestly better for it!
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
cheski_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Drug use, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual violence
PLEASE CHECK CONTENT WARNINGStuni's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Death, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexism, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Homophobia
alienatednota's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
alyssadavis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Neil had been doing one stupid thing after another all year long and this has turned into one of the best years of his life.
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Murder, and Self harm
the_othersidewv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Gore, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
diana314's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The last game was insane, it wasn’t as descriptive as the first games were, but holy cow.
The development that the team goes through -Kevin specially- and their relationships are chefs kiss. I need another book just with the Foxes existing 🥺 their friendship is amazing and it’ll give me serotonin for like half a year 🥺❤️
Neil’s sexuality could have been more explored tho 🥺 I would have loved a confirmation of him being demisexual, it would have been awesome. It’ll stay as a headcannon in my head 🥺
10/10, would recommend it to everyone.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Alcohol, Grief, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
rayne_1906's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Medical content, Self harm, and Homophobia