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A review by brookeisbusyreading
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
[I had started reading this book in December 2022, but I stopped about halfway through. I was thrown off by how different it was from what I thought it would be. Still, I wanted to give it another go.]
I want to start this off by saying I wish the book had been longer. Because there were so many characters, and a few intersecting plots, I would like to have seen some things drawn out more - a few scenes in particular.
There are a few critiques I have:
- There’s a big cast and, while we see little things that set them apart from one another, I thought they could have been developed a little more. (I hope the next books do that.)
- Like I mentioned, I think the book should be longer. I was surprised when I started getting introduced to all these characters knowing the book is less than 300 pages. A few scenes come to mind that I would’ve liked to be just a little longer and include more details.
- While I get that Kevin is connected to Neil, it almost felt like the focus on the MC (Neil) shifted a bit to Kevin as the book progressed. I list this as a critique but it’s more a question of the author’s thoughts behind that choice.
- The fact that Aaron and Andrew are twins is cool…but I found it hard to tell them apart at first because both their names start with A.
I don’t normally start with critiques first in my reviews, but this book still has me confused… I binged it in a few hours because I was that invested, though I do feel it was rushed. Almost like getting caught in a tornado. It was fitting considering the psychotic, strangely likeable monster that is Andrew.
Honestly, I don’t get why I like this book exactly but I know it has to do with the characters. Neil is so interesting! He’s a mystery you solve early on yet get surprised with how you get to the end. His internal struggles are obvious and so is his desire (or maybe exhaustion) with just wanting to be normal…and play Exy of course.
I love how each character has their own edge, their own trauma, and their own mixed feelings. And they still all rally behind Kevin. It’s this weird ‘everyone does their own thing until it’s time to work together’ set up that somehow works (slightly glossing over the fact that they like to beat the crap out of each other regularly).
The Foxhole Court is an absolute mess - a broken, chaotic, strung together mess that, even at it’s most broken, won’t fall apart no matter what. And that is just one of its strengths.
I want to start this off by saying I wish the book had been longer. Because there were so many characters, and a few intersecting plots, I would like to have seen some things drawn out more - a few scenes in particular.
There are a few critiques I have:
- There’s a big cast and, while we see little things that set them apart from one another, I thought they could have been developed a little more. (I hope the next books do that.)
- Like I mentioned, I think the book should be longer. I was surprised when I started getting introduced to all these characters knowing the book is less than 300 pages. A few scenes come to mind that I would’ve liked to be just a little longer and include more details.
- While I get that Kevin is connected to Neil, it almost felt like the focus on the MC (Neil) shifted a bit to Kevin as the book progressed. I list this as a critique but it’s more a question of the author’s thoughts behind that choice.
- The fact that Aaron and Andrew are twins is cool…but I found it hard to tell them apart at first because both their names start with A.
I don’t normally start with critiques first in my reviews, but this book still has me confused… I binged it in a few hours because I was that invested, though I do feel it was rushed. Almost like getting caught in a tornado. It was fitting considering the psychotic, strangely likeable monster that is Andrew.
Honestly, I don’t get why I like this book exactly but I know it has to do with the characters. Neil is so interesting! He’s a mystery you solve early on yet get surprised with how you get to the end. His internal struggles are obvious and so is his desire (or maybe exhaustion) with just wanting to be normal…and play Exy of course.
I love how each character has their own edge, their own trauma, and their own mixed feelings. And they still all rally behind Kevin. It’s this weird ‘everyone does their own thing until it’s time to work together’ set up that somehow works (slightly glossing over the fact that they like to beat the crap out of each other regularly).
The Foxhole Court is an absolute mess - a broken, chaotic, strung together mess that, even at it’s most broken, won’t fall apart no matter what. And that is just one of its strengths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug use and Alcoholism
Minor: Murder and Death of parent