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A review by lastblossom
A Game Most Foul by Alison Gervais
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A relatable lead and an intriguing mystery, with the inclusion of Holmes and Watson somehow being the least interesting thing about this.
Thoughts
This is going to sound weird, but I loved everything about this book except Holmes and Watson. I knooow! But let's start at the beginning. Jules is a great lead - complex, smart, determined, and extremely human. Her struggles with herself, her writing, and her dreams were all very relatable. I also loved having an OwnVoices author talk about learning to live with hearing loss. Her friends are great, with contrasting personalities that both shine. Add to that some light romance, and you've got a very promising recipe. I'd be more than happy to watch the three of them solve mysteries forever. But that's not exactly what we get, because then we get Watson and Holmes, and an old mystery of theirs instead. Now don't get me wrong - I love Holmes and Watson, and I'll read any incarnation I can get my hands on. But I had invested a lot into the three young writers at the start, and I didn't enjoy seeing them take the back seat in a mystery they were already handling with a decent amount of competence. I really don't know how this could've been handled differently, but I do know that I was very eager for the kids to shine, and they didn't get as much screentime as I would have liked for them. I am saying this in the complimentary sense, dear author. I liked your characters, and they didn't need help. The mystery itself is serviceable. I didn't feel let down, but there weren't any huge surprises either. This book is marketed as being for Holmes fans, but it resonated with me much more as coming of age story about young writers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blink for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
A relatable lead and an intriguing mystery, with the inclusion of Holmes and Watson somehow being the least interesting thing about this.
Thoughts
This is going to sound weird, but I loved everything about this book except Holmes and Watson. I knooow! But let's start at the beginning. Jules is a great lead - complex, smart, determined, and extremely human. Her struggles with herself, her writing, and her dreams were all very relatable. I also loved having an OwnVoices author talk about learning to live with hearing loss. Her friends are great, with contrasting personalities that both shine. Add to that some light romance, and you've got a very promising recipe. I'd be more than happy to watch the three of them solve mysteries forever. But that's not exactly what we get, because then we get Watson and Holmes, and an old mystery of theirs instead. Now don't get me wrong - I love Holmes and Watson, and I'll read any incarnation I can get my hands on. But I had invested a lot into the three young writers at the start, and I didn't enjoy seeing them take the back seat in a mystery they were already handling with a decent amount of competence. I really don't know how this could've been handled differently, but I do know that I was very eager for the kids to shine, and they didn't get as much screentime as I would have liked for them. I am saying this in the complimentary sense, dear author. I liked your characters, and they didn't need help. The mystery itself is serviceable. I didn't feel let down, but there weren't any huge surprises either. This book is marketed as being for Holmes fans, but it resonated with me much more as coming of age story about young writers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blink for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Ableism