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A review by taliejane
The King's Men by Nora Sakavic
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Okay so...listen...
Is this a well-written, unproblematic series with a plot that makes sense and a semblance of a grounding in reality? No. Do I even necessarily recommend it? No. Am I entirely obsessed with it to the point that I'm still thinking about it months later and am deep in the trenches of the fandom? YES 5 STARS THIS SERIES RUINED MY LIFE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Neil Josten has been on the run from my crime lord father as long as he can remember. Yearning for some semblance of a life, he joins an Exy team in his senior year of high school. Unexpectedly, he is noticed by a college Exy coach and recruited to the Palmetto foxes. However, he really SHOULD NOT become a high profile college athlete because, a) he is, as mentioned above, on the run, and b) one of his team mates is part of the crime family associated with his father. YEAH IT'S A MAFIA/COLLEGE FOOTBALL/QUEER ROMANCE SERIES. Fight me Goodreads!! I love it!!
CW: Violence, Murder, Torture, SA, Addiction (like it's a mafia story so...).
Okay so the romance doesn't really start until the third book. Because the characters are usually busy with not-getting-murdered-by-the-mafia and romance takes a back seat behind like trauma and winning college sports games.
But damn does Sakavic craft a story. I know the author is problematic too and the characterisations are often clichéd. I haven't had a chance to look into her much yet but just, let me have this 😭
The plot is messy as hell. But if you can offer it the suspension of disbelief you'd give something like a supernatural romance (and I grew up watching The Vampire Diaries and Twilight) then it is GRIPPING. To say I devoured these books (audiobooks cause it was exam season) is an understatement. My heart was RACING.
The characterisations in this book are really what make it. I mean the author basically takes a bunch of messy teenagers, puts them through the most insane trauma, and then let's them be sweet and supportive and loyal to one another. You're screaming at the book LEAVE THEM ALONE and then they protect each other. The love interest (sort of, like mans not a romantic lead or anything) Andrew is essentially written as a numb-to-the-world, psychopath who cares about almost nothing, except the protagonist's life. OKAY HE CARES ABOUT NOTHING BUT NEIL AND ALSO HIS TEAMMATES AND TWIN BROTHER. I'M CRYING.
Look, there are more books in the world that I could ever read. So I'm going to cling to the ones that make my heart beat fast in my chest and fill my thoughts for months afterwards because that makes me feel alive. It's not Austen or Brontë okay but it's 5 stars.
Is this a well-written, unproblematic series with a plot that makes sense and a semblance of a grounding in reality? No. Do I even necessarily recommend it? No. Am I entirely obsessed with it to the point that I'm still thinking about it months later and am deep in the trenches of the fandom? YES 5 STARS THIS SERIES RUINED MY LIFE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Neil Josten has been on the run from my crime lord father as long as he can remember. Yearning for some semblance of a life, he joins an Exy team in his senior year of high school. Unexpectedly, he is noticed by a college Exy coach and recruited to the Palmetto foxes. However, he really SHOULD NOT become a high profile college athlete because, a) he is, as mentioned above, on the run, and b) one of his team mates is part of the crime family associated with his father. YEAH IT'S A MAFIA/COLLEGE FOOTBALL/QUEER ROMANCE SERIES. Fight me Goodreads!! I love it!!
CW: Violence, Murder, Torture, SA, Addiction (like it's a mafia story so...).
Okay so the romance doesn't really start until the third book. Because the characters are usually busy with not-getting-murdered-by-the-mafia and romance takes a back seat behind like trauma and winning college sports games.
But damn does Sakavic craft a story. I know the author is problematic too and the characterisations are often clichéd. I haven't had a chance to look into her much yet but just, let me have this 😭
The plot is messy as hell. But if you can offer it the suspension of disbelief you'd give something like a supernatural romance (and I grew up watching The Vampire Diaries and Twilight) then it is GRIPPING. To say I devoured these books (audiobooks cause it was exam season) is an understatement. My heart was RACING.
The characterisations in this book are really what make it. I mean the author basically takes a bunch of messy teenagers, puts them through the most insane trauma, and then let's them be sweet and supportive and loyal to one another. You're screaming at the book LEAVE THEM ALONE and then they protect each other. The love interest (sort of, like mans not a romantic lead or anything) Andrew is essentially written as a numb-to-the-world, psychopath who cares about almost nothing, except the protagonist's life. OKAY HE CARES ABOUT NOTHING BUT NEIL AND ALSO HIS TEAMMATES AND TWIN BROTHER. I'M CRYING.
Look, there are more books in the world that I could ever read. So I'm going to cling to the ones that make my heart beat fast in my chest and fill my thoughts for months afterwards because that makes me feel alive. It's not Austen or Brontë okay but it's 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual violence