The Foxhole Court (All for the Game Book 1)

Is it a good book? Idk Is it addictive? Yes

listen! i think it's time to acknowledge that good books aren't always entertaining and entertaining books aren't always good. and this definitely fits in the second category. i was extremely entertained but this book is not a masterpiece it reads a little bit like a 270 pages long exposition for a much longer book and i really want to see where the story goes Edit: after thinking about this book for a few hours (while at work oops) i have more things to say 1) i didn't know i needed a weird queer-sports-yakuza/mafia-contemporary-fiction-drama in my life. but here i am thinking about those boys 2) i don't know what drugs nora sakavic does but i hope she's fine and will take more (maybe give me some) 3) why on earth would the yakuza/mafia care about kids?! i mean i read the book and all but what?! 4) read this book. seriously.

Phew, what a book. It took me a really long time to decide whether I liked it or not. The writing style is pleasant, even fun. I especially liked the fast pacing during the Exy game! What I have my problems with are the characters and the drama. So far, the characters are still very flat and lack depth for me. You could even say I don't care about most of them. (Except for Andrew, because I have a soft spot for psychos). I just hope they grow on me in the next books. The other thing is the substance abuse thing, the violence thing, the social thing. Things are tolerated there that simply shouldn't be. I also don't understand the thing about psychotropic drugs. You don't come down from your level so quickly to be completely clean again if you take the stuff every day. It's not very conclusive, in my opinion. Then there's Neil's background story. What I think about it now and his handling of it... mhm ... the boy is and remains probably a (tired) teenager and has this naivety that I would like to shake out of him. However, I would find the whole thing pretty crazy and cool (even if unrealistic) as fan fiction for already existing characters. That's why I want to give the project a chance and will read on. Besides, I love the little monster. <3

Im obsessed

These books change my brain chemistry and I come back to read them every few months. If you know you know.

Nope, can't do it. Neil is naive, careless and a pushover. And the amount of bad things the book puts him through I can't stomach anymore. All the characters clearly have too many issues while the author stays shallow and never gives them any depth which gives the reader no opportunity to sympathize with them. I was absolutely done with this book when his teammates put drugs in Neil's (non-alcoholic) drink while he wasn't looking. I had other issues with the story but at that point I was just done. If Neil forgave them for that shit I don't know what to say about him anymore. Edit: I just read about who Neil ends up with and wow, no.

Also vorab: das Buch würde serious Trigger-Warnungen benötigen: Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Violence, Mental Illness, Child Abuse, Psychosis, suicide, murder, death, physical/mental abuse, bullying, ableism, alcohol, toxic friendship Ich hätte tatsächlich nicht gedacht, dass es so ernst und düster werden würde, aber es war auch unfassbar spannend. Die Geschichte kam einem gar nicht zu weit hergezogen vor, auch wenn es erstmal so klingt, wenn man versuchen würde zu erklären worum es geht. Es passt aber wirklich sehr gut und wirkt vor allem sehr real und echt. Von Minute 1 an ist die Geschichte spannend und ich konnte das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen. Es gibt so viele Sachen, die man im Hinterkopf hat, auf deren Eskalation man wartet und vor denen man sich fürchtet. Der Protagonist Neil zieht einen komplett in seine Geschichte und ich war total invested in alles, was in seinem Leben vorgeht. Die Charaktere sind sehr verschieden, sehr divers und haben alle wirklich schwere Leben hinter sich und mit einer Menge Problemen zu kämpfen. Auch wenn ich mir bei keinem (außer Matt und Dan) wirklich 100% sicher bin, was ich von ihm halten soll, finde ich alle super interessant und die ganzen Dynamiken sind sehr gut ausgearbeitet und lassen einen oft vor Angst was als Nächstes passiert die Luft anhalten. So gut wie alle Charaktere handeln sehr moralisch fragwürdig, haben eine Hass-Liebe zueinander, die auch der Leser entwickelt und verhalten sich teils unter aller Sau. Auch tragen sie alle sehr schwere Lasten und die Schatten ihrer Vergangenheiten mit sich. Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall sehr character-driven, aber auch der Plot, der sich langsam entwickelt, ist spannend und komplex und hält viele Vermutungen und Eskalationen für die Zukunft parat.

sure, no one will know who he is, thanks to dyed hair and contact lenses.

i just can't with all the nonsense happening in this book... (DNF 30%)

"Its not the world that's cruel," Neil said. "Its's the people in it." Neil Josten is always on the run. But always doesn't mean forever. He soon is found by Kevin Day, one of the most popular Exy players up until the point, where he broke his dominant hand. Kevin and his coach want Neil for their Team, The Foxes, the least popular, smallest and probably worst Exy Team in the states. Kevin doesn't seem to recognize Neil, while he is totally aware of the figure of his history. He unwillingly agrees to join the Foxes and is soon confronted with media and press, attention, and his teammates, especially Andrew Minyard. Everything he doesn't need and doesn't want right now. Nobody knows the secret he carries around, and he is not sure how long he will be able to keep it. The first part of the "All for the Game" trilogy. The book is very easy to read and has some interesting characters. The whole plot is just getting started, so it was sometimes a very stretched story, mostly consisting of Neil getting to know the campus and Exy practices. Near the end, there were finally some hints leading to the back story that involves partly Neil and Kevin, which makes me hopeful, that there is going to be more about it in the next two books. I had difficulties getting behind Andrews's character. Sometimes he still seems to be a secret to me, so I am eager to find out more about this mysterious bad boy.

dnf at 8% (I may come back to this one tho!)

Ich weiß Nixjt was ich sagen soll ? Außer das das Buch problematisch ist ? Und sehr viele Teile der Handlung fragwürdig sind ? Dennoch hat mich das Ende ein wenig neugierig auf den zweiten Teil gemacht (& da er unter 1€ kostest , werde ich mir den wohl auch noch geben...)