Name: The Foxhole Court
Rating: 3.867937853107345 (354 reviews)
ISBN: 9788378896029

Nora Sakavic

The Foxhole Court

Stephanie 

Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.

luca

"I can see it. You've got that look in your eye that says you know where every exit to this dormitory is."

Leonie

Neil was much better at instigating fights than winning them, but it'd be worth losing if he could just put a fist through Kevin's face once.

hannah 

Sherany

Sophie

"It's not the world that's cruel," Neil said. "It's the people in it."

„It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

First they laugh about your commitment, then they’re jealous. 

Kevin was more demanding of himself than he was of anyone around him. He set his standards impossibly high and tried for them with everything he had, and he didn't understand why others wouldn't do the same.

Even in a non-romantic context, this is fantastic 🤌🏼

Same vibe as people telling you to „just stop being nervous“ before an exam 🙃🥲

"We can't win against them," Neil said. "We're the worst team in the nation." 

"Then it's time to stop being the worst," Wymack said. "It's time to fly."

Neil hated that she couldn't understand, but he hated more that he did.

"You say that an awful lot," Matt said. "I'm starting to think you don't know what it means."

"I will ask you only once to tone down that animosity." 

"I can't," Neil said. "I have a bit of an attitude problem."

kyra

''Remember this feeling. This is the moment you stop being the rabbit.''

"Did you think I made the team the way it is because I thought it would be a good publicity stunt? It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

"Why bother? It's a cruel world, right Neil? You wouldn't be here if it wasn't." 

"Pointless," Neil echoed. "But you have real talent." 

"Flattery is uninteresting and gets you nowhere."

"Or you hate him," Andrew said. "I can't decide. Your loose ends aren't adding up." 

He lit a cigarette and watched it burn. The acrid smell of smoke and fire took the edge of his nerves, but the familiar and quiet grief that followed made everything worse.

Steph

Why isn’t Exy a real sport yet? The rules are all laid out—we could make this happen, right? Huge thanks to everyone who peer-pressured me into reading this because wow, what a roller coaster. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more protective over a character (Neil) or more viscerally hateful toward another (Riko). The cast is absolutely unhinged, and I love them for it, especially Andrew. By all logic, this team shouldn’t work, yet somehow, their shared goal of winning is enough to hold them together. That being said, this is one of those times where a sport is taken way too seriously. Like… it’s just a game?? Why is the mafia involved??? But hey, it definitely cranked up the tension, so I’m not complaining.

Eira Grey

It took a minute for this book to grow on me, and by the time I was fully invested, it was over. Glad there's more to read, because I'll be reading it!

Neil Josten is the newest addition to the Palmetto State University Exy team. He's short, he's fast, he's got a ton of potential — and he's the runaway son of the murderous crime lord known as The Butcher. Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn't need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed. But Neil's not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil's new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can't walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he's finally found someone and something worth fighting for.

All for the Game, Book 1 

This was extremely boring without a single likable character. I think I’m supposed to give a fuck about Neil, and maybe if the writing was better, I would. I at least don’t hate him, so that’s a win. Completely loveeee the casual ableism and disregard for consent as well.

On top of this being a waste of 250 pages, the sports part of it is wholly unnecessary and borderline offensive. I’m honestly glad that a lot of people who enjoy this book don’t like actual sports because as someone who watches and enjoys real life athletics, this drove me insane. The mechanics of the game may as well have been quidditch (which also made no sense). The way that the NCAA and the school and fans interacted with exy and players was nonsensical at best. I completely understand why it’s always the people who don’t like sports that read sports related books. I’m genuinely shocked that this series has such a strong fanbase that made it far enough to tell people “it gets better, I swear!”

Nik ✨

This was extremely boring without a single likable character. I think I’m supposed to give a fuck about Neil, and maybe if the writing was better, I would. I at least don’t hate him, so that’s a win. Completely loveeee the casual ableism and disregard for consent as well.

On top of this being a waste of 250 pages, the sports part of it is wholly unnecessary and borderline offensive. I’m honestly glad that a lot of people who enjoy this book don’t like actual sports because as someone who watches and enjoys real life athletics, this drove me insane. The mechanics of the game may as well have been quidditch (which also made no sense). The way that the NCAA and the school and fans interacted with exy and players was nonsensical at best. I completely understand why it’s always the people who don’t like sports that read sports related books. I’m genuinely shocked that this series has such a strong fanbase that made it far enough to tell people “it gets better, I swear!”

I loved it! And i am excited for what will happen in the rest of the series!

Nate Mason

ang 

I just love these books so much not even I believe in this review. I’m too biased, sorry. 

crazy story but it could use more explanation on the made up sport(exy). also they kept using the word racket but they meant like a lacrosse stick. kind of a slow start but really picked up the quarter. interested in seeing where this goes.

Lydia 

kelsey

just some fav quotes:

”oh, neil, as unpredictable as he is unreal.”

“remember this feeling. this is the moment you stop being the rabbit.”

giving it 4 stars for the characters ... i know in my head that it sucks but in my heart .... it says the foxes 🥰🥰

kevin day could save me neil josten my male diva son nicky my gay son i love all of u guys 

sarah ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

like objectively im not sure if this is the best book but the nostalgia got me and it’s just so fun in its dramatics. like if you don’t like this book you don’t like fun and dramatic 18 year olds. crazy to read as an adult instead of a 14 year old! bc honestly the college experience is unrealistic bc they didn’t get a million parking tickets 

Clara Gauthier

akynn 

3rd read and can confirm I am not stopping💪🏿💪🏿

Kat 

Lisa-Maria Hofmann

I am well aware of the flaws in the writing of this series but I simply do not care. They are gay and I am free 

TheLyd

Teeeeeesha

A book where people are obsessed with playing exy, a fictional game, even if a psychopathic murderer is after them. Lot of angsty teenagers with anger issues. Runaway boy and One lovable psychopath.

The infamous Foxhole Court to the rescue when I’m in the deepest reading slump ever – and they did it. I’ve had this on my kindle ever since @Stephanie loved it deeply and I finally found the courage to deep dive into this band of misfits, loving every second of it.

It is for sure no absolute literary masterpiece but that’s perfect in itself, because none of the characters are perfect either. They are diverse, absolute menaces, unpredictability on two legs and to be fair I rarely had a hunch of what would happen next. It has become rare that a book manages to surprise me, but the Foxhole Court did and that is pretty impressive in itself.

One of the points I adored the most was the immaculate banter between the characters. I hate it if it’s portrayed in books as if characters despise each other but it’s oh so obvious they don’t. Give me actual aversion, give me the bite and the tear, give me proper nastiness. I’m so tired of the pretending and then revelation that they never even hated each other – negative feelings towards other people are valid, too, and to have them portrayed the way  they were in this book? I was here for it.

As someone who enjoys banter bordering on meanness and villainy, this book was made for me. All the quick-witted responses, the sharp dialogues and rarely knowing who would leave the conversation having the upper hand kept me on my toes and made it massively enjoyable to me.

Having said this: If you’re on the hunt for likeable characters – keep moving. This book makes you second-guess every emotion you have towards every single one of the players all the time and the only thing ever changing is your ranking in the most despicable characters. However, any time the reader settles on hating every single one of them, enter their opponents and redirecting the hatred towards them.

The unpredictability of it all added a fun element for me and in general I quickly fell in love with this band of misfits and their fitting leader. The sport itself is a super interesting concept and I’d give everything to play it once.

With all this praise, there is a reason this book did not break the 5-star mark: It wasn’t enough. There was not enough information about the system of the game itself, the way the season works (tournament? Playoffs? League system? What’s a Class 1 team? How do scores work? Is one goal one point scored? Are there differences? How does the schedule look in general? Etc). Knowing more about this would have deepened the involvement of the reader in the season’s happenings which were kept a bit shallow by leaving this out. However, the match description was perfectly done (with exception of aforementioned points missing).

Plotwise … there was not much progress made, if one left the altercations between team members out of the equation. Which is okay but might be a point of critique for some readers.

At some points the writing itself made it a bit difficult to follow who is currently talking to whom about who and the language used could have been a tad more precise to avoid this.

All in all: I’m in love with the team. I know this sort of character is not for everyone and if you don’t feel comfortable with these menaces running wild that’s valid, too. I, however, related a lot to some of them and I thought this book was serving massively quotable parts and a different depiction of characters for once.

The infamous Foxhole Court to the rescue when I’m in the deepest reading slump ever – and they did it. I’ve had this on my kindle ever since @Stephanie loved it deeply and I finally found the courage to deep dive into this band of misfits, loving every second of it.

It is for sure no absolute literary masterpiece but that’s perfect in itself, because none of the characters are perfect either. They are diverse, absolute menaces, unpredictability on two legs and to be fair I rarely had a hunch of what would happen next. It has become rare that a book manages to surprise me, but the Foxhole Court did and that is pretty impressive in itself.

One of the points I adored the most was the immaculate banter between the characters. I hate it if it’s portrayed in books as if characters despise each other but it’s oh so obvious they don’t. Give me actual aversion, give me the bite and the tear, give me proper nastiness. I’m so tired of the pretending and then revelation that they never even hated each other – negative feelings towards other people are valid, too, and to have them portrayed the way  they were in this book? I was here for it.

As someone who enjoys banter bordering on meanness and villainy, this book was made for me. All the quick-witted responses, the sharp dialogues and rarely knowing who would leave the conversation having the upper hand kept me on my toes and made it massively enjoyable to me.

Having said this: If you’re on the hunt for likeable characters – keep moving. This book makes you second-guess every emotion you have towards every single one of the players all the time and the only thing ever changing is your ranking in the most despicable characters. However, any time the reader settles on hating every single one of them, enter their opponents and redirecting the hatred towards them.

The unpredictability of it all added a fun element for me and in general I quickly fell in love with this band of misfits and their fitting leader. The sport itself is a super interesting concept and I’d give everything to play it once.

 

With all this praise, there is a reason this book did not break the 5-star mark: It wasn’t enough. There was not enough information about the system of the game itself, the way the season works (tournament? Playoffs? League system? What’s a Class 1 team? How do scores work? Is one goal one point scored? Are there differences? How does the schedule look in general? Etc). Knowing more about this would have deepened the involvement of the reader in the season’s happenings which were kept a bit shallow by leaving this out. However, the match description was perfectly done (with exception of aforementioned points missing).

Plotwise … there was not much progress made, if one left the altercations between team members out of the equation. Which is okay but might be a point of critique for some readers.

At some points the writing itself made it a bit difficult to follow who is currently talking to whom about who and the language used could have been a tad more precise to avoid this.

 

All in all: I’m in love with the team. I know this sort of character is not for everyone and if you don’t feel comfortable with these menaces running wild that’s valid, too. I, however, related a lot to some of them and I thought this book was serving massively quotable parts and a different depiction of characters for once.

 

Much love for the tiny psychotic ones.

And for @stephanie, for making me read it.

Aishling

Third read [30 May 2021]:
Bumping this up to 5 stars after this read, cause it’s just so bloody good and I enjoy reading it so much. I know there are issues with the plot, but the writing is just so good that every moment is entertaining and the characters are just so incredible. 


Second read [28 Aug - 29 Aug 2020]:
Literally just as entertaining this time, what sort of magic does this book have.

I read someone say that this first book is more like a first chapter to a story, and I have to agree. It’s a brilliant read but it’s just the beginning of the whole story and there’s so much more to come in the future books. 

And I’ll say this because I had no clue going into this series, there are a lot of triggers warnings that need to be disclosed first. There future books feature heavier stuff than this one, so just be warned. 

Personally I loved how it was all written, it comes across like a YA with the darkness of an Adult story. There’s a lot of suspense with no silly drama which again was just up my ally. I honestly cannot fault this book/series at all. 

First read [22 Aug - 23 Aug 2020]:

brianna

"hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it."


3.5 stars

The majority of this book felt so slow to me, it took forever to get into. While the characters were all interesting enough for me to want to continue, the plot didn't make sense, and the writing style took a bit to get used to. I was expecting to see a lot more of the characters and their backstories since that's what I see everyone mention when they talk about this series, but I was disappointed with the lack of page time any of them had. 

I wish I could figure out what the plot ultimately is but it went over my head completely. I just think I went in with too high of expectations and it ended up being a completely different vibe than what I thought. Neil is such an interesting protagonist and I can't wait to see more of his backstory and his dynamic with the other characters, ESPECIALLY ANDREW. Andrew had me gasping half the book because of how intriguing he was and I found myself more and more motivated to continue reading just for more scenes with him. I think they have the potential to serve so hard in the next 2 books and I'm hoping its more uphill from here. Based on the last 60 pages of this one, I think this series has the potential to grasp me completely with the next 2 books.

um kinda confused but i think??? i like it??

Annabella

3.75  
I'm amazed and creeped out and anxious.

  "As he slipped the lock into place again he realized his hand was trembling. He held up his shaky fingers where he could see them better and wondered at the equally weak flutter in his chest.

Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.”  
Secrets, mafia, agressive sports - all mixed up with fucked up team dynamics.
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Neil has been on the run for as long as he can remember, cut off from anyone and anything but his now dead and buried mother. So when one of the probable reasons for his hit-and-run lifestyle recruits him into a team of mysfits in the most violent sport ever, what does he do? He falls into it slowly, unwlingly even, and finds himself in a huge, yakuza-tinted mess.
 PLEASE  B> Give me book two asap

Rachel Evans

(3.25/5) 3 hours 18 minutes - This book really wasn't what I was expecting. The characters are somehow lovable despite barely any of them being good people or doing good things. I'm looking forward to reading the next books even though this one didn't quite live up to my expectations. I feel like not much actually happened, although towards the end I did feel myself get enveloped in the story and the characters. Near the beginning of the novel, I think too many characters were introduced too quickly so it was quite hard to keep up, and I have no idea whether I am meant to understand Neil's past at the moment (I don't) or the more serious aspects of gang rivalry yet (I also don't), but hopefully this will become clearer in the next books.

The Foxhole Court

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