The Raven King All for the Game, Book 2
Reviews
Master piece! Pure master piece! I love found family and this trilogy is full of it! Its amazing! (Except for the trauma stuff, so for peps who wanna read it please check out the TW before reading aftg :] stay safe, love you all <3 )
WOAH
this book should be illegal omg are YOU KIDDING ME ???
They’re my family, you wouldn’t understand.
he was their family. they were his. they were worth every cut and bruise and scream. i love the foxes so much 🥺🥺
neil…. my angel, my son…. tell me what he did to u….
who let me read this at like 12/13 jesus christ !! still incredible tho the nostalgia really pulls it together
im just here for andreil honestly /j
I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE
this book made me shit tears
I’m having a hard time rating this as something like standalone book, as it simply feels like part 2 of all for the game and probably wouldn’t stand on its own without having “The Foxhole Court” as predecessor – and that is perfectly fine.
Everything I stated in the review for #1 still applies here: The banter – immaculate, the characters have depth, edges and scars and issue and I love them for it, the plot picks up here, yet still it feels a bit compressed in terms of setting, which works for the book just fine. The confines of the team, their usual stages and spots permanently confront the reader with this misfit group of outcasts – and slowly allows peaks behind the performances and smoke and mirror facades all of them sport. The reader gets to know more of the team now, is taken on the journey to some of their pasts and some demons that followed into the present.
Please check the TW before you read this, it is significantly darker than “The Foxhole Court” and the violence picks up a notch (physical and psychological).
I’m completely immersed in this world orbiting a fictional sport, I still very much want to play (actually sounds like the sport for made for me, to be honest), and we do get a bit more intel on the rules and regulations in this one (check the end of the book if you need more info).
Maybe I’ll be able to properly review this when I’m done with the series but for now this is all I can say: Feels like chapter 2 of the story, so will be rated as such.
Third read: [30 May - 31st May 2021] THAT WAS JUST SO GOOD!! All the delicious angst (not including that incident cause that is not delicious at all) just gets me every time I love it so much plus the character development, it honestly has everything I ever want in a book. Second read [29 Aug - 30 Aug 2020]: Hit me first as hard as the first time First read [23 Aug - 24 Aug 2020]: I don’t even have the words right now but that was so good. I wasn’t warned how dark these books get but damn it really was and I loved it
i have dropped dead all over the floor. i am dead
reread feb 2021: HELLOO time passes but my love for this series does not FADE. I love them so much. I really loved rereading this, I picked up on so many things I missed the first time around. I need more book series like the foxhole court but specifically for found family vibes that go THAT HARD, character growth, actual slow-burn romance that develops over three books, characters doing their best in the face of incredible odds and most importantly, wack descriptions of sporting games and a nonsensical plot
"he was their family. they were his. they were worth every cut and bruise and scream." the raven king was such a drastic difference from the foxhole court, i couldn't believe what i was reading. every criticism that i had about book one was instantly rectified in book 2. getting to see the foxes backstories was one of the best parts of reading this. ive grown so attached to these characters already and it hurts me to see any of them in pain because they've all been through so much already. the main thing i wanted from book 1 was more of andrew's backstory but this is NOT how i expected this shit to go down. i swear traumatic shit was just happening back to back and the ending had me sitting there in absolute disbelief. i have no clue how this series is going to wrap up, i just know im not mentally or emotionally prepared for anything that is about to go down. side note: everytime neil and andrew interact i swear my brain freezes because their dynamic is just SO fucking good and engaging i can't get enough of this shit.
(4/5) 3 hours 36 minutes - While I'd started to love these characters in the first book, this really became prominent in this one. Neil's character development is very clear to see, and while the plot and the character backstories are still confusing, they seemed easier to follow than previously.
he’s been through hell and back twice give him a break reread — 3/18/19: i’m sweating
This series got me in a chokehold.
How can one book give me so much joy and heartbreak and keep me thrilled at the same time? This is truly one of the most exciting and captivating stories I read this year and I think I‘m too attached for my own good.
The plot is still a great mixture of sport content (which I really enjoyed, still surprised about that somehow) and supporting backstory. The latter broke my heart. Please check the trigger warnings before reading, if you know you might be sensitive regarding some topics. That‘s all I‘m going to say about that and recommend going in knowing as little as possible.
As I said in the review for 'the foxhole court', the characters are everything and their connection to each other is truly .. unique. I loved getting to know each of them a little more and watch how they develop on their own and as a team. That being said, I think there are two types of people in the world - the ones who perceive banter as insults and the ones who perceive it as love language (not necessarily in a romantic way). Even if the line is small, there is a difference; at least there is for me. And the banter in this book brought me SO MUCH joy. It got me chuckling, cheering, eye rolling. May I use some of the lines in the future myself? Probably. It was fantastic.
The only reason why I refrained to give 5 stars is the writing itself, even if it improved from TFC in my opinion - Scenes are still a bit messy sometimes.
RE-READ — you know, i get it. being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. kevin and i talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. i know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and i know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but i don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. so please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone. that’s it. that’s the review / 4.5 stars
ok after the first book, i was a little weary of this series. BUT this book was perfection. like some seriously dark shit goes down, but the good moments are so fucking good. im so excited to read the kings men
4 solid stars. ohhh shit. she really hit her stride in this one. straight on to the third book for me.
m a n
I’m still reeling because of how it ended. I thought I had enough training to stomach violence but the way Neil went though years of physical abuse and the way he had finally managed to break free of it only to be subjected to 3 weeks of continuous torture,,, it broke me man. And to think he didn’t run away because he was doing it for Andrew. From the beginning till the end it was the most heartbreaking story. I haven’t felt so distraught in a while. Like all the characters deserve so much better. But Neil and Andrew ?? Yeah they better get the happy ending they deserve in the final book or I’ll never recover.
WOAH! That was...that was not what I expected... This book was heavy! way heavier than the first one and way better! I had one minor problem which was the "previously on..." part. There were way too many parts that were the summary of book one and at one point there is actually a summary of something we read earlier in the book and that was just too much! Other than that, this is violent! There should be a serious warning for graphic depictions of violence for this one! I spoiled myself about the rape scene but I wasn't expecting it to actually happen.I thought they just mention it or something and that was super shocking. So was chapter 15!!!! I'm just speechless! P.S.: I can't believe how emotionally invested in these characters I am. I love them all!
still perfect tho i dont think anything is gonna top tkm
Highlights
He was their family. They were his. They were worth every cut and bruise and scream.
"What does Andrew have to do with this?" "Everything that matters," Neil said.
Every time Neil fell, though, Jean was there to pull him off the ground.
"You will kneel," Tetsuji said. Neil had a feeling he was going to regret this for the rest of his very short life, but he smiled and said, "Make me."
But Neil Josten was a Fox. Andrew called this home; Nicky called him family. Neil wasn't going to lose any of it. If two weeks with Riko was the price to keep his team safe, Neil would pay it.
Somehow he made it close enough again to grab Riko's sleeve. "You even fucking think about touching him—"
Neil didn't have words, so he answered with his fist. He didn't have a lot of room to swing but he made do and caught Riko right in his vulgar mouth. It knocked Riko back a step, giving Neil a little more space, and Neil caught him in the eye next. He lunged away from the table and slammed into Riko, but Riko was already moving to meet him. Neil crashed into the table so hard he sent it skidding out from behind him, and he and Riko both hit the floor. Neil jabbed and struck at any part of Riko he could find, only distantly aware of Riko's own vicious blows. Someone was yelling about a fight, or maybe that was his blood roaring in his ears.
oh this was delicious to read
"First you steal Andrew's car, then you steal his girl..." Matt slipped a gloved hand into Dan's and looked at Neil. "Oh, and you've pretty much corrupted the rest of the monsters into hanging out with us outside of practice. Let me know if you need backup when you've got to explain all this to him." "Thanks, but I can handle him," Neil said. "We noticed," Dan said dryly,
Wymack let them get all the way to the door before calling, "Andrew. Don't leave me alone with these morons for too long. I'm getting too old to deal with their drama." "Oh, you and me both," Andrew said.
"Neil," Wymack said, "between you and me, I don't think you've ever been fine."
Andrew laughed. "I'm remembering why I don't like you." "I'm surprised you forgot." "I didn't," Andrew said.
"Here's a real question: how have you survived this long when you're so violently self-destructive?"
"When I said I wasn't Andrew's type, I meant it. It's not about my looks or faith. It's that I'm a woman." Neil heard her words but was slow to understand them. He blinked at her in confusion, blinked again when it clicked, and said a little too loudly, "Oh. Then Andrew and Kevin—"
It was a milk carton with a cutout for the wearer's face and a bold "Have you seen me?" printed beneath it. "Oh, that's perfect, Neil," Andrew said.
"Some of the strongest people I've known are women."
my boy invented feminism
"Will you still teach me?" Neil asked. Kevin was quiet again, but not for long this time. "Every night."
"You should be Court." It was barely a whisper, but it cut Neil to the bone.
"How can you stand having a team like ours, Coach? Isn't it exhausting dealing with us and our problems day after day?" Wymack emptied his coffee with one big gulp. "Nope."
Neil was already in his coffin. He might as well nail it shut. "Yeah, I understand you're a complete asshole."
"I refuse to believe she never told you. All that time running and you never asked why?" Neil gave Riko an incredulous look. "Have you met my father? I didn't have to ask."
We wanted you to see us so you know what an offense team really looks like." "Offense, or offensive?" Matt sidled up alongside Neil.
"What the hell is this?" "His antagonism is a personality flaw we're learning to live with," Kevin said.
Jean looked at Kevin. "Hello, Kevin." "Jean," Kevin said quietly.
"Ah, you are right. That must be it. What was your name again? Alex? Stefan? Chris?"