All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

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

Book 1 - The Foxhole Court

Uh. That was unexpected.
I have to give this 5 stars just because of everything it made me feel.
I can honestly say I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading this.

I found myself invested in the enigma that is Neil Josten about 5 pages in and I could not and would not let go.

This book was about a messed up kid who is as alone as he is messed up.
He's managed to graduate high school by hanging on to Exy ("Exy was a bastard sport, an evolved sort of lacrosse on a soccer-sized court with the violence of ice hockey, and Neil loved every part of it from its speed to its aggression.")

One night after a game he gets an offer he can't refuse.
He should run. He should. But the idea of not running anymore and getting to play Exy is too tempting.

So he joins the Foxes, the underdogs of college Exy whose team is composed solely of misfits.
The Foxes could actually be a good team, if they stopped fighting with each other more than they fight with their opponents.

This books is not a fluffy "my team is my family" book.
This book doesn't have romance.
This book talks about of lot of messed crap that will trigger a b*tch before you can say "threat to society".
This book is awesome.

Book 2 - The Raven King

If I'm breathing, I can play.

I'm writing this with tears in my eyes because
HOW DARE THOSE MONSTERS DO THAT TO MY BABY
breathes fire

I stumbled onto this series and I'm so glad I didn't let the iffy cover stop me.
These characters have stolen my heart.

There was so much character development in this sequel and it has honestly blown me away.
I can't wait to see how the Monsters and Upperclassman fare next. Better yet, I can't wait to see how THE FOXES fare.

There are so many good reviews of this book that echo my thoughts,
I'm gonna sign off here and use the rest of my lunch break to start Book 3.
Wish me luck.

Book 3 - The King's Men

I didn’t realize I had strapped myself to a rollercoaster until it was too late to get off.
I have almost 150 highlights in this book. Let that sink in for a second.
I realized I was highlighting every piece of character growth and funny moment that would preserve the Foxes in my memory.

That being said, I have never wanted to simultaneously throw a book away and set it on fire and clutch it to my chest in a vain attempt to stop the sobs before.

There was finally 'romance' in this book in the sense that there are kissy and sexy things, but not in the traditional sense of the word (and not explicit). And I'm kind of glad this didn't turn into a schmoopy fluffy mess (even though I would have thoroughly enjoyed that), it was so important to do right by these characters and even though it was really rough there for a while, it worked out in the end.

I'm so glad I took a chance on this series.
FOXES!

Years later...

It's been years since I finished this series and yet it never strays far from my thoughts.

I'm still often caught uttering the phrase "Neil Josten is my comfort character" and I don't see myself ever stopping.

After all. Once a Fox. Always a Fox.