#the king's men review

[kevindayscrown]

Something, something, people reading aftg only for the gay couple, getting attached only to that gay couple, not bothering to go in depth with anything else, something something, now they hate TSC because it's not about that specific gay couple, something something

[thelostgetfound-artemis]

I've been on tumblr for a long time but this is the first time I've bothered looking at Year In Review and I am absolutely dead at the fact aftg is in the top 10 for books?

Other older books being on the list I get, they're classics or fantasy so they're sort of always popular but aftg?

This book that is out of date enough that the main character un-ironically wears jorts?

This book that sounds like a dumpster fire if you try to verbally explain the plot to an outsider who has no prior knowledge?

When I read aftg years ago i borrowed it from a friend who got it in a lucky dip at our towns only bookstore, I was surprised back THEN there was a healthily active Tumblr tag. And I know Tumblr has a way of making even small fandoms feel big but I DID NOT EXPECT NUMBER 8 OUT OF 100 IN THE YEAR 2022

[sammbee]

*The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic*

✨Spoilers. Probably. Idk what you don't wanna know✨

Jean, Jean, Jean.

If we thought Riko was mean to Neil and Kevin, BOY WERE WE correct. Unfortunately, poor Jean was an abused puppy who was sold to an even more abusive family.

I usually try to make these funny, but I just want to pause on the lols and say what Riko did to Jean was ✨Literally Insane✨

Now back to our regularly scheduled program:

Jeremy always wanted a dog. And our sweet angel sunshine boy got his wish with Jeany Moreau.

We finally see that some people actually respect Kevin and don't see him as a whiny bitch (Neil's words not mine) (it's because Jean wants to kiss him) (and listen that's okay but I cannot wait until Jeremy gives Jean a smooch).

There's way more to say, but I'm going to leave it at I can't wait until a book two to see Cat, Laila, and Jeremy shine rays of sunlight out of Jean's butt.

[rayyreads]

Y’all have no idea how exited I am for The Sunshine Court….

Like.. I am in the middle of graduation exams rn and I CANT EVEN CONCENTRATE BECAUSE I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK AND I AM SO EXITED FOR SATURDAY AHHHHHHHHHSJSJDJSJSJSJ😭😭😭

[franticvampirereads]

This is still one of the best books that I think I’ve ever read. It was such a roller coaster of emotions and just when you think it can’t get any more dramatic, it does. I loved how Neil and Andrew weren’t subtle in the least and yet people were still shocked by them being together. It just made me giggle. I also loved how the Foxes rallied around Neil after everything that he had been through. It was so sweet to see them bonding and really cementing the rag-tag found family thing that they had going on. Honestly, this is just such a good book and it’s getting a solid five stars.

My original review can be found here -> {review}

Reading Challenge Prompt Fills:

Alphabet Challenge: K

[dreamingkdrama]

Lee Gon

Drama: The king - Eternal monarch

Status: Main character

Portrayed by: Lee Min-Ho

Yes, he is incredibly handsome, that's a fact. I wasn't a big fan at the beginning, he was cute but I didn't feel the connextion on the emotional level. He seemed to have kind of generic "main protagonist's personality". However, it got better later in the show. Lee Min-Ho showed some acting skills and I really rooted for king Lee Gon at the end. I think he really fits the role, he looks very regal :)

[acourtofpaperandink]

Book Review: The Sunshine Court By: Nora Sakavic

Post by: Anastasia The Foxhole Court (Book 1) The Raven King (Book 2) The King’s Men (Book 3) The Sunshine Court (Book 4) By: Nora Sakavic Cover: The cover is in a similar style to the other books and, now that I’ve read the story, fits decently with what the story is about. Story: ★★★★★ Ten years after The King’s Men was released, Nora Sakavic gives us a fourth novel in her All For The…

[aint-love-heavy]

Every time someone describes a Shirley Jackson work as "reminiscent of Stephen King" a puppy dies, by the way.

[banksreads]

[tbookblurbs]

The King's Men - Nora Sakavic (All for the Game #3)

Real? 1.5/5. To me? 3/5 - Andreil my beloveds, Kevin's new tattoo, the plot if anything gets worse

I feel obligated to say that I can enjoy these books the way anyone can enjoy fanfiction that's maybe not the best written but that keeps putting your favorite characters in situations. I'm going to read it unless it's absolutely horrific.

Andrew and Neil my besties. My beloveds. I want the world for them and they got it! Some of their priorities could use rearranging though. I'm happy y'all are happy and want to jump each other's bones but maybe rest first? Some sleep? Some antibiotics for Neil's many injuries?

Kevin and his new tattoo was really so nice to see, I wanted nothing but the best for him. And for him to show up at their final game playing with his left hand again? Superb, showstopping, one-of-a-kind, etc.

Allison was my surprise favorite after this installment. She didn't really have any character development in the last two books, so getting to know her here was pleasant.

The whole plot outside of Exy really leaves something to be desired but again, I am choosing to suspend my disbelief far beyond the usual boundaries of non-Fan/SF fiction. Except for their drinking habits. "Kevin downed half a bottle of vodka in under a minute", no, he didn't. Not without throwing up. And he would not be able to play afterwards. I understand Sakavic was trying to give them addiction problems (and she did succeed) but the human body does still have limits.

The ending was surprisingly satisfying. I didn't expect it to end in such a rational (in-context) way, but it was honestly a nice reprieve from the everything else about this story.

All I really want to do now is stare at Andrew and Neil under a microscope. I also didn't realize until this book at Neil was only 5'3"? Neil Josten, my short king.

[thecasualbookreviewer]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The king's men, Nora Sakavic

Summary:

Neil Josten is out of time. He knew when he came to PSU he wouldn't survive the year, but with his death right around the corner he's got more reasons than ever to live.

Befriending the Foxes was inadvisable. Kissing one if unthinkable. Neil should know better than to get involved with anyone this close to the end, but Andrew's never been the easiest person to walk away from. If they both say it doesn't mean anything, maybe Neil won't regret losing it, but the one person Neil can't lie to is himself.

He's got promises to keep and a team to get to championships if he can just outrun Riko a little longer, but Riko's not the only monster in Neil's life. The truth might get them killed - or be Neil's one shot at getting out of this alive.

Review:

You know, despite this being a 5 stars read for me, I do have a lot of critique for the plot. I think the more you read into this series the more you come to two conclusions: 1. The plot barely makes sense most of the time, and 2. The characters truly are what makes this series so good.

Plot wise, I feel like the author could've executed things better, she has good scenes with flat endings or lack of proper following and depth, there were big story lines that were build up through the three books that end up in a kind of disappointing way, so I think about halfway through the book I stopped caring about the plot in general.

Luckily, this book was a mixed of plot driven and character driven, and the character growth and development really sucked me in.

From the main characters to all of the side characters, they all make such an interesting bunch, every single one of them is interesting in their own way and their interactions are so well written, relationships that you wouldn't think would work, do, and that's what keeps you glued to the page.

I think Coach Wymack is one if my favorite father figures I've read in a long time, and the way he interacts with all of the Foxes just made me love him more and more. The romance turn in this book was a great addition and honestly very well developed in a way that makes sense for the characters.

In the end I actually really enjoyed reading this saga, it really has a way to take over your brain, I told my friend that read the books along with me that the brain rot for these books is so real, I rarely find myself looking for fanart or fanfiction of books, but as I write this I already read one fanfic and made a Pinterest board of collected fanart, so at the very least I'm having a lot of fun!

[livvyofthelake]

soooo charmed by the idea of masses of people completely unfamiliar with the subject matter watching king arthur 2004 because mads mikkelsen and hugh dancy were in it. like i know you girlies are out there i see you on letterboxd… and i cannot fathom what you got from this 2 hour movie but i’m glad you’re out there <3 the world always needs weird girls <3

[dan-i-am21]

!DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN THIS ART I DO NOT KNOW WHO DOES OWN THIS ART IT WAS FOUND ON PINTREST SCREEN SHOTES FROM PINTEREST!

I wanted to share how I found out about All For The Game series. It started with Pinterest, I have a board called Inspiring and I add all kinds of characters that inspire me. I found a picture of Andrew and Neil.

I thought they were really cute forgot about it for a bit then found another picture it was Neil Smoking.

After this I couldn’t stop seeing pictures of Neil and Andrew. I kept getting pictures of them and I liked them a lot. I thought they were the cutest couple didn’t know their back story or anything. I started calling them my boys cause they were everywhere on my Pinterest. Then I found a picture of Neil’s scars.

I can’t remember how exactly I found out about their names. My guess I finally looked at comments and got the names and series looked it up. The first book was free on the Books App read had my sister buy the other two that night and read non stop. Fell in love with the characters since then. I bought the books January 23 2021 Online. Made a Pinterest board was obsessed. My Best Freind bought me the books on my birthday that year read them in like two and half days. Found a Pin with them but an AU found out about AO3 then got tumblr.

[write-lets-do-this]

All for the Game is a series that truly transformed my reading experience back in the summer of 2020 when I read it for the first time. I remember taking the trilogy with me on a week-long beach holiday with my parents and regretting not bringing any more books with me for how fast I tore through them. I managed to keep myself fairly occupied by my own fantasies of how the characters would have reacted had they materialised before me or happened to be playing on the beach as I walked past. I could go on forever about all the details that go into this series and the emotions that I felt upon reading that were captured just as vividly even on my second re-read, but I’ll keep this relatively short.

The second book, The Raven King, (not to be confused with the novel of the same name by Maggie Stiefvater) kicks up the gory side a lot. This is the point where I warn anyone who hasn’t read it yet, and might be planning to, to check the trigger warnings for some pretty upsetting content that appears in both this second book and the third one also with too much plot relevance to be easily skipped over. There’s some harsh language and questionable drug use from the first book too, but the latter two books are the most heavy-handed with the explicit depictions of some quite horrific events.

For a series that has been published independently, it holds up well in terms of its quality when compared to other popular staples in the YA genre. The fact that it has been independently published rather than through an agency somewhat serves to highlight and mirror the narrative of the PSU Foxes as they scrabble together a found family of sorts from a bunch of traumatised and troubled young adults. The rawness of the writing itself only highlights this, making it easy for any angsty YA reader to latch onto, which really isn’t a bad thing when it comes to this series. All for the Game truly does master the art of creating almost stupidly dramatic scenarios and making them feel relatable to anyone that’s ever experienced any feelings of anger or worthlessness.

This series is so close to my heart it’s rather difficult to write objectively, or with a particularly analytical mindset about it, but it really is done rather well. The pacing is kept throughout the series, climaxing towards the final instalment and allowing a fair (if very slightly excessive) conclusion to ensure the characters’ arcs have been fully tied up. None of the leaving-enough-knots-untied-to-potentially-squeeze-another-spinoff-out that seems to plague almost every form of media in the current age, it encapsulates the whole story of Neil Josten and the other Foxes within its several hundred pages.

Neil’s narration plays its own part, making him an excellent, and frequently hilarious, unreliable narrator. The way Sakavic uses this as a tool to convey Neil’s own opinions without overly clouding the reality of the events beyond the character’s perspective is a finely-balanced art. While he’s not always the most honest about his own feelings, Neil’s perceptiveness makes for a fascinating angle that really uplifts the whole story.

Overall

I’ve already told you how much I absolutely adore this series, for personal reasons probably a little more than technical writerly ones. But gosh does it pull on your heartstrings. If you have the nerve to tolerate the hefty trigger list All for the Game comes with, absolutely give it a read!

Rating: ★★★★★

-Olive Tree

[dreamingkdrama]

The King: Eternal monarch

Genre: fantasy, romance

Episodes: 16

Starring: Lee Min-Ho, Woo Do-Hwan, Kim Go-Eun, Kim Kyung-Nam, Lee Jung-Jin

Synopsis: In 1994, the king of Kingdom of Corea is murdered by his brother Lee Lim, who seeks to possess a legendary flute that holds supernatural powers. King's 8 years old son (prince Lee Gon) tries to stop him and the flute is cut unto two pieces. Small prince in saved by a mysterious figure and Lee Lim slips away only with half of the broken flute. 25 years later, king Lee Gon is still haunted by what happened when he was a child and the mystery behind the police badge left by his savior. The police badge he held was issued on November 11, 2019 for Lieutenant Jeong Tae-Eul. Lee Gon discoveres the magical powers of the flute and travels to parallel world where he finally meets detective Jeong Tae-Eul.

Positives: I was little bit sceptical at the begining, it was kind of cheezy, rushed, the chemistry between the main romantic duo did not worked for me and I was confused by many scenes that seemingly did not conect with the plot. But it was jus a build up and in the midle of the series the story was a rolley coaster. I was surprised how the writers are able to manage all the time jumps, parallel worlds, all the side plots and characters. The cast was great, the main characters were great, but I would like to highlight Woo Do-Hwan and his dual role, because that was was a masterpiece. Also point's for the charismatic villain.

Negatives: It has slower start, and the plot with timetravelling and doppelgangers can be confusing. I would also appreciate more screentime for the antagonist, he was great, but I think he had much bigger potential.

Conclusion: It was really a fun drama. It has everything from funny momets to really sad scenes where I really cryied (Kang Sin-Jae, I am looking at you). The theme of parallel worlds is not original, but it's still interesting and I really liked how this trope was used in the story. At the beginning, I wasn't a big fan of Lee Min-Ho, but when the plot started to progress, he really showed some acting skills. Also, he is tall and handsome and he really looks very regal. They probably couldn't pick better actor for a king.

Action: 6/10 Romance: 8/10 Intriques: 8/10 Blood: 7/10 Whump: 7/10 Friendship: 8/10 Emotions: 8/10 Humor: 5/10

[claireelizabethsblog]

~ February's Books Reviewed ~

This month could not quite live up to the joy that was January's in terms of books. I think, especially after ending on Blake's Atlas Series, I was a little in shock and mourning over what I could possibly read next! As a result, I started the month re-reading an old favourite, and then moved on to making my way through some of my mother's old books that I borrowed when I last visited. I enjoyed this in the sense that it broadened my reading habits, however it did mean that my general ranking books was lower this month.

All For The Game Series by Nora Sakavic

(269 & 338 & 431 pages)

Now, I understand these books are not good. They're problematic in several ways, probably in more ways than I realise. However, I unapologetically love them. The found family is everything, the representation (even though it is far from accurate) of demisexuality and mental health struggles make me emotional at points and this trilogy will remain one of my constant comfort reads. In terms of warnings, people should know that there are many inaccuracies and slightly problematic choices; it is also graphic and descriptive of torture and self harm. However, the characters and their relationships, with themselves and their relationships is beautiful, and as such I will always choose to come back to this trilogy when I want a cosy comforting read.

I gave this trilogy 5 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

(428 pages)

I was excited to read this book as it is a classic that has been on my list for a while, but unfortunately I'd ultimately describe myself as underwhelmed by it. I know it was fairly recently in the news for its cultural inaccuracies anyway, but that combined with the fairly graphic sexual scenes did make me rather uncomfortable. Aside from that, I just found it a little dull and be perfectly honest. I'm glad I read it, but I cannot see myself ever re-reading it either.

I gave this book 2.5 stars ⭐ ⭐ 🌗

The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

(518 pages)

This was another book that has been on my list for a while, especially since I've heard people claiming they absolutely loved it, however, again it was far from the best book I've read recently. The concept was extremely interesting and the style and structure was totally not what I was expecting. The age gap and time jumping made some sections a bit odd or confusing or uncomfortable; and the ending was honestly a little anticlimactic. That being said, it was definitely not a bad book, and I did enjoy parts of it, I just wasn't blown away.

I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 🌗

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

(646 pages)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as I picked it up on a bit of a whim. Essentially, it was a mystery novel and despite life getting a little busy while reading this, it kept me hooked and coming back to it without any long breaks. There were certainly parts that were slow and also bits that were a bit clunky, but overall I found this a satisfying and very gentle read.

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

(435 pages)

Amazingly descriptive, but not very engaging. I'm glad I managed to read it since it is another classic one, however there were times when I honestly wasn't sure I'd finish it. While reading it I was sure it was only going to get two stars, however it picked up significantly at the end so pulled itself up. I will say that it was really interesting reading about this period of time (first half of the 20th century) from the Greek and Italian perspective as I feel that is a rather understudied section of history.

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

One Day by David Nicholls

(435 pages)

I could forgive the dull storyline if it weren't for the fact the protagonists were so incredibly awful. It's all well and good having flawed characters, but when they're bad enough that I find myself actively rooting against then it's usually not a good sign. I did enjoy the symbolism of the end however, even if it was highly predictable.

I gave this book 2 stars ⭐ ⭐