The King's Men (All for the Game Book 3) Kindle Edition

The characters are flawed and awful and wonderful in all the best ways. Realized in the details and slowly directed towards a satisfying conclusion. I’d skip the epilogue though (a usual opinion of mine). The final chapter wraps things up perfectly.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐'𝚜 𝙼𝚎𝚗"You were supposed to be a side effect of the drugs." "I'm not a hallucination," Neil said, nonplussed."You are a pipe dream," Andrew said.______________⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A hazy amount of time has passed when Neil awakens at the airport, not recalling previous events as to how he got there; but we know. We couldn’t have forgotten and unfortunately he doesn’t for long.The third book brings the final punch and all the secrecy and hiding comes out and to an end. Neil must face his quickly approaching past. Andrew faces sobriety from his (anti-psychotic/whatever the author made up) meds. The team faces the championship.Andrew’s sobriety was everything I wanted and hoped for. His relationship with Neil - as well as his brother and teammates - can finally be faced clearly, his life, however traumatized, is finally his own.This finale stole my breath. It panicked me and excited me. I couldn’t put the book down. These boys, the team, became my whole world. When Neil faced all he feared in his miserable life, his new friends held viciously to him and never abandoned him. I adore so much that the coach pursued these vagabonds and broken people to form his team and they found healing.This story didn’t force positivity. It didn’t rally the team and suddenly inspire them to win because of some epiphany of self-confidence. It broke them and beat them and mocked them. Yet they got right back up, and with sweet patience they learned to trust each other, extend their hands, and through sweat and tears they trained and with passion in their hearts they stood up against their oppressors and played a game they loved. This book was absolutely perfect. It was gritty and beautiful and real - as much as fiction allows.This series is not one I would outright recommend because it could absolutely be controversial, and it is dark, but it is in the top five of my reads this year and I’m ready to read it again. Andrew owns me and Andreil is so precious to me. I adored the demisexual relationship, the slow burn, the traumatic processing and healing. I loved the character depth and diversity.

The King’s Men was a finale worth the amazing series it is of. There were so many plot arcs and so much going on, that finishing it seems like I have been reading it forever. It was a wild ride, to say the least. After Neil’s training/torture session at the Raven’s Nest, he returns to the Foxes, broken body but not broken spirit. Seeing his state and the newly inked tattoo Riko put on him, the Foxes are understandably outraged and out for blood. Then, sober Andrew makes a reappearance and Neil, always curious about Andrew starts to feel a change in their friendship. The fact that Andrew makes his attraction clear but is not ready to act on it stirs Neil into finally realizing his sexuality, but they both see it as a casual fling in the start. However, romance is hardly bound to be the main focus of a multi-layered plot like this, so all the previous dangers that Neil was running from, make an appearance in the finale.Once again, the book is painful at some places – Neil really can’t catch a break, poor guy. Those scenes were hard to read through, and worse was how the Foxes react to it. You can see that despite the team not being united on the court, when it comes to Neil they all love him too much to not be on the same side. And Neil, who had made his mission to fade away by the end of the year, for him to be so loved – that was so heart-warming. It has been a tremendously eventful journey for him, right from the boy on the run to the man who now stands his ground. Not to say everything worked out the way he wanted – he had to make some compromises, but the family and friends he gains overall feel like a prize for his pain. For their part, the Foxes, including Coach and Abby make for a dysfunctional but loving family.Not that this book is all pain and gloom though. There are some amazing game scenes – Exy being sort of like lacrosse, it wasn’t that difficult to imagine it, but the writing shines through in such scenes, bringing it out vividly in your mind. Another place the writing really speaks is between the characters – the subtle setting of the scene, the slow unveiling of feelings and emotions through gestures rather than words; it all speaks for a well-thought out process. And of course, the budding romance between Neil and Andrew is too hot to handle. I liked that Andrew starts to come out of his prickly thorn cage a little more, and considering his past, it is a big progress on his part, but sometimes I did wish he wasn’t so controlling! The team sort of united in the end, I guess, but a lot of the book was still spent on them squabbling among each other. It is pretty realistic, if you think about it, the way most of the threads were tied up, and from the start it has been a great series, so this book has all my love.

Loved it! This book is so gripping with amazing characters and heart pounding action! Can’t wait to read more!!! A must read!

this book was a nice conclusion to this series and universe. i cant lie when i say it was a rough read since the writing isnt the best. however, i was incredibly invested in the foxes lives and outcomes and gotta give credit to that.in addition, THE ROMANCE. the enemies to lovers in this book is quite literally jude and cardan level. WHICH IS PHENOMENAL!!! we also loveeee lgbt representation :’). glad to now know the exy and aftg hype! andreil forever <3

Eu terminei o primeiro e o segundo livro em dois dias cada um, esse não foi diferente. Eu não sei como agradecer a Nora o suficiente por escrever uma história tão cativante como essa, sem dúvida eu nunca me vi tão prendida em uma família como me vi nessa.

Me gustó demasiado el final y este último libro, a mi parecer culmina muy bien la historia y los personajes se desarrollan muy bien, tenia mucho tiempo sin leer una trilogía tan interesante y adictiva y aunque no es para todo público por los temas sensibles qué contiene, si le dan la oportunidad de leerlos van a conocer unos libros como ningún otro.

The King’s Men is definitely my favourite of the three books. Andrew and Neil finally get each other and it’s everything.This series needs ALL the trigger warnings:Physical violence (very descriptive)Sexual assault (not overly descriptive but detailed enough it could be problematic for some)Descriptions of child abuseKidnappingTortureMurderMental health issuesHomophobiaThere’s probably more. This is not a series for anyone who can be triggered. That said, while it is dark it’s also about hope and love and finding your family and a place to belong.It is NOT a stand alone! You do have to read book 1 and 2.It’s also not a romance. There is a male/male romance in the series, this book in particular, but the series is more of a action/suspense. The romance there is is not typical but it works so well for the two of them.Don’t expect steam. There isn’t any. For very good reasons.Are there areas that require a lot of suspension of disbelief? Absolutely. Does it in anyway ruin the story? Not in my opinion.This is one of those types of stories that you want to read over and over again.

Non per tutti però bello

So. I finished it.This was by far the best of the series. We finally get lose ends tied, conclusions to major plot lines, and so much more depth and character development.I was so excited to get more information on Neil's backstory, and the shock of what happened was crazy. I can remember putting the book down and just staring at the wall when Neil got that call.I also really, truly loved seeing Kevin finally break free from the Ravens, or I suppose begin his journey of breaking free.Obviously I can't not comment on the relationship between Andrew and Neil. Honestly I relate heavily to Neil's queerness and Andrew's difficulty with relationships, so seeing them grow together made my heart happy. I also love, love, love how it was much more subtle than I was expecting. We still see the passion and the love but it didn't feel over the top or forced. I think I'd have liked maybe a bit more of deeper exploration of their relationship but I also fully realise that's not really what this series is about. Besides, that's what fanfic is for.I have some maybe unpopular opinions about how things ended, and I think the last handful of chapters weren't fleshed out enough. But I don't think it really detracts from the whole.I don't really know if I'll ever be able to articulate how this series made me feel, it's been a real journey and I can't really believe it's over.I'm so amazed I'd never even heard of this series before this year, and yet very quickly it grabbed me and is never letting go.Go, Foxes!Edit: Now I've had a minute and got over my intial reaction I honestly have to say I feel the same way about this as I do whenever I finish a series that hit me pretty hard, and that's unfortunately sort of disappointed? And reading some of the extras actually didn't help, they sort of ruined things a bit for me by building up these futures into canon that I don't really like. I'm left just thinking about all the things I wish had been different. I don't think I'll read Book 4, but I'll see what the fics have to offer.