The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

Title: The Raven King (All For The Game, 2)
Author: Nora Sakavic
Genre: Contemporary, Mafia, New Adult, Thriller
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform  (31st March 2016)
Blurb:

The Foxes are a fractured mess, but their latest disaster might be the miracle they’ve always needed to come together as a team. The one person standing in their way is Andrew, and the only one who can break through his personal barriers is Neil.

Except Andrew doesn’t give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don’t have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil’s fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.

Neil’s days are numbered, but he’s learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won’t believe in himself.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

THE RAVEN KING by Nora Sakavic is the second book in the All For The Game trilogy. It continues Neil’s story several days after the events of THE FOXHOLE COURT, and deals with the repercussions of those events. Neil and his teammates are left reeling after THE FOXHOLE COURT, and Neil’s past is quickly catching up to him. To stand a chance the PSU Foxes need to pull together, and Neil has made his choice.

I really enjoyed THE FOXHOLE COURT (review), so much so that I went out and bought this book and the final book straight after I finished it. THE RAVEN KING is everything I wanted in a sequel. It ups the game and the tension, and there are a lot of revelations. Once I started I found this book very hard to put down. I had to know what was going to happen next, and I was not disappointed. Watching events play out on the page was one heck of a ride, and while the subject matter wasn’t nice or easy Sakavic kept me enthralled to the final page. If you enjoyed the first book then you will love this one too, Sakavic does not disappoint.

The plot of the book basically continues on from THE FOXHOLE COURT, and how things play out in that book. There are a few revelations from people’s pasts that I did not see coming, but the main plot focuses on the Exy game and on Neil’s past and what that means for him and others. As I said before, some of the subject matter dealt with in this book does not make it an easy read but I think the topics are well handled, and add to the narrative – I don’t feel that they are used gratuitously, but then they have not touched me. Sakavic does a fantastic job of keeping the tension of the book on a knife-edge.

I liked returning to Neil’s world and learning a little more about him. Sakavic trickles information about his past out slowly through the narrative, and for me this really worked to show Neil’s mental state as the book progressed. I think he really steps up in this book and grows as a character. Sakavic also does a brilliant job writing his teammates and coaches, and we learn more about them too in this book. There are some really interesting dynamics that Sakavic explores, and I hope they are explored further in the final book.

THE RAVEN KING is a brilliant addition to the All For The Game trilogy. It continues the story arc and expands upon it, and we get to see some familiar faces change and grow. The camaraderie between the team, and the Exy moments are brilliantly written. If you’re looking for a contemporary new adult with little romance, then this is the book and series so far for you. I am excited to see what the next and final book of this trilogy will bring, I have high hopes.