not bad not good but a secret third thing ( )

!@#$#@!!

I don't read fantasy and this book hovered on the edge, with its fantastical hybrid ice hockey game, Exy. Its cast of characters were larger than life, and often completely unsympathetic and cruel to each other. One protagonist, the MC Neil, has lived a life of physical abuse from his gangster father that's like a terrifying Yakuza movie.

Neil's one consolation in life is to play Exy. He "disappears" into this game and feels momentary safety. And wow! does he deserve a consolation! given the horrendous life he's led up to this point, which, if we were told how old he is I missed - I assume it is 18 or 19.

The intensity of this novel, which fortunately got me past the chaos at the start, kept me riveted, and left me hoping for the best for Neil.

I think there are about 10 in the Exy team: males and females. They are important characters in the book, and sufficiently intriguing that I hope they appear in later books.

I'm almost finished and there doesn't appear to be any romantic interest for Neil, so it must be in the next book. He's obsessed with his mentor and assistant coach to the team, Kevin. But Kevin picks on Neil unrelentingly, though he does eventually give him some encouragement by mentoring him with extra training in the middle of the night, every night - another kind of bullying or targeting.

It's unexpected how invested I am in Neil getting a break, so I see myself picking up the next books in the series.

Nora Safavic has made a contribution to young adult romance with this unusual novel - how much of my high praise is due to the narration I couldn't say - but she's been incredibly lucky that Alexander Cendese narrates the series. ( )

I don't like the writing style, but I do like the story and the characters. I want to find out what happens next. ( )

This book was not for me. I seriously wanted to like it but it was too unrealistic for me. The writing style also didn't connect with me so I had to struggle through to the end. This isn't a hit against the author or the book, it just wasn't my type of read. And, that's totally okay! We all have books that everyone else loves that we just can't get into. That being said, read it for yourself and make your own informed decision on whether you like it or not.

One out of five stars. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )