Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Raven King

Halfway through inputting the content warnings, I realized it might be faster to point out which ones don’t apply.

Content warnings aside, I’m still gonna read the third book.

Content Warnings

andmingmingtoo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Can I, in good conscience, recommend this book to a normal person? Probably not
Has the "you know, I get it" speech irrevocably rewired my brain chemistry? Absolutely

Content Warnings

nikoops's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As with the rest of this series, it’s hard to describe. The characters are engaging, the plot, ridiculous, and the writing decent. This might make it sound like you shouldn’t read it, and honestly? Despite the 5/5 stars, you probably shouldn’t.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

The Raven King picks up exactly where The Foxhole Court ends. The story remains in Neil’s POV, starting with the Foxes spending Halloween all together; it becomes apparent that it was definitely Riko behind Seth’s untimely death; however, with Seth gone, the team does seem to start to work together more cohesively on the court. They start to rank up wins, and there is hope for them to make it to the semifinals. Things start to go downhill when Nicky’s family invites him and the twins home for Thanksgiving. The invitation comes with the directions that the twins have to come or else Nicky cannot go. Desperate to see his family again and hopefully reconcile their differences, Nicky asks Neil to get Andrew to agree to go. Neil does, but not for Thanksgiving; Nicky’s family is accommodating. The meal comes with an unexpected and devastating surprise—they have invited Drake (Andrew’s former brother to be, had he been adopted by the Spears), and he is waiting upstairs secretly for Andrew. Luther (Nicky’s father) tricks Andrew into going upstairs where he is knocked over the head with a bottle by Drake and assaulted. Neil suspects Andrew is in trouble, when Luther mentions Drake, and goes upstairs with Aaron to see. They wind up breaking down the door to find Andrew being assaulted, Aaron winds up killing Drake. Aaron is arrested for the murder, but is allowed back until his trial due to Matt’s mother posting bail. Betsy makes the choice to have Andrew go off his meds due to the circumstances, which requires him going to Easthaven for 24/hr supervision as he comes off them. During this all, the team grows closer still as the team decides to stick together as often as possible—Aaron also gets to spend time with his girlfriend Katelyn. At the Christmas banquet, Riko tells Neil that he has to come to Evermore for winter break—he threatens Andrew’s safety should Neil refuse. Neil, of course, agrees to this, and is subjected to torture for the entirety of winter break. He returns to Palametto unsure of how he got there, with new scars, his natural eye and hair color back, and a four tattooed on his cheek. He calls Wymack for help, and reveals some more truth to him, the book ends on him wondering how their season will go, and how he will survive it.