Concept: A
Execution: C-

I’m usually a sucker for any kind of Holmes and Watson adjacent story, so I was excited for this one. It starts out promisingly - an American 19-year-old spends a summer in London living with her aunt in order to attend a prestigious writing workshop led by…Professor John Watson. She immediately befriends two of her fellow workshop participants (one of whom, of course, is a potential love interest), and they start to wonder if there might be more to their professor than meets the eye. When the class visits Oxford and one of the students disappears, our lead trio decides to investigate.

This is where things go off the rails. The story of Holmes and Watson takes a poorly-presented supernatural turn, and our central trio never really get to investigate anything - they (and we) are firehosed with exposition for the rest of the book. There’s not even any kind of closure in the end - just a sort of tapering off followed by a tacked-on epilogue that adds nothing to the proceedings.

I can’t in good faith recommend this one, which is unfortunate - it had so much potential! I will say, though, that the audiobook narrator did an admirable job of differentiating voices despite having an American accent herself and only one of the multitude of characters being American. I will definitely seek out more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is set in London and the prestigious Ashford College during the summer and for Jules, her summer isn't going as she hoped. Going in I knew that this was set around a writing class and Sherlock Holmes that's all I need to know to give this book a read. Also, it features a Hard of Hearing protagonist written by a Hard of Hearing author! I love that.
There are two main mysteries within this book and I liked how both unfolded. I enjoyed the characters, they all played well off each other, made me feel something, and you can't help but want a happy ending for them. I also have to say I liked all the writing talk, that's something I love in books.
I have read Alison Gervais's other book The Silence Between Us and gave
it three stars and I am happy to say that I enjoyed this one even more!
A summer of writing gets twisted into a mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blink YA Books, Blackstone Publishing, Alison Gervais, and Khristine Hvam (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of A Game Most Foul in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Jules, a creative writer attending a summer writing seminar at Ashford College in England. One aspect of characterization I really appreciate is her use of a hearing aide, which adds a nice feature of diversity. The hearing loss is recent, and Jules doesn't seem comfortable sharing that as a part of herself just yet, so she does try to hide it from her seminar classmates. She was really hoping the seminar would help her with her dream novel, but even seminar's may not have the power to end writer's block.

When a newfound friend and classmate goes missing when visiting a door that inspires C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, no one seems concerned. People do what they want, right? but the weird thing is that she was RIGHT next to Jules and suddenly...gone without a trace. Jules and two of her other newfound friends/classmates find the disappearance to be worth looking into, even if the police and Professor Watson don't find the disappearance to be anything out of the ordinary.

Jules, Percy, and Suruthi find themselves joined by a man who frequents her aunt's antique shop, by no other name than Sherlock Holmes! Of course, Holmes is perfect for mystery solving, but what's more, how is it that centuries-old fictional characters are making an appearance? Now Jules has two mysteries to solve, and she hopes she can find her friend in time.

This is a fun mystery novel with a twist on the characters of Holmes and Watson being alive and real (you'll just have to read for yourself to determine how this works). Sherlock Holmes fans will certainly appreciate what is going on with the characters and events in this novel. It is also a perfect mystery for a contemporary audience. Teen and new adult readers, as well as aspiring writers, will get thorough enjoyment out of this fun stand-alone mystery!

While the idea and notion behind the story wad fun and seemed great in theory, I ddon't think the execution did it justice. I felt like *something was missing* and there was more than a few thiings that *felt off*. I DID greatly appreciation the representation and diversity., but I also felt like just when some parts were heating up, they ended abruptly and the resolution just plopped out.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
A Game Most Foul is a fun YA mystery book with two characters in modern day times called Holmes and Watson slam dunk in the middle of it. We follow Jules, who's flown over from the states to attend a writing seminar at a prestigious college in London. Just after joining the course and making friends, one of them disappears, leaving her and her friends frantically trying to find out what's happened to her because the police and their teacher don't seem to be very concerned. Jules finds herself embroiled in two mysteries, struggling to navigate her hearing, which is declining daily, and complete her course when she's got a serious case of 'writers block'.
This was so fun to listen to on audio and perfect for YA to learn more about Sherlock Holmes and Watson and lead them on to possibly reading books about them stemming from reading this book. The narrator was easy to listen to and did a great job breathing life into each character.

Started strong, characters were kind of annoying, completely derailed and did not care for the ending. Wasn't what I had expected or hoped going in. Thank you netgalley for the arc, but this was not for me.

This YA mystery was a great palate cleanser. It was entertaining without being super twisty or suspenseful. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life. I loved the writing group and the friendship that came out of it. Even though the story was told through Jules’ POV the personalities of Percy and Suruthi were developed as well. I loved following them as they tried to piece together what happened to their classmate. The twist on Sherlock and Watson was fun and it added a little magical realism to the mystery. The banter between them and the students was fun. I can’t say I loved how it ended but I how much I loved the group made up for it. I think listening to the audio definitely helped with the pace of the book a little too.

Thank you Blink YA books and Netgalley for the gifted audio.

I love reading murder mysteries and this one did not disappoint. A young girl goes to another country for a writing seminar. While there she stays with a relative that owns a shop. One day on an outing one of her classmates disappear into thin air, no one can find her and after a while the police give up, thinking that she has taken off on her own. However, some of her classmates don't agree and decide to solve the mystery themselves, with a little help from a man trapped in an office.

2.5
I could have lived with a portrayal of Sherlock and Watson that didn't ring true for me, but the bumbling idiocy of the other characters was too much to deal with. Do you ever get the impression someone is writing teenagers as overly stupid partial people just because they're teenagers? Well, I do...

this was a fun idea and enjoyable enough but it just felt like something was missing from it. I think I wanted more deduction and detecting. More clues. It felt like all the resolution got handed to us very easily and all at once and it just left me wanting but not in a good way.

"A Game Most Foul" started out pretty good.. It was interesting to read about a young main character who has hearing loss, about the ways it affected her and how she overcame her struggles. However...
It's taking me awhile to put a finger down on what exactly I disliked so much about this title. One of the main thoughts that kept coming up is, "Why did the author dumb down these teens?" The thought kept resurfacing every couple of chapters throughout. Yes, it is a Young Adult genre, but, just my personal opinion, the book could have benefited if the characters were just a little more... acute? Sharp?
The plot didn't catch my attention, I didn't really care what happened past the first third of the title.
I really wanted to like this, it's not a terrible book, but this Sherlock/Watson spin is just not for me.

"A Game Most Foul" is a fun YA mystery with a literary theme and supernatural twist! I enjoyed the romp through its British academia and gaslamp England settings, both of which are right up my alley when wishing to curl up and escape into an atmospheric and immersive world for my daily dose of cosy comfort.
I loved the quirky characters, as well as the diversity and inclusivity that went into composing this cast. I appreciated the account by the hard of hearing protagonist (based on personal experience of the hard of hearing author) which gave interesting insight to aid improved understanding about living with this condition.
The audio narration was engaging, bringing each role to life with appropriate accents and mannerisms to help you connect, identify and relate to everyone.

I adored this book. It had some tropes in it that on the surface it dealt with similarly to how they are always handled, but actually cut a lot deeper if you stop to think about the core messages that are there.

I identified with Percy deeply in my love for Sherlock Holmes, and this book paid such great homage to those books while being it's own story completely. It's such a different take on Holmes and Watson in the modern era, and every character is so well written. It also captured the spirit of Homes well, something not every inspired by book does.

I enjoyed running around with Jules, Percy, and Suruthi as they tried to figure out two intertwined mysteries. I appreciate all that was left open to interpretation at the end of this book too. While it has a satisfying ending, there are some things that feel open ended. I liked that the big strokes were there, but I could draw my own conclusion on others.


**Side note: This book has some great representation if you are looking for that. I appreciated how well the hearing loss is integrated in as just part of who Jules is and not something that needs to be othering. It is brought up a bit, because she is dealing with her own acceptance of it partially, but it's never something that holds her back or keeps her from anything, and I can't think of a single situation where someone interacts with her negatively around her hearing aids. The closest is someone not knowing what they are for sure but assuming correctly. It was really well done.**

Finding an inclusive author who writes with authenticity about someone’s unique lived experience is rare. Alison Gervais includes hearing loss without making it seem like an afterthought or a sort of thing that must be done to prove she is not omitting any population groups. The story she weaves is engaging—enchanting, even. The characters are lively and curious in a way that kept me engaged & will appeal to my students. The way that she addressed living with hearing loss and feeling different is equally as powerful though. I think she proves that writing in a way that represents all kinds of people doesn’t have to be trite or cliche. The narration on this also helped propel the story. Sometimes having multiple speaking characters makes a text difficult for struggling learners to follow—even when the story is appealing. This narration definitely eases that difficulty and really helps to propel the story.

In full transparency I did receive an audiobook ARC from NetGalley.

I loved this book! It was a delightfully witty and exciting mystery with a fantasy tie in. As a writer I really loved the ode to writers block and struggling to meet deadlines. As a mystery fan I loved the connection with Sherlock Holmes and some nods to my personal fave Agatha Christie! I am so excited to go see what else Alison Gervais has to read. Her style was so readable and witty, especially those chapter titles! I do wish there was some more character development of the secondary characters and more resolution to their story lines. Beyond that I flew through this book and loved every moment of it.

I am reviewing an ARC of the audiobook of A Game Most Foul.

I thought the premise of a modern day Sherlock mystery was creative and interesting. Most of the characters were well developed, I liked Jules and her aunt and her friends. Sherlock and Watson lacked something, there was some inconsistency in their personalities which was explained to some extent at the end but not really. The students seemed younger than their given ages, quite naive, so I couldn’t help but picture younger teens in my head. I wish we could have read some samples of their creative writing!

I really wanted to find out the answers to the mystery so that did keep me hooked but there were long sections where nothing really happened except Jules overthinking and repeating herself without adding anything new. The settings were interesting, I always love a literary trip back to London. Jules’ management of her hearing loss was included seamlessly in the narration and it was good to read about a character’s difference without it being a major hindrance nor superpower which some books do, it was just part of who she is.

The audiobook narration was pretty good. There were a few oddly pronounced words… macabre?! And the narrator had her work cut out for her having to voice accents from California, Canada, East London, Kent, France and Belgian in one scene! Overall it was well read and I enjoyed the story.
3.5 stars

The book started out really strong but then the plot took a bit of a turn for the weird and not exactly in a good way. I do think the story would have been a bit better with a different outcome. I did like the whole Sherlock and Watson plot point but I wish there would have been a bigger focus on the mystery of it all... again with a different ending.

I did really appreciate the fact our main character had hearing aids and I loved how that part of the character was written and explored through the book.

I think it could be a really great book if it would have maybe had a bit more editing but I do think some people will love this story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This is a YA mystery with a side of romance. It is from a single POV but you quickly dive into Jules life and her new found friendships while she is in England on a trip for a writing program.

I don’t want to dive into the story too much but you get a ton of twist and turns while also getting a sweet romance and story of friendship.

This was a nice new twist on the Holmes and Watson stories. There were plenty of references to the historical works, and to Watson’s writing of the cases. Taking this idea of Watson being a good writer and turning it into him being an English professor was really fresh; sometimes the uses of characters when they come out of copyright protection can feel a bit overdone, but this kept it really individual.

Jules is deaf, and is very self-conscious when it comes to people knowing that she is hard of hearing, and is especially aware of her use of hearing aids. It’s something she works to hide from people around her, and this becomes relevant when she witnesses one of her classmates going missing, because she can’t be sure she hasn’t missed something due to her deafness. As someone who is always on the hunt for disability representation, this was a delightful find, and I personally thought Jules’s deafness was handled really well by the author, considering the adaptions she would need, and the way it would impact not just Jules, but the others around her too. This is something I feel I can relate to as someone with sensory impairment – I’m visually impaired and use a long cane when needed, but it’s more than that; it’s the little day to day adaptions, like making sure I don’t use my Kindle on bright days, or remember my medications, or even things like making stupid typos because I can’t always see when I’m typing. So while my sensory impairment is different, it was good to see all parts of being deaf being considered, as I can imagine there are just as many points to consider for the deaf community as well as the blind.

Percy and Suruthi join Jules in her hunt for answers, and the trio make for a great crime tackling crew. There was a great cheerful vibe with them, and they bounced off each other in brilliant ways, balancing each other out. Percy comes across as more balanced and calm, whereas Suruthi is ready to jump into action without hesitation. Jules falls somewhere in the middle, and combined with the fledgling crush between Percy and Jules, the friendships bloom in a lovely, natural feeling way.

I did dock this a star when it came to rating it for a couple of reasons. I felt there were a few minor plot holes that, while they didn’t take away from it being a generally enjoyable story, it irritates me when there’s questions I don’t get answers to. I also felt the last few chapters were rather rushed, with the answer to the mystery being maybe a bit too predictable.

That said, it was a good binge read, and I read the audiobook in a day. It’s also one I’ve recommended to friends for a comfort read level mystery, which there’s always a market for, myself included. The ending was somewhat open, which is fine by me, so I’m curious to see whether there will be a follow up to come with more of Jules’s adventures!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blink YA Books for providing me with an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Game Most Foul by Alison Gervais follows Jules, a recently-graduated American girl who uses hearing aids, as she travels to England to attend a writing seminar. When she arrives, she makes friends with some of her writing cohort, and they learn that their writing professor is THE Watson of the Sherlock Holmes and Watson fictional fame, lost in time and seemingly immortal. Once their classmate goes missing, the friends ask for the help of Sherlock Holmes himself to investigate the case of their missing classmate.

Unfortunately, this one holistically did not work for me. I'll start with the things I did enjoy:
The audiobook was produced well, and I enjoyed the narrator and the way the story was told. Additionally, I appreciated the inclusion of Jules's hearing loss into the story, and I believe it was integrated well and an accurate portrayal of disability representation. I didn't mind the three main teenage characters, and they were all written with a distinct voice.

The things that didn't work for me:
The tone of this story makes it difficult to recommend professionally. The beginning of the book reads as a pretty generic, slightly younger YA mystery, and then gets a lot darker and twisted at the end of the book. Therefore, the readers who would appreciate and be reading books that go along with the ending probably wouldn't get through the beginning half of the book, and readers who would enjoy the beginning half would probably dislike the ending.
The narrative also became slightly disjointed for me, with certain plot points leading nowhere. With the inclusion of so many characters in the writing seminar, it seemed odd that a lot of them just fade off into the background when the main mystery plot gets going. I also found the characterization of Holmes and Watson to be disjointed in the way the author portrayed them within the story (outside of any original source material), where their personalities would change wildly from one chapter to the next.

I didn't love the ending and the conclusion to the mystery, but that is a subjective opinion. However, overall I would find it difficult to recommend this book due to the disjointed nature of the narrative, and for discrepancies within plot and characterization within the book, although I appreciated the disability representation.