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.

A Game Most Foul is an interesting tale of a group of young adults attending a writing program. Their instructor is mysteriously named Mr. Watson. Suddenly one of them goes missing. While trying to find out what happened, they meet Sherlock Holmes and things get confusing. While I did enjoy this book, I would have preferred if the characters had come to life through book jumping rather than the more mystical approach the writer chose. This is just a preference. I did find that the synopsis and reviews including the revealing of Sherlock and Watson coming to life to be a spoiler. I would have preferred to figure this out myself as it does occur after 20%. I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in trade for my honest opinion. My thoughts are my own.
YouTube Review: 07/17/24
YouTube Handle: KeenCat

I recieved this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book was okay. I liked the three young writers very much and then addition of Watson and Holmes was just okay. I don't think that it really made the story better or worst. It felt more like a coming of age story and it was great as that.

Juliet Montgomery is headed to London, as she has just been accepted to attend a writing seminar taught by Professor Watson. Navigating a new city let alone a new country is hard for Juliet, but she is determined to make the best out of this experience. Luckily, Juliet has family to stay with and soon befriends the other students in her class. Juliet has a small secret though, she has hearing loss which requires her to wear hearing aids.
Things soon take a sudden twist when the class takes a trip that ends up with one of them missing. Things seem to go from bad to worse when the cops do not take the students seriously suggesting that maybe Ashley ran away. Juliet cannot stop blaming herself since she was the last to see Ashley and was unable to hear what happened. Determined to find her new friend, she teams up with Percy and Suruthi to find what exactly happened to Ashley. They soon find out more than they were prepared for with the help of Professor Watson and his mysterious friend….Holmes.
Overall rating 3/5
I loved how this book gave a voice to the Hearing Loss community. I have a son who has HL and appreciated how Gervais makes the reader aware of the daily struggles that someone who is hard of hearing struggles with hearing aids and the world around them. I liked the modern take on a Holmes and Watson investigation but led by college students who band together quickly even through their differences. I however did find the concept of Holmes and Watson a little hard to grasp. Maybe if we had more of a POV from Ashley to explain more of the plot it would have helped.
*Thank you to Alison Gervais, Blink YA Books, and Netgalley for the audio copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this audiobook edition of A Game Most Foul.

Can I say this was amazing? No. But did I enjoy it way more than I expected? Yes.

There was something just... really nice about this book? It's probably lower-end Young Adult, but it was just *nice* reading a book like that. It didn't want to be too angsty, too edgy, too play-the-line-of-NA. It was just a fun tale for teens to enjoy.

I can't say I'm the most knowledgeable on Sherlock and Holmes, but they were really fun in this book. The weight of living for so long had some interesting effects on them, and their bond was truly wholesome and sweet, even if they did beat on each other occasionally xD

The main cast, though a bit generic, were fun, and it was nice to see more Hard of Hearing representation (not that I have it, but always nice for any rep for various disabilities). All of the trio were writers, which also gave them points. I did wish there was more writer-y fun in this, but alas v_v We had a mystery to solve.

Speaking of mystery, it... fell short for me. It wasn't the absolute worst, but it was definitely a disappointment. There were so many fun things that could have been done, especially regarding the situation with Sherlock and Watson. I would have loved for there to be, well, just more to the situation. More of the supernatural, more of a tie in. As it was, the truth was just lack luster, and I was very blah about it even if, again, not the worst.

It was a very fun YA Mystery, though. I'd have enjoyed more of a series from this, but given the way it ended (though preferably more paranorml-y)... I do not foresee that coming xD

Juliette goes to a summer writing seminar in London. One days while hanging out with a classmate. She vanishes. Juliette with the help of two of her other classmates work together to see if they can find the classmate. On the way they stumble upon a century long mystery..,,why is Sherlock Holmes and John Watson still walking around?

This book was cute, but didn’t fully keep my interest the full time. It definitely forced a romance that wasn’t really necessary on all the other plot lines they had going on.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC of this book

A Short Synopsis
A teen writer is determined to discover what happened to a missing classmate. She teams up with detectives Watson and Holmes to crack the case. Attending a prestigious writing seminar in London, Jules faces challenges with her hearing loss. When their teacher and the police show little concern about the missing student, Jules, and her friends take matters into their own hands. As they unravel the mystery, they encounter a man who claims to be Sherlock Holmes. Now, they need to find their missing classmate and figure out how these fictional characters are alive and well in the 21st century. Despite her hearing impairment, Jules may have the observational skills needed to solve this extraordinary case.

My Thoughts
I recently requested an audiobook ARC because I found the synopsis intriguing, but I felt it was lacking. I have realized that I am not a fan of YA or middle-grade mystery thrillers, and I think this book should be categorized more as middle-grade than YA. The main character, Jules, is a recent high school graduate attending a writing seminar before college and has a hearing impairment using hearing aids. Seeing this representation in a YA book was excellent, as it's not something I often come across.
I was not a massive fan of how the mysteries were handled in the book. They were mainly solved off-page by Percy, making it hard for me as a reader to speculate on the mysteries since there weren't many on-page clues to put together. Despite this, I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook by Khristine Hvam, who had a distinct voice for each character.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook ARC of this book. My thoughts are my own.

A fun supernatural mystery in which Homes and Watson are not only real people, but still alive in the 21st century.

I’m surprised to see this listed as a YA mystery, as it reads a lot more like Middle Reader, and is very age appropriate for a slightly younger audience. I enjoyed it as an adult reader too as a clever mystery and a fun spin on an updated Sherlock Holmes novel.

The backstory for why Holmes and Watson are still hanging about in 21st century London (or indeed, actually alive at all) is a bit clunky and probably could have been better-conceived and executed, but the story is fun enough that it doesn’t matter all that much, and their run-ins with the modern characters are enjoyable and clever.

As of now this appears to be a standalone, but the ending leaves the possibility of a sequel open. I hope it gets one.

I love the narrator and the deaf representation! I also love the developing friendships. The characters are absolutely lovely! I just enjoyed this one very much.

I loved this narrator! The book was very interesting. I thought the characters were well developed, and the plot was unique. The plot twist at the end took me by surprise. I really like the author’s use of old journal entries to tell the story.

For any book that is taking a beloved IP and reworking it into something new, there are always bound to be a number of reasonably disappointed readers. It is, as they say, a hazard of doing business. All that said, there are often many who do it incredibly well, thus mitigating the quantity of those who will fall into that camp. As I started <i>A Game Most Foul</i> I had genuinely believed that this might be one of those sorts.

But, ugh! For a minute there, I was actually substantially impressed with Alison Gervais’ rework of our beloved Sherlock Holmes stories. But then that ending…

I get an odd sense that Gervais was somewhat influenced by the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film—which I loved, by the way—when she was writing this. The thing is, there are aspects of that film that worked really well largely due to the way in which it was presented. The fact that the film did not go too far in one direction, but rather left it somewhat up to interpretation with a slight leaning in both directions depending on how you looked at it, is why (at least, in my mind) the film was successful.

Gervais just jumps off the cliff of a single direction, leaving absolutely nothing to interpretation. I didn’t exactly hate this about the book since there had to be some sort of explanation and, up to that point, the characters were actually written fairly well.

But then there’s the mystery that began everything, a question to the fate of a classmate. Now, there’s usually much satisfaction in the answer to Sherlock Holmes’ mystery questions. We have a lot of fun trying to suss out what the answer will be and we genuinely enjoy being right or wrong when we do. Gervais’ book really didn’t leave much for us to guess at, unfortunately, which admittedly takes a lot of the fun out of it.

And, perhaps most unfortunate of all, the answer was awful. I was so painfully disappointed in the route Gervais went with this mystery. The big twist reveal at the end was monumentally disappointing and not at all in line with the source material she’s pulling from. Desperation may cause desperate acts, but even then I could not justify the choices she took with this book.

My dear Watson and Holmes, I am truly sorry.

I did really enjoy the narration, though. Khristine Hvam was an excellent choice for this story and did a phenomenal job of portraying the voice of our main character. I truly felt as though I were listening to an account from Jules herself.

ARC REVIEW: A Game Most Foul by Alison Gervais

Genre: YA Mystery
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book # for 2024: #55

SYNOPSIS: Teen writer, Jules Montgomery, is spending the summer attending the prestigious writing seminar at Ashford College in London. While on a trip with her classmates in Oxford, her classmate, Ashley, goes missing. The police and her professor, who just happens to be the Dr. John Watson, do not seem to be taking the disappearance seriously. So, Jules and two of her friends from class, Suruthi and Percy, began investigating themselves with a little help from Sherlock Holmes.

MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Khristine Hvam is the narrator. She had a very distinct voice for each character.

I liked all of the main characters, especially the main character, Jules Montgomery. Jules is a recent high school graduate attending a writing seminar during the summer before she begins college. She is also hard of hearing and uses hearing aids. I don’t often see a character with hearing loss in books, much less in a YA book, so it was nice to see the representation.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Jules and her friends, Percy (also her love interest) and Suruthi. They all have very different personalities, but they become fast friends. It was also fun to see them work with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.

I wasn’t a huge fan of how the mysteries were handled. They are solved mostly off page by Percy. So, as a reader, it was hard to speculate on the mysteries as there weren’t many clues on the page to put together.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is well written and easy to follow, even if it initially feels a little bit slow. Though the characters were out of high school, it was easy to forget that because at times they felt more juvenile to me. Despite that, I did enjoy their friend group dynamic. Khristine Hvam did a very good job making the character voices distinct from each other, which made the audiobook more enjoyable. Overall, it was a fun read.

It was ok. I think it was more middle grade than YA.

It was a nice addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe it just didn't really hit the mark for me. I expected something along the lines of Enola Holmes, which I actually enjoyed. I must admit however, there were a few twists that raised my eyebrows in surprise due to happenings I did not expect other than that, it sort of fell flat for me. I also was a thrown by the state of Watson and Holmes, simply because this has never been a situation for them that I can remember. Plus, Watson and Holmes in this story switched up personality wise, that I did not like.

With all of this being said, it is a well written story that is easy to follow and for a young reader, this will be a great Sherlock Holmes introduction book.

This was such a fun, twisty YA murder mystery that features a hard of hearing American teen girl in London for a summer writing semester where she makes new friends, falls in love and helps solve a decades old Sherlock Holmes mystery (plus the case of her missing fellow student).

With supernatural elements, great #ownvoices disability rep and excellent audio narration by Khristine Hvam. Highly recommended for those who enjoy something a little different and classic murder mystery authors like Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The mystery part of the story was 3/5. I liked the friendship and the romance 4/5. The fantasy part was a bit confusing 2/5. First, it did not even come up until at least 2 hours into the book. Then I feel we don't get a real satisfactory explanation of the cause. I did like the depiction of the min character's disability and how she dealt with it 5/5.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing access to this audiobook in return for a review!
This was a bit of an odd book. I think it’s supposed to be YA and indeed, the characters are barely-adults, newly graduated from high school and about to start college. It makes kind of a big deal about this at the start of the book. But it is written in a very juvenile manner. The dialogue and the overall story are absolutely middle grade. This would likely not appeal to many teens/young adults past about 13/14. Perhaps it is meant to make middle graders “feel more grown up” reading about college kids, while retaining the cleanliness of a juvenile book? Moving on, the story was ok. Overall it was just kind of an ok book. The characters were a little flat, one dimensional, stuck in their stereotypes. But still likable. I don’t understand why a certain character did what he did and don’t think that was necessary. This was fantasy yes, but that bit went too far. It did keep me guessing because I never would have thought the author would have dipped to that level to solve the main mystery of the book. It was an interesting idea, but I don’t think it belonged in a juvenile book. If this could have been an adult book, very macabre, gothic, intense, more of a sophisticated thriller- then all of it could have worked out much better, in my opinion, and it would have been “worth” tainting the character of the character, if that makes sense. Trying not to spoil anything! Or, the simpler way to fix this book without a total rewrite since it is close to publish date or maybe already there, is to change the ages of the characters to be about 14. At least then the juvenile feel could be retained and not feel out of place.