SF/F Review: https://t.co/Ieqxnt6eML Poisoned Blade (Court of Fives #2) by Kate Elliott: Short Review: 7.5 out of 10 (1/3)— garik16 (@garik16) January 27, 2018
Short Review (cont): The 2nd in Elliott's YA trilogy features an more consistent main character (Jessamy) as she finds herself caught between multiple actors from both within and without the country with their own agendas as she tries to save her family. An improved sequel (2/3)— garik16 (@garik16) January 27, 2018
Poisoned Blade is the follow-up to Kate Elliott's first YA book: Court of Fives. I had mixed feelings about Court of Fives - while the worldbuilding was interesting and most of our characters were solid, it felt very derivative (the hunger games feel was strong early on) at times and almost like it was trying too hard as a YA novel. Still, I did like the book and again, as a fan of Elliott's work, I was willing to give the second book in the series another try.
Poisoned Blade definitely still gives off Hunger Games vibes, but works a bit better than the first in the series though. The worldbuilding expands further and where the first book hinted at a resistance against the ruling monarchy as well as conspirators within that same monarchy looking to seize power, Poisoned Blade expands the number of sides taking both hidden and overt actions to seize power. Amidst all this stands the series' protagonist, Jessamy, who is torn in even more directions than in the first book. Still, it works better here, as Jessamy's story and focus seems more believable throughout.
More after the jump, spoilers for Court of Fives are below:
-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------
For the moment, Jessamy seems to be in an okay situation. She's moved up in rank amongst the Fives adversaries, and most of her family has been rescued from the tomb the sinister Lord Gargaron left them in. Of course, her potential love, the potential new heir Lord Kalliakos is now angry with her due to her actions getting him sent to the military, but she made the best of hard choices.
Still, her family could be discovered at any moment and thus still lies in peril. And then there's her twin sister Bettany, who swapped places with a servant and thus was never sent to the tomb, but has now gone missing. Jess knows she needs to find her to ensure her safety as well.
But Jess' fame in the Fives court brings her to the attention of multiple parties - the growing Efean Rebellion, led by mysterious poet Ro, seems to think she can be some sort of rallying cry, while the princes vying for power also show interest in her. And when Jess takes advantage of a trip to the outer reaches of the Kingdom to search for her twin sister, she finds that threats abound from outside as well.....and that her twin has plans of her own.
Soon, Jessamy will be caught up in plots between multiple different factions, and will have to fight to survive...and doing so may not keep her on the same side as the family and friends she loves. Where will Jessamy turn to when it all turns to crisis? And is there really a right side to pick in the first place?
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My main issue with Court of Fives was that Jessamy was a maddenly inconsistent character to the point of seeming bipolar - it's one thing for her to be confused what she wants when she's seemingly handed her goal but with dangerous strings - it's another for her to go from a desperate mission to save her family and then immediately care about the game once again. Poisoned Blade fixes this problem - Jessamy is just as confused as to what she should do as before, but it all makes sense as she's thrown seemingly into one dangerous situation after another. Of course some of it his her own fault - as before, Jessamy has a strong urge to take action, especially when it comes to safeguarding her friends and family. In short, Jessamy is a much more consistent character in this book and is all the better for it.
The other characters are also excellent. We get to see more of Jess' family this time around, particularly her sisters, who are developed much further than the simple archetypes they are in the first book. As are much of the rest of the cast - the mysterious poet Ro for instance is a little more of a character this time around, even if his appearances are still a bit too sporadic for my tastes.
The world is also expanded quite a bit in this book, as we travel beyond the City. We see inside the palace and learn more indepth about what the ruling family of the Country really is like (non-spoiler: they're kind of assholes). We see what the towns on the borders seem like and how the crapsack world appears there. And we see the forces of the military against the foreign invaders to some extent.
In a way, probably the biggest problem with the book is that it tries to do TOO much with its expanded worldbuilding and cast. At one point with only a few chapters left, there's like 4-5 different sides all plotting with their own agendas that Jessamy has encountered, and it is almost confusing to follow. The book ends on a cliffhanger (it's the 2nd in a trilogy so this shouldn't surprise you) which seems to simplify things a little, but still it's a bit much. And the book still gets Hunger Games vibes quite a bit - again, it's not like the Hunger Games was the first to have such plots, but it just feels kind of noticeable.
Regardless, Poisoned Blade is a step up from Court of Fives, and I will be reading the finale sometime soon.
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