Court of Fives (Court of Fives, 1)

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott is a YA fantasy book and one that I found myself being sucked into even in the middle of a reading slump. I found the protagonists engaging and loved the world. I found it had a bit more substance than some YA fantasy novels.What I likedCultural tensions. This is very much a tale of being caught between two cultures. Our protagonist, Jessamy, is the child of a Saroese father and Efean mother and struggles to fit in with either culture. Her father’s people, who are the conquerers of the Efeans, do not fully accept Jes as one of their own due to her mixed heritage yet her genteel upbringing closes her off from acceptance in her mother’s society. Jes herself also struggles to find her place in her world. The only time she can truly be herself is when she is training for the game the Court of Fives. Although we do not live in a magical society, this theme may still strike a chord with many readers.The Games. I really enjoyed how the game of Court of Fives permeated the story to a great extent. We see the games themselves a couple of times in the books, but it’s made clear that the skills Jes uses to become a successful Fives player are the same skills she and Kalliarkos will need to get out of certain situations and also to navigate Saroese politics. I really loved that politics was hinted to be just a different version of the Court of Fives.The magic and Jes’s journey. The magic is very subtle in this book and is tied to the Efean culture. At this point in her story Jes still struggles to accept her Efean heritage, so she has difficulty understanding the magic. I expect that Jes’s journey in future books will be to embrace her cultural background, at which point the magic will become more and more prominent. That I am excited to see.Little Women. I read in the author’s notes that the characters of Jes and her sisters were based on those of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I didn’t notice that at first, but once you do see it, it is very clear. It was fun seeing those personality types in a completely different setting. I am curious about what it means for the sisters’ character arcs in upcoming books and whether they will mirror those of Alcott’s.Moral dilemmas. Certain of the characters, including Jes, face moral dilemmas at certain points in the book. I felt these were very well written and engaged my sympathy for the characters. I am very interested to see how the decisions made will impact future character development and relationships. I’d like to think Jes will have more understanding for her father in future.What I didn’t likeThe romance. I wouldn’t say I disliked the Kalliarkos/Jes romance; it’s more a case of I’m waiting to see how it plays out in future books. I was concerned that it felt a little too much Instalovey, which I don’t like. If the parallels with Little Women hold true, the future for the couple doesn’t look too rosy.In the end I really enjoyed Court of Fives and gave it four stars out of five. I have an Advanced Reader Copy of the sequel, The Poisoned Blade, and I’m very excited to read it.

I zoomed through reading this book but I'm an adult reader. It lost a star from me for two main reasons - I felt the pacing and balance of events unfolding was a bit uneven but more importantly, if this is supposed to be a young adult novel, for me it didn't hit the mark.I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult reader. I loved the variety of female characters we saw and the world building was really interesting.However, I also felt it was overpopulated with (some very underutilised, to the point of being unnecessary) characters, and the language used, particularly in the early chapters, was very stilted, which was a bit off-putting. And one little niggle that may not bother others - why give the sisters odd nicknames? Their own names were lovely and could be nicely shortened if necessary - it seemed odd to also use "Merry" and (of all things) "Amiable" - in a book I already felt had too many names, this didn't help!It's a solid four stars, despite my complaints, and I would a) recommend it and b) definitely read the next installment because oh my, the ENDING!

From the author of the wonderful wonderful wonderful Jaran series, and Cold Magic trilogy, and Highroad trilogy This was so disappointing. The heroine is a selfish jock. The romance is flat and unconvincing and at one important moment said selfish heroine commits an act of unforgiveable betrayal that she seems pretty remorseless about.I tried to like the heroine, but ultimately by the end I disliked her quite a lot. I also found her family tiresome and didn't really care about them. The racial and social class stuff was clunky and unsophisticated and I found myself repeatedly skipping through the competition scenes. I guess everyone writes the odd dud, but from Kate Elliot this is so disappointing.I purchased all three novels in the series together (because it's Kate Elliot) but I just don't think I can bring myself to read the next two.

If you're wanting to have a quick read, don't pick this unless you're happy to get into a whole new series. The ending is left open so you'll need to keep reading to get any kind of character/plot satisfaction.Story was ok, but I felt like you're thrown in the deep end when it comes to world/magic descriptions and have to pick it up as you go which means you miss a lot of info right from the start.I'm normally a big fan for KE but this was not one of my fave reads from this authour!

Highly enjoyable book with rich worldbuilding, complete with detailed Geography and History. Emotionally, I felt the story got a little incoherent around the middle (during the rescue/escape scenes). But the story came alive whenever Jessamy was running the Fives or standing up to an adversary. I particularly enjoyed the ending.

Kate Elliot is a talented writer and on paper this should have been exactly the type of book I like. However I didn't engage with the protagonist in this book at all, and only made it about a third of the way through. Now to be fair, I am not the target audience, I'm not a YA. But I do read and enjoy other YA books, not this one though.

Not her best by any means. The world she paints and the characters were fine but the story itself did not go anywhere seeming more determined to set up the next book.

Great read..Kate always let you want more..