The choices and limits of sisterhood - literal and figurative - and the strained bonds of romantic love added to kick-ass action sequences, wars, betrayals, heroism, and the knowledge that history has been written by the conquerors ... all of this mixes in a fast-moving sequel to Court of Fives that had me eager for the final book in this trilogy. One of the specific betrayals had me gasping with sadness. I love how Elliott writes about the ways societies form and dissolve while including family bonds, love scenes, tough decisions, physical action (after all, the hero of the book is a young woman whose physical prowess is key) and new ways of analyzing both personal and governmental politics in one rip-roaring adventure story. Our hero's flaws get magnified in this book, and it's fun to watch the author find other people for us to care about as the driving action reaches its climax and aftermath. ( )

Jessamy has always dreamed of competing as an adversary in the Fives, but not quite like this. Not when her victories are ordered and used to advantage by the man who tore her family apart. Not when one of her sisters is still missing.

Touring the countryside as an adversary gives her opportunities to search for her sister - and brings her closer to the warfront. As Efea’s situation crumbles, Jessamy finds herself with more to fight for.

Jes takes a lot of risks in Poisoned Blade, which I found frustrating yet simultaneously understandable. On the Fives court, she’s good at making quick decisions and taking risks, and that is a huge part of what makes her a successful adversary. This means she not only become accustomed to taking high-stakes risks, she’s been rewarded for taking them - and learnt that she’s never going to win by playing it safe. So it’s hardly surprising when she takes risks off the Fives court too, especially when she keeps thinking of everything in terms of Fives metaphors.

And the way the audiobook narrator brings Jes to life, so lively and so fiercely determined, meant I could easily see where she was coming from. A teenager caught up in dangerous games, with a family to protect and hardly anyone whom she can properly confide in, let alone turn to for advice.

Poisoned Blade doesn’t have such a strong Little Women vibe as Court of Fives, but Jes’s relationships with her family remain central to the story. They inspire much of Jes’ motivation, and what she’s learnt from her father about war is nearly as important as her training for the Fives. In the first book Jessamy developed a better understanding of her parents’ choices; in this one, she is confronted with choices made by her sisters. I love how believably complex and strong-willed everyone in Jes’ family is.

The political situation becomes more complex too - or rather, Jes becomes more aware of its complexities and of her unique position as the daughter of a Saroese Patron and an Efean commoner, with loyalties to people from both classes. I suspect I’ll have more to say once I’ve seen how this all plays out...

All things considered, it’s not quite as tense as Court as Fives, but it’s an optimal level of tension. (I found parts of the first book desperately, and too-distractingly, tense.) I’m excited - yet apprehensive - about Buried Heart. ( )

Book One is a 2017 Lone Star novel--Court of Fives, so this is book two and the series is not finished.

This novel picks up where the first novel ended--Jessamy has beaten Kal and is now officially an adversary and Kal is now in the military working with Jes’s father. This opportunity is her only way to help her family. It cannot be known that she has saved her family, keeping them alive. She needs to find people to help her get her family safe; she does discover that she cannot control her family’s choices and is surprised by her sister’s choices. . She sneaks about, meets with people, and discovers what is going on in all parts of the government. As Jes travels about as an adversary, you learn things are not going as well as the king indicates, so the people are in precarious circumstances, as war is coming to them.

I don’t want to say anything else because it is a second novel. If you liked the first novel, this novel is a well-done follow-up. I was still annoyed at how badly women were treated, but Jes fights the constraints. I liked the novel as well as the first one even though I wanted to beat the men! ( )

When we left Jessamy at the end of Court of Fives, she and Kalliarkos had freed her mother and sisters, and Jes discovers that the Fives may once have had a deeper meaning. As an adversary for Lord Gargaron (who just happens to be Kal's uncle), Jes is determined to win fame and fortune running the Fives, and outfoxing Gargaron who has her father under his thumb and attempted to murder the rest of her family.

I really liked Court of Fives and the ending that gave you a hint that there's much more going on beyond the surface than the original set up led one to believe. The ruling class of Patrons/Saroese had long ago taken over Efea/Commoners - and Jes is descendant from both, considered a "mule" and less than everyone else. She's hard-headed and stubborn, but she's also still pretty naive. The glimpses of that "more" are few and far between in this one, which simply develops her attempt to protect her family, and I don't quite buy Jes's statement that she's the only one who can. I would've liked to see more depth in the world-building and perhaps seeing Jes give her family a little more credit for their ability to survive. It's an enjoyable, fast-paced story nonetheless, I just would've liked to see things hinted at developed more fully. ( )