Review: Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott

Title: Poisoned Blade
Author: Kate Elliott
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 16, 2016

Jessamy is moving up the ranks of the Fives—the complex athletic contest favored by the lowliest Commoners and the loftiest Patrons in her embattled kingdom. Pitted against far more formidable adversaries, success is Jes's only option, as her prize money is essential to keeping her hidden family alive. She leaps at the chance to tour the countryside and face more competitors, but then a fatal attack on Jes's traveling party puts her at the center of the war that Lord Kalliarkos—the prince she still loves—is fighting against their country's enemies. With a sinister overlord watching her every move and Kal's life on the line, Jes must now become more than a Fives champion...She must become a warrior.

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I was so excited about this book.  So insanely excited.

I mean, the way Elliott ended Court of Fives was kind of torture.  Especially since I read it early.  So getting an early copy of Poisoned Blade was a true gift.

I knew from the synopsis and from the deal struck in the previous book that we wouldn't be seeing much of Kal.  I just didn't realize how little of him we would see.  So I suppose that was a disappointment, because in the beginning Jes kept making stupid decisions.  Decisions she knew were dumb and yet she did them anyway.

But with Jes's stupidity she had nowhere to go but up.  So eventually she did start to mature and become less annoying.

Was the plot everything that I expected?  Not quite.  It wasn't a total surprise either.  There were much less of the Fives this time, even though the last book wasn't fully focused on them.  This one really doesn't have much to do with them at all.  An honestly, most of the action sequences I got somewhat confused as to what was happening with whom.

We get to learn a lot more about the royalty in this installment.  And the background of the Efean commoners.  Unexpected things happen that truly remind me of A Game of Thrones, and Kal and Jes are still at the center of it.  

Reasons to read this book

1) You loved Court of Fives

2) There's betrayal and surprises around every turn

3) Kal

4) Awesome world-building

Reasons not to read this book

1) You didn't like Court of Fives.  Hey, I can't fault you.  No book is for everyone.

2) Jes is annoying in the beginning.

Overall

It was enjoyable, but I wasn't in love.  Still, the ending was amazing, so I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.  In 2017.

Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.