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books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a fantastic ending to the trilogy. Heartbreaking yet hopeful, Jes realizes what role she must play, even if it means betraying Kal. Kal must also decide what path his future will follow. Fans of the Court of Fives trilogy will not be disappointed by this final installment.
yudp's review against another edition
1.0
Like most great YA trilogies, the third book tries to become a political tale and weaves a much different story than the original.
stressedspidergirl's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty wild ride. It had a lot of solid elements, but right now what I guess stands out to me is the ending for Kal.
There's a lot going on. And there's a lot happening for Jes, too, obviously, but.
The idea that they can't be together because of what was happening is one thing, and that's common in YA fiction and Ro trying to force it into a love triangle was kind of exhausting and I'm glad they didn't go there.
But the idea that revolution of an oppressed people ends in restoring power and ejecting those who refuse to accept it is a good idea in fiction. In a small country. And I have so many questions about logistics and planning and how to restore honor and rights and so many other things that happen. So for me it was an interesting idea of what it might mean to see 'land back' or any of the other social justice movements and to think "what's realistic?" what's completely not realistic, what's related to our current world and what people are arguing about all the time?
And there's a lot more to think about, but just for me, my heart hurt for Kal because it wasn't anything he wanted and he didn't want to be a soldier and he ended up right where he didn't want pretty much the entire story. Although at least the author gave us some hope that they can avoid some of the other problems they were facing. And Gargaron getting what he had coming to him was relatively satisfying.
There's a lot going on. And there's a lot happening for Jes, too, obviously, but.
The idea that they can't be together because of what was happening is one thing, and that's common in YA fiction and Ro trying to force it into a love triangle was kind of exhausting and I'm glad they didn't go there.
But the idea that revolution of an oppressed people ends in restoring power and ejecting those who refuse to accept it is a good idea in fiction. In a small country. And I have so many questions about logistics and planning and how to restore honor and rights and so many other things that happen. So for me it was an interesting idea of what it might mean to see 'land back' or any of the other social justice movements and to think "what's realistic?" what's completely not realistic, what's related to our current world and what people are arguing about all the time?
And there's a lot more to think about, but just for me, my heart hurt for Kal because it wasn't anything he wanted and he didn't want to be a soldier and he ended up right where he didn't want pretty much the entire story. Although at least the author gave us some hope that they can avoid some of the other problems they were facing. And Gargaron getting what he had coming to him was relatively satisfying.
ashkitty93's review against another edition
4.0
A blistering end to an excellent trilogy. I have to say, I actually found myself slightly bored around the halfway mark - I wasn't expecting this series to go from an athletic competition into straight-up revolution AT ALL, and I was a little miffed about it. A lot of books lately seem to take a similar tone. And I've seen the state of the world, I get it. But I recalibrated my expectations and was so glad to see Jes get back to the Fives by the end of this book.
I was never a fan of Ro and never saw any chemistry there whatsoever, so that "subplot" was wasted on me (maybe this pertains more to Poisoned Blade? idk). And I never did get around to snapping up the two short stories, so now I'm off to see what happened to Bett.
Georgia Dolenz was a brilliant narrator for this trilogy.
Kiss off, adversaries.
I was never a fan of Ro and never saw any chemistry there whatsoever, so that "subplot" was wasted on me (maybe this pertains more to Poisoned Blade? idk). And I never did get around to snapping up the two short stories, so now I'm off to see what happened to Bett.
Georgia Dolenz was a brilliant narrator for this trilogy.
Kiss off, adversaries.
lizlbarrett's review against another edition
4.0
This series was cute and consistent in quality book to book , it wasn’t perfect but it was an enjoyable read with a few truly memorable and unique ideas
caszriel's review against another edition
2.0
Initial thoughts: I've already written my review and endeavour to have it posted asap so I'll keep this brief, but I like the characters; the story was quite slow especially getting started which was a disappointment.
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3.5 Stars
Never be afraid to climb the victor's tower. Jessamy Tonor is fighting for equality in Efea. As she makes plans, she is torn between her parents. Should she lead the Efean rebellion, or make Kal King in hopes that he'll be able to reform the current laws for a fairer country. But Jes's decision will not be easy, and the correct one will soon become clear. Will she be able to make the leap and accept her fate?
I wasn't all that sold on Buried Heart, particularly the first part. I only started to get into it halfway through, and even then it didn't get excessively interesting until the very end. I love the characters, but the lack of plot development early on was frustrating and diminished my interest in this book, which I've been meaning to read for ages.
Jes has a decent amount of development in Buried Heart, but I think there was room for so much more, especially considering her situation. The "love triangle" confused me as I couldn't see how it added to the story at all, especially with the resolution. A lot of the characters only had minor roles but I enjoyed their presence in the book as they gave Jessamy a cause to fight for.
Besides the slow start, there were some other disappointments. For instance, Jessamy's escapes from her enemies seemed way too easy, as if in order to move along the story rationality needed to be thrown out the window. I didn't like Bettany's lack of involvement in the book, she was forgotten about when an encounter with her would've amped up the excitement in this book tenfold.
Buried Heart finished Jessamy's story, but wasn't nearly as exciting as I expected. The story moved along slowly, and too quickly in situations where the antagonists were in control. All in all Buried Heart wasn't a terrible conclusion, it simply didn't meet my expectations.
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3.5 Stars
Never be afraid to climb the victor's tower. Jessamy Tonor is fighting for equality in Efea. As she makes plans, she is torn between her parents. Should she lead the Efean rebellion, or make Kal King in hopes that he'll be able to reform the current laws for a fairer country. But Jes's decision will not be easy, and the correct one will soon become clear. Will she be able to make the leap and accept her fate?
I wasn't all that sold on Buried Heart, particularly the first part. I only started to get into it halfway through, and even then it didn't get excessively interesting until the very end. I love the characters, but the lack of plot development early on was frustrating and diminished my interest in this book, which I've been meaning to read for ages.
Jes has a decent amount of development in Buried Heart, but I think there was room for so much more, especially considering her situation. The "love triangle" confused me as I couldn't see how it added to the story at all, especially with the resolution. A lot of the characters only had minor roles but I enjoyed their presence in the book as they gave Jessamy a cause to fight for.
Besides the slow start, there were some other disappointments. For instance, Jessamy's escapes from her enemies seemed way too easy, as if in order to move along the story rationality needed to be thrown out the window. I didn't like Bettany's lack of involvement in the book, she was forgotten about when an encounter with her would've amped up the excitement in this book tenfold.
Buried Heart finished Jessamy's story, but wasn't nearly as exciting as I expected. The story moved along slowly, and too quickly in situations where the antagonists were in control. All in all Buried Heart wasn't a terrible conclusion, it simply didn't meet my expectations.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
Well, well, well. I've devoured this trilogy, that, months ago, I disdained as typical.
I.... really enjoyed this series. It is still hitting all the usual tropes of dystopia/fantasy YA, but boy, Kate Elliott's writing is so enjoyable to read. I love her varied and many female characters, I love that she has same gender couples, and I love her progressive gender politics. This trilogy deals with colonialization, where the oppressed eventually rise up and reclaim their land.
But what caught my attention was the way Elliott treated Elsadas and Kiya, Jessamy's father and mother. It's nuanced and complex and I very much enjoyed Jessamy's conflicted feelings and loyalties to the two of them. One of my favorite things in this trilogy is her relationship with her father. I wish for her sake that he hadn't died, but there's no place for him in the new world.
I like Jessamy a lot. I loved her relationship with her love interest, Kal, and their moments of intimacy and sweetness are a good balance to the emotional turmoil that Jessamy faces. Jessamy reminds me of a mix of Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior, but I related to her more than the other two. Restless, goal-oriented, reckless, bold, ambitious, resourceful, tough. She makes things happen as much as the plot forces things onto her; in plot terms, she's such a firecracker. It was awesome reading about her taking risk after risk as she seeks to grasp the victory she wants for herself.
Pretty great YA trilogy, although it does follow a few predictable beats.
I.... really enjoyed this series. It is still hitting all the usual tropes of dystopia/fantasy YA, but boy, Kate Elliott's writing is so enjoyable to read. I love her varied and many female characters, I love that she has same gender couples, and I love her progressive gender politics. This trilogy deals with colonialization, where the oppressed eventually rise up and reclaim their land.
But what caught my attention was the way Elliott treated Elsadas and Kiya, Jessamy's father and mother. It's nuanced and complex and I very much enjoyed Jessamy's conflicted feelings and loyalties to the two of them. One of my favorite things in this trilogy is her relationship with her father. I wish for her sake that he hadn't died, but there's no place for him in the new world.
I like Jessamy a lot. I loved her relationship with her love interest, Kal, and their moments of intimacy and sweetness are a good balance to the emotional turmoil that Jessamy faces. Jessamy reminds me of a mix of Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior, but I related to her more than the other two. Restless, goal-oriented, reckless, bold, ambitious, resourceful, tough. She makes things happen as much as the plot forces things onto her; in plot terms, she's such a firecracker. It was awesome reading about her taking risk after risk as she seeks to grasp the victory she wants for herself.
Pretty great YA trilogy, although it does follow a few predictable beats.
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
2.0
In a reversal of one of my usual complaints about books...the first 2/3 was meh and the last 1/3 I enjoyed quite a bit.
emmiem89's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
frogggirl2's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A bit too much focus on the romance, a few too many tacked on post scripts, but, a rewarding end to the series.