Poisoned Blade by Kate ElliottMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The first book of Elliott's Court of Fives series presented an interesting look at a class-driven fantasy society combining elements of Victorian England and ancient Greece, but as action-packed as it was, the story just didn't cut as deep as it could have, I don't think. But here, in Poisoned Blade, Elliott really ups the ante with a stronger social-commentary game in particular. Here, more than ever, it's clear that colonialism helps really inform this book and especially Jes's experiences, she being mixed-race - and one of those race being very definitely black-coded. I know a lot of people are sick and tired of Amandla Stenberg being in every YA film adaptation, but here's a role I think was tailor-made for them, giving them the chance to finally be more of a Katniss than a Rue, if you know what I mean. And while Poisoned Blade is a bit of a long slog, its thought-provoking nature, particularly when it mirrors real-world racism, makes it far and away an improvement over its predecessor. Here's hoping that Burning Heart thus caps the trilogy off in high fashion!
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