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A review by reader_fictions
Buried Heart by Kate Elliott
2.0
2.5 stars
I’m simultaneously going to say that Buried Heart was a pretty satisfying series conclusion and also that it wasn’t. The thing is that, for what this series actually is, Buried Heart is consistent to what’s come before, and it doesn’t drop all the balls. Mostly, this series feels like a jongleur came out and tossed up ten balls, dropped half of them, but then successfully juggled the remaining five for the duration of the series.
There’s a lot of action throughout the series, so I was never bored. I was only minimally engaged with any of the characters, but just enough to keep my attention. Kal was probably my favorite overall. Jes is cool. I like Amaya and Denya and Maraya, though I wish I’d gotten to see more of them. Actually, I wonder if the problem is largely the fact that Jes is very focused on herself and the Fives, so you really don’t get to know anyone else that well, even the people to whom she is closest. The whole thing comes at you from a distance, like you’re sitting in the cheap seats watching the Fives tournament.
There are so many dropped balls, plot lines that started in book one but just never ever culminated in anything. Wenru and Bettany are MASSIVELY UNDERUTILIZED. Wenru’s this creepy baby inhabited by a spirit that is fluent in Saroese, and I expected some fucked up shit.But nah, he’s just Lord Ottonor, and he’s able to testify against Gargaron’s treachery. Bettany betrays her family in Poisoned Blade, and that could have had a huge emotional resonance. It’s so obvious that there should be another interaction, but, nope, she’s just gone. Realistic? Sure. Good fiction? Nah.
Speaking of underutilized characters, Ro, for all that he’s massively important actually, doesn’t really serve any role in the series except to be the pining second love interest. There’s no chemistry really, and it’s just so awkward. I kept expecting the ship to flip at some point, because otherwise WHY would there be two books of love triangle drama, but it’s just there to serve as a metaphor for how Jes feels torn between her Saroese and Efean halves. Listen, the whole series is already about that very overtly, so the love triangle really doesn’t help at all.
The timeframe also seems very short for all of this war to get neatly resolved, but I don’t know that much about military history, so maybe it can happen in a matter of months during a perfect storm of events. I do really like the bloodiness of the series; important characters die and Jes sustains injuries that will be with her forever.
One of my favorite aspects of the series, though, again it could have been done more compellingly, is Jes’ mother’s development. Kiya starts out as an entirely passive character. She does everything that Jes’ dad says. When he abandons her, she descends into misery (partially due to childbirth in the absolute worst of circumstances). But, after that, while still not being a physical person and defaulting more to mild, she ends up helping to lead a revolution. That’s pretty cool.
I enjoyed this series all the way through, but I doubt I’ll read it again. Mostly, I wish that I could have seen it done by someone like Sharon Shinn. I’d recommend Elemental Blessings or Summers at Castle Auburn over Court of Fives. I’d also recommend Elliott’s Spiritwalker trilogy over this one, because it has excellent character building; it’s still sloppy in terms of world building, but it’s much stronger overall.
I’m simultaneously going to say that Buried Heart was a pretty satisfying series conclusion and also that it wasn’t. The thing is that, for what this series actually is, Buried Heart is consistent to what’s come before, and it doesn’t drop all the balls. Mostly, this series feels like a jongleur came out and tossed up ten balls, dropped half of them, but then successfully juggled the remaining five for the duration of the series.
There’s a lot of action throughout the series, so I was never bored. I was only minimally engaged with any of the characters, but just enough to keep my attention. Kal was probably my favorite overall. Jes is cool. I like Amaya and Denya and Maraya, though I wish I’d gotten to see more of them. Actually, I wonder if the problem is largely the fact that Jes is very focused on herself and the Fives, so you really don’t get to know anyone else that well, even the people to whom she is closest. The whole thing comes at you from a distance, like you’re sitting in the cheap seats watching the Fives tournament.
There are so many dropped balls, plot lines that started in book one but just never ever culminated in anything. Wenru and Bettany are MASSIVELY UNDERUTILIZED. Wenru’s this creepy baby inhabited by a spirit that is fluent in Saroese, and I expected some fucked up shit.
Speaking of underutilized characters, Ro, for all that he’s massively important actually, doesn’t really serve any role in the series except to be the pining second love interest. There’s no chemistry really, and it’s just so awkward. I kept expecting the ship to flip at some point, because otherwise WHY would there be two books of love triangle drama, but it’s just there to serve as a metaphor for how Jes feels torn between her Saroese and Efean halves. Listen, the whole series is already about that very overtly, so the love triangle really doesn’t help at all.
The timeframe also seems very short for all of this war to get neatly resolved, but I don’t know that much about military history, so maybe it can happen in a matter of months during a perfect storm of events. I do really like the bloodiness of the series; important characters die and Jes sustains injuries that will be with her forever.
One of my favorite aspects of the series, though, again it could have been done more compellingly, is Jes’ mother’s development. Kiya starts out as an entirely passive character. She does everything that Jes’ dad says. When he abandons her, she descends into misery (partially due to childbirth in the absolute worst of circumstances). But, after that, while still not being a physical person and defaulting more to mild, she ends up helping to lead a revolution. That’s pretty cool.
I enjoyed this series all the way through, but I doubt I’ll read it again. Mostly, I wish that I could have seen it done by someone like Sharon Shinn. I’d recommend Elemental Blessings or Summers at Castle Auburn over Court of Fives. I’d also recommend Elliott’s Spiritwalker trilogy over this one, because it has excellent character building; it’s still sloppy in terms of world building, but it’s much stronger overall.