Court of Fives

Court of Fives
Kate Elliott
Little, Brown and Company, 2015
Genre: dystopian
Source: purchased on Kindle
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

In Court of Fives the obstacles are intense. Jessamy has always wanted to run The Fives and found the perfect time to sneak out and secretly do it. Just once. Until her father returns home earlier than expand her chances may be ruined. Unless she can do it without anyone finding out. If the truth was revealed that she ran the Fives it could mean her father's job, her mother's semi-acceptance in society, and her sisters' livelihoods at stake. Yet Jessamy can't resist the pull of the Fives.

There is a lot of action and suspense in Court of Fives as Jessamy not only runs complex Ninja Warrior like obstacle courses, but navigates the Patron world in which she only halfway belongs.  Jessamy's father is a Patron, a member of the elite class and a commander in the army. Her mother is Efean born, a Commoner, and not allowed to marry her father. Yet after twenty years he has remained faithful to her, even after four girls were born and no male. Jessamy is caught between the two worlds, not really able to be a part of either.

Her love interest is only somewhat interesting. I mostly felt like Kal was a puppy dog following her around. He's a prince and a bit whiny about it, wanting to run The Fives instead.

There is a lot of world and history building to help explain customs. Maybe some of it becomes more important in the second book, but it seemed pretty heavy. Plus most of the names in the Patron class are complicated and similar. So when they're referred to later on it's hard to remember who that was. Is it important? Maybe, but not to the degree spent on it.

Despite all the building, I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the second one soon.