Bright Thrones

Court of Fives #2.5

by Kate Elliott

An exciting e-novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Court of Fives, from World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott!

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Novella, Young Adult Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Romance

118 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2017

About the author

As a child in rural Oregon, Kate Elliott made up stories because she longed to escape to a world of lurid adventure fiction. She now writes fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction, often with a romantic edge. She currently lives in Hawaii, where she paddles outrigger canoes and spoils her schnauzer.

Reviews

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good novella that provides some of the missing story of what happened to Bettany after she was separated from her family. Also, it gives much more insight into the whole relationship between her and Lord Agalar. Definitely worth reading.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series novella that manages to utterly transform the events of the previous novel. Can't wait to see how this all ties together.

[Bitchin' Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely appreciated this more this second time around. I actually like getting to know Bettany and her motivations. She is an often misunderstood character.

[Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it was better than the previous novella (*shudder*) and Court of Fives vol. 2. And I think I would enjoy a Bettany novel a lot more than I do the Jessamy ones (sports... zzz.)

It's nice to have a little more light shed on Bettany's actions. She's a really fun character, resourceful and clever.

But the romantic subplot, eh.

[Teleseparatist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Bettany more than I like Jess.

I liked the anger, although I have to say "rash and angry" is a look I've seen in so many of Elliott's protagonists I'm sort of more interested in seeing "wise and slow and secretly angry" for a change.

I don't think the romantic subplot was necessary or worked well - it felt obligatory and caused by the source material and generic rather than organic.

I really disliked the distribution of information. The parts that are withheld and given. The connection between the main trilogy and this novella.

And last but not least, it feels like the only reasons Agalar keeps misgendering his trans brother is so that a) his transness can be another REVEAL! and b) to emphasise it and make it a thing (if we knew he's a brother all along would Bettany realise that Soras is trans?), and it felt cheap. I mean, I get it. An author wants to write a trans character. But does the transness have to be a REVEAL? Can't it be written in another way? And if it needs to be signalled and acknowledged, are there no better ways to signal it?

And also I literally didn't get who was supposed to be keeping the brother hostage (I mean, Bett thinks Soras is the "accomplice" but Soras is the brother so...) and if no one, why Agalar made it up. I'm just hoping we're not supposed to feel like Soras was holding *himself* hostage like somehow he's... idk if I want to finish that thought.

[Cas ♛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great insight into Bettany’s life

During the main three books in the Court of Fives series, we aren’t told all that much about Jessamy’s twin other than the fact that she contrasts greatly with them all. This novella helps readers see who Bettany is as a person, and why she decided to leave her family behind.

[Jenevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review first posted on My Blog.

The story of Bettany and what happened to her after her family's fall from grace and then after she runs into her twin, Jessamy. Bettany was taken to the mines but managed to show that she could be more useful to Lord Agular as a scribe and assistant but she also realizes that he is not exactly what he appears to be either and that maybe they can help each other.

It was interesting to see more of what happened with Bettany since she was the only sister who was separated from the group and basically remained so for most of the trilogy. I wanted to like this and there were parts that I did but at the same time I was disappointed with the what felt like a forced romance. Her falling for Lord Agular given her contempt and disgust with the upper classes made no sense at all and fell flat which then made much of what she did later in the story just not work for me either. I just wish she had stayed more true to who she thought she was.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright Thrones is especially nice because it fills in what happened to Jessamy's twin sister Bettany after the bad guys (as it were) came for Jessamy's mother & sisters and Bettany had been ordered by their mother to go with the former servants to the mines, to do whatever she could to make their lot easier.

When Bettany got and the others arrived at the mines, she met a doctor and her life changed.
The last time Bettany's & Jessamy's paths crossed, each thought that they were in a position to rescue one another. Unfortunately, neither had any way to see the hoped-for solution from the other's point of view. So rather than having to think that Bettany had betrayed her family, I really appreciated finding out her story.

Both this novella and the other one (Night Flower, which told the story of how Jessamy's parents met & fell in love) really add a lot to the Court of Fives trilogy. I definitely recommend them both for anyone who enjoyed the Court of Fives trilogy.

[Georgina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Bettany. Such righteous anger! I am glad that she was not the heroine of the whole series because I find her a little tiresome, although she does salvage herself by trying hard and having high standards for herself as well as for others. I wished I understood the doctor's character better. He was not as well developed. Indeed, I think that all the characters in this novella were not as well developed as the ones in the main three Court of Fives books. I give Elliott props for having a trans character and for having a family that includes adoption outside of ethnic divisions. There wasn't enough time to develop these interesting themes but I thought she related them well.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice glimpse into Bettany's story

I'm sure Ms. Elliott could write a whole series on the story between Bettany and Agalar. In a way, I wish she would. I've enjoyed the Court of Fives novels so much. Bettany's anger threatens to swallow her whole - or so it seems to the rest of her family, but Agalar understands it is just a front for her sense of justice and compassion. She finds a way to save those she loves with great risk to herself and help from Agalar. The world created within this series is raw and sometimes brutal. There are many ways it compares to our struggles and dreams, though, without forcing anything. It has completely drawn me in.

[Todd Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little novella that looks at the events of the 2nd novel from Bettany's point of view. It doesn't really add a new layer to anything or make me think about the characters any differently. But it was a nice little footnote filling in a few details in the overall story and some character motivations.

I like the new trend several authors have adopted with releasing short stories like this more frequently that fill in gaps in their larger stories. Brian McClellan is someone who does this a lot to the benefit of his larger world he's building.

[Isel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay.
I preferred Agalar's POV because he was an interesting character while Bett... Idk. I feel like it tried to paint her in a better light but kinda failed. She had no bad thoughts about her mother, in fact seemed to respect her quite a bit but she still called her a cow randomly and didn't really explain how she respected her yet thought her a cow besides the fact that she was unhappy her mother stayed with her father 🤦
I do think she doesn't belong in Efea and will be happier as a shipwright v.v

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have been named "Spoiled Brat gets her Comeuppance"
She is a spoiled brat who hates everything about the world she was raised in and becomes angry with anyone who has the audacity to try to find happiness or joy in that world. Putting her in a completely different world was the only way to get her to do anything but sit in a room yelling about how much the world has wronged her. I still don't like her but I do think better of him.

[Jailyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella follows Bettany as she is taken from her house and sent to slave camps at the mines to work herself to death. She's saved from that fate by her wits and the kindness of Lord Agalar, a traveling, world-renowned doctor, doing research at the mine.

Bettany learns to overcome her anger and channel it into helping others and finding peace. She still doesn't understand her twin, nor does her twin understand her, but she is able to find peace with what has happened to her family.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an informative addition to the trilogy, as it gives Bettany a chance to step to the forefront and for readers to find out more about what happened to her after her path deviated from her family's. I liked the opportunity to learn more about her, but I have to say the placement of this novella and the set-up I had felt from the previous books going into the third made me hope for something a little different than how it eventually played out.

[Sara Norja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look deeper into Bettany's character! I really enjoyed this novella - a good way of gearing myself up to read the final novel in the trilogy. Elliott manages to be nuanced even in this shorter length, and it was especially great to get a different perspective on things from someone who isn't Jes.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up.

While appreciate what this was trying to do for Bettany, and I do believe her feelings are valid, I don't think it definitively made things better for me. Also we didn't spend enough time with Agalar in Poisoned Blade for me to really care about him/learning his side of the story.

I did think the Shipwrights were cool though, so that salvaged some of this.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better written than the last novel, but also substantially more dull. I didn't feel that finding out Dr. Aglar is also a captive of sorts, and not a Saroese lord added that much to the series. It would almost be more interesting if he had been what he'd appeared to be.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insight

Books like this one allow readers to have a bit more character with a character. It provides a better understanding of who a certain person is and how they got to where they are in the actual book series. I'm liking Lord Agalar more now that I have this little insight.

[Jelaina Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't want to like Bettany. She can be so compassionate to strangers but when it comes to her family, she's abrasive and spiteful. Calling her own mother a cow? But I enjoyed this story and begrudgingly don't hate her quite as much after reading it.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit misleading to call this 2.5 since it occurs during the events of book #2.

It fills out Bettany some more, although I still don't feel like I know her.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Heather Romanowski Book Realm Revisions, LLC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good novella on what happens to Bettany after Poisoned Blade.

[Larissa Campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I read. It's so satisfying to know why Bett chose as she did!

[Kiwi Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good to get Bettany's side of her story. This is an exciting, romantic novella I wish I'd found sooner, and definitely worth your time to read.

[kwolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, little peek into Bettany's mind. Enjoyable, although not necessary for the series.

[Swuun · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to get this insight into Bett, and what was happening in the background that Jes was unaware of. Really love the theme of choosing your life and your family.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

[Roz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't have any sympathy for Bettany's rage-fueled bullshit. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to get Bettony's story and viewpoint. The story crosses over with the Court of Fives series. High stakes, and competent, interesting characters made for a quick read.