Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution. In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of … criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina’s life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father’s fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger–the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh–Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city’s dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice–protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.
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I saw Les Miserables on Broadway years ago, but I honestly don’t remember anything about it. Musicals aren’t really my thing, but I was outvoted on our show choice that night. The biggest reason I requested this book was the comparison to Six of Crows.
Knowing little to nothing about Les Mis, I probably missed most of the same character names, plot points, etc., but I don’t think lack of knowledge of that story should hinder anyone reading this novel. The descriptions of the nine guilds at the beginning were a little overwhelming at first, but they quickly became one of my favorite parts of the story. Nina’s world is dark, gritty, and dangerous – starvation, sex slavery, and death are common; consequently, she has to learn to adapt and survive at an early age. Strong, fierce, and clever, she’s an easy character to root for. Pacing is brisk and tense heists are plenty, but a couple of time jumps may leave you struggling for a few pages to find your footing.
I did question how a nine-year-old Nina in one night transforms into a talented thief who evades highly-trained royal guards. Maybe some backstory woven in to explain her skills would have helped. Something I didn’t connect with at all was her strong bond with Ettie and willingness to sacrifice nearly everything for her. After a several year time jump, Ettie is suddenly there, and the reader is given no history of their relationship. Initially, Nina is planning to sell Ettie into sex slavery to save her own sister, but then changes her mind. Nearly everything that happens from that point on is due to their sisterly relationship, and the lack of connection on my part made it difficult to understand Nina’s choices.
Don’t get me wrong – I definitely enjoyed this story. It’s a wonderful debut with charismatic characters and some suprisingly humorous moments. Prior knowledge of Les Mis isn’t required, but you may get more from the story if you’re familiar with it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was a marvelous find!! What an original spin off of history and a classic of literature (and stage)!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Grant did a phenomenal job with the world-building here. The story takes events and personalities, real and literary, and blends them seamlessly with a wholly original construct involving guilds, the poor, conspiracy, and preternatural skill. The result is a fantastic read populated by a wide-ranging cast of characters that leapt off the pages for me. The pacing, the adventures, the drama, the scene-setting – it was all brilliant. The story grabbed me from the opening pages and never let go…
I cannot WAIT to see what happens next and sincerely hope the next installment comes out soon. There are a LOT of characters with a LOT of balls on the air, and it will not be easy to keep them all top of mind enough to maximize the magic of a second book if a lot of time passes before I read it. It’s good enough to warrant a reread if need be though – and that right there should be all the affirmation you need in order to pick this one up post-haste!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
And p.s. – what an absolutely perfect, incredible cover!!
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: The Court of Miracles
: A Court of Miracles #1
: Kester Grant
: 3.5/5
This book was difficult to rate for me. I enjoyed the story and the plot itself, it was interesting and it kept me guessing and wanting to know what happened, so I did finish the book. There were more things that I didn’t like unfortunately, I didn’t connect with the characters that much and I felt like some things were overly descriptive (I don’t know how else to describe it). That said, it wasn’t that the writing was bad, not at all. It just did not fit my personal preferences. I would suggest to read it yourselves and find out if it’s a book you’ll enjoy.
A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
The Court of Miracles is a modern twist on the Les Misérables with the glamour and mystery of the glittering court. The story pulls you from the first page when it explains the rules of the court. You follow our main character, the brave black cat, as she fights, steals and schemes her way into our hearts. She guides us through the dark world of the court of miracles through all the guilds and their members. She sneaks us into the palace where we join her to feast on sweets and join an over the top ball, but danger and treachery hide in every corner. We follow her as she steals from the rich to give to the poor. Kester Grant has an amazing gift, she can build a world and you feel like you are enveloped in it. You will not simply read this as the Court of Miracles will engulf you from the start, transporting you to be one in this world that Kit has created. It was like watching your favorite movie and being sad when it ended. I honestly do not have enough words to say how amazing this story is.
I absolutely love this book and didn’t expect to find myself loving it as much as I actually did.
The characters, the guilds and all the description/details of places, clothing, smells and events happening were so well explained it was like actually being there and experiencing the things going on yourself.
I found myself stunned at certain events because wow, I didn’t even see it coming quite like it did. I found myself really disliking at least 2 of the characters (at least you know Kester Grant did a great job in writing the character).
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of The Court of Miracles, I enjoyed it immensely. All of these opinions are mine and mine alone
I received an ARC copy via netgalley in exchange for a review.
It’s been a minute since I’ve been enthralled in a book. But the court of miracles changed that.
We are the wretched.
Nina’s dad is terrible and will do anything for coin. That’s how she winds up living an unconventional life that she never knew could exist. When reading the description it claimed it was ‘six of crows meets les miserables’ and while I haven’t read the later, I have read the first. Thievery is involved. Revolutionary soldiers. A Dauphin (which I kept imagining dolphin, whoops) I cant say too much without giving parts of it away, because spoilers suck am I right?
Nina is strong, perseveres, and believes in keeping those she loves safe. She is good. But she is also… bad. Judgment comes for some and if that’s death, then who is Nina to stop it?
The Court of Thieves
The Ghosts
The Fleshers
This book has action and keeps your heart pumped. You’re yelling for Nina and those close to her to make it through and survive. Because all odds are forever always stacked against them, but somehow she makes it work. 100% would recommend.
Les Miserables has a special place in my heart. I mean, I named my blog after my favorite song from the musical. So, when I saw The Court of Miracles and read that it was inspired by Les Mis and included some of the characters from my beloved book, I jumped at the chance to read it. Happily, though the story is nothing like Les Mis, it is an interesting young adult novel.
The Court of Miracles takes characters and situations from Les Mis, changes and enhances some of their strongest traits, and puts them into a post-revolutionary France that is much different from the country we know. I loved how the author put a unique spin on well-known characters like Cosette, Eponine, Gavroche, Javert, Enjolras, Thernardier, and, of course, Jean Valjean and incorporated them into a fantastical plot that still pays homage to the original story.
The world is fascinating and detailed, offering an alternate society that is split between the aristocracy and The Miracle Court, which is broken up into numerous unsavory guilds. The politics and harsh laws of these gritty, menacing, and often feuding guilds are intricately detailed and juxtapose the luxurious frivolity of the wealthy. Nina (Eponine), the protagonist, is part of the Guild of Thieves and is desperately searching for a guild to protect her young step-sister Ettie (Cosette) before The Tiger gets his claws into her like he did Nina’s older sister.
I liked Nina’s character arc and growth throughout the story. She is complex, with strengths and faults that make her a realistic and interesting protagonist, even though she spends much of her time trying to undo her own mistakes. Under the tutelage of her abusive father, she learned how to be a thief at an early age, and her stealth, intellect, and cunning help her when she is most in need. Though I didn’t connect with her character as much as I’d hoped, she remains dynamic, complex, and unpredictable.
Though I loved the universal themes presented throughout the book, especially themes of family loyalty, independence, and doing whatever it takes to protect those you love, the plot felt a bit jumpy and jarring at times with jolting time-jumps and transitions. However, the story is interesting enough that I could overlook the sometimes awkward pacing.
This is a unique novel with a ton of action and immense world-building. I think it is difficult to take a favorite and well-known story and create a unique and intriguing twist, but Kester Grant does it well in The Court of Miracles. Readers who enjoy young adult fiction with a strong female protagonist will enjoy this story. I think readers who know the Les Miserables story will enjoy the many references in this book.
Thanks so much to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of The Court of Miracles from Knopf via NetGalley. What follows is my fair and honest review.
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant was one of my most anticipated releases for 2020, partly because every edition I’ve seen is prettier than the last. (Yes, sometimes I’m a total cover buyer.) I’ll admit, I was a little surprised when I realized this novel is not actually fantasy, but I think this Les Misérables retelling still delivers in world-building and action. Here’s my quick summary:
Set in a 19th century Paris that is similar to, but not quite, our own, The Court of Miracles imagines a Parisian underworld divided into nine guilds. Nina (Eponin), joins the Thieves Guild to escape the Tiger, the terrible leader of the Guild of the Flesh. But Nina is not content to escape into the safety of her own guild, especially since the Tiger took her sister Azelma and now wants her adopted sister Ettie (Cosette), too.
Like I said earlier, I really liked the world-building in this story. I thought the concept of the nine guilds and the Court of Miracles was really interesting, though it was frustrating how the Court failed to follow-through on its own rules, even if this is one of the driving points of the story. Still, despite the novel’s length and Grant’s ability to craft a Paris on the brink of riot and revolution, I felt that there was something missing from the story. After reflection, I think it’s that Grant includes so many interesting characters, but fails to explore most of them. I enjoyed seeing the story from Nina’s perspective, but I wish I could’ve learned more about the world as Montparnasse sees it. Or Le Maire (Jean Valjean)–especially since Grant offers glimpses of such an intriguing Jean Valjean and (Lady!) Inspector Javert. In some ways, I think the world Grant created was underutilized in the novel.
The novel doesn’t really have any explicitly romantic storylines, though there are three men who are all interested in or intrigued by Nina. Readers frustrated by protagonists who are unaware of their appeal or attractiveness might be annoyed by these elements of the novel, though I would say it’s more that Nina has more important things to worry about than that she doesn’t know her own worth. This also leads me to another frustrating aspect of the novel, which is that Nina’s characterization is a little underdeveloped. I like her perspective, but her actual characterization doesn’t ever move beyond her desire to avenge her sister(s). For such a complex story, the protagonist is a little one-dimensional.
If you’re wondering how The Court of Miracles works as a retelling, my answer is limited by my own experience with Les Mis. I’ve seen the musical and movie, and I enjoyed them, but I’ve never read the original novel. I think The Court of Miracles offers enough of the basic storyline and characters that fans of the original text (or at least the musical) will enjoy the story, but the novel is also unique enough that readers who don’t have any experience with the original novel or musical can still find their own way into The Court of Miracles. There’s at least one obvious “Easter egg” musical reference (that I caught) that might be fun for readers or might pull them out of the story. I, personally, thought it was fun (and a little funny).
Still, overall, I enjoyed my reading of The Court of Miracles. I was intrigued by the story and ended up reading the novel all in one day. I think fans of the musical or movie will enjoy this novel, but I can’t speak for fans of Victor Hugo’s novel. Readers looking for stories with an emphasis on worldbuilding, politics, or criminal elements should also enjoy The Court of Miracles.
3.5 Stars
The Court of Miracles held such potential for me. The cover is awesome; the synopsis was intriguing. Unfortunately, the delivery fell short.
There was A LOT going on in this book, and while I normally enjoy that kind of complexity, it didn’t work for me this time. Because while there was a lot going on, it also felt like nothing was happening.
So many words and descriptions went into situations that never seemed to go anywhere. I kept waiting for something to happen. I’d read, check how far I’d gone, read some more, keep waiting. It wasn’t until around the 80% mark that I was truly interested, and frankly, it shouldn’t take that long to build up to the culmination of the story.
I also didn’t appreciate the time gaps, which were poorly explained. Most of the time, I found myself trying to determine how much time had passed. Days? Weeks? Years? It was frustrating and confusing and unnecessary.
The characters themselves fell a bit flat as well. They seemed pretty one-dimensional to me, and maybe that’s because there were so many. I personally didn’t care for Nina or Ettie all that much. I liked all the side characters but I wanted to like them more and didn’t get much of a chance to know them like I wanted.
I am kind of curious to see where this series will go, but I’m not really sure it’ll be worth it.
***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***
The Court of Miracles tells a story of Les Misérables in a new light. Following Nina of the Guild of Thieves as she embarks on a treacherous journey to save her sisters from the Tiger, the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh.
Marketed as a retelling of Les Misérables, this novel has limited references to it. Instead, it uses the classic tale by Victor Hugo. It uses some characters to broach the similarity and plot devices, but The Court of Miracles is entirely its own tale. The approach at storytelling is part of what made this novel unique and compelling. As much as I love retellings, it gets tiresome to see the same story retold in almost precisely the same way.
Grant steps away from the formula and instead brings to life her own story. Grant has put thought into the story and the reader can see it from the very beginning with both the introduction of the Guilds and their Law.
The structure of the underworld society is exceptionally done. It is easy to imagine this world of 1828 Paris, to see how the Guilds help each other and help the destitute.
Grant also makes sure that the fluidity of the story remains. There are time jumps in the story, but instead of being distracting, they add fuel and tension to the story. From the beginning, Nina has had a purpose and to see time pass and her focus sharpen as her thieving skills make for a compelling read. Furthermore, it highlights just how formidable and thoughtful Nina is as a character.
As far as characterization goes, Nina is remarkable. Nina has gone through such a journey, growing up in a world of crime with honor. She may be a thief, but she has a code, she recognizes what is wrong in the Court, and seeks to rectify it. That is what makes her formidable, the lengths at which she goes to save the people she loves, but also to bring down the Tiger and his ring of sex slavery. A compelling narrative of 19th century Paris, The Court of Miracles entices the reader with high stakes tension and incredible storytelling.
Sigh. Another super-anticipated book that just left me disappointed. This book severely suffers from debut-novel syndrome.
The idea and effort is there, but the author has a lot of room to grow.
I did not enjoy this story for a number of aspects. Although everything about it is intriguing, and I was very excited to dive in, it was not well written. I do wonder whether it went through a beta-reader stage; it feels like a first-draft story. What I mean by a first-draft story is not that the grammar was bad, it was fine, is that it reads as if the author said: “Hey, imagine Guilds of criminals in old France, now that would be a cool story.” There isn’t much more to it than that.
This suffers from some of the worst white-room scenes I have ever read. Not a single room, house, area, building, was ever adequately described. The castle was the only place that the author spared a few sentences to describe what it was like. And, I’ll emphasize, that was only just a couple sentences about a confectioner’s box. I feel the author said, “It’s taking place in old France, you can imagine it yourself.” There was absolutely no immersion into this world. None of the 5 senses were ever engaged. Old France, and PARIS most of all, could have been a beautiful setting, the author could have used so much to engage us. She wasted that opportunity.
We’ll move to where I think the story is most lacking. I am a strong believer that characters are everything. You can have a complex plot and a beautiful setting, but if characters are lackluster, the book will never exceed 3-stars. Because at the end of the day, if I don’t believe in the characters, there is nothing at stake. The characters in this book weren’t written badly, they were just boring. They had no depth.
The main character, Nina, is such a special snowflake that gets away with everything. Everybody loves her; she somehow always succeeds in everything that she tries. She was ten-years-old and she broke into Versailles (this is me assuming, the author just describes it as a palace), and and steals a jewel of France right off the prince’s neck while he was sleeping in his bedroom. A ten year old, guys. A ten year old did this. Do you really find that believable in any aspect? But allow Nina to defy all that is possible.
I can’t even describe Nina’s personality. She’s not fiery, she’s not kind, she has no quirks, she has…. nothing. She is only the “sharp Black cat”. That’s it. Yet everybody falls in love with her. I mean, the Prince of France doesn’t execute her after she (a peasant, might I remind you) SLAPS him in his own home, because he likes her so much even though he met her ten minutes ago. Do you really think that’s believable? Readers are given nothing but her talent as a thief (a talent which she doesn’t need to hone or practice or grow at all, because a ten-year-old on her FIRST heist broke into the most secure place in France).
Ettie was the secondary character. She fares a little better personality-wise then Nina. She’s a little meek, a little nervous and quiet, and loves stories and romance. She’s really the damsel in distress for Nina to save.
All the other characters, I mean honestly, I can’t even name them. I just finished this yesterday, and I’ve already forgotten most of anything about them. Because they are unremarkable. There is not a single personality, or back story, or manner that stands out.
I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1 (even I would never recommend this book) because I can see the effort is there. The Guilds of criminals are intriguing. An over-used concept that I’ve read about before, sure, but you can tell the author fleshed out laws and hierarchies in it. I appreciate her for that. This isn’t a lazy-story, this is just an ill-written one. So, I’ll give it 2 stars. Because writing is hard, and the only novels that deserve 1-star are the lazy ones.
I don’t believe I’ll be reading the sequel. I can’t see this series saving itself as long as Nina is the star in it. She’s just not someone I root for.