I enjoyed reading this and it definitely kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next. I had some issues with the characters not quite being flushed out (Ninas skills seem to just appear out of thin air) and the romance angle was poor.
I think things feel to easily into place. The Les Miserables inspiration felt forced and at times got confusing. The Six is Crows comparison should not have been used as those books are so highly rated that it makes this work seem weaker.

Overall would like to read the sequel to this to see where the story goes next but had some issues with plot pacing and character abilities.

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!

At the 50% mark I DNF'd this book for now. I love the concept and the different houses for all of the unwanted but my biggest concern was the main character. For what I read, she spent all of her time trying to right a wrong that she made herself. I didn't really want to root for her. And when she was able to to 'complete' her goal, it got reset again. I wanted little Ettie's story to begin rather than just her needed protection.
Once I read another book to give my mind a break, I plan on coming back around to this book and finishing it.

There’s a scene in Kester Grant’s The Court of Miracles, where an entire room of nobles is hypnotized by the head of the assassin’s guild into doing something horrific but which they are wholly oblivious to. It’s an apt scene to note, because while this first book in a trilogy is far from horrific (really, far from it), Grant is such a fluid writer that she lulls you into a sort of readerly trance, a smoothly flowing journey that carries you effortlessly along, leaving you if not oblivious at least uncaring with regard to the story’s several flaws. As such, it’s one of those occasional odd novels where I’m going to say there are lots of places it isn’t very good, but you still may find yourself enjoying it anyway.

The blurbs label it a retelling (of sorts) of Les Misérables, and sure, several of the characters appear here with the same or similar names — Eponine, Javert (here a woman), Valjean — and it is set in revolutionary France, but honestly, I’m not sure the linkage to Hugo’s work, which is pretty minor and surface-level, adds that much to the story or isn’t in fact more of a distraction than a plus. In some ways, I’d even say it’s a negative, such as choosing to make Javert a woman seemingly so her obsession with Valjean could be because they had something a few years back. Why not just keep Javert male and have that same backstory? (apologies to Grant if there turns out to be some other motive). Meanwhile, some of the connections feel forced, many feel overly light, and I much preferred Grant’s more original additions to the storyline. So, I’d say don’t think of it as a reworking or retelling and think of it as more “kinda sorta inspired by” and then just forget the whole thing.

Grant sets her story in a Paris where the French Revolution failed and Paris is split amongst the nobility, your basic poor (those who walk by day), and the “Miracle Court” — nine criminal guilds, the most important of which here are The Legion of Ghosts (beggars), The Guild of Assassins, The Guild of Thieves, and The Guild of Flesh. After her sister is sold off by their father to “The Tiger”, leader of the Flesh Guild and feared by all other guild lords, our main character Nina becomes a “cat” (burglar) in the Guild of Thieves. Despite a sworn oath to the Thieves’ leader not to try to rescue her sister, Nina of course does just that. It’s not much of a spoiler (but if you want to avoid even a small one that arrives early in the novel skip to the next paragraph. No, really), to say she fails. But then her protective nature turns to her new sister (not by blood) Ettie, who also catches the attention of The Tiger. To save her Nina will not just set herself against The Tiger, but against any guild lords who refuse to help her, any police, any revolutionaries, the Dauphin, even the Queen herself.

To start with the positives, as noted, Grant’s writing is smooth and engrossing, and while the overall worldbuilding of 19th Century Paris is relatively slim, Grant does a nice job describing characters and specific settings. Her descriptions of the significant guilds are particularly atmospheric and striking. Nina is an easy character to root for thanks to her determination and resilience. The Tiger, meanwhile, a somewhat standard if enigmatic villain through much of the novel ends up much more complex than he at first seems.

As far as my issues with the novel. One is that everything comes a bit too easily to Nina. That isn’t to say she doesn’t suffer consequences — some are especially terrible — but that there seems little she cannot do. She breaks into the most impossible of places with the greatest of ease, charms nearly all, is brilliant at long-term strategy and short-term improvising, etc. One of the pleasures of heists (and while this isn’t a “heist novel” there are several heist requirements) is the slow build-up, the planning, the execution, the inevitable wrinkle, etc. but here they’re pretty much introduced as a goal and then just as quickly completed. Even for a YA story, and this has that YA vibe (and is marketed as such), she’s a little too brilliantly competent.

There’s also no real character growth in her story, even with the (sometimes abrupt) jumps forward in time of several years. Other characters also lack depth, serving as basic villain, stalwart support, reluctant-but-won-over-by-her-plucky attitude support, or victim-of-her-plucky attitude love interest (three of them fall, unnecessarily I’d say and implausibly, into this role). Though “love interest” really lends them more seriousness than they contain in the story itself, given that we only know they are that by Nina musing on how attractive they are or Ettie giggling over a brief interaction. Finally, the entire plot feels rushed.

The Court of Miracles is, as noted, a YA novel, and the younger end of its target market will probably be less bothered by the book’s flaws. Older ones, and adults, will certainly find themselves wishing for more fully-fleshed out characterization and more of a sense of struggle/difficulty for the main character, but both groups will still mostly likely find themselves zipping through the story thanks to its quick pacing, intriguing guild structures and rules, and smooth flowing prose. As a first book in a trilogy (and this one does resolve itself enough so it can stand on its own if one wishes), it’s not a bad introduction to a world that is interesting enough to convince me to pick up book two, with hopes those weaker elements improve.

I have never read Les Misérables and I've never been a particular fan of the musical, but I still enjoyed this book a lot! I do think that knowledge of Les Mis might have enhanced my enjoyment, however, as this seems to be a fairly close adaptation?

The writing was lush and evocative and the plot was fast paced, which made The Court of Miracles a quick, compelling read. I love fantasy books that explore the seedy underbellies of their settings, and I thought this was particularly well done here. I will also say that I'm always a sucker for stories about the sisterly bond, and the first chapter of The Court of Miracles was a gut punch. Overall, really fun and really well done!

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really thought this book would be amazing. Six of Crows is my absolute favorite dulogy so I may have expected too much. Once I started reading it, nothing in this book kept my interest. To start, there was just too much going on in the Court. Too many pieces to it and too much to even try to remember. Unfortunately this was a big turn-off for me.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This was a well-written book with intricate characters and setting but it was not my favorite book. I gave it about 150 pages to see if I could fall into the story. But, it just was not for me. I know that some of my students would enjoy this and find it highly entertaining. I would recommend it to my students, especially the ones who love fantasy. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I am interested in checking out anything else by this author.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant is described as a mix of Les Miserables and Six of Crows and is an accurate description. Being a fan of both Les Miserables and Six of Crows, I found The Court of Miracles to be an immensely fun romp. Fans of Les Miserables will enjoy the references to the book and musical, and Six of Crows fans will enjoy the strong teenage characters navigating the guilds of the underworld of Paris.
The Court of Miracles was engaging and entertaining. I enjoyed the characters and the fast-paced plot. My only complaint was that the ending felt abrupt and I would have liked a little more time spent wrapping up the story. But overall a fun book that I recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this ARC.

You know in the beginning of the The Phantom of the Opera, when it is all dark and nothing makes sense? and then the chandelier drops and light explodes unto the stage? Yeah, that is how I feel about this book.

The Court of Miracles is wild. I mean come on...Le Mis, SOC, the JUNGLE BOOK, alternative history, and all in the city of lights. The books follows Nina, a young girl in living alternative history France after the failed revolution. She is sold by her own father into the guild of flesh. Her sister takes her place and Nina is send into a world full of thieves, assassins, poisons, loyalty, family, and mistrust. Nina is desperate to save Ettie from the claws of the feared Tiger and this set a plan into motion that takes years to complete but Nina is patient while gathering loyalty from important people.

Ok, so this book is WILD. I haven't read/seen the Jungle Book in YEARS but I vaguely remember. I have never read Le Mis but loved the movie and have seen it on stage. Do you need to know either one to understand the book? No, but it doesn't hurt to have even a rudimentary understanding of both books. I absolutely ended up loving this book and will probably think about it until book 2 and 3. Nina is amazing...she is clever and brave while also being kind. She saves people not knowing who they are and how they will help her. Sure, she also steals from them but no one is perfect. She is fierce and protecting those she loves and never forgets the person she swore she would save. I am hopeful that the romance part of the story will be further developed in the rest of the books and I am cheering for a certain shadow (my sense of romance has been warped so vowing to place the head of a certain lord in the middle of the table if she is killed made me swoon).

Tiger, the main villain is horrible. He is one of the lords of the court and is feared by everyone. He broke the law many years ago while the rest of the court turned a blind eye. Nina is not one of those people especially since he has taken someone from her and has set his eye on another of her loved ones. As horrible as Tiger is (and I mean he is literally the worst), there was a point that made me realize that he is as much a victim of his circumstances. I adore what Grant did in this book, there are zero good people, just good moments fueled by what that person perceives as justice.

I hope we see more of the lords of courts and their backstories in book 2 and 3 as well as more about Javert. My one issue with the book is that the timeline is a little wonky. I had a hard time trying to figure out how old Nina is at any given time or how much time had passed. Some scenes felt a little weird but I read an ARC so maybe it wasn't the polished version. Definitely purchasing a personal copy.

Shout out to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this concept. I'm a sucker for anything set in Paris, and this is the city as we've never known. It is an alternate history set in Paris where the revolution failed, and the kings and queens live on, causing torment to the poor with their opulence and frivolity. The Court of Miracles itself the underbelly of Paris' crime. It is a group of heathens separated into nine separate guilds. Each guild specializes in something unique—thievery, drugs, assassination, etc—and all are governed by laws that keep them in order and prevent interference from others in their business. It's super fun world-building, even if it was a little overwhelming in the beginning when you're trying to fit all the pieces together.

Our main character is Nina, the infamous Black Cat of the thieves guild who can get into any place, from Tuileries Palace—the remains of which we now consider the Louvre—to one of the most well-guarded prisons in Paris. She is a fierce and brave girl whose biggest weakness is the one she loves most, her adopted sister, Ettie. It's a flaw I have always enjoyed in main characters, and it was utilized beautifully here. We follow along with Nina over the course of several years. from when her sister is sold to the Tiger as essentially a controlled drug addict, through joining her guild and becoming the Black Cat, to trying to exact revenge on the Tiger. The problem is he is untouchable, with none of the laws of the Court applying to him.

The way this unfolds over the years is very interesting. It's surprisingly clever and feels like there's a lot of nuance and depth to it. A lot of love and thought went into building up this world and Nina's plans to take the Tiger off his throne, and I can admire the author's efforts. How Nina used her sister Ettie as a pawn, worked with the other guilds in unconventional ways--*chef's kiss* I finished this in three days because it was so fascinating and near impossible to put down. That said, I did struggle to get into it at first. There was some extra material at the beginning of my e-arc that either rubbed me wrong or went right over my head because I had no context yet. The writing also felt very ... superiour? Pompous? Before it settled into itself and I could enjoy it.

This was an odd sort of book in terms of romance. There isn't one, just to be clear. Nina is far too busy kicking ass and saving her sister to be distracted by men. I have no problems with her not needing anyone, personally. I find it absolutely refreshing, but this book doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. Nina is assumed to be unattractive, does not lead anyone on, and yet there are three love interests who pop up all over the place. Two of them are very subtle, with Ettie perhaps making them into more than they really are with her romantic lens on their every interaction. And maybe one of them actually is properly into her. The third is the freakin' Dauphin of France, who is both smitten, and frankly, dumb as hell. I needed him punched in the face. Not his whipping boy. Him.

When I originally received this ARC, it was The Jungle Book meets Les Mis. Now it's Six of Crows meets Les Mis. I'm vaguely familiar with the original Les Mis, and this felt more like "I'm going to name these characters this and call it that." Nina is Eponine, Ettie is Cosette, plus a rather random Jean Valjean with a gender swapped Inspecter Javert. There's a few subtle parallels plot-wise, but nothing striking. The Jungle Book comp has me at a loss. I only know the Disney adaptation, but I still don't see how this tracks. Each act of the book starts with a Jungle Book quote, and that's it. Now Six of Crows. This is the first book I've read comped to it after having finally read Six of Crows. Not only is that a risky choice because of how beloved it is, but don't comp it unless you actually have something to comp to it. It's inevitable disappointment since there is no proper gang of misfits, no magic, and the major heist can hardly be called that.

I am very curious how this is going to develop into a series. Aside from a few minor loose ends, this can hold it's own as a standalone. Although I struggled a little with what to rate this (I'm going 4.5 out of 5), I want so much more of Nina and this world. Looking forward to participating in the blog tour in June.

As someone who has never read or watched any version of "Les Miserables" movies I probably missing out on many elements of the source material. However I do recall the names and that is where the connection ends for me. There are so many characters and not enough insight into their POV during this revolution at the turn of a century. The story is told through Nina our main character who is brave and venerable in her journey to fight to save the soul of the city Paris and her sisters. All we know about her is that she is a thief and will go to the end of the world to save her sisters. Nina makes connection with intriguing characters throughout the guilds, royalty, and revolutionist and yet we don't really know their story or how they see the world.

I liked that this story was fast paced although I felt at times that I was missing something or maybe over read it only to find out I didn't, so the flow for me at time was a bit messy. Beside Nina the only other characters who jumped off the page were Ettie and St. Juste I felt I got more of their personality than anyone else. Since the book was broken into parts I would have loved it if Kester could have told the each parts of the story from another character point of view. Also I would have loved to know there ages, Ettie was the only age I knew on the timeline like how old is Nina? I only know she joined the Thief guild at age nine. Thankfully this is book one of a trilogy so I hope to get more answers and insight into a lot the characters in the next installments. Overall I think this was a pretty good read but should have went through at least one more edit to be polished. I look forward to reading more of this intriguing mash-up revolution re-telling.

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

This was an interesting read. There were some parts I was super into and some parts I was just confused. I think this could definitely be some people’s cup of tea, but it just wasn’t mine.

Summary:

Described as Six of Crows meets Les Mis, Court of Miracles is a retelling of Les Mis where the French Revolution failed. Paris has been divided into nine underworld criminal guilds or the Court Of Miracles. Nina (Eponine) is thrown into the Thieves Guild in an attempt for her older sister to protect her. Nina has adjusted to her new life when her abusive father “adopts” Ettie (Cossette). Nina will do anything to protect her, even if that means starting a war between the guilds.

Review:

I struggled with this one a bit and was pretty disappointed. There were time jumps between parts that weren’t really explained. Sometimes it seemed to be a couple months, others a couple years. But through those time jumps, none of Nina’s problems were resolved and it wasn’t really explained what she was doing during that time. The story starts out with Nina trying to find her older sister and rescue her, but then she completely ditches that and focuses on protecting Ettie instead. I felt like I never really got to know Nina. She had multiple “romantic” interests but nothing was ever developed and it felt like the author was just trying to plop them in with every young male in the story. There were also aspects of the story that weren’t explained well or hardly at all. Like all of a sudden Nina grows claws and scales a wall?? A lot of things also just seemed too easy for Nina. While she is described as a skilled thief, everything just seems to go exactly the way she wants or in her favor.

While this was clearly not my favorite, I think some would really enjoy this. If you love adventure stories, you may really love this. I think there were a lot of really interesting concepts, but for me just weren’t executed well.

Nina is the Black Cat, the greatest thief France has ever seen. She’s been stealing ever since she was a small child, when her sister was sold to the Tiger, one of the Guild Lords of the Paris underworld. As a member of the Guild of Thieves, Nina is protected, but she’s determined to also save her sister from the Tiger, and prevent him from hurting anybody else. But with one failed revolution in the past and the nobles still in control, is the underworld of Paris ready to rise up against those whose have kept them subjugated for years?

I received an advanced reading copy of The Court of Miracles in exchange for an honest review.

The Court of Miracles is a young adult fantasy novel by Kester Grant. But when I say fantasy, I don’t mean magic or anything. This is more of an alternative history than anything else, which basically means changing some aspect of history and writing a book about it. In this case, the “what if?” is: “what if the French revolution had failed?” And the answer is: all sorts of interesting things!

The book is divided into four parts, and each is separated by several years, which was not something I expected. Every section is split into a mini plot of its own, which kept the sections interesting, but I struggled initially to try and figure out the overarching plot that was leading the story. It eventually makes sense, but the split sections still stand apart as individuals, only connected by Nina’s main goal: to get rid of the Tiger.

The description for this book has this as a combination of Les Misérables and The Jungle Book, and it’s a pretty good description! The influences of Les Misérables are especially prevalent in this book, not just in another revolution, but familiar characters come out of the woodwork every so often. They’re very different from Victor Hugo’s original work, but I enjoyed seeing how Grant changed them to suit the story better. It was a lot of fun finding these influences, and there was one moment in particular that I laughed out loud as it jumped out of the narrative. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.

Anyway, I’ve talked enough about the book in general. Now I want to talk about the characters, and Nina, especially. Who is Nina? She’s a character who’s determined like no other. She has one goal, and one goal only, and she will do absolutely everything in her power to achieve it, no matter who she has to cross or what insane things she has to accomplish. It took me a while to actually get a feeling for her, actually. At the very beginning, we see her willing to sacrifice a girl to try and get her own sister back, and while she suddenly has her own conscience rise up and stop her, it was hard to figure out exactly why she became so fond of Ettie. Ettie was pretty much a plot device, created for the mere reason of giving Nina another reason to do all she has to do in this book. But, Ettie felt sort of flat to me until the end. For so much of the narrative, she just felt… there…

There are so many other characters in this book, but all of them seemed to have more depth than Ettie. Montparnasse, the Guild Lords, and even the Dauphin (French crown prince), who makes infrequent appearances throughout the book. I felt like all these characters were deeper than Ettie was, and they all had stories and pasts to overcome. I think what helps bring them to life is Nina’s relationship to each. She knows them, she talks to them, and we, through Nina’s eyes, get to know them. Since I struggled with the relationship Nina and Ettie had, I struggled with Ettie. But all the other characters, as Nina slowly got to know them, I did too, and I ended up enjoying so much of their stories.

Speaking of relationships, I loved how this novel barely touched romance. There was very little of it going on, with only a few hints here and there, with the potential for much more in future books, but the narrative was clearly occupied with much bigger and better things.

And there were so many plot points going on in this narrative! It sort of makes my head swim to think of them all. The main plot might be Nina trying to rescue her sister and Ettie to seek revenge, but there’s many significant subplots that grow to take up quite a large part of the book, weaving in and out of Nina’s own story and becoming very significant in the end. And, speaking of the end, I also really loved how this book could in theory stand alone, despite being the first of a series. A plot comes to an end, and it’s a satisfying conclusion, but it leaves plenty of loose ends open to welcome the second book. It’s one I think I’ll be picking up when it comes out.

The Court of Miracles was a fun read about one of my favorite cities, changing the most important part of its history to make room for a story that was compelling, fast-paced, and full of such a strong and determined character. I had a great time reading this book, and I think I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes alternative histories and exciting stories.

The Court of Miracles will be released by Knopf on June 2, 2020. You can pre-order your copy from them here.

My thoughts

Would I recommended it?Yes ( In fact as soon I a got it I went ahead and told some of my friends about that we ended up doing a buddy read of it and they loved it as well)

Would I read more of this series ?Yes

Would I read more by this author?Yes



What I loved about this story:

guilds, known as the Court of Miracles

Nina

the written style

Gothic feel to it

the interesting characters



What I didn't like

The Tiger

how confused i was on how old Nina was at the very start of the book ( but so was some of my friends )



Now on to my actual thoughts of the story itself, first off a big thanks to Random House Children's for letting me read and review it, because I tend not to read a lot of Young Adult fantasy, And this time I took and the a chance on it based on the title as well as the cover and where it said SIX of Crows ( which I read for the first time this year and loved it),And in some ways it was kind of like Six Crows but in others it was also different.

And what really surprised me was how I didn't want to put down the book and that I just wanted to keep reading, even though at the time I was reading other stuff as well but I did put it down since I was doing a buddy read and we had how many chapters we could read each day and I was having fun reading it with my friends.So here is my question to you guys what can I do or say that will enable you to give this a try as well? And yes I'm an enabler when it comes to books , just ask my friends.I could say that if you liked or even loved Les Misérables and Six Of Crows ( then you need to check this out), a story that a big slow but that's a good thing in this case because it helps with the development of the characters , the world building and over the story setup, a story that pulls you into it, and the atmosphere that makes you set on the edge of your set, so with that said I hope you decide its something you want try and also give NetGalley a big thanks as well for letting me read read and review it and a a shout out to my friends who read it with me.

The Court of Miracles is part Les Miserables retelling and part Six of Crows heist story. It’s set in an alternate version of 1828 Paris where the French Revolution failed and the main factions are now the crown, a few revolutionaries, and the nine criminal guilds that make up the Court of Miracles. This book follows a character called Nina, who is supposed to be a re imagining of Eponine (but I felt she was more like Fantine because of her protectiveness of Ettie). In Court of Miracles, Nina is a thief whose skills help her survive and protect her friend Ettie, a re imagining of Cossette, from the Tiger, who runs the Guild of Flesh aka a network of houses of ill repute.

The biggest thing this book gets right is the atmosphere. Kester Grant did an amazing job on setting the tone for the book and I hope it carries on to the rest of the series. The main characters are mostly involved with the criminal guilds and the whole book feels very dark and mystical. It kind of romanticizes the characters’ lots in life. Membership in one guild might be better than membership in another, but their lives are still hard and short. It’s almost like the pageantry and mystical vibe of each guild is meant to make the reader see the beauty in it, while also accepting the absolute mess that it actually is.

As someone who is casually familiar with Les Mis, I thought that The Court of Miracles did a good job capturing the essence of the original while also being a retelling that stands up on its own. There is enough heist story to make it something different and the characters fit their re imagined roles well.

Now onto the bad stuff.

There are times when it’s a bit tropey. I didn’t love this aspect of the book, but tropes sell books and make happy readers, so I’m ok with that. Nina was trained as a thief from a young age and lives a hard life, but her skills and accomplishments are still a little too overblown for someone so young. She’s a chosen one character who’s trying not to be a chosen one character. We’ve also got a solid dose of ‘adults are either evil or useless’ and it’s got historical dystopian vibes out the wazoo. After all, in this story the French Revolution didn’t succeed and now the nobility are even more interested in cracking down on dissent or anyone who wasn’t satisfied with eating cake. Though, to be fair modern historians don’t think Marie Antoinette actually said this. But I digress. Nina also had a handful of guys pining after her that she had exactly 0 interest in. If a ya female protagonist doesn’t have a bunch of guys pining for her for no reason, does she even exist?

I think this is a solid pick for anyone who is looking for a YA historical fantasy or Les Miserables retelling.

“I make this oath in iron; I make it in bone. I will destroy him, and then they will all be free.”

After Nina Thénardier’s sister is sold to the Guild of Flesh by their father, she joins the Guild of Thieves and becomes renowned as the Black Cat, stealing and sneaking into the most dangerous of places. But the memory of her sister, stolen and broken, haunts her. Nina refuses to let her sister go and will stop at nothing to get her back, even if it means going against one of the most powerful lords of the Court of Miracles.

This was a fun read and an interesting take on Les Mis. I’ve only seen the film version of Les Mis once and it was a while ago, but I definitely saw the references back to the original work. However, the Court of Miracles didn’t feel very “Six of Crows” to me. It lacked that big cast of characters and heist type scenario that makes Six of Crows what it is. Nina threw herself into trouble quite often and took on big villains, but she escaped easily every time. There were no moments where I wondered how she’d escape or gasp in worry. By the time I would have started to worry, Nina had already found a way out.

Which is another thing I didn’t particularly like. This book had a lot happening. It felt as if the author wanted to tackle all these big dramatic escapes and plans, but by doing that, none of them were written well. Even the ending felt flat for me because the high stakes didn’t feel “high stakes”. The timeline was disjointed, as well, which made it confusing to follow. Two years apparently passed between parts, and I wasn’t aware until Nina mentioned it. And in that time, Nina has gotten close to revolutionists, befriending them and living in their house. It’s the kind of information I wanted more of. It’s as if the author skipped over the relationship building, arguably the best parts to read, and dropped us right into the middle of the action.

Overall, I did enjoy the Court of Miracles. The world and characters were crafted well, I just wanted more character and less plot. More details on the side characters and development of their relationships with Nina would have made this a more enjoyable read for me. If this book hadn’t tried to tackle so many plot twists and hijinks, instead sticking to one or two major plot points, it would’ve been a better read.

The Court of Miracles is set to release on June 2nd, 2020.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

Content Warnings: prostitution, self-harm, murder, violence

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.

Five very enthusiastic stars here. I'd give it more if I could. It helps, I'm sure, that I love Les Miserables, and there's so much that's familiar here, and so much that's utterly new and delightful.

All the familiar Les Mis characters are there but in such unexpected places and ways that it makes you look more closely to see the resemblance. The setting is unique and intriguing. It's like... if you took Les Miserables and the Jungle Book and blended them, then filtered them through Six of Crows for sleight-of-hand and the Merciful Crow for tone. I had no idea what to expect even as it hit familiar notes, and the combination is wonderful.

Jean Valjean is a side character here, with the story resting firmly on Eponine -- Nina, the Black Cat of the Thieve's Guild -- 's shoulders. And she carries it beautifully. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that it's just a bit unrealistic to have three guys falling for her. And not just any three guys: the Dauphin of France, St. Juste the revolutionary activist, and Montparnasse - the Master of Knives of the Assassin's Guild. There's just a tad too much of her being attracted to all of them at inopportune times, though it's really not that much. Also she and Montparnasse give one another daggers. It's more romantic than it sounds, trust me. XD

Valjean is also 'le Maire' - a Merveille of the Court of Miracles, the criminal underworld of Paris. Javert is, quite brilliantly, a woman here, with her drive to recapture Valjean fueled by strong emotion from a love affair gone wrong. Cosette is Ettie, Nina's adopted little sister, and there's more to her than beauty. And, of course, there's Nina's long game plan to get revenge on the Tiger and save her older sister Azelma. The misdirection involved caught me off guard and is so well done.

Review posted to goodreads and my blog (whimsical dragonette)
I'll review on amazon and b&n on the publishing date.

The Court of Miracles is a glittering world full of corruption, broken promises, and hidden violence. Described in stunning detail, the combination of gorgeous writing and a detailed world makes The Court of Miracles come alive. There are myths and stories, fragments of bedtime stories that keep hope alive. My love for The Court of Miracles comes down to this atmospheric world simmering with tension and barely contained order and the characters who never let themselves break. At the heart of this glimmering shadowy setting is a story about sacrifice and love. What will we do for the people we love, who will we sacrifice and what acts will we commit?