The Court of Miracles is a loose Les Miserables retelling centered around Eponine "Nina" Thénardier,  a young thief in the criminal underground of an alternative Paris following the French Revolution. It's described as being for fans of "anyone who knows Eponine deserved so much more" so basically this book was marketed directly at me.

The Court of Miracles is a reimagining of Les Mis meets The Jungle Book. If you're like me, this probably sounds both strange and hard to manage, but Kester Grant knocked it out of the park. It was easy to see the influences of both classics while reading, and yet the story maintained its own uniqueness and identity to stand apart from being simply a retelling.

Eponine is my absolute favorite character in Les Mis so I was thrilled to read a story centered around her. Her progression as a character throughout the story was thoroughly fascinating. She goes from a naive, girl to a clever, passionate young woman who will stop at nothing to save those she loves. 

Although I loved the characters and the plot, there were a couple things that I think detracted from the overall story. The book has quite a few time jumps, which were very confusing. A few times they occurred directly in the middle of action which I think did the book a disservice. The plot and action would build to a climax, only to end abruptly and skip ahead. Another issue I had was the romance. Nina has three potential love interests. Yes, three. The prince, Enjolras (!!), and Montpartnesse. Of all the romances, Nina as the most interaction (at least on page) with Enjolras. As self-proclaimed Enjolras trash, I was super excited to see his appearance in this book. I thought all my fan fiction dreams were coming true and we were going to get a well-deserved Eponine/Enjolras romance.

The problem with the romances, is that there is a lot of telling instead of showing. The build-up of attraction either occurs off page, or is told to us by other characters, yet we never get to actually see anything. For instance, Montpartnesse's feelings for Nina are made clear to the reader by a comment made by Ettie. Up until this point, I had forgotten this character had even existed due to his lack of page-time and honestly was under the impression that he was an older man. This trend continues throughout the rest of the book. It feels like the readers are supposed to make assumptions about Nina's relationships but we never actually get to hear her feelings/attraction develop (with the exception of Enjolras). This is a huge example of where showing the readers instead of simply stating it would make a big difference in the storytelling. 

The Court of Miracles deftly combines the elements of two classics, Les Miserables and The Jungle Book to create a smart, riveting story. I was definitely impressed by Kester Grant's ability and look forward to seeing where Nina's journey takes her next.

The story was engaging.enough to read all the way to the end but.I found it very, very depressing. Don't plan to check out the rest of the series.

*ARC via netgalley in exchange for agreement to post review*

I definitely enjoyed this one! I liked how fierce the protagonist was and so freaking determined! I liked the story and though I could do without all the love interests at every corner (though I am routing for you Master of Swords). I liked the storyline and I can’t wait to see what the second book brings! It was fast, thrilling, and you were able to empathize with the protagonists. She was someone who would do anything for the ones she loved, and I love that in a character. The story has thrilling plots and twists and turns. Definitely a fun read!

To start with, I loved the setting. The author did a really good job of establishing the tone and overall aesthetic of the story. The story, like Les Mis, takes place in 1830s Paris. However, in this book the French Revolution was a failure so the monarchy is still in power. In the book, there are 9 total criminal courts that have arisen due to this, but only 5 of them are ever truly explored: the Guild of Thieves, Guild of Letters, Guild of Flesh, Guild of Beggars, and Guild of Assassins. Hopefully we'll get to see the other 4 fleshed out in the sequel. Each Guild is lead by a Lord or Lady and have to abide by a set of Laws, which includes things like no slavery, all Wretched (members of a guild) are equal, do not commit crime for pleasure (only survival), the Guild must provide for all its children, etc. The Tiger, who is the leader of the Guild of Flesh, is consistently breaking these laws but no one wants to do anything about it because they're all afraid of him (shocker). That's where our main character, Nina, comes in.
Nina is a member of the Guild of Thieves, which she joined at a very young age to prevent being sold to Tiger like her older sister was. To become a member, she steals the Pendant of Charlemagne from the dauphin while he's asleep. Years later, Ettie is spotted, and thus desired by, Tiger. Thernadier, Nina's father, tries to sell her to him but Nina whisks Ettie away from him and has her join the Guild of Beggars to protect her. However, this is not enough because apparently Tiger doesn't like it when he's denied something he wants. So starts a spiral of events involving Nina doing everything she can to protect Ettie while also trying to free her older sister from Tiger. In the process, she somehow meets and charms 3 different men even though she's constantly being described as plain, especially when compared to Ettie. She also seemed very one-dimensional, which is weird considering the other characters experience so much growth throughout the book.
All in all, the world-building and the secondary characters are what saved this book for me. While I do typically prefer books that are more plot-driven than character, Nina just didn't have any discernible personality or development. Hopefully, we'll see that in the sequel, which I am still very excited for.

4 Stars

Fast-paced and fun read about those who are unseen in one city that has many worlds.

My review is broken into two main areas, Story and Technical.

STORY

Setting | 5 Stars
When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drum...

I loved the setting of revolutionary France, with the accurate nods to important dates and French tales. The author alternates between a heavy-handed retelling of Les Mis and making it into her own, which I enjoyed. We get a female Javert and a surprise Valjean, along with a cleverly re-imagined Eponine and Cosette. It is dark and gritty, showing all the harshness that comes with the underbelly of an uneasy city. The cutthroat brutality and bonds made only by the sharing of similar struggles is well done. This has been touted as a cross between The Jungle Book and Les Mis, but I had serious Hunchback of Notre Dame vibes with the Court Of Miracles and the Law of the Wretched.

Plot | 3 Stars
The plot was a touch rocky, jumping quickly from one goal to the next. I said above some of the Les Mis retelling was heavy-handed; this comes in the form of exact plot points with revolutionary students and Javert's hunting of Valjean. It is fast-paced, so there was never a dull moment, but one instant our MC cares for nothing more than saving a sister, the next stealing an item that will help overthrow a tyrant, the next to helping a revolution. I was fine with all of it as it was exciting, but some scenes glazed over the full scope of what they could have been and therefore felt a bit lackluster looking back.

Characters | 5 Stars
"Nous sommes d'un sang."

I enjoyed all of the characters immensely, those with Les Mis inspiration and those without. The Black Cat, The Messenger, The Fathers, Masters, Lords...There are a lot of different positions and characters to remember, each with their own mystery.

TECHNICAL

Writing | 4 Stars
"Il etait une fois..."

Written well, and for the most part the ideas are clear and concise. I found no fault with the pacing or style, and enjoyed the inclusion of the French language. I also appreciated the inclusion of tales and lines from texts such as The Jungle Book at the beginning of each Part. My only complaint is the ending, which quite literally just stops after the climactic confrontation. The conclusion is nonexistent. I know authors go for cliffhangers but there still should have been more to close out this chapter. This is my main issue with most of the book, as many scenes should have been given slightly more attention to be fully fleshed.

Editing | 4 Stars
Understand this is not a final copy, so there were some errors that popped up that will no doubt be polished away. Going along with my above comment, a bit more development could have gone into many of the transition scenes and especially the conclusion.

Execution | 2 Stars
This got the poorest rating which will drive down my whole scoring system, mostly because of what I have already stated - the story could have used more development. There are solid bones and meat to the tale, but in areas where it fell back to rely heavily on existing Les Mis plot points I was disappointed. I wanted more of the Guilds, more of the planning behind Nina's "missions," more insight to the characters we only saw at surface level.

Overall rating is just under 4 Stars, and I am tentatively excited to see where this trilogy (series?) can go. I'd love to know more about the Guilds, and perhaps even see a story from a member of each of their order. Wouldn't that be fascinating! There is a lot of potential to really expand the universe of the Guilds and go beyond the groundwork already laid by Les Mis' existing framework.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an advance copy of this book!

When I heard about this book, I knew I needed to read it right away. A historical YA Les Mis-based novel where Eponine is the heroine? Sign me up! The nods to the original book and musical were numerous and I enjoyed finding them while reading. The story and worldbuilding in this book are exceptional and the historical aspects are well-researched and portrayed in a fascinating way. Nina is a compelling main character and her oftren rash decisions drive the narrative forward.

The narrative skips around a lot and often jumps many years without warning. To me this cheapened some of the emotional connections between characters, most specifically that of Nina and the boys of the Societe.

The main characters --Nina and Ettie -- have names taken right from the pages of Les Mis. That is where the similarities end. Nina is very different from the lonely pining Eponine of the original, and her relationship with Cosette -- the driving force behind this story -- is significantly changed as well. Woven throughout all of this is an original story line of the Court and the thieves guild that is very engaging and well-written. Some other familiar Les Mis characters make an appearance in one way or another (like Enjolras and Javert), while others are noticeably absent (Marius).

Most of the characters taken directly from Les Mis were lovingly crafted into amazingly well-written characters, but in that process also became so foreign from the source text as to be different characters entirely. I would have almost preferred if the characters weren't supposed to be the same characters we know from Les Mis, but instead were original characters that existed alongside the original story.

Overall, this was a gripping story that definitely kept me intrigued, and contained characters that were interesting and had a lot of heart. Will definitely recommend once it hits shelves. If you want the familiar characters and story of Les Mis, this book is not it. But if you want a new, engaging story with nods to the original Les Mis while somehow adding even more intrigue, this book is for you.

I’m not sure what this had set out to be, but I don’t think it got there in the end. There was so much clunky plot, all linked together with just the barest whisper of continuity, that I had a hard time taking anything that was happening seriously.

Which is really a disservice to the setting because there’s so much that’s *supposed* to be taken seriously. There’s sex trafficking and child abuse and death—plenty of the nastier side from Revolutionary France, but the stakes didn’t feel real. Everything was clipped. The author jumps from one huge plot point to another with no real explanation or breathing room. There’s fast-paced, and then there’s The Court of Miracles. Too much happened too soon.

I liked the dynamic between the characters and there was a lot of potential, but where it reaaaaally dropped the ball was with the world-building. Maybe 80% of the dialogue was exposition? And there was no tension that wasn’t contrived. The initial conflict, Nina’s sister being sold into prostitution, is skipped over quickly, and I guess now she’s older and trying to protect some random girl? That she planned to do the same thing (sell into sex slavery) to, only to get cold feet at the last possible second? It’s a premise so flimsy it’s almost goofy, which is not how I wanted to feel reading about such a grave subject.

What caught me the most off-guard was how much Grant seemed to really want to emulate a handful of other books. When the description said ”Les Miserables meets Six of Crows“, I didn’t think it would be those two stories literally smashed together. I actually had to stop reading at one point and double check this wasn’t a retelling or fanficton or something like that. Turns out, it kind of is? But I didn’t see that detail mentioned anywhere except in user reviews. And other than the time, place and assorted character names, I struggle to see how this would be classified as a ‘retelling’.

I’m curious to see what others think as the reviews keep trickling in, but there’s still some buzz around this one and I can understand why. The marketing is beautiful and the blurb is attention-grabbing, and I actually really like her writing style. But I went into this wanting to love it, to be swept away in a new fantasy series, and I don’t think that’s going to happen at this point.

A little bit scattered with time jumps, numerous characters, etc but an enjoyable read. It took me a long time to get into this one, but I am glad I continued. Enjoyment does strongly hinge on familiarity with Les Miserables which I'm not certain many teen readers have outside of perhaps the musical.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you NetGalley for this one. Greatly appreciated as always. I associate the Court of Miracles with Hunchback of Notre Dame more than I do with Les Miserables, although 19th Century Paris may very well be a more historically accurate setting for the Court. So, there is no Quasimodo, Frollo, and Esmeralda but this book has plenty of reference regarding Javert, Valjean, Cosette, Thernardier…, although with some surprising twists. This is not a retelling of Miserables, and frankly, if it wasn’t for the fact that people mention Jungle Book, I would not have noticed the connection to Jungle Book at all (well, other than the reference to “We be of one blood, thou and I”). If anything, you could very well have also included Frozen as a story reference because of the theme of sisters striving to stay together to overcome forces breaking them apart. In a nutshell, the story is more of a loose borrowing of the Miserables characters supporting the main player, original character Nina off to save her sister from slavery with an original story involving her along with the members of Paris’ Court of Miracles. The story is Nina and Nina carries the story with the help of the Court’s characters. It’s a nice inside look at the workings of the Court and their counterparts. It’s a story of revenge and redemption, using the tried and proven formula of good vs. evil, the haves vs. the have nots. The story flowed smoothly for me with some slow areas in the middle but a strong start and a strong finish always makes up for any lose parts in the middle (perhaps too much time spent in Tuilleries for my own personal taste). An excellent start to what appears to be a three part act. Nice way to pull down the curtain for the end of Act 1. I will look forward to reading the sequel.

What I liked about The Court of Miracles:
-Even through The Court of Miracles is a Les Miserables retelling, there is so much more that the author added to the story. The characters share similar names and the plot contains similar beats, but there are many changes. We see the story through Eponine's (Nina's) eyes, but she is not only just the mistreated child of an innkeeper, she is a highly respected member of the Guild of Thieves.
-I like the romance that is included in The Court of Miracles, or the lack thereof. Nina has several admiraiers over the course of the story, but she doesn't let any of them distract from her true mission: saving her sister.

What I disliked about The Court of Miracles:
- I felt that there were several odd time jumps that were not pointed out very well. All of a sudden several years would have passed, but the only statement that they had passed was on the Part dividers until several chapters into the Part. This could just be an issue for myself, but I like to be reminded of time jumps. Whether that is trough years on the first page of a chapter or written directly in the story.

Who would I recommend The Court of Miracles:
-Fans of historical "fantasy"/fiction (there's no magic)
-Fans of sisterly bonds
-Fans of Les Miserables (the musical)


Overall Thoughts:
Overall, I really enjoyed this retelling. I thought all of the character's were well written and retained aspects of their namesakes, without being over the top that this was a retelling. I thought that the plot was well paced and there wasn't any part that I felt dragged. As I have not read/finished Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, all of my comparisons are based on the musical version.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Books for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant is a retelling of Les Miserable with magical elements, an enormous cast of characters, and a revolution. There are many different courts one can attend within this gorgeously filled, world building fast paced plot. The characters are each unique and intriguing. There are nods towards Les Miserable, but it’s been so long since I read Les Mes that I’ve likely missed even more appreciative nods towards the work.

This book was long. It was complex. It had plot, it had depth, and it had characters that I fell hard for. It took a solid week to read this book, and that was only because I lingered over it for days, relishing in the excellent fantasy retelling. Most retellings don’t impress me these days, with a few rare exceptions thrown in. This is an exception. I adored this book. I wish to own this book. I’ll probably buy a hardcover of this book.

“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.”
~As quoted from Goodreads

Now, while I’ve yet to read Six of Crows, I have read Leigh Bardugo, and this is a safe comparison to make, as I also adore Leigh Bardugo’s crafting into world building. One would be pleased at the historical elements flung into this book, along with the epic fantasy twists and turns, the thieves, the murderers, the magic that revolves around the various courts. I’d love to dive into the courts, but I barely recall most of them, and I desperately need to do a re-read, take notes, and keep up with characters of whose alive and whose not. I warn readers, do not get attached. That could prove fatal to you, should you do so.

There’s a spark of romance within the pages as well, along with myths thrown in I think, if I recall correctly. It’s admittedly been a bit since I’ve read the book, and as stated above, I need a reread. However, the story is still fresh in my mind enough that I feel safe in giving it 5/5 stars. I highly recommend for all fans of retellings, and that of historical fiction, or classics in general. Please read this. You won’t regret it.

I am a huge fan of Les Mis so when I saw the summary for this book I knew I had to add this to my list. I finished the book in a few days and could not put it down. I cannot wait for the sequel and will be purchasing a finished copy.

"Sometimes we must pay a terrible price to protect the things we love."

Nina: “Black Cat” of the Thieves Guild.

Ettie: Nina’s “little sister”. The root of this war (granted, it was inevitable in time).

Tiger: Lord of the Guild of Flesh. Lord Kaplan. No Lord will cross him.

Montparnasse: Loves Nina. My lover. Master of the Assassins Guild. Willing to lay himself on the line for Nina, even if he has to betray his guild.

St. Juste: Loves Nina. Everyone in his family was killed. Leader of the rebellion of people who aren’t in a guild.

The Dauphin: Loves Nina. Prince of France. Nina steels from him at a young age. They see each other later and help each other out. Has a mother who is always on the verge of handing him a glass of poison.

Orso: Has an army of “Ghosts” aka little kids. The only Lord who will stand up to the Tiger.

Thernadier: Nina’s dad. Beats her. Will do anything for whoever offers the most money, even betraying his own.

Tomasis: Lord of the Thieves Guild.



"if he kills you, I’ll take his head from his body and I’ll set it on a pike in the middle of the Lords’ table in the Miracle Court, and none will ever take it down. There it will rot, the worms will eat it to bone, and all who see it will remember you. Even if Corday asks my life of me in return, I’ll do it. I swear."

Can’t get any more romantic than that!



Things I Liked:

Secret societies. I love the idea of secret societies being known for specific talents. I love seeing the atmosphere from each unique faction. I’d love to learn more about how these came about and a look deeper into each society.
Unpredictable. I did not predict one particular event to happen in this novel. That never happens!
The world-building. Grant made this incredibly easy to follow.


Things I Didn’t Like:

Hunger Games vibes. If you interchange Nina for Katniss and Ettie for Rue/Prim, you pretty much have the Hunger Games novel.
The beginning. I was ready to DNF right away, honestly. But, I’m not a quitter, so I kept on trekking, and I actually really enjoyed the novel.
The timing. I followed this pretty well through most of the novel, but I got a little confused at times by home much time passed.
Everyone guy loves her. Give me a break! I’m so over the main character having all of these guys wanting her. Not reality!


The Court of Miracles is a story about war, ambitious power, and adversity. People who enjoyed The Gilded Wolves and Six of Crows would enjoy this novel.

Content Warnings: slavery, revolution, discrimination, prostitution, human trafficking, drugged use, poisoning, whipping, and torture

Going into this book I didn't really know much about Les Misérables other than it's incredibly long and a lot of people die, plus a few names. That made me a little nervous going into this, but I after reading this I don't think it's required to have read (or watched) Les Mis. However, it definitely made me want to watch the movie which did help me understand what was different and what was the same between this retelling and the original.

I'm not normally the kind of reviewer to point out writing styles mainly because I truly don't notice most of the time, but in this case I certainly noticed how BEAUTIFULLY written this is! I was hooked immediately and couldn't stop reading! 

I know that the synopsis says this is Les Mis meets Six of Crows, and while this is truly a retelling of Les Mis I don't totally agree with the Six of Crows part. Normally when you think of Six of Crows, you think found family with deep connections and a heist. There is certainly a found family aspect in The Court of Miracles, but those relationships felt very surface level. There was also sort of the opposite of a heist, because Nina is trying to keep Ettie away from someone who wants to steal her.

I do really wish that there was more development of the characters other than Ettie and Nina, because you don't really get a sense of who they really are and they all seem like brilliant characters! I think part of the reason I felt like there was no development between the characters was because of the time jumps, which were hard enough to read because they could be 3+ years but it doesn't really let you know how far ahead you are moving. There was clearly time where these characters were together, but it didn't always translate in the scenes we saw. 

There are three love interests (yes, three) but I hesitate to really call them love interests. Nina doesn't seem to be interested in any of them for most of the book, it's more acknowledging that she finds them attractive and it's never acted upon. There was one particular love interest that I found wanting her to be with, despite not really knowing much about him as a character on his own. 

Despite these unclear time jumps, the pacing was fast and the story was interesting and I was completely engaged every time I picked this book up. I didn't even notice until I finished that despite this being listed as a fantasy book, there was no magic at all! That just shows you how fascinating this setting and plot really is. I also found myself wanting to know more about the different guilds and how they operate and I was so relieved when I found that there would be a sequel because I just want more of this world and to dive deeper into who the characters are!

I definitely see myself picking up the next book, and I think that if the few cons I had are worked on in the next book (I think this was a debut novel, but I'm not 100% sure) this could definitely be added to my favorites list.

Review will be posted to my blog (www.meltingpages.wordpress.com) on 5/13/2020

Title: The Court of Miracles
Author: Kester Grant
Release: June 2, 2020
Dates Read: 5.7.2020-5.11.2020

I believe Grant did a great job portraying characters we have seen before in a new light. I love the take of the Court of Miracles, I haven't read many books with the Court of Miracles being portrayed, which i thought was a really neat thing about the book. I love that it follows Nina (Eponine) whom we see very little of in Les Mis, and that she is completely a bada**. I also like that the "i can do everything" heroine trope wasn't a part of her character. This book has great potential and it will be a favorite for anyone who needs historical fiction, YA, and a Les Mis fix.

Okay, so I'll admit it, I haven't read Les Mis. I've seen the movie though! And I enjoyed it well enough, although it's been years since I last saw it. So going into The Court of Miracles, I wasn't really sure how much I'd enjoy it if at all. I knew it sounded good, but definitely went into it with a healthy dose of skepticism because I just didn't know if it would be my kind of book. Well, turns out I needn't have been worried, because it turned out to be one of my favorite reads in a long while.

The thing that grabbed me right away in The Court of Miracles was just how beautifully it was written. The prose is absolutely gorgeous! It hooked me immediately and I couldn't get enough. The storytelling itself was equally beautiful, and together it just made for such an entertaining read.

Speaking of the story... like I said, I don't know Les Mis that well. I know the main story but none of the intricacies well enough to feel like I'm remotely an expert on the subject. That said, I thought The Court of Miracles did a wonderful job of paying tribute to its source material. It's different enough to hold its own as a great book, but with enough of the original thrown in for even someone like me to get excited any time I recognized a character or plot point, which made the reading experience that much better.

The characters were to die for. Mostly Nina *cough* Eponine *cough*. I'll admit a little bias here because Eponine is my faaavorite, so getting a story from her point-of-view is definitely something I wanted. And this story totally delivered. Nina was so dynamic, a blast to read, and really held the story. Plus the romantic interests (yes, plural!) were so swoony. Nina is so fantastic that in my opinion she deserved them all and none of them are good enough for her but I somehow ended up shipping multiple ships and this book put me through the romantic wringer, let me tell you. So yeah, I can't wait to see more of all of these characters in book two, it's going to be so much fun.

The setting here was really well done, with the Miracle Court and all of its guilds presenting as something that has, yes, maybe been done before, but this time felt fresh and new while reading. I just felt like so much time and care went into the world building, giving the story its own voice while paying respect to the source material.

I really loved The Court of Miracles, way more than I ever expected to. I devoured most of the book in a day, and it's really stuck in my mind since then. It's perfect for fans of Six of Crows or The Winner's trilogy, although personally I think it outshines both of those. If you love Les Misérables or alternate histories, then I promise you'll love this one.

Nina is a member of the Thieves Guild, one of the nine guilds in the Court of Miracles, an underground crime syndicate. The Court has its own laws, protects its own, and punishes those who do not respect this. However, when Nina's sister becomes targeted by the Master of the Guild of Flesh, Nina will do anything to protect her, even if it means breaking the Miracle Court's laws. Hard choices must be made to protect those we love.

The Court of Miracles has been marketed as “Six of Crows meets Les Miserables.” These are some big names, some big shoes to fill, and I went into this with pretty low expectations. I had never seen or read Les Miserables before I started this book but about 20% into it I decided I probably should. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed this book but there were quite a few issues that I’ll be addressing. We’ll start with some of the positives.

Pros:
This book is basically a YA Les Miserables alternate universe fan-fiction. I think this is an interesting twist on a retelling. I’m tired of reading recycled versions of Beauty and the Beast and I like the idea of doing a retelling of a classic novel, maybe adjusting some of the characters and story lines, giving a voice to characters that are interesting but maybe don’t get enough screen time, or even flipping the genders all together. I also really liked the short stories and thought they were interesting and added a layer to the history of the Miracle Court. The villain backstory at the end really stands out to me and I feel like he may be the most well developed character in this book.

Cons:
If you haven't seen or read Les Miserables, you will probably not enjoy this book. There is very little in the way of character development and only upon watching the movie did I feel any sort of connection to the characters. I feel like it should be made more clear that this book is more a retelling of Les Mis, as opposed to being influenced by it. There were also a lot of things being told to the reader instead of allowing us to feel and experience it. The only reason I know that Eponine is a talented thief is because the book says she is. The few times she uses her skills, it is on a whim with very little planning. The time jumps (Most of which are 3+ years) are jarring and easy to miss as they are only illustrated on chapter headings. By jumping around, we miss out on a lot of relationship development, especially between Eponine, Tomasis, and the entire cast of characters from the Court of Miracles.



Overall, this book has a very dark, gritty vibe that I enjoyed and I think that the ambiance of Les Miserables was captured as much as it could have been in a book of this size, geared toward a younger audience. A stronger focus on the themes and more character development would have made this book really stand out to me. As is, I think it is still unique but an average read.

For a more in depth review (and spoilers, too), keep an eye out on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3w8bxEK0SW_MpCBZphXDPA?view_as=subscriber

Grant has written a complex story re-imagining what would happen if The Jungle Book met Les Miserables. As two very recognizable stories, Grant was able to mesh the two together seamlessly.

Eponine (Nina) has found herself at the center of fight between keeping the peace within the guilds and doing what is right. Nina lost her sister to one of the guilds at a young age and since has taken another young girl (Cosette aka Ettie) under her wings. Now the same people who took her sister want Ettie, and Nina is determined to keep her out of their hands. What she finds goes deeper than she believed to be true. With new friends, strange alliances, and a determination to follow her head and heart, Nina is determined to right the wrongs of the guilds and bring upon a new type of order.

The one thing I really loved about this book were the characters. There were so many characters, it got a little confusing about who was who and just trying to remember everyone and their part. However, a few characters stood out. St. Juste was an extremely likable character. Passionate, funny, and the perfect balance to Nina, he held his own and even managed to stand out. Ettie was another character I adored. Her character growth from the beginning to the end of the book was so satisfying to watch as she grew from a timid girl to a child worthy of the guilds. Finally, while I did have my issues with Nina, I thought she was a very easy protagonist to follow along. She was sassy and brave and I loved her persistence even when everyone told her to quit. Other notable mentions are the guild masters, and I appreciated how each personality fit with their guild.

The other things I really enjoyed about this book were the pacing and the story. The pacing of the story was quite fast which made for a quick read. The story was also interesting enough for me to want to continue on. There were points were I was confused about the intentions of the book (as it sometimes felt like three stories in one book), but once I realized where the book was going, it was easy to follow along.

I did have some problems with this book, which made it a little hard to enjoy. The timeline of the story got very confusing. There would be huge time jumps in the story with no indication that had happened. It was jarring to be thrown forward in time and not know what happened. Because of this, I was never fully able to grasp how old Nina and Ettie were. I think a simple chapter subtitle letting the reader know how many years had passed would have been helpful and made the reading experience that much smoother. It also felt like many of the main events were not fleshed out well. I say this because we would build up to this big moment, and then it would feel like it was rushed, thus never giving us the full experience. These events would be wrapped up so quickly, it was hard to imagine the characters were in any real danger at all. And many times, I felt like I had whiplash because it would be over so quickly, and it would take me a little while to process what just happened.

I also wished Grant had spent a little more time fleshing out the guilds. I found the guilds to be the most fascinating part of the story, and I really wanted to know more about them. I hope in future books we're going to get to spend more time with the guilds and get to know them more. We got a really good insight to one particular guild with the dead lord, but I wanted that to happen with all the guilds.

Also, as a heads up, this is definitely a book where every male character falls in love with Nina. At one point she has three men who are deeply devoted to her and helping her. While it was unclear whether or not it was friendship or something more, I tended to lean towards them all being romantically interested in her. Whether or not this was the intention, this was how I read it.

I think this is a book where readers will either love it or hate it. This book has such a deep and complex story line with interesting characters that I think will appeal to many people. However, with the confusing timeline and rushed plot points, it feels like there is still room for improvement. I am looking forward to seeing where Grant takes this story moving forward, and I anticipate it will only get better from here.

I loved quite a few things about this book. The era, the similarities to Les Mis, the concept of the Guilds hidden away in secrecy. I loved the way it was written. But for some reason, I couldn't quite connect with this story. I didn't feel as connected to the characters, especially Nina, as much as I wanted to. I felt that it moved too quickly at times, and too slow in others. I wish there would have been true romance, instead of Nina kissing a few boys throughout the story. At the end of the book, it just sort of ended abruptly and I felt a bit unsatisfied. Yes, the mission was accomplished but it felt like it ended immediately after the climax. I wished there could have been more falling action and a resolution. Overall, I loved the concept of this book and thought it was well-written. I just wish I had felt more emotionally invested in it.

Review to be posted on Goodreads May 19th.

The Court of Miracles is a book about thieves and assassins and ghosts, and I didn't realize until I was almost done that there was no magic at all in this book. That's how intricate and enchanting the world building was.

Nina is a thief, and throughout the book we see her trying to protect her sister, Ettie, from the Tiger of the Guild of Flesh. It's a heist like novel with twists and turns that will surprise you, and characters you'll grow to care about.

I had one or two issues with the book. It started out as a story about Nina trying to save her blood sister Azelma, but that was abandoned pretty quickly. With reason, certainly. It just felt a little like the book was set up for this and then it was swept aside. Also, every 'handsome' boy that Nina comes into contact with is instantly in love with her while she denies having any sort of feeling while blushing prettily in their presence. We don't even have a love triangle here, it's a love square (that said, I totally have a favorite so who's the real clown here?).

Things I loved about this book: the entire structure of the Miracle Court. I loved reading about each different guild and the characters that led them were all interesting to see on page. This is historical fiction, but it really does feel like fantasy despite there being no magical elements or the like. It's really just a group of very well organized and trained individuals running the underground of France. The world building was rich and I enjoyed reading it (the only issue I had with it was that everyone has at least three names and that gets confusing at times).

Overall, I enjoyed the read and I'll definitely pick up the next one!