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.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

THE COURT OF MIRACLES

Kester Grant’s fabulous Ya Historical Fantasy, that is set alternate 1828 Paris France after a failed revolution, born is The Court of Miracles.
The Court of Miracles is a criminal guild of nine.
As the greater widening of the class system from the greedy, self-serving nobility and the underworld of criminals. These a dark times where poverty and famine is widespread. Trying to survive Nina, has become a notable and talented cat burglar, the Black Cat, belonging to the Guild of Thieves. In a series of events causing her adoptive sister Ettie to catch the eye of a notorious Tiger. Lord over the Guild of Flesh, Tiger, is terrifying and ruthless. Nina tries to keep Ettie, out of the vile Tiger, a path that leads her to braking into the royal palace of Louis XVII, and stealing.
She seeks to align herself with those who can help her and Ettie, she goes deeper into the black, treacherous underbelly of Paris. Risking all might set off a a climactic war between the Guilds.
This a fast paced gripping tale, with incredible world building. The criminal empire is detailed and cleverly depicted.
The Court of Miracles, has fascinating criminal guilds..A Guild of Thieves, An Guild Assassin’s.. etc
To me there is at lot of nods of Kipling's original Jungle Book stories.
I am excited to see more from this talented author.

The plot is paced perfectly, gripping from the start and making it unputdownable. I also really loved the building of the criminal empires with rules and non-rules and questionable morality. We explore some of the Guilds a bit, and it was entirely fascinating.

Review:
So I have no idea how to rate this books because I wanted to love this book so bad! It has so much potential, but the execution was just lackluster. I guess I’m leaning towards 2 or 2.5 stars.

Things I didn’t like:
- This book is split into 4 parts, and each time there is a time jump. The thing is though, it never stated how much time had passed, so I didn’t even know that time had passed until it was casually mentioned in the story three chapters later. It was really confusing and hard to keep track of. I just wished at every divider, it was say how much time had passed like “two month later.”
- I was very confused if there was a romance. The main character has three guys in love with her, and she liked them all, but romance was such a small amount of the book that none of the guys had any real character development. I felt no attachment to any of them, and the main character was kind of horrible to them all.
- My biggest complain was that the plot was all over the place. It felt like there was no overarching plot, so it was just a bunch of little things that would get solved one by one. There was nothing to keep me invested. All the characters were one dimensional and felt like they were only there to forward the plot. The main character had no real flaws, and she had a very sanctimonious attitude that got old fast.

Things I liked:
- I loved the atmosphere of the Court of Miracles! It was very dark and sinister, and all the different guilds were super fun to learn about. I loved all the intricacies of the treaties and law of code. Learning and reading about their politics was super interesting
- In addition to all the Guilds, I loved the setting of Paris, after the revolution failed. During the reign of Louis XVII It really added to the desperation Nina had to save all those she cared about.
- I loved the heist aspects of the main character. She’s a cat burglar and much of the book is her scheming and pulling off exciting heists! She broke into the royal palace, prisons, and many more places!

So if you love heist stories and love squares, check out The Court of Miracles!

I will post my review on my blog on June 6th, for the blog tour

LES MIS x SIX OF CROWS? This story concept = everything I never knew I needed in my life! I've loved musicals since I was little, and Les Mis is one of my favorites! I kept hearing the soundtrack play in my mind at various points in the book. And Six of Crows is another fave.

All of that actually made me both excited and nervous to read The Court of Miracles. The weight of expectations was heavy. So keep all of that in mind when reading my review.

First of all, I think it's really important to acknowledge that this book is incredibly ambitious in scope. It is a tough, tough task to take on, boiling down Les Mis (an epic story if there ever was one) into a YA-length book, twisting it into a retelling with a unique spin but that stays true to the original, keeping the power of the story and the backdrop of the French Revolution, AND adding fantastical elements while staying true to the story. Not many authors would be able to pull this off and I commend Kester Grant for her ambition!

Now, breaking the story down to its parts.

The world-building in this book is absolutely FANTASTIC! I love love LOVED the way the court of miracles was set up, the way the magic was split into factions, the law, the everything about it. When new factions were introduced, my heart leapt and I literally started grinning like a goof. It was just plain FUN! And it doesn't hurt that the story and magic system are so, so stabby. DEFINITELY my style. So. Well. Done!

The twists and scope were also really, really impressive. I found myself gasping so many times after reading a new twist (sometimes a plot twist, other times a clever twist on the original). Anyone who's watched (or I assume, read -- admittedly I haven't read the book yet) Les Mis can probably attest to that feeling you get from it. It's just so POWERFUL. So EPIC. So... all-encompassing. And that's how this book felt.

And our scrappy MC? Eponine is one of the most interesting characters from Les Mis IMO, so having a book centered around her story was a dream come true. I loved her as a protagonist, and I love the way many aspects of her story were kept, while she herself was given a lot more agency. I did find it a bit hard to follow exactly how she accomplished some of her great feats, but more on that below.

The pacing was extremely fast. The story is written really efficiently in that it doesn't linger on transitions or tell you everything that led from one event to the next. Instead, it asks for a little bit of work on the reader's part, making the connections in your head or finding out in the next chapter what must have been going on for the past few months (or years). I actually really loved this in many ways, because it assumes reader intelligence and lets the reader feel like they're in on the storytelling. No hand-holding here. No boring training sequence (I know it can be done in a way that's interesting, but I've read a million training sequences and it's hard for them to be satisfying to me anymore.) At other times, though, the pace could be a bit jarring, because nearly every chapter was like this.

As for the Les Mis aspects? I'm really torn on this. I absolutely LOVED the references in the first half of the book. I loved seeing how different Les Mis characters were genderbent or given more diverse identities. I loved each Les Mis easter egg -- a quote would be incorporated or a character would appear or an event would be retold and I loved that little flutter of recognition. That hah! I'm in on it! I know the reference! But then... in the second half, those feelings started to morph a bit. Some of the biggest parts of Les Mis were background noise in the book, which, from an authorial perspective, is totally understandable. There's so much happening, and after all -- this was Eponine's story, and to her a lot of what was forefront in Les Mis WAS background noise in her life. So... I know that? But I still wanted a little more? Some really key moments in Les Mis were removed completely, while others felt like they were there just to be a Les Mis reference but weren't paid their full dues or didn't make sense in the context of this story (conflicted with character motivations, etc.). That made it harder to enjoy.

I think what it comes down to is that I loved the way the characters from Les Mis were incorporated into this story, but some of the events didn't feel right to me. And I think, probably because the author (understandably) wanted to stick to important retelling points, some of the characters' motivations were a bit illogical, because they needed to be pushed into certain events that had to happen.

I should probably mention the second comp, Six of Crows. Granted, some of you may also have noticed the other comp used to be The Jungle Book? And both are interesting choices. There are a few nods to SoC elements (thieves, heists, etc.) but others aren't there (no crew story, for example). So I'd recommend not going in expecting too much from the SoC comp.

All of that being said, I did truly enjoy this book and I'm in complete awe of Kester Grant! Like I said, this is a wonderfully ambitious story. And if THIS magnificent story is her debut, then her career looks incredibly promising from where I'm standing! I do recommend this one and am looking forward to the second book!

Free advanced copy received from Knopf Childrens via Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

I got a free copy of this from Netgalley. I think it was a very clever retelling of Les Miserables with a little bit of Hunchback of Notre Dame. I like the idea of the Courts, and each of their areas of expertise. I loved the way the author incorporated characters from Les Mis into the story, but with twists. I have never read Les Mis, but I've seen the film, and I always felt Eponine was underused, so it was nice to see a version of her that was pretty developed, had more of a personality, and had a better relationship with Cosette. I loved Nina's desire protect Ettie above all us, and I loved Ettie's desirability because it reminds of me of quickly Marius is obsessed with her. Grant makes Ettie's beauty more a burden, which I thought was really interesting. While she can easily win people over, Ettie also attracts a villain. Once we get the Tiger's story, how he manipulated the sisters and built his Guild, he becomes incredibly interesting. When he tells Nina that he made her, he's not wrong; everything he did led to everything she became. She could have become a villain like him, but Nina overcomes that. It shows what a strong hearted character she is, especially when she realizes that using Ettie for a bargain is something she cannot do. I like her will to do what's right for not only her guild and Ettie, but for France. The mice story is incredibly power, and it reminds of the graphic novel, Maus. There is a great look at how the nobility treat the poor, not just with poisoned water, but when Nina says "they announce our presence while ignoring our existence."
The romance in this confused me. The prince, St. Juste, and Montparnasse all like Nina, and she seems to flirt with all three, so I don't know what's going on there. The idea of Nina "not being like other girls." I get there is more at stake than pretty food and dresses, but I find it hard to believe that she wouldn't be the least bit excited being all dressed up; maybe she would feel guilty about it, like she does when she eats in the palace while other people are starving. It ties in well with her character.
I had a big problem with Javert, though. When I found out Javert was a woman, I thought it was really cool. Then, Grant pulls the most cliche thing: Javert only hunts Valjean because he broke her heart and she's scorned. Because a woman police officer can't be obsessed with hunting down a criminal because of her views on the law, like Javert is in the original story and musical? She has to be angry because of love? I just felt that was sexist, and could've been done better.
Overall, I found the story to be quite interesting, a good way of tying in Les Mis with an original story with memorable characters and memorable story about duty, love, friendship, and struggle.

Summary:

In an alternate version of Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the violent, harsh city is divided between royalty and nine criminal guilds called The Court of Miracles. When Nina's sister is sold by her father to the Tiger-- the lord of the Guild of Flesh-- Éponine (Nina) takes refuge with the Guild of Thieves. Where she vows revenge on the Tiger, and becomes one of the best cats in the guild. When Nina’s plan backfires she is forced to find a way to protect her adopted sister-- Ettie--from falling into the same fate as her other sister. She vows to protect Ettie at any cost, and her vow takes her from the dark and dangerous streets to balls and the glittering court of the King and Queen. But in her desperation to protect Ettie she may set off a war between the guilds that could have catastrophic repercussions.


First of all I didn’t have very high expectations for this book.I heard it was Les Misérables meets Six of Crows and that's all just too good to be true! I’ve been let down by retellings in the past. This book surprised me and I found myself really enjoying it. There was something I really liked from the beginning. Nina's connection to her older sister, their heartbreaking separation and the realization of her sister's fate had me emotional from the get go. The guilds and the miracle court were interesting, a different way to tell a story of underground crime.

The Court of Miracles is such a clever retelling of Les Misérables. I’ll admit that I have never read Les Misérables the book, but I have seen the musical a few times and am familiar with the story. This book is so fantastic in telling the story but with a twist. All the major characters are there, they are the same ones we know about love but have been molded to fit into this new story. Kester Grant does such a great job of giving us the moments we are looking for from the original Les Mis but changing them just enough to make them new and interesting.

The world was dark, gritty, and atmospheric. The city was harsh and unforgiving much as I imagine Pre Revolution Paris was. I enjoyed that the city itself was it’s own character. That Nina prayed and talked to the city, that the city was her Mother. That the city was who raised her, not the terrible people in her life but the city. It added another layer to the story.

The Tiger was a terrifying villain, rotten down to his very soul, he was scary, dangerous and conniving. He took the laws the guilds had designed and twisted them, benefitting and finding all the loopholes to make him unbeatable. Much like you would expect a character in those days to be.

I did find this book slow at the beginning. At first it didn’t seem like there was much of a plot until about halfway through. It was mostly about Nina trying to fix the mistakes and issues she herself caused. There wasn’t a larger plot until later in the book. Once that plot began to unfurl though it became exciting and a hard to put down read. I was hoping for a bit more of a “found family” aspect to develop with Nina, the students, and some of the guild members, like in Six of Crows, and we got a hint of it, but it wasn’t enough for me. I’m not sure if this is going to be a series of if it’s a standalone. If there is going to be another book I’m really hoping for that.

Either as a standalone or as the first book of a series it is great. I really enjoyed it, I was thoroughly engrossed as I read it. I would recommend it to anyone who really loves books about crime, and the dirty underbelly of the city. And of course anyone who loves Les Misérables. I think fans of Victor Hugo's giant novel would enjoy this story as well. Éponine deserved more in Les Misérables and The Court of Miracles is her chance to shine!

I really loved the idea of this book--Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Les Miserables!? Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I had a hard time keeping track of all of the characters, and due to all of the time skips, I had a hard time keeping up with the story. It felt like the time skips needed to be explained before they happened rather than halfway through when they happened. It was just rather jarring.
Because there were so many characters, as a reader, I felt like I barely got to know the characters. I would've loved to learn more about Montparsse, for example, but he remained a ghost in the background. I even felt like I couldn't really relate to Nina because she was doing so much behind the scenes of the novel that the reader didn't know about/find out about until later. Overall, I felt like this book had a lot of potential (and I did really adore Montparsse, even though I felt like I didn't really know him), but it fell kind of flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

OK, so I hadn't realized this was like a retelling of Les Miserables. While I did like Les Miserables, it's not something I love. It's very long and very depressing.
With all the parallels to Les Mis, this got quite hard to keep up with, as it had so much going on.
I feel like this book had great potential, if only it was it's own thing, not referencing Les Mis. I feel like it could have beautiful and rich all on it's own, and that's what they should have done.

Despite not being familiar with Les Miserables, I found this book to be such an engrossing story. Nina's character is interesting and relatable, and I loved the way the author managed to portray the beauty and seediness of Paris in the 1800s. The clear line of demarcation between nobles and commoners was depicted beautifully, and I truly enjoyed each of the characters, who were interesting and well-rounded. I was surprised at the many plot twists throughout the story, which made it unpredictable and exciting. I struggled to put this book down, and empathized with Nina and her determination to correct wrongs that occurred. This is definitely an incredible book, and I'm looking forward to future books in this series.

Les Miserables meets Six of Crows vibes... This book was intriguing! Can’t wait for the next book!

The Court of Miracles, The wretched of France, with their own guilds and laws. The Guild of Gamblers, Beggars, Assassins, Mercenaries, Smugglers, Letters, Thieves, Dreamers and Flesh.

The characters are really something. Each with their own secrets. Nina has been collects debts from each one of them. Curious what the pay off for her will be in next book although she’s gotten far.

THE COURT OF MIRACLES was not at all what I expected in all the best ways. Set in an alternate version of Paris where the French Revolution failed, the world of THE COURT OF MIRACLES was dark and repeatedly threatened to swallow me whole. This Paris felt so real along with the guilds that have risen in response to the grim conditions the city's denizens face.

The scope of this book was truly impressive. It spans years and features a lot of characters but does a great job keeping the story focused on Éponine, also known as Nina. Her story has vengeance, redemption, and an astounding number of heists. I found this book so hard to put down because I was never sure what was going to happen next. There are so many gritty YA heroines that come across as generic and boring but Nina won me over from the very beginning. She was really compelling and I can't wait to see where her story goes next.

I honestly could've done without the Les Misérables allusions, though. The world of THE COURT OF MIRACLES was so rich that the constant Les Mis references really took something away from the story for me. They often felt a bit contrived. I hope that they play somewhat less of a role in book 2 or are developed in a way that they have a bit more depth to them. If you haven't seen or read Les Misérables, I do think that you would lose out on a good bit of the story as these references aren't generally explained the first time they appear in the text.

THE COURT OF MIRACLES really shouldn't be compared to SIX OF CROWS, in my opinion. The world Grant has created felt entirely original and unlike anything else I've read. I loved the twisting turns this story took, the immersive writing, and the scope of Nina's story. I'm really looking forward to reading book 2 to find out what Nina gets up to next.

This had such great potential. But honestly? I got lost in all the information and characters. I found it hard to follow the story. And at one point I started skimming over things. It wasn't bad at all. I just think it was a lot to take in at a time when my brain can't handle much.

I thought this book was amazing! I was hooked from the start and was really impressed with the descriptive parts of the book. It was easy to grasp the Les Miserables feel of the book with themes like socioeconomic status and the effects of a drawn out revolutuon. Strong moral messages and dilemas are discussed.
This book kept a pretty steady pace throughout and the ending was great.
I'm so excited that this is part of a series and I can't wait to see the characters again in the next books.
Thank you netgalley and Random House for providing me an early copy to review.

In an alternative revolutionary-era France, there is a silent war waging between the rulers of the day and those who rue the night. The nobility, after having brutally crushed the revolution and all those who supported it, rule the common people with a clenched iron fist of oppression. However, those on the fringes of society–beggars, thieves, assassins, smugglers, prostitutes, and drug runners, also known as The Wretched–have created their own courts in which to rule the city’s darker dealings and the very night itself, a place that Those Who Walk by Day only hear as passing whispers; a society of legend: The Miracle Court.

After witnessing her father sell her older sister, Azelma, to the man known as The Tiger, enacting Lord of the Court of Flesh, young Nina Thenardier, with vengeance in her heart, takes her cat burglar talents to the Court of Thieves, where she pledges her self to the Lord there in exchange of a home and protection after stealing from the crown prince himself. The Lord knows talent when he sees it and Nina is known henceforth as the Black Cat.

Over the years, Nina continues to plan some what to get her sister, Azelma, out of the clutches of the nefarious Tiger. However, when one of her plans go awry and she finds herself saddled with a new sister, Ettie, whom the Tiger has his sights on, Nina feels she must do all she can to protect this beautiful, young girl from the same fate as Azelma. Her plans and plots take her from the sewers of Paris to the deepest darkest prisons, and to the very palace itself in pursuit of her ends. Throughout her story, she meets handsome princes and revolutionaries, all while dodging danger pursuit of a better life for her sisters.

This is an amazing story against the living backdrop of Mother Paris. Nina is a savvy girl who experiences moments of romantic interlude with various characters but never for one second allows it to distract her from her goals and her higher purpose. On this, she remains fixated.

The story is only further enhanced by the setting and characters, both which were described in a way that made it feel real and alive. Every character of the story was well fleshed out. I could see the dust on the ghosts, the shine of the gold around the thieves’ necks, and could practically feel myself drowning in the overwhelming gilt and brocaded silk of the palace and the honey-sweet venom of the Queen’s words. All in all, it was absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to get my hands on another Grant offering.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the advanced copy of Court of Miracles in exchange for a fair and honest review. All of the above opinions are my own.

I have never been a huge fan of Les Misérables. True to it's name, it is both lengthy and wildly depressing. I am also not a big fan of musicals so that form of adaptation never interested me. Nevertheless, the synopsis for this book piqued my interest. Eponine? As a cat burglar? Ok! If I had to pick one character I would like to see a retelling for, it would be Eponine, so I requested this ARC with very few expectations. Perhaps this is sometimes the best way to approach books, because when they actually blow you away, it is a very pleasant surprise.

This book was FANTASTIC. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed it. The plot, the character development, everything about it felt fresh, despite the fact it is an adaptation/retelling of a classic and well-known novel. Eponine was a character you could not help but root for, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series. The one bummer about reading ARCs that you love is that you have to wait a very long time for the next one. Even so, I like the way the author ended this book. Some story lines were wrapped up, while others were simultaneously opened. This left me finishing the book feeling both satisfied and chomping at the bit for more. A pleasant combination.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.

The Court of Miracles is a re-tellling/alternate universe version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and the eponymous musical. The story follows Éponine from childhood up until the ill-fated Paris Uprising of 1832. At the age of 11, Éponine’s sister is sold by their father, Thénardier, to the Tiger, a ruthless tyrant who runs the Guild of the Flesh. Before being taken away, Éponine’s sister arranges for a friend to take Éponine and help her to become a member of the Guild of Thieves in the Court of Miracles, with the hopes that this will keep her safe from both Thénardier and the Tiger. As Éponine grows into thief and womanhood she develops a strong bond with her foster sister Cosette. Unable to save her older sister, Éponine is obsessed with keeping Cosette safe and out of the Tiger’s grasp. Throughout the story Éponine encounters all of the characters we’ve come to know, love, and hate from the novel and musical, along with the dauphin of France.

Les Misérables is one of my all time favorite musicals, so this was a real treat for me. Overall, I really enjoyed it! I was engrossed right off the bat, though I wish there had been a bit more development of the actual court itself. I would have loved to have learned more about Nina’s upbringing in the Guild of Thieves, and her relationship with Tomasis. I felt a little frustrated by the time jumps for this reason.

I loved Cosette and Éponine’s relationship! That was something from Les Mis that I have always really wanted to see explored. I loved that the author featured so many people of color, and that she made Javert a woman. I’m super excited to hear more about Javert and Valjean’s relationship/past. I cannot wait for the second book!

France has been a very trendy setting lately (Bone Crier’s Moon, Blood & Serpent. The Gilded Wolves), so it’s interesting to see it go in a direction other than straight fantasy.

A super quick read, I devoured it within a few hours. It wasn’t perfect, but it was fun, and since finishing it I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the characters, especially Enjorlas and Éponine.

Thank you Random House Children’s and NetGalley for the advance readers copy.

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.***

YESSSSSS!!! Now THAT was entertaining! It was full of all sorts of good stuff like loyalty and betrayal, suffering-revenge-retribution (?), a tame love(ish) quadrilateral and most of all Hope. Hope was sprinkled about, a little here, a smidge there. It was an ember in the darkness and the inspiration behind almost every action our MC took.

Another major motivation for our MC was the notion of Family. The word was stretched and tested and redefined multiple times. The concept's metamorphosis was intriguing. It was powerful, pure, gut wrenching and an integral part of the story. The pull of it felt something akin to ogling a devastating car accident... sure, some of its appeal is the taboo act of staring at it... sure, lingering about, almost to the point of obsession is frowned upon but man oh man what an endorphin thrill it can be. Rubbernecking, this compulsive urge to witness the curious, is the #1 cause of accidents on the road (a stat that I 100% did (not) research before stating it here) and appeals to the average Joe and the kinky vouyer alike. BUT I digress... often :-)

Anyway ..


Up next is the world building. The world building was immersive and had me feeling like I was living alongside the characters... a participant rather than a spectator. There was a glaring juxtaposition between the dirty, gritty, (mostly) Street Law abiding Wretched poor versus the aesthetically beautific yet festering and fetid to the core elitist Gentry. The obvious duality between the classes was equal parts stark, palpable, visceral and tangible. Their dastardly interplay played nicely off one another and was showcased brilliantly by the organic and authentic writing.


Then there were the Characters themselves. The characters were all so deliciously ambiguous and angsty (for good reason), and so humanly gray that I couldn't help but love-loathe, adore- abhor each and every one. AND when I say every one, I mean absolutely EVERY character (protagonist and antagonists alike) was dynamic. There were a couple of people I wish we got to know more about BUT isn't the anticipation and craving for more part of the allure?

Allure, allure, you'll get you're fill here. I am always all in for the morally questionable, quasi-heroes. The ones who are atypical but fit the role if you turn your head a little to the side and squint a bit. Our MC Nina (aka the Black Cat of the Thieves) happened to fit that mold to a T. She was strong yet vulnerable (especially when it came to those she loves). She was a badass, no nonsense force of nature that refused to back down from anything or anyone! She scratched and scraped, fought and spit fire (not literally) in order to achieve her lofty goals... no matter the circumstances... consequences be damned. Her amalgamated traits worked. Nina was fierce, street smart and adroit with whom she let in. She didn't flinch in the face of hard decisions and was resolute in her convictions... determined to the point of obsession. When the stage shifted without warning, she adapted... transformed... she shed her Victim mentality and became the Nothing Can Stop Me Thief/Holy Avenger of the Night (in spirit not in name). She was able to get into any place and steal/liberate almost anything/anyone. Her undeniable appeal is a testament to how well Kester Grant's characters are crafted and the entirety of this paragraph is a mere scratch on the surface of just one single character... imagine the indepth cast you'll meet if you give this gem a shot... I'm a betting girl and I'm betting that you won't regret the decision.


Overall:

I absolutely adored this book. When I finally freed up the time to read it, I devoured it! I wish I had taken my time with it more but it had me so wrapped up and dialled in that slowing down and smelling the proverbial roses just seemed like an impossible task. I couldn't seem to slam on the brakes to savoure it the way it deserved and that's unfortunate... Unfortunate because my Trifecta of Awesomeness ( writing + world building + character development = the perfect read) was both met and done so effortlessly. There were some harmless editing faupax but since I was graciously gifted an Advance Reader's Copy, I am confident that they will be remedied before the final publication. All in all I couldn't be happier with my time in this world, with these poignant characters. I definitely think you should give this one a go, I'll wager cold hard (virtual) cash that you'll enjoy your few hours of escape!

~ Enjoy!


*** I was given a copy of this book from
Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

A peculiar story filled with mischievous characters and a world of thievery and murder. The Court of Miracles is an interesting story to say the least. It entraps you and allows you to get a glimpse of France during the revolution, however in this version The Wretched fill the streets at night and Those Who Walk By Day stroll through the alleys as the sun ascends. The royalty keeps to their castles as the poor are doomed to famine and thieves.

The Court of Miracles follows a central character called Nina, or small cat as we get to know her. She is part of the Guild of Thieves. The setting behind the story is very unique, although the complexity of it as well as the diversity and addition of characters made it a little confusing. Specially to sort out who's good and who's bad. I feel that due to this as I read about a character I found myself distracted trying to rack my brain to see who this person was and what importance they had to the story.

The intricacy of the world is neat and it is builded nicely. The Wretched are basically the "bad" people of France who have allowed themselves to become poisoners, assassins and thieves in order to survive. Those Who Walk By Day are the normal students that are thus middle class and of course the royalty which makes our high class. Nina, our main character, finds herself trapped in all of those worlds. Being filled with wit and bravery she embarks in an adventure trying to find her sister. However, this sister is caged by a Lord we call the Tiger. There are a lot of scenes where we can depict the Tiger as being someone who drugs their women and uses them in ways that are imaginable but never explained.

The story deals with a lot of heavy themes yet those so lightly that we are aware of what is going on by reading between the lines. The connections between the people and the betrayals are astounding. It really does fill you with a lot of dread and anxiety as most of these tasks Nina has to do are bigger than her own life and can affect the whole world she lives in.

Another not important plot detail, yet something that I adored was the additions of "stories" or legends told by the Guild Lords between them. They're children stories that actually tell so much truth about the royalty and the way the poor lived that left me speechless.

The small doses of romance here and there, as well as some characters that allow for the mood to lighten a bit like Ettie really allow the story to come alive.

*I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

-- 3.5 stars --

The Court of Miracles is marketed as a Six of Crows/Les Mis mash-up, which sounds pretty awesome and intriguing. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me in basic terms: the background was both overwrought and under explained and the character development left very few sparkling personalities to emerge from the mix.

Basically, our main character, Nina, is a talented thief who enters a thieving guild, and basically gets a new family (even though her regular old jerky dad is still a part of said family). There are a number of guilds that give off a criminal underworld vibe. Nina spends most of her time trying to protect her sisters from the "master of the flesh", a ruthless guild master who enjoys throwing some muscle around and enslaving girls for fun (and profit!). Nina does a lot of scheming in order to take down the flesh master, involving a band of misfits to help her pull off the carefully constructed maneuver.

Courtly intrigue, band of misfits, eliminating toxic men from the world. What's not to like?

Unfortunately, quite a bit. I think that my lack of engagement in this story began right from the start. This world takes some getting used to, and I wasn't feeling the worth of investing my time. I was hoping for way more from said band of misfits, but there weren't many stand out characters to be found. While a lot did happen, I just expected to feel more of an impact than I did. Overall, I had high hopes for this one but it didn't quite connect. Not a bad read for a young adult fantasy, but it didn't quite hit the mark that it was aiming for. There are clearly going to be subsequent books in this series, and I do think there's potential for growth here.