I thought this book was okay. It took me a very long time to get through it, and I finally am able to pinpoint why. It just felt as if I had read this before. I picked it up eagerly because I saw the comparisons to six of crows, which I loved, but this book really wasn't very similar. The characters felt like I'd met them before, it felt like a lot of recycled themes and concepts from other similar fantasy books. The time set too was, just not for me. I think I bit off more than I was willing to chew with this one and it took me months to get through. It wasn't bad, and if you haven't read similar books before it could be fantastic. But to me, it wasn't very novel.

Going into this book I thought it was another Disney retelling but listen when I say it was so much more. The world building wasn't the best and the pacing a little off sometimes, but outside of that it was a fun ride. The characters were so relatable (well as much as possible with this being fantasy). The choices made sometimes made me upset but then I thought I might do the same thing. While I'm only giving this book a 3 stars I do recommend it because it was fun. The pacing being off knocked off a star for me.

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

A diverse fantasy reimagining of Les Misérables and the Jungle Book? Sign me up!

Admittedly, it started a little slow with a lot of information and world building thrown at you. I did become slightly worried that the plot wouldn't have much suspense or keep my interest. However it was totally worth the slow plot as that all changed a few chapters in and I was enthralled into an underworld of secrecy, law, thieves, assassins and more!
I greatly enjoyed this book and once I got through the slow start I couldn't put it down! I cannot wait for a sequel as the story of Nina and Ettie doesn't seem to be over just yet. Their friendship and sisterhood warmed my heart and proved that love trumps all. A four star read that I'd highly recommend if you love a good fantasy. If you’re not a fan of romance in your books, then this book is for you! There isn't any romance in this book but there is definitely enough to suggest there could be in a sequel. Instead, this book greatly focuses on sisterhood and friendship and i adored it.

There is a lot to love in this one - the main character is really likeable, and I was rooting for her the whole time despite knowing her plans had almost no chance of winning. There was quite a bit of brutality in the book, and there's no real romance but definitely some interest. Although Nina doesn't really have the time or energy to fall in love. She's just in it to protect her sister and take down the Tiger.

You're definitely in for a wild ride with this book, and I do hope that people will give it a chance despite the negative reviews. While I can see where those readers are coming from and totally respect their viewpoints, I just really enjoyed the read despite the negatives. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see where the series will take us! The setting and the direction this story went has me wanting more and very much anxious for the next book. My overall rating for this book is a 4/5 and cannot wait to see where the author takes the rest of the series.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant is a book I had on my to read shelf the moment I read the summary. It is described as Les Miserable meets Six of Crows and I have to say, I think it is pretty accurate…and this is from someone who LOVES Six of Crows.

Nina is our main character and having grown up somewhat protected by her older sister from the underworld criminal guilds (known as the Court of Miracles) she is suddenly thrust into a world she has to quickly learn the rules to if she wants to survive when her father sells her older sister to the flesh guild. Nina ultimately ends up with the Thieves Guild and becomes known for her daring and ability to steal anything which helps her out greatly in the long run. As Nina gets older, she becomes protective of Ettie, an adopted sister who has caught the eye of the Tiger, the Lord of the Flesh Guild (the same one her sister ended up at) and Nina realizes she will do anything to stop him and protect Ettie.

I thought the world building was done well by Grant. Of course, having Paris as a backdrop helped as Nina finds herself mingling with royals and criminals over time but having the development of such varying scenes from ballrooms, to alleys, to jail cells helped to add to Nina’s story and growth. The rules crafted around the guilds helped create structure and provided more context around what Nina could do to save those around her.

The one thing I thought was less clear was the jump in time from one section to the next. It did not come across as smooth and it tended to take me a minute to gather my thoughts on the timing so I could correlate it to the story going forward.

There are a number of secondary characters that help drive the story forward…some good and some not so good (in character). I’ve mentioned the Tiger and he is definitely a villain, but I would also throw Nina’s father right up there. He is only interested in money and position and deserves everything he gets. There’s St. Juste, the Guild Lords and Ladies, Montparnasse, and the Dauphin…all great additions to the story and in most cases, interesting too!

Nina’s objective, other than protecting Ettie, did not become fully clear to me until the end of the story when everything suddenly came together. All of a sudden, the dots were connecting, and I could see the bigger picture whereas in the moments I did not necessarily put it all together. Kudos to Grant for being able to break the story out and get me to focus on the moments until it was completely critical to understand Nina’s endgame. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will definitely pick up the next book in the series. I will be curious to see where Grant takes the story in the next book. Make sure you grab this one when you can as it has interesting characters and an engaging story…my favorite things in a book!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time with this book. I thought it was going to be more intriguing but I ended up bored and DNFed it partially through.

While The Court of Miracles had a really interesting premise, it fell very short with me. I'd love to try out more of Kester Grant's books once they are published, but The Court of Miracles series is a hard pass for me.

I ended up DNF'ing months ago at 50% for the reasons listed below:
1. The storyline was very confusing to me and jumped years often enough to leave me confused.
2. I felt there wasn't much action in the 50% I read. I wasn't sure where the plot was going and it didn't interest me enough to keep going.
3. I hadn't picked up the book in over 5 months and had no desire to even finish it.

I've come to the conclusion that not every book is for everyone. Someone else may like The Court of Miracles better than I do (definitely know there are people out there). I would suggest it to someone if they could keep up with timelines, which is something I'm not good at because my reading comprehension isn't as good as others, or someone who likes world-building a lot more than action.

Many thanks to Random House Children's and NetGalley for the e-arc!

I was very hyped for this book but it just didn't work out well for me. It was cluttered and chaotic. There are to many characters and plots, and not enough time to allow for tension and character building. I think the author tried to fit too much into the book and left little room for the plot to breathe,

The Court of Miracles Kester Grant:
*a thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5 stars

Pros:
-The cover! (seriously that thing is beautiful)
-Nina’s character! She’s had to grow up fast because- well, *gestures vaguely at the Guild of Thieves* She doesn’t care about too many people, but if she does, she’ll do anything to protect them
-Writing style! I couldn’t really get into it at first, but it’s pretty pretty writing and I got used to it pretty quickly!
-The whole underworld! I loved the different guilds and the whole criminal world! (don’t take that out of context) Each guild has something they specialized at (ie assassins, thieves, gamblers, smugglers) and everyone is just so cool??

Cons:
-Love shapes! *sarcastic hooray* Basically every boy in a 5 mile radius is interested in her 😒 But she also seems very uninterested in romance, so she gets a pass for now...
-Time skips. You don’t get a warning or indicator, so you’re flailing around for a few pages before it mentions that 3 whole years have passed! Once you figure it out, it gets pretty easy to get back into the story, but it’s still annoying :/


TL;DR: Cool character! Great world! Love shapes and interesting writing style.

I truly wanted to love this book but honestly couldn't.
'
The writing was decent and reading it was easy but I felt like I was reading snippets of other books (ex. Les Mis) and the history that is supposed to be in the book is wrong.

Some originality and a quick Google search on the French Revolution would have done this book WONDERS!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Knopf Books for Young Readers for the ebook ARC of The Court of Miracles. It was already published in June 2020, just took me awhile to get to read it. I love the description on NetGalley and I think it sums up this book really well "Les Miserables 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"

When I read that I thought Oh Ya! I loved that female characters took center stage and Nina definitely did take on the leaders of the criminal underground and surprised me with the twists of her plan at every turn. It was a wild ride and I loved the world-building and setting. Based on Goodreads it looks like it will be a trilogy so I'll be looking forward to that!

This book had so much promise but didn’t live up to they hype for me. The writing was good and the characters were interesting, it just wasn’t for me.

Great story and loved the slight romance. Really enjoyed the characters and how the plot moved and how the characters changed throughout the book. I would read this author again.

Hi, hello. WOWZA. COM was disturbing and insane and wonderful and HOLY WOW. Grant has a knack for building a world in front of your eyes and bringing you in to be apart of it. I was there. I was apart of everything. Every detail, every moment, every breath, every heartbreak. ALL OF IT. The fact that I finished this book in one sitting and kept flipping pages not realizing it was the end...well, I loved it.

I wanted to like this book, I REALLY did. However, I just was not getting on with the writing of this one. I found myself dreading picking it up and only reading a few pages at a time. After a few months of solid attempts, I think that I have found this book just isn't a great fit for me!

Les Miserables retelling? Yes. One that tells the story from Eponine's perspective? ALL THE YES. She's my favorite character (next to Jean Valjean himself), so to see her get a somewhat alternative direction, made my heart happy. I'd do anything to see her happy.

Thank you to the author Kester Grant, the publisher Alfred A Kelly, and Net galley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

What an utterly charming book. It takes place in France after the the first revolution. The monarchs are back in charge and there is trouble brewing. It takes place in the Les Miseables time. But I will get back to that.

It is the story of the underclass....the poor people...the people that you walk past and don't notice. They are broken into various guilds that serve as families. There are thieves, beggars, assassins, drug smugglers, prostitutes, etc. The day walkers own the day, but the guilds own the night.

it is the tale of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables told afresh....but not really. Nina becomes a Thief to save her...and she becomes The Black Cat....one of the most renowned cat burglers when she steals the dauphins locket.

It is an entrancing story and well worth the read.

I've been excited about this title for a while, and it was unlike anything I've read before! I was also not what I expected but still very much an enjoyable read!