Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.

In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina’s life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father’s fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger–the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh–Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city’s dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice–protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.

Review:

Huge thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

“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.”

When I saw this tagline and then the GORGEOUS cover of The Court of Miracles I knew I absolutely had to read it. France + Les Misérables + secret underground societies + history + Six of Crows!? Sign me up! I was thrilled to be approved for an eARC of The Court of Miracles.

Overall, I liked The Court of Miracles. Was it amazing? No, but it was a fun story with beautifully descriptive scenes and an intriguing criminal underworld.

My favorite parts of The Court of Miracles were the author’s descriptions and then the actual Miracle Court. This is Kester Grant’s debut novel and I have to say I am very impressed with her writing. The way she described each scene . . . whether it be the gaudy palace or the creepy Halls of the Dead . . . everything was vivid and excellently crafted. I could truly see the scenes playing out in my head.

My other favorite part was the Miracle Court itself. This criminal underground made up of nine guilds was totally captivating. Each guild is overseen by a Lord or Lady who leads their “Wretched Children” in whatever their guild specializes in. It is a fascinating system of politics and court intrigue. I could have spent so much time just exploring each guild!

The Court of Miracles started off with a bang! I was immediately pulled in by the first chapter. It was super intense because we are immediately thrown into this life and death situation in which our main character, Nina, is forced to run for her life. The whole first sequence of Nina joining the Guild of Thieves was so exciting! The plot kept me interested, but I will say that the timeline was somewhat confusing at first. There are several time jumps throughout the book.

Part four of The Court of Miracles is by far the best part. The plot is non-stop and so exciting. I flew through the end of this book!!

I think the main thing that caused me not to love The Court of Miracles was the choppiness of the plot. This was due to two reasons. First, the time jumps. I don’t mind time jumps, but these felt very stop start. That probably doesn’t make sense, but the time jumps felt abrupt and made me feel very disconnected. The second reason why I didn’t love The Court of Miracles was the structure of the plot. Everything was very task oriented. Our protagonist would encounter a problem then immediately solve it and move on to the next problem. It felt like a bunch of mini plots rather than one cohesive plot. It was just . . . weird.

I did like all the Les Misérables aspects. Although dumb me did not catch that Ettie is short for Cosette.

Overall I enjoyed The Court of Miracles. It was a fun story with a beautiful setting. I would love to explore the guilds of the Miracle Court more. The Court of Miracles is set to be a trilogy, but I think this book works as a stand-alone too.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant will be released on June 2nd, 2020.