Name: The Court of Miracles (The Court of Miracles Trilogy, Book 1)
Rating: 3.580508474576271 (118 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008254797

Kester Grant

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 a failed French Revolution.

The Court of Miracles (The Court of Miracles Trilogy, Book 1)

Paula

Loïs Zane

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.

The Court of Miracles

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

A multicultural retelling of Les Miserables! I don't know if this takes place in an alternate-world Paris, France, plus I don't know what's magical about this for it to be shelved under fantasy, but I enjoyed it! Review to come soon

Megan Lowe

I always have a hard time with retelling books. Here,I’m unsure as to whether I have too much knowledge of Les Mis, or not enough. I think to call this a retelling is a stretch. It’s an alternate version of it, from Epony’s POV, rather than Cosette’s.
But I did enjoy it. I would’ve liked if there was more of Nina being the black cat and doing daring things, rather than just Nina being Nina, but she’s a great character.
I also wished there was more romance. With 3 possible romantic leads there was a shocking lack of it. I remember it being central to the original story.
I also wanted more of the guilds. I felt like this story was built to be many things, but was actually just one and I felt a little let down by that.
Still, it’s a good read and I did enjoy it.

jess

Oh, I genuinely don't think I've ever been more disappointed in my life. For reference, I'm a huge, huge fan of Les Miserables--own five copies of the book, four different translations, have watched several adaptations, know every word of the musical, and was heavily into the fandom c. 2013, am planning to get a tattoo in Victor Hugo's handwriting, etc, etc. And I was so interested in the premise--Six of Crows is the other thing I'm obsessed with. This book ... ain't it. This book is the opposite of what I wanted from a Les Mis retelling. This book suffers from over-romanticizing Eponine's character arc while ignoring everything else about Les Miserables, and it worked out very poorly. 

My biggest problem was with the characters. This book utterly annihilates the character of anyone who isn't Nina while raising Nina to an impossible prodigy, involved in everything, and whom everyone loves. Nina is an incredible thief, she's not pretty but she has THREE love interests, the dauphin of France is okay with her stealing a crown jewel off of him ... Moreover, for a book that claims to be a retelling of the plot of Les Mis, which it is, barely, it doesn't even get some of the characters right! Marius, who is so important as to HAVE THE THIRD BOOK NAMED AFTER HIM, is nowhere to be seen, which utterly baffled me until I read the acknowledgements and found out the author hates Marius. Which. Okay. Each to her own, I guess, but I think that it was a very poor decision that takes a lot of skeleton of Les Miserables away--like, it feels very disingenuous to cut out an entire character who interacts most with Eponine out? MARIUS HAS VALUE, PEOPLE. This also ricochets to Cosette's character, Ettie. Ettie (Cosette) was also destroyed--turned from a strong, kind young woman to a whiny, timid child who cannot exist on her own and needs Nina to protect her at all times. Gavroche, existed, but he wasn't Eponine's brother for some reason, which is another utterly baffling thing to me, and I can't see a reason why? 

Minor characters were even more one-dimensional than they usually are, which, believe me, is saying something. Grantaire (my fave) was reduced to the Drunk One, Montparnasse the Stabby One, St. Juste the Revolutionary One. I wouldn't have minded the Valjean and Javert thing going on in the background, but Valjean was completely mischaracterized as well. Javert is a woman, which is cool and all, but it just seems to be to show that Javert and Valjean were romantically involved at some point in the past, and I'm cool and all with Valvert, but it just seems ... SUUUUUPER off-base to make Javert a woman FOR THAT REASON. Like, either omit the Valvert thing, which clearly wasn't a Thing in the Brick so would change nothing, or just ... don't ... do That. Honestly, I'd be happier if most of these characters were simply omitted, or if they were original characters, because the characterization is that off-base. 

Perhaps my greatest frustration was the forced romantic interest between St. Juste (Enjolras) and Nina. Everybody comments on it. EVERYBODY. And it's so shoved in the reader's face. Ettie constantly brings up how handsome St. Juste is and how he's in love with Nina, and how they'd be so cute together, but they don't have any chemistry??? I also think it's worth mentioning that Enjolras, who St. Juste is based off of, is very commonly read as gay. I don't want to discredit other interpretations, but combined with genderbending Javert for a past relationship with Valjean, it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. It is 2020. Let gay people exist??

The worldbuilding had me confused--it's interesting lore, set after the French Revolution failed, but it's not very well explained how it did and the alternate history seems very flimsy. In addition, the underworld of Paris, while interesting, just had me lost on how it tied in with the alternate history. I also found it very difficult to follow the thread of the plot, because it time skips so much, and when we pick up the thread again it's so incredibly jarring. 

Also, one of my greatest pet peeves in Les Mis retellings (and frankly, fanfiction) is when the authors quote the musical. There is a scene where St. Juste sings "A Little Fall of Rain". Really. 

For a book that claims to be a retelling of Les Miserables, it has a very poor grasp on all of the characters, and the Eponine worship very, very much shows, as Eponine is glorified to the detriment of the plot, the other characters, and the integrity of the original novel. If y'all are looking for a fun YA retelling of Les Miserables, I'd highly recommend Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell, which despite being set in space and has a completely different plot feels a lot more accurate to the original story. or go read world ain't ready on ao3

Savannah Winchell

Another one of those books with great potential that pulled too many punches and relied on plot points of convenience.
The concept was fascinating, the writing good, the characters well honed, but the story just didn’t land.

Also this book shows exactly how not to do time jumps which sucks bc that’s the exact problem I’m having in my own writing lol

Ben Bastow

# The Court of Miracles - Review

If you haven’t heard of this book where have you been? It feels like suddenly one day this book popped up looking stunning and took the book world (from where I could see it) by storm. Suddenly the arc was one of the most looked for, for a while and then waterstones, illumicrate AND goldsboro books announced the most stunning editions of this book. So with all this hype around it three questions arose, 1) This has to be a great book right? 2) How on earth did you manage to get an eARC Ben? 3) Will it fall victim to over hyping? I’m going to answer all three of these questions hopefully and you’ll be able to see if this is the book for you.

In Short: Heists + Secret Underground Courts + Mystery + Intrigue + Revolutionary France = The Court of Miracles

I really enjoyed this book. It took me just over a day to finish it and even then I still wanted more. I can see this being an absolutely stunning trilogy so I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store for us. We’re chucked face first into this seedy, criminal underworld split into 9 different guilds of which we mainly focus on 3 out of the 9 guilds. I really hope we get to see more of the different guilds throughout the trilogy because it’s such an interesting premise and plot, I just hope it reaches it’s full potential. 

I have to admit this is a pretty good book. Not even that it’s just shy of stunning but it does have a few little quirks that drag it down, not many but enough to annoying at times. The Court of Miracles starts of really strong by throwing you straight into the action. You’re met with a young girl whose life is about to turn upside down and it’s enthralling and gripping until you reach the end of part one and you approach a time jump. That’s one of my only gripes with this book and it all stems from how it tackles moving forward in time. You start off in 1823, go to 1829, go to 1832 but it’s only made clear by mentioning the dates and it felt very much jerky.

I didn’t even realise a time jump had happened and had to go back a few pages to figure out if it was a new perspective to something. But it took me a second to realise that it had moved on 6 years because it didn’t say “6 years on” or anything, just literally 1829 as if it expected me to remember after 4/5 chapters what year we were in and assume a jump. Because of this after each jump I felt momentarily taken out of the story as I was left to figure out if i’d missed something again (I had). 

Though if you take away that one tiny negative the book shines. If for example as I did you think of these as 4 little short stories that link up into one big narrative it’s bloody excellent. Each part has a heist of it’s own and for that I love it. When I first heard about it everyone was comparing to six of crows but in reality it’s nothing like six of crows apart from it involves heists. I love the way heists are set up in this book, each part has a little bit of set up and then BAM heist time. Sometimes they feel slightly rushed but overall you come because of the setting and story and you stay because of the heists. 

It’s a fun book, it’s a book that totally does deserve the praise it’s getting but it also does fall victim to the hype train. All these stores doing different special editions of this book? Great right? But then it kind of sets you up for something incredible like you expect this grand book to end all books kind of situation. Though it’s not that, it’s an extremely enjoyable story with dark twists and turns that deserves this light that’s being shone on it but then at the same time you also need to remember books aren’t perfect they all have flaws as well.

All in all, I hope you’re leaving here with a balanced view of this book, because in reality it’s great but I don’t think it can be as great as the hype that surrounds it. You should totally read it and I hope you’ll love it just as much as I did, but personally to do that it feels like you need to take it at face value. It's a book set in the French Revolution which has many dark twists and turns. It also has some really fun heist scenes which actually make the book so good. It’s not six of crows in France. It is its own thing, it’s great on its own but it just starts to fall down when you compare it to all these huge books.

(3.5/4 stars)

Cynthi

5/5 stars

UMMMM.
THIS IS SO UNDERRATED.

GODDAMN HOW MANY PLOT TWISTS CAN ONE BOOK HAVE?

Nina is a girlboss.
She has everyone falling for her.
Like damn how many lovers can she have?
and none of them were confirmed.
She is strong, talented, and will do anything for her sister.

The world-building took a sec to like comprehend in my brain but after i was all in.

UMMM book 2???

I really suck at reviews but this book is amazing.

I think the parts could have been placed better.
Like part 1 then part 2 I get it the cut= a few years
but in other places it's like part 3 part then a few chapters later its like 2 years later but still part 3?
WHY DOES IT SAY NO ONES DAMN AGE.
We know Ettie's age and that Nina joined at 9 but nothing else!!

Haley Sherman

this was everything i could ever want in a les mis fanfiction

Elizabeth Neill

I have never seen nor read Les Misérables maybe that is why I really wasn't connecting to any of the characters. I didn't mind the writing but the time jumps were a little confusing at times. Maybe later down the road I will give this book anything chance.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Laura Kehoe

Les Mis is one of my all-time favorite musicals. So when I found out about a book that was based off that story, I knew I had to read it! And this book did not disappoint. It was full of strong characters, a unique and interesting world, and lots of delightful banter.

The characters really drove this story. Everyone had their own goals and personalities. And they all worked so well together. I loved getting to know these characters. It threw me off a little that many of the characters shared a name with their Les Mis counterparts, since part of me expected them to share the same fate. But, once I got passed that little struggle, I was able to really get to know and connect with them!

Not only were the characters well-developed, but Grant also created a truly unique and fascinating world. I loved the different groups and how everyone was connected. It was our world, specifically France, but with some different twists. It was truly impressive!

I would definitely recommend this book! It was such a fun, engaging read. I’m excited to see where the story goes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Children’s for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lauren

Normally, I’m not one for stories told in different eras of time, but I think Kester Grant has successfully convinced me to reconsider.

The system of the Court and each of its Guilds was amazingly done, and the politics of this was so interesting to read and consider, giving a nod to the influence of power (and, consequently, corruption) and unity which is found from shared sufferings. I also just loved how the Guilds all operated differently, with varying mannerisms/rules- although it seems like a given, when you consider that it would be so much easier for the author to have all Guilds have the exact same structures and ways of dealing with laws, etc. your appreciation for the fact Kester Grant had variety increases.

On the fact that this is a reimagining of Les Mis, I have to say I loved the way it was done. It felt less like a ‘reboot’ (as Waterstones dubbed it, which I think is completely underrepresenting Grant’s work here), and more like a nod to what each character in the original works represents, retold in new context. Tasteful and original, are the words springing to mind. Post-failed Revolutionary France is a dim setting to make feel creative or in any way fantastical, and the author managed to accomplish this without shying from the darker subject matters of severe poverty and class disparity. 

Also, the nerd in me deeply appreciated the nod to famous French Revolutionaries and Philosophers- specifically through the tale of the mice. On this note, I loved how this book dealt with the long-term effects of a failed revolution, from both ‘sides’, from tales passed down to children, to how the City had a memory- as seen through the behaviour of lay people in a later scene, as well as how the Royals dealt with it.

I’d argue that the first half felt rather rushed, I certainly wouldn’t have objected to an extra 50-100 pages to give us more details and context, such as understanding how Nina operates as a Cat, and allowing us to develop a greater empathy for bonds made. Instead, things sometimes felt at surface-level, the overall messages and meanings were still emotive and meaningful, but may have felt more personal with some extra detail. 

Overall it was a great read, although felt somewhat under-written in some parts. I do really look forward to the sequels, and where Grant will take these characters and this universe!


Áróra Lind 

3.5*

I listened to the audiobook for this one but I personally think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it physically. This was also a book that was for a month-long read-along and I probably would have enjoyed it if I hadn't been reading/listening to it for a month.

Sunyi Dean

Intricate and beautifully written book

I liked the setting and really enjoyed the writing. I would recommend it as an enjoyable spin on alternate historical fantasy. But I suppose as a personal preference I wanted a deeper sense of vast tragedy, which I could not find in this; specifically I wanted it because the book was comped to Les Miserables, which has such heart rending depths of personal sorrow. Here, the scope of the novel has been expanded to include complex and intricate guilds, but in exchange it has lost a touch of that deep interiority which I loved in classic Les Mis.

Ymmv there. Also, Javert being a woman was interesting.

Aleena Korell

I wear this city like skin wrapped around my bones. I know each street by the feel of the stone beneath my feet. It speaks to me; it shows me the way.

Okay, I really like this one.

Court of Miracles is set in an alternative post-revolutionary France, and told in three stages-- in 1823, 1829, and 1832. It is a heist-y Les Misrables retelling.... and a good one at that.

Eponine Thénardier, or Nina, loses a sister and gains a new life in the Thieves' Guild all in one night. But she can't forget about her beloved sister who was taken from her. She can't just move on as if nothing happened. When Ettie enters her life, a small girl who fills the spot her sister left empty, Nina swears not to let the same thing happen to her new sister. This proves harder than she ever imagined.

Nina is good at her job. She's got the cunning and skill of Kaz Brekker, and the stealth and compassion of Inej Ghafa. I don't necessarily agree with the comparisons to Six of Crows because, I mean, come on. We're all tired of that (though I will say that many SOC comparisons have certainly been far less accurate). But, though there are lots of thieving hijinks and mischief, I don't feel like The Court of Miracles is trying to be Six of Crows. It has its own world and style: the gritty underworld of crime juxtaposed with the glamor of French Court.

Speaking of Court, I loved the worldbuilding of the Guilds. When Nina swears her life to the Thieves' Guild, she enters the Court of Miracles, a world of crime and all manner of strange and gifted people who bend the real world to their will-- all under the noses of Those-Who-Walk-By-Day. There are Assassins, Ghosts, Smugglers, Thieves, Dreamers and more-- all coexisting within the Court by a structured but wary alliance laid out carefully by the Laws of the Miracle Court.

Nina is pitted not only against the Lord of the Guild of the Flesh, who would take Ettie and break her as he turns her into his empty possession, but the rest of the Guild Lords as well, who are loathe to test their alliance and plunge the Court of Miracles into another devastating Guild war.

But Nina would do anything for both of her sisters. 

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

I loved all the Les Mis-ish references and court life and thief life and I just wanted MORE. That's my only complaint*. I want to see the insides of every guild, explore more backstory, explore this world more. But there are two more books so I have my hopes high :)

*Okay one more complaint. There is a love triangle? Square? Which honestly I don't really mind, and I don't feel like it's done badly-- certainly a small side-bit to the main story-- but (view spoiler)[I'm not really sure of Nina's feelings toward anyone? like at all? v confused but I guess we'll find out more next book! (hide spoiler)]

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for a review!

Jennifer

I've been meaning to read The Court of Miracles since forever - my hardcopy has been sitting on my physical bookshelf circa mid 2020, and I was glad I finally got around with it! Kester Grant's debut novel is a creative Les Mis and The Jungle Book reimagining in an alternate & magical France where the revolution didn't suceed.

I think the standout feature of The Court of Miracles is certainly the concept. I've never seen another book that reimagines Les Mis and The Jungle Book at the same time, yet Kester Grant pulled it off! She managed to incorporate essence of both works: the societal issues from Les Mis and the storytelling of The Jungle Book. I also found the concept of the Guilds pretty fascinating and was pleasantly surprised that Grant created a pretty socially diverse worldbuilding.

On the other hand, I hoped to have seen more explored with the Guilds that she introduced in the book as well as more character development. While I found Eponine's narrative (as told from a marginalised individual's lens) quite interesting to read about I feel like she'd be more likeable if there's more solid character arc e.g. more could be fleshed out with her changing sense of the people she consider as "sisters" and how her decision making are affected.

While several elements didn't entirely stick, I still applaud Grant's effort in crafting a very creative reimagining and the solid storytelling that opens each section. Hopefully I'll see more details of the Guilds fleshed out in the sebsequent books in the series.

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: violence, separation, starvation, loss of loved ones, blood mention, and emotional blackmailing

Candyce Kirk

I'm always so sad when such a pretty book turns out to disappoint me. The Court of Miracles started out strong. I loves the elidea of the guilds and how it worked. This book had my attention and praise until a time jump came out of nowhere. This seemed to happen a few times and really confused me. It took me forever to really understand where we were after those happened.

This author definitely has a way with words, but at times I needed a little less descriptions of things and more storyline. I don't mind books with a lot of world building, but I felt the information we got was enough for me to clearly understand everything and it took awhile for the plot to be set up.

I don't know if this is because I haven't read Les Mis, but this just wasn't a book for me unfortunately.

The Court of Miracles (The Court of Miracles Trilogy, Book 1)

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