• Author: Kester Grant
• Series: Court of Miracles #1
• No. of pages: 464
• Dates read: 02.08.20 – 08.08.20
• Star Rating: 2
• ARC published by Harper Voyager

First of all I want to thank Harper Voyager and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Plot: Liberty, 1828 and the citizens of Paris still mourn in the wake of their failed revolution. Among them, in the dark alleys and crumbling cathedrals of the city, the most wretched have gathered into guilds of thieves, assassins – and worse. Together they are known as The Court of Miracles. Family, Eponine has lost more than most. When her father, Thénardier, sells her sister to the Guild of Flesh she makes a promise to do anything she can to get her sister back, even if that means joining the Court of Miracles, the very people keeping her sister a slave. Treachery, Eponine becomes perhaps the greatest thief the Court has ever known, finding a place among them and gaining another sister, Cosette. But she has never forgotten the promise she made, and if she’s to have any hope of saving one sister, she will have to betray the other.

I desperately wanted to like this but it just didn’t work out!

My main problem with this is it felt rushed. I didn’t feel like we got enough world-building, character development and the plot didn’t feel structured enough for me. We were constantly bouncing around and this was disappointing as it had so much potential!

The ideas were so exciting but it was a constant wave of just telling rather than showing. Especially at the beginning with Nina and her sudden ability to be an amazing thief apart from some throwaway lines it felt unearnt and very convenient for me sadly.

I also found this with the love interests and I was not invested in any of them and there were 3! At the time I couldn’t even remember how we got to this point where these men all somehow counted as love interests one moment they are there the next they are suddenly love interests! I didn’t know why they suddenly decided to like her and I didn’t buy her feelings back to the specific love interest, it all felt out of the blue and unconvincing for me.

I also felt the Miracle Court itself needed more world-building, I was constantly confused by who was who and what the hierarchy was and who was aligned with who. I felt that a sort of info-dump at the beginning of the book would have prepared myself better to understand the court. While there was one disguised as a tale of mice etc. I just needed more world building apart from those 2 pages.

That being said I liked Nina, I loved her love for her sisters and her stubbornness and it’s always great to see a strong woman standing up against brutal men.

I also enjoyed the diversity in power among the Court of Miracles. Women in power, POC in power that was powerful for me and I loved it.

I think the case with this story is it had so much potential and great ideas but the execution felt rushed.

The next book I will be reviewing is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel