Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to participate in the international tour for The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant organized by PRH International! 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. Read on for my review, an author Q&A and an epic Pinterest board!
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
Series: Court of Miracles #1
Published by Knopf Children's ISBN: 1524772852
on June 2, 2020
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
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Source: PRH International
I received this book for free from PRH International in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my 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.
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.
Author Q&A!
What inspired you to write an alternate history of the French Revolution?
I wanted the presence of a strong, antagonistic monarchy in the book—one that was almost overthrown in a failed revolution. I wanted the fear of another uprising to have made the nobility even crueler and more terrible than they had already been. The failed revolution also gave one of the main characters, Enjolras St. Juste, more of a reason to attempt to incite a new rebellion—his entire family had been hunted down and executed after the first revolution failed. It’s also is a huge factor in another major character’s motivations, but that would be a spoiler. . . .
Which part of history would you love to rewrite next?
I am so excited to be working on a personal project at the moment, a graphic novel about Girl Guides in World War II. It’s got the vintage, stiff-upper-lip, girls-adventure vibe of Enid Blyton, the wry humor of St. Trinian’s, and the thrilling war-time adventures of every World War II film ever made (think The Great Escape, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Blue Line, Band of Brothers), with lashings of diversity and feminist fun. You can follow along as I create it on Instagram: instagram.com/kesterkitgrant.
Pinterest Board!
And to get an idea about The Court of Miracle’s aesthetic, head on over to check out this epic pinterest mood board:
https://www.pinterest.com.mx/kestergrant/the-court-of-miracles/
… The Chef’s Review …
I was very excited to read this book, it is my first Les Misérables retelling inspired by Six of Crows and the Jungle Book and I had a great time reading it!
Okay, I must first tell you that I haven’t read or watched Les Mis. I know, I feel guilty too. Bur after reading The Court of Miracles, I am officially bumping it up to my tbr/watch list.
The Court of Miracles starts off with events that take place after a failed revolution in Paris. The people are unhappy with their situation and meanwhile the nobles are living comfortably without a care for them. However there is a group of people called the Wretched and they created The Miracle Court which is a group of criminals that are free and where neither blood, race, religion, rank or name mean anything, though they are divided into nine guilds.
Reading about how these guilds work was so interesting. Each guild has a Lord and children who vow to protect each other while they remain invisible from daywalkers (because they strictly move around at night). I loved how every time they meet up they are complete chaos, my favorite Guild Lord is Orso, he is so sassy!
Nina, the MC of this story, joins the Thieves Guild at a very young age after loosing her sister and she is determined to get her back, but it is not an easy task. She is quickly sidetracked from her goal and needs to work harder to accomplish it. While I struggled to understand Nina in the beginning of the story (my fault, I get that her character is drawn from Les Mis), I did end up liking her and completely understood her desperation/anger towards the system as well as her fierce determination to protect what matters to her.
Also, The Court of Miracles is a VERY fast paced book. And I like them, though I may have had a bit of trouble keeping up with everything since I was unfamiliar with so many characters. But there came a time where I was very invested in the story and I finally got the hang of it! 😀
A FEW FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Hear my words, for they are all I have left to give. Wrap them around your flesh like armor. You may forget my face and my voice, but never forget the things I am telling you.”
“You have to be suspicious to become a Guild Lord, and you have to continue to be suspicious if you want to remain one.”
“May they sing your songs forever.”
“Escape, my Lord? I’m the Black Cat of the Thieves Guild.” I smile in the darkness. “I’m here to steal you.”
….
All in all this was a good read for me and I am excited to see what happens next. I get why it is pitched as Les Mis meets Six of Crows meets The Jungle Book, though it’s obviously a story that stands on its own. I am keen to continue with this series. 🙂
About Kester Grant
Kester (Kit) Grant is a British-Mauritian writer of color who has lived all over the world: Mauritius, Democratic Republic of the Congo, England, USA, and France. She has worked as a copywriter and a volunteer writing mentor for the Ministry of Stories, a UK nonprofit based on Dave Eggers’s 826 National. You can learn more about her on her website at kestergrant.com and follow her on Twitter at @kester_grant and Instagram @kesterkitgrant.
