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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
It was a beautiful reimagine of the classic tale Les Miserables. The Characters have so much depth, and the story itself flows from the start to finish, with many twists and turns.
I enjoyed every minute of this book and devoured it like a delicious religieuse (la Reine des Gateaux would approve, no doubt), in the course of two days.
A sumptuous adventure chock-full of angry young men and daring dark women you really don’t want to cross.
There weren’t any dragons, fae or witches, but this story is more than magical enough, all by itself.
Can you hear the people sing? Yes, I jolly well can; they’re singing the praises of Kester Grant.
One Novel More, please, Ms Grant.
A sumptuous adventure chock-full of angry young men and daring dark women you really don’t want to cross.
There weren’t any dragons, fae or witches, but this story is more than magical enough, all by itself.
Can you hear the people sing? Yes, I jolly well can; they’re singing the praises of Kester Grant.
One Novel More, please, Ms Grant.
This is a brilliant start to the Court of Mircales series.
I thought the plot was pretty unique with the story being set in an alternate 1828 Paris after the failure of the French Revolution.
I also didn't know this until after I finished the book but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was also loosely inspired by Les Miserables with a couple of twists thrown in there. You'll see *wink wink*
I can't wait to see where Grant decides to go with this series. There's so much potential here for something a little different.
I thought the plot was pretty unique with the story being set in an alternate 1828 Paris after the failure of the French Revolution.
I also didn't know this until after I finished the book but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was also loosely inspired by Les Miserables with a couple of twists thrown in there. You'll see *wink wink*
I can't wait to see where Grant decides to go with this series. There's so much potential here for something a little different.
I've always thought Eponine deserved better. Glad that Grant did too.
Let’s caveat this with the fact that I am a HUGE Les Mis fan. I’ve seen the show multiple times, adore the movie, used to write Les Mis fanfic and read A LOT of it. That established - I have a lot to say about this book.
Overall it was an enjoyable read - I was reading it between two heavier books - and while it’s dark it’s still fast paced and engaging.
The major problem is that it is too action filled to be fully engaging. This book reads like a fanfiction and the issue with that is in the way it does. Fanfiction’s are often written in short spurts with authors providing weekly updates and needing engaging arcs to keep readers intrigued week after week. That’s a common style I felt while reading this book - especially the second third of it. We had an issue, a quest to solve it, and almost immediately another quest and so on. Again reading like a fanfiction in pace/style.
Problem is, this book isn’t a fanfiction. It’s under 400 pages and the way it’s written makes it a quick read - so the constant circular story line and time jumps (which skip vital backstory) makes it difficult to fully immerse and engage in. By the last third I was flying but that second third was rough to get through due to the half dozen missions that you can tell were made to be exposition.
It’s something I noticed more because during the time period I was reading this, I was also listening to “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. That story is also incredibly episodic - due to the manner in which it was being released. Don’t get me wrong I have issues with Dickens too but at least his array of characters and setting lends themselves to that style.
This book didn’t need to do that. I wish it was smoother and a more coherent story line. It almost made me loose interest but then again - it’s a first novel in a series so i understand the background had to be set up. With the new book coming out soon, I hope it’s more cohesive now that the stage has been set.
I also don’t know how I felt about the characters names since Éponine goes by Nina and Cosette as Ettie with Enjolras as St. Juste. It almost took me out of the narrative since most characters are original
Also don’t get me started on the little fall of rain reference- Éponine is my fave character from the og book and show and even that threw me off.
As for the actual characters- Nina is probably the most complex, and I enjoy that Cosette got teeth by the end. However the rest of the guild confused me to no end and several key points were rushed
SPOILERS:
* Thenadier sticking around after his hand was cut off, and then killing his boss at Éponine’s instructions when the whole guild world is made to forbid that was a total 180 and it made for a disastrously unsatisfying plot point.
* eponine also got shot in the leg right after she twisted an ankle but keeps moving/fighting - that literally made no sense and it almost seemed like the author forgot dear Nina was injured
* i did love how complex and clever Nina was and how it was showcased through the story. The twists in the last quarter of the book were actually super surprising and enjoyable.
Overall enjoyable but not something I found myself obsessed with. 3.5/5
Overall it was an enjoyable read - I was reading it between two heavier books - and while it’s dark it’s still fast paced and engaging.
The major problem is that it is too action filled to be fully engaging. This book reads like a fanfiction and the issue with that is in the way it does. Fanfiction’s are often written in short spurts with authors providing weekly updates and needing engaging arcs to keep readers intrigued week after week. That’s a common style I felt while reading this book - especially the second third of it. We had an issue, a quest to solve it, and almost immediately another quest and so on. Again reading like a fanfiction in pace/style.
Problem is, this book isn’t a fanfiction. It’s under 400 pages and the way it’s written makes it a quick read - so the constant circular story line and time jumps (which skip vital backstory) makes it difficult to fully immerse and engage in. By the last third I was flying but that second third was rough to get through due to the half dozen missions that you can tell were made to be exposition.
It’s something I noticed more because during the time period I was reading this, I was also listening to “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. That story is also incredibly episodic - due to the manner in which it was being released. Don’t get me wrong I have issues with Dickens too but at least his array of characters and setting lends themselves to that style.
This book didn’t need to do that. I wish it was smoother and a more coherent story line. It almost made me loose interest but then again - it’s a first novel in a series so i understand the background had to be set up. With the new book coming out soon, I hope it’s more cohesive now that the stage has been set.
I also don’t know how I felt about the characters names since Éponine goes by Nina and Cosette as Ettie with Enjolras as St. Juste. It almost took me out of the narrative since most characters are original
Also don’t get me started on the little fall of rain reference- Éponine is my fave character from the og book and show and even that threw me off.
As for the actual characters- Nina is probably the most complex, and I enjoy that Cosette got teeth by the end. However the rest of the guild confused me to no end and several key points were rushed
SPOILERS:
* Thenadier sticking around after his hand was cut off, and then killing his boss at Éponine’s instructions when the whole guild world is made to forbid that was a total 180 and it made for a disastrously unsatisfying plot point.
* eponine also got shot in the leg right after she twisted an ankle but keeps moving/fighting - that literally made no sense and it almost seemed like the author forgot dear Nina was injured
* i did love how complex and clever Nina was and how it was showcased through the story. The twists in the last quarter of the book were actually super surprising and enjoyable.
Overall enjoyable but not something I found myself obsessed with. 3.5/5
Les Mis meets Six of Crows. The les mis stuff was definitely weird but I ended up loving this. I’m a big sucker for a love triangle. Definitely reading the second book when it comes out!
This is an example of an outstanding retelling. There is enough of the original story (Les Miserables) that someone familiar with the original will know, but the end result is so wildly different that the story is never predictable. This story is about Thenardier's daughter, Nina (Eponine) as she grows through the street guilds in 1860s France. It is truly about the miserables of France, and Javert and Val Jean are mere side characters.
I kept going back and forth on really enjoying this and then getting kind of bored with it all. I don't think the author should have made all the Les Mis references in the book. I'm no expert (I've only seen the movie once) but they didn't add anything to the story for me. In fact, I think the author tried to rely a bit on readers having particular feelings/knowledge of Les Mis characters, and those characters really suffered in the book. With the exception of the main character Eponine, they didn't feel as developed as some of the characters of the underground Court of Miracles, which as the author's creations felt much more authentic. The students suffered the most from this decision in my opinion. As such the only characters I found myself enjoying were those that were a part of the court. The entire structure of the court was incredibly interesting and I loved reading about it. The villain of this tale is one of my favorites from recent reads. He had an incredible backstory.
So I picked this up off my shelf at long last as I’m in a mood to read through what I own and I managed to read this whole thing in one stint of just 3 hours. It’s a very easy to pick up story, but it’s probably not one which will stay fully with me. It’s set in the failed French Revolution and so it harks back to Les Miserables and has references to moments from the revolution. I don’t know much about the revolution so I only noticed the most obvious toes but I suspect there’s more than I caught on to. The world is a fantasy one though with 9 guilds ruling over the city and people swear into different guilds to be protected. There are the Thieves, Dead, Assassins etc. and depending on the guild depends what you get up to day to day.
We follow Nina, first from a tiny girl, through to her more adult years as she is hardened by her time on the streets, the wrongs in the law that she sees and the crimes committed around her. She is first driven by a desire to rescue her sister, but later she gains a new sister and the attempt to save her from the city’s nastiest ruler takes her through palaces and guilds galore.
What I like about this one is the fast pace, although it does almost feel like a few short novellas combined as each ‘problem’ we have gets a resolution and then a new problem comes up. I didn’t mind this as for me it broke up the book a bit and I liked seeing what Nina did next, but this one doesn’t flow quite like other books and there are some less obvious time skips.
Overall, an easy read and one which I enjoyed binging through. I’m not sure where the sequel will go, so I’ll wait to see when the blurb comes to decide if I want to keep going. This story may be partially resolved but the world still has a lot to give and the characters and their interwoven plots seem like there’s more to come.
3*s
We follow Nina, first from a tiny girl, through to her more adult years as she is hardened by her time on the streets, the wrongs in the law that she sees and the crimes committed around her. She is first driven by a desire to rescue her sister, but later she gains a new sister and the attempt to save her from the city’s nastiest ruler takes her through palaces and guilds galore.
What I like about this one is the fast pace, although it does almost feel like a few short novellas combined as each ‘problem’ we have gets a resolution and then a new problem comes up. I didn’t mind this as for me it broke up the book a bit and I liked seeing what Nina did next, but this one doesn’t flow quite like other books and there are some less obvious time skips.
Overall, an easy read and one which I enjoyed binging through. I’m not sure where the sequel will go, so I’ll wait to see when the blurb comes to decide if I want to keep going. This story may be partially resolved but the world still has a lot to give and the characters and their interwoven plots seem like there’s more to come.
3*s
Brutal. Full of flawed, fascinating characters. A wild, eventful ride from start to finish.
"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 dark, gothic criminal underground of Paris was such an amazing backdrop for this retelling.
(Yes, this is a Les Mis retelling.
From Eponine's perspective.
I know, I know. Feel free to make dinosaur noises, and squawk like the adorable, awkward, nerdy pigeons we all are.)
It felt...Cozy...If that makes sense? I often find myself describing a world "cozy" when the author has made the setting feel something akin to a home for my imagination. The criminals are cutthroat, and the city is alive with mystery, and mischief, and smog; it breathes life into the narrative with every turn of a page.
Ah, *chef's kiss*
Pure poetry.
I will say: You do not necessarily have to know the story to enjoy this interpretation of it. This retelling is so richly imagined and somewhat faraway from the original (in a good way!), that if anything, knowing the story will only make you smile at some of the ways in which the author has flipped things.
Now, make no mistake: Nina is not the heartbroken, lovesick Eponine we know from the classic tale and the beloved broadway musical (
"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 dark, gothic criminal underground of Paris was such an amazing backdrop for this retelling.
(Yes, this is a Les Mis retelling.
From Eponine's perspective.
I know, I know. Feel free to make dinosaur noises, and squawk like the adorable, awkward, nerdy pigeons we all are.)
It felt...Cozy...If that makes sense? I often find myself describing a world "cozy" when the author has made the setting feel something akin to a home for my imagination. The criminals are cutthroat, and the city is alive with mystery, and mischief, and smog; it breathes life into the narrative with every turn of a page.
"Now these are the laws of the Miracle Court, as old and as true as the sky; the Wretched that keep them may prosper, but the Wretched that break them must die."
Ah, *chef's kiss*
Pure poetry.
I will say: You do not necessarily have to know the story to enjoy this interpretation of it. This retelling is so richly imagined and somewhat faraway from the original (in a good way!), that if anything, knowing the story will only make you smile at some of the ways in which the author has flipped things.
Now, make no mistake: Nina is not the heartbroken, lovesick Eponine we know from the classic tale and the beloved broadway musical (