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muryan83 's review for:
The Court of Miracles
by Kester Grant
medium-paced
TL;DR: Les Mis meets criminal guild drama, but with less grit and more glitter. Interesting concept, shaky execution.
Full Review:
There’s something undeniably cool about criminal underworlds run by secretive guilds, and The Court of Miracles had all the ingredients for a rich, gritty, twisty tale of underbelly politics. I wanted to like this more. And I did. Some parts. The dynamic between the guilds was intriguing. And the setting was stylishly dark.
But then there’s Nina. An unstoppable, prodigious thief with plot armor thicker than a Les Misérables retelling deserves. She spends so much time playing guardian angel to Ettie that the rest of the world fades into flat background noise. Most of the side characters felt one-dimensional, and don’t get me started on the romantic subplots. Forced, unearned, and chemistry-free.
The writing is clean and easy to read, and the idea of a fractured France ruled by shadowy guilds is genuinely interesting. But the execution lacked depth. The world-building was murky, the emotional stakes didn’t land, and the balance between personal plot and broader intrigue felt off-kilter.
I had fun in parts, especially when the guilds were front and center, but I kept wishing it had leaned harder into the grit and less into the gloss.
Full Review:
There’s something undeniably cool about criminal underworlds run by secretive guilds, and The Court of Miracles had all the ingredients for a rich, gritty, twisty tale of underbelly politics. I wanted to like this more. And I did. Some parts. The dynamic between the guilds was intriguing. And the setting was stylishly dark.
But then there’s Nina. An unstoppable, prodigious thief with plot armor thicker than a Les Misérables retelling deserves. She spends so much time playing guardian angel to Ettie that the rest of the world fades into flat background noise. Most of the side characters felt one-dimensional, and don’t get me started on the romantic subplots. Forced, unearned, and chemistry-free.
The writing is clean and easy to read, and the idea of a fractured France ruled by shadowy guilds is genuinely interesting. But the execution lacked depth. The world-building was murky, the emotional stakes didn’t land, and the balance between personal plot and broader intrigue felt off-kilter.
I had fun in parts, especially when the guilds were front and center, but I kept wishing it had leaned harder into the grit and less into the gloss.