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FFBC BOOK TOUR – BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY : THE COURT OF MIRACLES (COURT OF MIRACLES #1) BY KESTER GRANT

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the The Court of Miracles By Kester Grant by Blog Tour hosted by FFBC Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

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TITLE : The Court Of Miracles (The Court Of Miracles #1)

AUTHOR : Kester Grant

GENRE : YA Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Retellings

FR RATING : ⭐⭐⭐ 3.75 Stars

FR REVIEW

DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf Children’s Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Court Of Miracles is the first book in The Court Of Miracles series. It is a Les Misérables retelling set in the alternate Paris of 1828. The French Revolution has failed and the country is divided into the self-serving and ruthless Royal family and a criminal network known as the Miracle Court. Miracle Court is made up of 9 underworld Guilds to protect the people of the country. 

The synopsis sounded amazing and I just wanted to read it in one sitting. I did finish the book quickly because it was quick to read through. It was constant action and there were tasks and missions our main character was trying to work through. The world was wonderfully imagined with the guilds and the rules and history adding flavor to the story. I loved the idea of the criminal-made society that provides shelter to all the Wretched people regardless of their color, religion, race, blood, or rank. If the idea of the network of criminals was expanded a little bit deeper it would be amazing. I felt that the lack of details and background info lessened the impact of the story.

Eponine or Nina is the cat burglar who gets the protection of the Thieves Guild after getting the Guild Lord an invaluable item from the Royal Palace. How she got the level of skills to be one of the best thieves is beyond me. She is displaying a level of skill and smartness that is not explained in detail in the story. We are told the story from the perspective of Nina and often we get to know other characters only through her. Her perception of them and how things work are all explained by her.  

I felt there were a lot of elements that were told and not shown in this story. I felt a disconnect with the characters because of the telling and not enough showing. There were fewer dialogues and, a lot of Nina’s thoughts and inner-monologues took up majority of the space. This also added to the lack of development of a connection with the characters. I wish we could see the interaction between characters to get a feel for them ourselves and not having to rely on Nina’s perception of them and everything happening around her.

The story has a wide range of cast and it was really interesting to see them. We get to meet them and also work with them. There were some interesting characters and I wanted to have more time with them but unfortunately we get the vague idea only for now. The story has a wide range of cast and it was really interesting to see them. We get to meet them and also work with them. There were some interesting characters and I wanted to have more time with them but unfortunately we only get a vague idea.

I wanted more from the characters and their interactions. Some elements like the time jumps were not fully explained. I found that because of this the readers might get confused, because I certainly did. The book could have been easily made into two separate stories and that will give us readers better idea about the politics and rules the Miracle Court residents need to follow to survive. The absence of interactions between characters led to the lack of fully developed relationships or friendships. As I mentioned earlier this took away the enjoyment for me. The romances were interesting but with only Nina’s words we have to rely only on her understanding of how everything is proceeding.

I think the Les Misérables aspect of the story was well done, with the dark theme and grittiness of the Paris setting maintained throughout the story. They were maintained wonderfully. Although there were some drawbacks to the execution of the great idea of Guilds, it was still enjoyable and fun. I like details of the world and other elements to be more in-depth in books. So for me to miss out on the various story elements was tough. So for me to miss out on the various story elements and world-building was tough. However, I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series and I am excited to see how the story will progress. I gave the book 3.75 stars. Have you read this book? Leave your thoughts in the comment section down low.

SYNOPSIS

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.

BOOK EXCERPT

http://insight.randomhouse.com/widget/v4/?width=600&height=860&isbn=9781524772857&shortCode=&author=Kester%20Grant&title=The%20Court%20of%20Miracles&refererURL=www.penguinrandomhouse.com

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33973264-the-court-of-miracles

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XqWqUW

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-court-of-miracles-kester-grant/1129775572;jsessionid=79AA904F0C10AABB412E0F9F3CF26773.prodny_store01-atgap14?ean=9781524772857

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1484298107

Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Court-Miracles-Kester-Grant/9780008254773?ref=grid-view&qid=1586471653842&sr=1-1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-court-of-miracles-2

Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kester_Grant_The_Court_of_Miracles?id=uuO3DwAAQBAJ

AUTHOR BIO

Kester Grant is a British-Mauritian writer of color. She was born in London, grew up between the UK, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the tropical island paradise of Mauritius. As a wanton nomad she and her husband are unsure which country they currently reside in but they can generally be found surrounded by their fiendish pack of cats and dogs.

Website: https://www.kestergrant.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16344312.Kester_Grant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kester_grant

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/kestergrant/

GIVEAWAY

Prize: Win a copy of THE COURT OF MIRACLES by Kester Grant (US Only)

Starts: June 2nd 2020

Ends: June 16th 2020

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE

http://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2020/04/tour-schedule-court-of-miracles-court.html

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