This was definitely a fast read but ... It just seems to be lacking something for me. The story just seems to be a little bit all over the place

I have not had good experiences with Les Miserables retellings- this changed that for me. It was incredible! It was fast-paced, clever, a tantalizing tale! Nina now holds a place of honor as one of my favorite heroines of all time.

I love how this story had everything from palace intrigue to rebellion in the streets to mafia style guild wars. It's a story of revenge and one girls fight for her sisters. It's beautifully written and keeps you invested way past the last page.

The cover of this book grabs your attention. The cover synopsis piques your interest enough to start reading. Then the story takes over. The Court of Miracles is so full of "visual" word painting that you will become so much a part of the background you'll not want to set the book down. Kester Grant has done an excellent job of building the court, cities and communities that are the setting for the impossibly well defined characters. All I had to do was close my eyes and I could see the interactions between the guild members. I really don't think there are enough adjectives to properly explain how opening the book takes you into The Court. What a wonderful, wonderful start to what must be an outstanding trip to the next book.

Les Miserables meets Six of Crows vibes... This book was intriguing! Can’t wait for the next book!

The Court of Miracles, The wretched of France, with their own guilds and laws. The Guild of Gamblers, Beggars, Assassins, Mercenaries, Smugglers, Letters, Thieves, Dreamers and Flesh.

The characters are really something. Each with their own secrets. Nina has been collects debts from each one of them. Curious what the pay off for her will be in next book although she’s gotten far.

I received an ARC in return for a fair and honest review. Truth be told when I first started reading this book it didn't catch my attention. Knowing that I had read the synopsis and that it had appealed to me I pushed on. I'm so glad I did. Five chapters in and I couldn't put the book down. I found myself reading between customers at work and the world of the court was beautifully described. I could imagine myself on the streets of Paris and trying hard to help Nina succeed.

This is a book I highly recommend if a person enjoys historical YA fiction.

This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't what I expected. I saw again and again that it was like Les Misérables, and I was expecting stronger parallels to that original tale. Instead this was more like YA court based fantasies mixed with heist plots like Six of Crows, but without the cast of characters to love. I didn't connect with the characters and found the courts standard and like I'd read books with them before. The pacing was slow and never really grabbed me to want to keep reading. I can see some really liking this story because it definitely adds to a niche in YA. But unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. If you want a better heist story with "courts," then read Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody. If you want a story with better sister relationships set around the French revolution, then read Enchantée by Gita Trelease. If you want a retelling of Les Misérables in a new way but with familiar characters and plot points, then read Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody.

***Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own.***

****THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS****

I was so excited to read this book when I found out it was a retelling of Les Misérables, since I am completely obsessed with the musical. This is a very interesting take on Les Misérables, but still true to the original characters and story and really enjoyed the first book of this series.

Our story starts in 1823 where our main character Nina's (Éponine) sister, Azelma is traded by their father, Thenardier, to the notorious leader of the Guild of Flesh, Kaplan also known as the Tiger. In exchange to get join the Guild of Thieves, she must steal a talisman from the dauphin of France to give to the Lord of the Thieves Guild, Tomasis. Nina swears she will do whatever it takes to get her sister back, but as sealing her loyalty and protection to the Thieves Guild, she must stay away from her sister. Three months later, Nina stalks the Guild of Flesh in order to try to get her sister back. Once Nina can break into the guild house, she finds that her sister is being drugged to the point where Azelma is being controlled. When Nina realizes she won't be able to get Azelma out before getting caught, she runs into two revolutionaries, Grantaire and Enjolras St. Juste. St. Juste is the nephew of one of the revolutionaries from the last revolt that was killed, his head impaled on the gate of the palace of Tuileries. Since they end up saving her from the Fleshers who have tried to hurt her, she is in their debt. Femi, who is the messenger of the Miracle Court, thinks she is stupid for trying to rescue Azelma, since he himself has tried.

Time moves to a few years later to 1829 where we meet Ettie (Cosette) at Thénardier's inn. Ettie runs into Kaplan, where he realizes he wants her. Nina has a plan to use Ettie in order to get her sister back. She travels with Ettie to the Assassin's Guild to try to find the Death Lord, Orso, to try to get Ettie protection from the Tiger by the Ghosts. After being hypnotized by Lady Corday, the Lady of the Assassin's Guild, they wake up to find the Ghosts, Orso's children. They find out that the Tiger took Orso and has him locked up in the Châtelet, the most feared prison in the city. Nina breaks into the prison and finds Orso and tells him her plans for Ettie to join his guild and break him out. She frees another prisoner who knows how to get them out. This prisoner is from the Guild of Letters who's identity we do not discover until later. Once they are in the cesspit outside the prison, the guards find that all the prisoners are escaping. Inspector Javert (who is female) is leading the charge of the Sûreté to get the prisoners back into the Châtelet. Nina has to create a distraction in order for Orso and the Letter Guild prisoner to escape. She takes St. Juste into an alley and puts him in a prisoner uniform, in order for him to get arrested. When Orso and the other man get away, the Letter Guild man tells Nina he is in her debt. Nina and Ettie stay with Orso in the Hall of the Dead with the Ghosts. The next day, they all go to the Miracle Court to perform the ceremony of Ettie joining the Guild of Ghosts, so she will be protected from the Tiger. After the ceremony, Nina runs into Tomasis who thinks one day Nina can become the Lord of the Thieves Guild. Later,
Thénardier and four Fleshers run into Nina and Femi, who beat up Nina. Ettie is sent a package containing Thénardier's hand, saying that he wasn't going to get away with hurting Nina when she is under Tomasis's protection.

Two months later we learn that many are dying and are left in the streets to be taken away by cart and many are gravelly ill. Ettie is almost taken by the Tiger's men in broad daylight, but the man from the Guild of Letters comes back to be of assistance. Nina learns that the only way can protect Ettie from the other Guilds is to pay the Guilds in bread, to keep famine from killing their guild members and the only way to do that is to steal it from the palace. She sees St. Juste and meets Feuilly who are testing the waters for contaminants and if that is what is killing people. St. Juste recruits Nina to the Société des Droits de l'Homme (The Society of the Rights of Man) a political organization founded on change. Signs have started to appear searching for prisoner Jean Valjean number 24601 and Inspector Javert is vigorously searching for Valjean, who we learn is the man from the Guild of Letters. At this time the Crown is searching for two poor children who they invite to their table, as was started by Marie-Antoinette, called l'Enlèvement (ironically called The Kidnapping), where Nina and Ettie are selected, after almost stabbing the prince and knocking him unconscious. The prince recognizes Nina as the one who stole the necklace from him. Nina and Ettie are taken into the palace to be made presentable for the royals. Nina is highly suspicious of the royals and the staff and are introduced to the queen. The queen quickly grows fond to Ettie, for how beautiful she is, and tells them they can stay for the ball they are hosting. Nina wants to use this time to try to get into the grain stores to get the bread she needs, even though she doesn't want to go to the ball itself. Nina swears by blood oath to protect Ettie from the Tiger and are now sisters. Inspector Javert is at the ball as part of the security and gets reprimanded for not protecting the prince in the carriage, since she was focused on finding Valjean. Montparnasse, the Master of the Assassin's Guild, is in the shadows of the ball with his fellow Assassins, where they are prepared to poison the ball. Nina was thinking of potentially letting Ettie stay in the palace, but since the Assassins can break into the palace, she doesn't doubt that the Tiger's men can't do the same. The crowd is entertained by a Mesmerist, who turns out to be Lady Corday, who hypnotizes the crowd into finding out the truth about the water being poisoned. Since grain was running short and famine was coming, they thought to reduce population number to avoid another uprising and unrest from the commoners. Lady Corday finds out in the crowd who has no children and who does. Those without children are given poisoned champagne to drink for themselves, those with children are given a glass vial filled with poison to give to the child they love most. The queen is going to try to poision the prince and Ettie sneezes to knock the vial out of the queen's hands before she can poison him. Nina makes him promise to not drink anything his mother offers. She steals the prince's snuffbox to give to Tomasis and later finds les Diamants de la Couronne (the treasury of the crown jewels of France). The dauphin catches Nina attempting to steal a tiara that she could also give to Tomasis to help the guild. He gives her a different tiara to take instead that belonged to Margaret de Valois, which was said to be worth more, but not likely missed. They flee the palace with help from the prince. Nina thinks she failed to obtain the bread price, but when they get into the carriage with the Assassins, they find carriages filled with bread and grain to bring back for the guilds of the Miracle Court to devour. At the Miracle Court, Nina is drugged and Ettie is taken by Thénardier and Nina tries to follow the carriage taking Ettie away. Montparnasse finds Nina in the snow and brings her back to the Court where she attacks the Tiger and insults him. She is whipped in front of the entire Court for attacking a Lord as an example. Nina, in her reverie, discovers that the Tiger is the key to it all; once he is eliminated, everyone should be free. She feels badly that she can't protect she sisters.

Time jumps a bit to 1832 to Femi approaching Nina watching the streets. The Wretched and the Students have been working together to start a revolution, headed by the Société. The Guilds are starting to back out of the uprising, since there has been a spy in the Société. Femi summons five Guilds with the hunting song to discuss Nina's plan to kill the Tiger, which they think is crazy. Nina also has payed the Assassins Guild to kill General Lamarque, who has been ill for some time, to start the revolution. The Société is using his death as a sign of revolt. Nina must try to kill the Tiger and set the Sisters of the Flesh free. She is given the voice of Mor to sound once the Tiger is dead. Nina breaks into the convent grounds of rue Plumet, where Valjean, under the alias of Monsieur Madeleine, is hiding with Ettie. The palace is holding another ball and Nina gets herself in and disguises herself to blend into the crowd. Nina has traps set and has Javert set in her schemes. Nina, in searching for Javert, finds the plans to eliminate the Société by knowing their every move and must tell St. Juste so they do walk into a trap. A fake Société was created to determine who was betraying the crown. St. Juste and Nina go to follow Javert when the bells of Notre Dame start to ring, signaling General Lamarque's death and the revolution is about to start. Javert questions Nina on what she knows about Valjean, Ettie, and the prince, how the prince can't be trusted. Outside the palace gates, soldiers are already in wait for the revolution to begin. Nina recruits the Students to be a part of her plan to kill the Tiger. The guards start watching her and she whistles out to the Ghosts, along with Montparnasse and St. Juste, who help her from the guards. Orso tells them that the revolution is comprised and most tell the others to retreat. The arrive at the barricades at Avenue Ficelle to the everyone dead. Gavroche goes to retrieve the flag and is almost shot, St. Juste taking the bullet. They go back to the meeting house to get him treated and to figure out who the traitor is. They learn the traitor is (shocker) Inspector Javert. Valjean comes to escort Javert out. The Students are going to try to warn the other barricades that they have been compromised. Valjean, who has Javert tied and gagged, later goes to the Tiger's lair. Nina gives Javert the location where they are going next to try to catch the Tiger in his dealings. Nina sets skin gourds off filled with opium from the Guild of Dreamers, to get to the Tiger on the top floor where Ettie is. Thénardier tries to shoot Nina when she is climbing the side of the building. She twists her ankle and Valjean helps her and tells her he audited all of the weapons and ammunition, since he is trusted as being from the Guild of Letters. She finds the Tiger, Tomasis, and Thénardier with Ettie tied up behind them. Tomasis had spies watching Nina and they want to kill Ettie, to avoid further conflict with the Thieves, Ghosts, and Fleshers. While Tomasis convinced this will protect Nina, she tells Thénardier if he shoots him, he can be the Lord of the Thieves, so he does. Ettie discreetly frees herself of her bonds and stabs the Tiger in the face. Thénardier has his gun set to shoot Ettie and pushes Nina out of his way. Azelma appears holding a syringe and recognizes her sister, dropping the syringe and Nina grabs it. Thénardier, who likes to be on the winning side, realizes the Tiger is not going to win and turns his back against him. Thénardier tells Nina is they survive this, he will make her Master of Thieves. While the Tiger is busy trying to wrestle a lamp away from Ettie, Nina stabs him in the back of the neck with the syringe. When he starts to lose his coherence, Ettie slams the lamp over his head repeatedly. Azelma is leading the women the Tiger has kept prisoner, where they finish killing him. Meeting back in the basement, everyone for the most part is fine. The revolutionaries and Fleshers become surrounded by soldiers and get arrested, instead of killed for betraying the Crown. The prince tells Nina he learned the truth about the wells being poisoned and while he is telling her everything, she ties him up and jumps out of the carriage to use the voice of Mor to signal the Tiger is dead. The carriage gets overrun by the Ghosts who free them all. Javert promises to find Valjean again, that he will never escape. The only revolutionaries left alive at the end are them. They are all going to have be on the guard going forward and go to catacombs.

What I liked a lot about this was seeing Éponine as a frontal character, taking matters into her own hands. We see many of the original characters from Les Misérables and a couple I'm surprised we don't see, like Marius. I really enjoyed the writing style and how rich it was. Many times I was expecting a romance to start, but that didn't happen which didn't really bother me. There were a couple song references "will you join in our crusade", "angry men", and "rain will make the flowers grow", which I loved and wanted to immediately start listening to the musical soundtrack. It ended a lot happier than I thought it would, since Les Misérables has a fairly sad ending and more of the characters we have been exposed to would die, but thankfully not. Lots of locations are present in this book and they move a lot, which was interesting but also partially confusing figuring out how they got there. There was a big presence from Montparnasse who helped Nina out a lot throughout the book and would do anything to protect her, while she was protecting everyone else. I think this world was well set with the different guilds and the Miracle Court. I think it was a great start to the series and I am excited for the sequel.

This is an alternative history YA fantasy book set after the failed French Revolution. The nobles are all bad guys and the underworld is broken into 9 guilds (thieves, assassins, etc). Our main character, Nina, is a cat bugler, and a good one at that. She was pushed to the thieves guild by her older sister when she was sold into the flesh guild. By their father. (He is a real winner here). That event really shaped Nina’s life, as she tries to save her sister and then her adopted sister, Ettie, from the same fate. We follow Nina’s exploits as she tries to keep Ettie safe all while also trying to right the injustices that are running rampant throughout the underworld, even though it is supposed to be safer than the “regular” world. This was an enjoyable read, albeit a little cliche. Nina is good at all the things, even if she gets herself in trouble over it. Oh, and everyone loves Nina except the bad guys (obviously). If you go into this book not expecting much, then you will likely enjoy it, especially if you like YA.

The synopsis said that it's Les Miserables meets Six of Crows. I could really see where that comes into play here, even as the names are taken straight from Les Mis. But I don't really feel like that was a good comparison as there wasn't much else that reminded me of it.

Unfortunately, I only semi liked this book and felt like I couldn't feel grounded in the story. It jumped around a lot, which kept me from getting fully into the story further. For people who love to dive into fantasy from the get go, this definitely is the book for you.

"THE COURT OF MIRACLES BY KESTER GRANT"
★★★☆☆

I definitely should’ve looked up the plot of Les Mis again before I started because I did not have a good enough memory of it.



The story follows Nina (AKA Eponine) as she maneuvers through the French Revolution and saving her sisters from the claws of her enemies. Eponine in Les Mis is tragic — but in The Court of Miracles, Eponine gets to tell her story her own way.

I was immediately drawn in to the story — SUCH a good hook. The transition from past to present threw me a little at first, but that’s honestly just because it was such a strong start that when we jumped ahead I had to take a minute to reframe to the new start point. I was ready to follow Nina wherever.

The Court of Miracles itself is immensely appealing because it’s showing a way that marginalized people have power outside of the main structure of the society.

There’s a lot of complicated political relationships between all of the different guilds, and they are all fleshed out satisfactorily. You know sometimes in fiction when there are multiple names/titles that are used interchangeably for a group of people, and it broadens the definition of what they are, while somehow defining them more specifically than one name ever could? That’s what’s going on here. Each guild has it’s own name that basically tells you what they’re about, but there are also specific titles for the guild members which have more abstract/emotional connotations because it’s less about job title and more about how they perceive themselves and what they value.

Nina and Ettie’s relationship are the central focus of the book, pushing all the love interests and even the revolution itself into the background. Everything Nina does is about her sisters — there’s such strong sisterly love packed into this book.

Speaking of love interests, we do get a few options to choose from: there’s St. Juste (Enjolras), the Dauphin himself, and Montparnasse (my personal favorite). Romance is definitely not the main part of this story, but it’s still woven in, through some admiring glances and soft scenes.

If you’ve been meaning to read Les Mis and just haven’t gotten around to it (because it’s a brick) I’d definitely recommend this book!

The Court of Miracles, is an underground criminal guild in 1820’s Paris amidst The French Revolution. Nina, is a thief whose nights are filled with uninteresting burglars. When she sees a turning point, she takes it without knowing she’s going head on with a terrorising syndicate!

This is a beautifully written thrilling novel that draws most references from Lés Miserables. A good read, but not an impacting one! The story and the plot fell slow moving at some places, which really threw off the interest I had.

3.25/5

Thank you Netgalley, Kester Grant and Random House for the ARC. This review is my own and not influenced in any way!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. First off, a reader will need a rudimentary understanding of Les Mis to appreciate some of the characters and personalities that appear within the pages. Since many of the characters are related to the Les Mis world, someone’s familiar might be confused. A positive is that this takes place in an AU world, which rectified the connection. I found myself struggling with the plot and with connecting to Nina. While the entire book was thoroughly enjoyable, I felt as if too many references and ideas were pulled from too many different sources, I.e six of crows, Les Mis, and the jungle book.

While in the middle of reading this book I came to the conclusion that I really struggle with historical fiction. However, that does not take away how well written and thought out The Court of Miracles is. The characters are rounded with flaws that make them very human, and the way all of that was written was wonderful! The plot was quick and I enjoyed the neck-deep problems and situations the characters work through. I will definitely be recommending this book to my patrons that love historical fiction with a some fantasy thrown in. Overall, it was well done and I'm happy that I read it!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for sending me this book! I loved getting to read this aARC! While the book wasn’t perfect, there we’re definitely aspect I really enjoyed! Les Mis is one of my favorite musicals so it was really cool reading a retelling if it. The beginning 4 or 5 chapters were a little slow, but from there it definitely picked up. And while through out the book the time jumps could be a little awkward and jumpy at point, overall I thought it was so well done!

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant follows a headstrong protagonist who would do anything for her sister. She steals, she fights, and she’s always ready to do whatever it takes to save her sister Ettie from a slaver who is hell bent on taking her away.

My favorite aspect of this book was the relationship between Nina and Ettie. It was wonderfully written: from the small scale scenes where they’d eat colourful cakes together to the scenes where Nina puts herself in harm’s way again and again for her younger sister. It’s a refreshing thing in YA to see such a well developed sibling relationship and it was possibly my entire reason for pulling through this book.

Grant’s writing is vivid and charming in its descriptions of a France ready to revolt and many Les Misérables characters take center stage when Nina decides to include them in her grand plans (of which there are many). I liked how France was painted with a fantasy court system with thieves and assassins who governed themselves. The loyalty and the bond between these thieves was something I wanted to see more of, especially since Nina is a character who finds family outside bonds of blood.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot but at times wished it was a little slower in its pace because it did feel like the world building and the many names were given to the reader in large bursts. But since this is a retelling of a book I’ve known is long and descriptive (I haven’t read Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables), I think that might veen appeal to a lot of readers!

Also, the romantic subplots are quite confusing. But they aren’t center stage at any point in the story, and there’s a relationship with either a certain assassin or a revolutionary young boy, and I’m invested in seeing that develop.

All together, I think this book has potential to keep you awake at night as you jump from chapter to chapter solely for Nina’s heroics–a bit far fetched at times, but so lovable because she does it all for her sisters.

First of all, I have to say that the cover of this book is so pretty and I think it fits the book so perfectly! When I read the synopsis, I was immediately intrigued! I LOVE Les Mis and was so excited to read this re-telling!

When I first started it, I was immediately blown away but the world-building. It was so descriptive and immersive, I felt like I was there. And from there, I instantly connected with Nina. I was so impressed with how she navigated and survived in such an intense and dangerous society. She is definitely a character to root for and I loved her wit and strength.

This book definitely kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed the heck out of it! Highly recommend!

The Court of Miracles is a take on Les Miserable. It follows Eponine or Nina through her journeys in the Guild, an underground society of thieves, assassins and other mildly unsavory people.
What I really enjoyed was that it wasn’t a direct retelling of Les Mis, instead she used the characters to create a new world and plot line. The familiar characters of Cossette, Jean Valjean and Javert were all in the story but in unique and fun ways. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I’m excited to see where the next books go!

Ok, I was super intrigued by this title when I first saw in on Netgalley. But I have to admit, it took me a little bit to get into the book when I first started it.

That being said, once things started happening, I couldn't put it down. It definitely has the Les Misérables vs Six of Crows feel, but also add in a little Ninth House. This story was hella good!

I loved Nina and Ettie! They were both such great characters who were fun to watch come into their own. I loved the different Guilds and that everyone had a part in how things turned out. It just further proves how strong Nina and Ettie were as characters. Also let me add, I loved the ghosts!

The world building was on point and it made me feel like I was in on the action and adventure. I loved being a part of this world and this story so much and CAN NOT WAIT to see what happens next. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House and Knopf Books for this title in exchange for an honest review

Court of Miracles was a good read. I really enjoyed the story and rooting for Nina all the way through. I will say using the names of the Les Mis characters was a little weird and at time I caught myself thinking of that story and thoroughly confusing myself. There were times too where I also expected them to break out into song. The twist with the names was clever and I enjoyed the author's writing. I would have liked to see a little romance... she has so many guys that like her (so Ettie claims). This could be something the author is saving for the next book though. Even though the current story wrapped up nicely, I still felt like I was left on a bit of a ledge at the end, so I do hope another one comes out. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series to continue Nina and Ettie's story. The author could go so many different ways with it, Im excited to see what they pick.

I think that the story and characters were great but I got about 45% of the way through this book, put it down and never had any inclination to pick it back up again.

It truly is a mash up between les mis and six of crows!! The world building and characters were complex and well thout out I just think I’m honestly outgrowing YA characters under the age of 20, so the way that Nina’s thought process works was just a little too frustrating and boring for me.