The Court of Miracles book review

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
Series: Court of Miracles #1
Published by Harper Voyager on June 4, 2020
Pages: 464
Goodreads

A diverse fantasy reimagining of Les Misérables and The Jungle Book.
In the dark days following a failed French Revolution, in the violent jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, young cat-burglar Eponine (Nina) Thenardier goes head to head with merciless royalty, and the lords of the city's criminal underworld to save the life of her adopted sister Cosette (Ettie).
Her vow will take her from the city’s dark underbelly, through a dawning revolution, to the very heart of the glittering court of Louis XVII, where she must make an impossible choice between guild, blood, betrayal and war.

I want to preface this review of The Court of Miracles with saying that I really enjoyed this book, I just had some issues with the way some of the things that went down and how the story was structured. I really loved the characters and the politics of everything that happened with the different factions and groups of people. I have never read The Jungle Book or Les Miserables, but I have seen the film of Les Miserables so I was a little bit aware of the different characters as and when they popped up. One thing I will say was there was a lot of jumping around and there was a lot crammed into one book especially as this is actually a series.

The number of characters in The Court of Miracles felt a little overwhelming at the beginning but that definitely calmed down and became a little more manageable as the book moved forward. I thought the main character was really well done, Nina’s development as a character was brilliantly done, I loved watching her find her place in the world and working out how everything runs. I will say it was a little unbelievable how wonderful she was at everything straight away, and the relationships she develops throughout the books were a little much. I didn’t think the problem I have with the relationships throughout this book was that some of them were really well developed and were great and others felt like an addon that hadn’t been fully thought through.

This book had so many best bits for me and I loved so many moments of it. One thing and maybe this should go in characters but the development of Ettie was so well done and watching her life in motion made me fall in love with the world so much more than anything Nina did. Also the politics that run all the way through The Court of Miracles were so well done, which is something I am always pleased for. This book is obviously based on France during the failed revolution and I was surprised by how well the real life politics translated into this book and how the politics of the Court and the different groups added more to the story, it was really well done.

The one thing I struggled with when I was reading The Court of Miracles was the fact that the Les Miserables part of this story seemed to be an afterthought and it could be a little jarring when it was thrown back in. I don’t think it was as seamless as I thought it should have been. I kinda wish that it wouldn’t have been included and the characters would have stood on their own and without the pressures to suddenly become other characters. I found myself forgetting who was who and then being whiplashed when it came clear. There was also SO much happening all the way through this book that it just felt like too much, we were constantly time travelling and jumping from spot to spot. It just made the reading experience a little odd and jarring and it was the main reason this wasn’t a 5-star read.

I definitely would recommend The Court of Miracles. I loved this book and the characters and I cannot wait to see where this series ends up going and if it carries on with the Les Miserables influence or if it will branch out on its own.

Is this book on your TBR? Are you excited to read it? Let me know in the comments!