UptownOracle in Book Reviews

Uptown Oracle Reads… Court of Miracles | Criminal Masterminds during the French Revolution

The Court of Miracles
Kester Grant

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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.

The Court of Miracles is being sold as a Les Misérables meets Six of Crows book, and as someone who has read neither… I really didn’t know what to expect. But it told me it’s a fantasy set in Paris after the French Revolution and there’s going to be a criminal underbelly masquerading as a well set out “court”. This honestly just made me think of the Pirate court from the Pirates of the Caribbean, and honestly I was living for it.

Our main character Nina has been trained from a young age to be a thief by her father, who is a master in the Thieves Guild. But when her father sells her sister to the Tiger, the Lord of the Guild of Flesh – our little Black Cat pulls out all her claws. What I loved most about Nina is that despite her being hell bent on revenge and getting her sister back, she learns early on that she should not put others at risk for her own benefit. This is the opposite to her father Thenardier’s dealings, and so she learns to be a better person.

Nina is the Black Cat and some of the best scenes were watching her steal into places. Whether its the Dauphin of France’s bed chambers to steal a jewel (and a kiss), or a Prison to steal a prisoner, Nina is always thinking of ways to get the job done. Despite this, Nina does have flaws, and she makes mistakes. There’s times in the book where her plans go awry, but she still stays confident.

The Thieves Guild itself is somewhere that I would love to explore just a little bit more. The place is filled with gold and jewels stolen by the members, and it contains multiple types of thieves. I loved the introduction to the Thieves Guild as it also acts as an introduction to the Court of Miracles as a whole. Nina’s refusal to call anyone but the Lord of the Thieves Guild her father, and the city of Paris her mother was a great addition to show how important this society is.

Despite also joining the Court of Miracles, Ettie is an absolute sweetheart. She has a heart of gold and can be extremely naive, but she would do anything for Nina. They’re sisters by choice and not by blood, but watching their relationship mature throughout the book was so well written. Ettie starts off by being completely dependent, but soon learns how to survive on the rough streets of Paris.

The Tiger is our main antagonist, and is mainly just a very scary man. There’s a backstory of him being abandoned by the Court, which encouraged him to return and take over the Flesh Guild – and I think this really helped us to understand why he refuses to play by the Courts laws. He wants what he wants, and if he doesn’t get it he will lash out. In the end, I loved the dynamic between The Tiger and Nina as he starts to see her as an adversary and not just a child.

The Court of Miracles is made up of multiple guilds which contain different types of criminals. Despite being criminals and often morally corrupt, everyone under the Court is a family and there’s no judgement due to race or religion in this family. I loved that Grant ensured her cast was diverse and it pointed out issues of class throughout Paris.

The world building around Paris and the guilds really helps to build up this story of the Court of Miracles. I enjoyed the snippets of information that is told to you at the beginning, and that comes back up later. The Dead Lord likes to tell stories, and at times you really do think you’ve fallen into one of them.

Whilst Nina and Ettie are the two main characters, others appear to help them out in their schemes, including an Assassin, a Rebel and a Prince. Montparnasse, St. Juste and The Dauphin of France all see something in Nina that they like. I enjoyed the relationship she had with each of them altered throughout the book, without turning anything into a love triangle.

The pacing is slow at the very start and the middle, but picks up in between and at the end as Nina concocts a plan. The time jumps help to move the story forward at a faster pace, whilst still letting us see the main factors that help both girls grow into what they need to be.

In the end, I loved The Court of Miracles. I’ve read very little books that include this criminal underbelly aspect (the last book I can think of is Into the Crooked Place) and I think I should pick up more like it. I’m excited for the sequel and third book in the series.