Date of Completion: 12/08/2021
I have to start this review by celebrating my very first completed audiobook! No one is more shocked than me by how much I loved listening to the narration of this book. I certainly did not expect to be able to focus on the narrated story as my mind tends to wander when I listen to people talk for a long time. Although this was not a huge problem here, I cannot tell how much of this was because of the narration or the story.
The city has a way of breeding a certain desperation
There is no denying that Kester Grant’s highly descriptive and vivid writing played a huge role in keeping me engaged. Kester constantly details what characters hear, see and smell, which creates an immersive experience that brings each scene to life.
However, as the book went on, the details which I initial loved and devoured soon became excessive and even made the book boring in some areas. This was not helped by the fact that some phrases are repeated many times. While I understand that repetition of essential information is used for emphasis, it adds very little to this story and felt unnecessary in this instance.
My complaints aside, the extensive details provided are put to good use in establishing the amazing world that serves as the setting of this book. I loved the concept of the Court of Miracles and the nine criminal guilds that it contains. I also liked that a few of these guilds are explored in more detail during the story.
The additional backdrop of 1828 Paris and the friction between the nobles and commoners was rather interesting. However, I felt that this setting is played up far more than it should, making the story somewhat disjointed and cluttered. In fact, with the world-building mainly presented in blocks of information at the start of the story, this additional layer of the setting simply prolonged the slow start.
You must make your enemies your allies. And if you can’t do that, then destroy them
It really is a shame that the world-building information could not have been delivered more creatively! Perhaps Kester simply wanted to set the scene as quickly as possible, or the complex setting could not be easily dispersed across the story. Either way, the deluge of information at the start ultimately made the initial chapters less engaging and unexciting.
Once this groundwork is completed, the fast-paced plot that emerges is captivating. There always seems to be something happening and this made me eager to continue the audiobook whenever I could. That being said, the plot also had moments that felt disjointed and lacked a strong flow. This was largely due to the various subplots that randomly emerged and some poorly executed time-jumps. I would have preferred that the subplots be explored further in subsequent books, rather than condensed into this story. This would have freed up space for the time-jumps to be outlined better and improved the flow of the story.
The diverse characters in this book is another feature that could have been amazing if properly developed. Sadly, only two characters felt somewhat developed: the main character, Eponine (Nina) Thénardier, and her adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). Even then, the awkward time-jumps in the story prevent readers from being privy to the full growth of these characters. This made it difficult for me to connect with the characters and meant I remained indifferent to their struggles and achievements.
A lot was also done to present Nina as this fierce, cunning character and to highlight her tough personality. In fact, Nina’s personality is so appealing it attracts three different romantic leads. That’s right, not one, not two, but three men! The only problem? Nina has no chemistry with all of them. Zero. Zilch. Nada!
To some extent, this lack of chemistry can be attributed to the awkward time-jumps and the one-dimensional male leads. A lot of the “romance” is also set up through childish comments from Etti or thoughts from Nina about the physical appearance of the men, which does nothing to create a strong attraction. Thankfully, the romance does not play a huge role in the story, and I think the book would have been a little stronger without it.
sometimes we must pay a terrible price to protect the things we love
Everything considered ‘The Court of Miracles‘ is an interesting book that kept me coming back for more because of its fast pace, interesting world and vivid writing. However, it is not without glaring imperfections such as underdeveloped characters, erratic time-jumps and excessive subplots. Together, these features result in a decent story that marks the beginning of a promising series.
Do you agree or disagree with anything mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below.
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[…] Ultimately, I expected to love this book since The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black is one of my favourites. However, this story was disappointing as the writing style, world, and characters failed to keep me engaged. Having been bored and confused for most of the story, not even the slight cliffhanger at the end could make me continue with this series. For those who did enjoy this story, I would recommend The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant. […]