The Nitty Gritty: 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.
Opening Sentence: "All Wretched are equal before the Miracle Court; neither blood, race, religion, rank, or name is recognized."
The Good: The world-building is rich and lush. I could smell the pain au chocolate and it made my mouth water. I coughed on the dust as they ran through the city of the death under the streets of Paris. I winched and ached as Nina was whipped with the cat of nine tails. The imagery was spectacular and it left me wanting more. Just another glimpse. I love the Court of Miracles. The different guilds and their laws and the darkness of it. I wish we could have gotten to see more of them, their people, their ethos.
The Bad: The failed revolution left a bad taste in my mouth. The whole sale slaughter of men, women and children never sits well with me and I honestly hate it. I hate how everyone just brushes it aside like St Juste should be glad he wasn't caught up in the death of hundreds of people. I hate how damn spineless the Crown Prince was. It was a part of the plot that added nothing to the tale and wouldn't have taken away anything if it had been left out.
The Ugly: You know how you can spot a Mary Sue in a book? The main character is a girl, woman, old lady, female presenting characters and the rest of the cast of characters are boys, men, male presenting characters. you have Nina as the main character, and then her sister Azelma (who gets a whole chapter before she is swallowed up) and then her adopted sister Ettie. The rest of the cast are non-femme characters.
Nina is a complete Mary Sue. She is good at everything without the effort of learning or being taught. Everyone is in total love with her at first glance and willing to risk life, limb and liberty at her every whim. She listens to no one and always knows just what to do. She manages to walk into the French Palace and steal one of the crown jewels from the neck of the Dauphine without so much as a plan. She breaks into the most feared prison in Paris and manages to break out not one but two prisoners. She gets the Crow Prince of France to give her carriages full of bread, grain and other foodstuffs to fead all the guilds for months.
Basically everything she touches turns to gold and loves her with a shining devotion and loyalty that is not earned nor returned.
Nina is selfish and hides behind her tender heart to use and abuse people to their own peril. When she lost her sister, she put Ettie in the path of the Tiger to use her has a sacrificial lamb and then when she comes to her senses its too late to save Ettie, and then sparks off everything else in the book.
Thenardier, her father is just fodder for the chance for Nina to show how awesome is she. Here is a man that is a Master in the Thieves Guild. He has attained his greatness, he has a way to keep gold in his pocket, he has power, he has animals to do his bidding. And yet he sells his daughter to the Lord of Flesh?
Why? The price he got could have been stolen and in his hands in a single night of burgling. And then he just, 'always backs the winning side'. But why!! Where is his motivation to be this way? What is there to be gained by being this way? You can't just have a man sell his own flesh and blood to a slaver that he knows is going to use ad abuse his daughter for a few pieces of gold that he doesn't need. It doesn't make any sense.
The Court of Miracles gets 3 Hearts despite its main character who doesn't deserve the love and loyalty of the rest of the characters.
