The Glittering Court - Book Review
Richelle Mead
Historical Fantasy
UK Publisher: Razorbill
(The Glittering Court #1)
Synopsis:
The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian Countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the new world. But to do that, she must join the Glittering court.
Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful and wealthy marriages in the new world. Adelaide naturally excels in her training, and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin, and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.
When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise - first as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and then when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.
Btu no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An Attraction that, if acted on, would scandalise the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands…
Review:
I have always been a big fan of Richelle Mead, but for me THE GLITTERING COURT was a big let down. Although the book dazzled me in the beginning, the story soon turned into a repetitive, longwinded tangle of plots lines. I really had to force myself to read through to the end.
When Adelaide is forced into an arranged marriage, she seizes the first opportunity to flee by taking on the name of her maid servant and joining the glittering court—a type of finishing school where young women of the working class are trained in the ways of high society—before journeying across the seas to the new land of Adoria . There, they are guaranteed rich husbands, but Adelaide must keep her identity a secret at all costs, or she will be forced to return home to life she no longer wants.
Adelaide was a strong character but I didn't understand her motives at all. She fled an arranged marriage for the opportunity to go to a hostile country, where another arranged marriage was waiting… only to toss all her careful plans into the wind when she falls into the arms of a man who was by her side the whole time…
Honestly while I liked the adventurous side of this book, the story fell flat. The whole plot rode on Adelaide’s whims and fancies, and with all the twists and turns, I’m just not sure what this book was trying to be. While I did enjoy the beginning— the initial set-up and premise of the story were really strong— this story just goes on and on and toward the end, my attention was definitely wandering.
Not only were the conflicts in the story resolved too quickly, but Adelaide never really suffered any consequences. She got everything she wanted in a nice tidy bow and as a reader, I just kept waiting for something more to happen.
The romance at least was sweet and I did cheer for Adelaide’s chosen man. I liked all the secondary characters and the world itself was beautifully depicted. The book though should have been half the size it was.
It jumped from high society to finishing school, to ship, then onto the wild west with Scottish style savages. It tried to be so many things, go in so many directions that the story felt thin. And although labeled a fantasy, there is nothing fantastical in this book. Despite being set in a made up world, the most magical things were the place names.
All in all, this book was a huge disappointment for me. 2 stars!
Have any of you read this book? Curious to know, what did the rest of you make of it?
