tweetybugshouse
Written on Sep 7, 2017
Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging 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 later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor. But 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 unchafled lands.
- ISBN10 1595148418
- ISBN13 9781595148414
- Publish Date 5 April 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 29 June 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Razorbill
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 416
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781595148414
Reviews
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Jan 28, 2017
Mainly because Mead is plainly ripping off US colonial history. Pick up your nearest US history textbook, substitute England and America for “Osfred” and “Adoria”, insert a predictable romance and you’re suddenly reading The Glittering Court. I’m barely exaggerating here. The point in the novel in which I realized there was nothing more to it than that is exactly where I lost interest.
As someone who loved the Vampire Academy series and came to love its spinoff series, I finished The Glittering Court out of respect for Mead as an author. But honestly, I’m so disappointed. The world-building felt lazy. It’s like Mead just decided to use US colonial history as a foundation for this world and barely bothered to further develop it on her own, besides slapping new labels on territories and indigenous populations. This is especially disheartening because the development of the Vampire Academy world was just so fantastic. The writing itself was quite good, though. It had a Jane Austen feel to it, especially before the setting change.
Things get very political towards the end and it all feels out of left field. Seriously, it’s like at that point she was just grabbing things from a history book. Religious persecution, persecution of indigenous populations, tense relations with the motherland, murmurs of rebellion, so on and so forth. It’s all very 1770-ish, which doesn’t jive well with the book cover. Although beautiful, the cover now seems misleading, even though it still might be the best thing about The Glittering Court. I have no desire to hear the next installment. Furthermore, I’m now questioning whether or not I even want to give Soundless a shot.
Narration review: Besides the cover, Kristen Sieh was the other best part of The Glittering Court. The tone of her voice was lovely and it had a slight rasp to it, which I found very pleasing. Her vocal distinction was wonderful and immediately helped me visualize each character. Her voicing of Ada had me wondering if she was Rose Leslie in disguise (Gwen from Downton Abbey). If you do plan on giving The Glittering Court a shot, I recommend listening to it. I was very impressed with Sieh’s performance and I plan to check out more of her work soon! ♣︎
jeannamichel
Written on Jan 27, 2017
The Countess of Rothford is forced into an unwanted marriage to rescue her from her family’s dwindling funds. Instead, after hearing a sales pitch for the Glittering Court, a finishing school for low-class ladies who get to play Bachelor in the New World, that sounds like the better option to her marriage. The New World is a fantastic idea to explore freedom and a life she has always dreamed of.
I was surprised The Glittering Court didn’t go too much into her time at school. Essentially, I feel a bit deceived at what this book was about. The synopsis and title both emphasize the Glittering Court. Therefore, I was expecting the story to be about her time and only that time at the school, rather it goes far beyond that.
The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead is certainly glamorous more than anything else.
All I could keep thinking about was how the Court seemed to be such a scam, and maybe not to the low-class ladies it was meant for but especially for Elizabeth, Countess of Rothford. She was getting the short end of the straw in this deal. She wanted freedom, an escape from an unwanted marriage to be thrown right back into another marriage that she may not want. She falls for a sales pitch and the freedom of the New World is what sold her. I understand it but her whole decision seemed too impulsive, considering if you think about it too long, you can come up with a list of things of how a countess journeying to the New World is dangerous. Her sheltered life did not prepare her for this and it makes her undeniably vulnerable.
For the amount of times, Elizabeth comments on the New World being new, I would be as rich as a noble by now.
The story was written magnificently well. Coming from Richelle Mead, this is no surprise. Her style is gorgeous. I was immediately swept into this historical realm.
There was just not enough answers to all the questions. All of the friendships in The Glittering Court were based on “I’ll keep my secrets and you’ll keep yours” which doesn’t let us see the other characters in anything but a superficial light. I got to know the narrator quite well but I knew little about the people around Elizabeth who seemed to have so many secrets. When those secrets were finally revealed, there seemed to be no fanfare. I knew so little about the characters to begin with that these secrets didn’t hold much power in the end.
This novel would be perfect for television. The book plays as if it was a whole season of the show. Mead just keeps going on and on, until The Glittering Court started feeling like a long filler episode, an episode that may highlight character development but does little to move the story along. It was difficult finding the whole point to the novel. It was all over the place with too many questions hanging unanswered and a plot that never seemed to end.
It is difficult to explain what the book is about because so much happens that there is no one thing pointing as the main story. To be frank, The Glittering Court is just about: a broke countess escapes an unwanted marriage by journeying to the New World to play Bachelor only to fall in love with someone unexpected.
So much is going on that there was never a dull moment. The Glittering Court was definitely entertaining, always bringing the unexpected.
My main reason for reading was, of course, because of Richelle Mead. I loved the Vampire Academy series and enjoyed her standalone, Soundless. I was expecting her gorgeous prose and received it well in The Glittering Court. However, even if it wasn’t written by the amazing Mead, the first sentence would have forced me right into the story anyway.
The narrative, especially that first sentence sucked me right into this historical society. The dialogue was also the perfect amounts of sass and humor.
It did, however, lack a map. I would have loved to see a map in building Richelle Mead’s world in my mind. The map would have added to the beauty of the book. It does play like historical Europe meets the American Frontier, which is easy enough to understand without a map but it would have been nice to see.
Isn’t it terrible that I didn’t know Elizabeth’s name until they mention it at the 75% point? I don’t recall them ever using her real name before that time. She uses her maid’s name, Ada, to fit in more easily and I just kept calling her Ada.
The whole plan is super flawed which leads to the plot being a bit ridiculous. However, the idea of the story is fresh and unique.
I liked the strength Elizabeth had. Despite her messy plan, I found her to be realistic, witty, and above all strong. I was waiting for her to lay the complaints on thick—of all the terrible things she must endure in the New World—and was surprised when she didn’t complain too much. Her character had developed so far from the impulsive countess we knew from page one.
The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead is filled with too much, leaving the book with little point to even carry on in the series. Mead does bring her gorgeous writing which definitely makes this mess of a novel worth reading.
Sam@WLABB
Written on Sep 28, 2016
I loved the historical feel in this imaginary world. I liked the idea of freedom that ran through the story. Freedom of religion, freedom to select the life you want to live, freedom to be with the one you love, and physical freedom. In this world of glamour, parties, and wives for purchase, Mead gave us a multitude of strong female characters - Adeline, Tamsin, Mira, and Aiana. They were strong willed, strong minded, and even, physically strong. I can also attest to the swoony romance. I found myself frequently swept away by it. I am eager to read Tamsin and Mira's stories, as there are secrets I want to know. A great start to Mead's new series.
Jordon
Written on Jun 2, 2016
I loved Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and enjoyed her Bloodline series - Both of these series have strong independent woman who learn and grow through their mistakes or others'. I expected an enjoyable read when I picked up The Glittering Court, I thought it was going to be about a woman taking charge of her life, I thought since this was written by Richelle Mead I would love it. What I did not expect was to feel hollow and confused by the end, I didn't expect to feel so fired up about how much I just did not like this, I did not expect to feel annoyed at the characters or the world building; but I was.
The Glittering Court irked me in so many ways that I can't even remember them all.
1. This book was nothing that I expected. In a bad way.
I thought The Glittering Court was going to be about a woman taking her life in her own hands in a society that looked down upon woman. However this was not about a strong woman taking charge of her life at all; it was about a woman running away with no care or regard to the consequences and how that would affect anyone else including her only family, about a woman breaking all of the rules and getting away with it, about a woman entering a school that trained poor woman to be the best wives they could be for a man.
I had expected adventure, romance, emotion and a detailed world. I felt like I didn't really get any of that, and it made me sad.
2. I was bored and confused.
For most of this story I was confused, I was confused as to why Adelaide wouldn't confide in anyone except Cedric, I was confused about the point of the story, I was confused that Richelle Mead was even the one to write this. I say that because this story felt quite hollow, plain and boring compared to her other series' that I have read (admittedly I have not read more than the two series' above).
Nothing much happened the whole of the book. Or should I say, a lot happened, but none of it was engaging or exciting. Adelaide ran away, she entered a finishing school so she could be shipped to the new world and sold off like cattle, she fell in love (Oh the horror) with the wrong man, her living conditions depleted exceptionally, she struggled through the changes. I just did not care about any of it, for some reason I was not entertained by any of this at all.
It was only near the end that I got stuck in this book, but only because I wanted to know what happened and what the twist was. Also, I wanted to know how the characters were going to get out of the mess they had gotten themselves in to.
3. This book did not sit well with me
The Glittering Court was a book about women being sold off to men to be their wives, while I understand that this was done in olden times, I still couldn't quite comprehend the reason this book was written. Adelaide may have tried to take her life into her own hands but she still conformed to society. She was weak and could do nothing else. I personally did not find this very entertaining.
4. Everything was obvious
Everything about this book painfully obvious, the romance was so clear it was dull, in fact it felt like the 'romance' had been taken out of the romance. Cedric's secret was a boring secret, it didn't really have any meaning to the readers and I felt like it was put there because Adelaide needed a reason to try and win the money of the Glittering Court to help him out.
The only things that weren't obvious were Tamsin and Mira. We were told near to nothing about what was happening with them, so there were no leads to guess what was going on.
5. There were barely any character relationships
I really didn't like the fact that we got practically no character development or much of a deep relationship with the other characters in this book, we didn't get to learn much about them at all and therefore I just could not care about them. I get that Adelaide's two friends will probably be the narrators of the next two books, but that just makes them boring characters in this book. We knew that Mira was up to something, Adelaide knew it but we never got told any of the details. I'm guessing this was to entice the reader with the next story.
I have a feeling I may pick up the next book simply jist to find out what on earth is going on in Mira or Tamsin's world. I don't know if the next book will be about either of them, I'm completely just guessing because of how little information was revealed about them, but I feel like their stories will be a lot different to this story. This story just wasn't the right story for me.
The Glittering Court was a disappointment to me unfortunately. There wasn't anything I liked about it, the characters were boring or annoying, the story felt obvious and plain, there were no kick ass-ing characters - and I so wanted kick ass-ing characters!
If you think you're prepared enough for this book, then go ahead and give it a shot. You may like it a whole lot more than I did.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Do you agree with my points or not?
Always,
Jordon
This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift
Briana @ Pages Unbound
Written on May 30, 2016
The book is told in first person past tense from the POV of protagonist Elizabeth/Adelaide. The problem is that Mead doesn't go to a lot of trouble to make it a believable first person voice. Adelaide comments on all sorts of details and notices all sorts of things that would be better told from an omniscient third person POV. Add to this the fact that Adelaide does a lot of telling rather than showing (usually about how talented she is at...well, everything), and the writing style leaves something to be desired.
I did find Adelaide annoying even beyond her tendency to self-praise, though I acknowledge that Mead is probably intentionally characterizing her as full of herself--to some degree. Adelaide grew up in a very privileged position as a countess in the Old World, so Mead does put some effort into realistically making her a pesron who isn't really aware of her privilege until it's taken from her, and then naturally reacts badly to the fact the world suddenly isn't revolving around her. So I get it. Making Adelaide too "likeable" may have makde her unbelieable. However, I do think that Mead actually does expect readers to like her, and to believe that' she's all the things she keeps saying she is: witty, charming, endearing, beautiful, and talented at 100% of social arts. And I didn't actually find her witty or charming at all, just bland and obsessed with herself, with the occasional foray into selflessness for her lover (not necessarily for anyone else).
The other characters were equally bland to me, so although the next two books are apparently supposed to be companion novels that follow Adelaide's two BFFs, I'm not really interested in them. It didn't help that the best way Mead could think of to build suspense for these follow-ups was to have one of the characters tell the secrets she had been hiding to Adelaide--but still keep that information hidden from the reader: "'Tamsin...You can tell me anything. Go ahead and ask whatever you need to.' So she did." Seriously, that's the big reveal readers get of Tamsin's secrets, "So she [told me]." The other girl flat out refuses to say anything at all, so we all have to tune into book 3.
The rest of the is similarly bizarre. I don't have a problem with a large chunk of the book being devoted to the aimlessness of social gatherings and courting, because that's what this book is selling: pretty girls and pretty gowns in the vein of The Selection. That's what people are reading for. However, the book in general is episodic. Though this is probably going to be an obscure reference, it reminds me a lot of Vandover and the Brute by Frank Norris, in that a lot of stuff happens, but it's often so unrelated and so irrelevant to any overarching plot that it's actually hard to remember that half of it happened at all. Then things go wild at the end. The pacing gets out of control and a bunch of random characters converge. It's certainly exciting, but I'm not sure about well-executed.
I feel kind of terrible, but I can't think of anything I really enjoyed about this book. There were parts I disliked deeply and parts I was simply indifferent to, but nothing stands out as a really strong positive trait. This first foray into the books of Richelle Mead is likely to be my last.
cornerfolds
Written on Apr 24, 2016
Initial reaction:
Wow. Okay, full disclosure - I almost DNF'd this book several times and only decided to finish it so my review would be fully informed. Basically I wanted to make sure I wasn't complaining about things that were later worked out. There are so many things wrong with this book I don't even know where to begin, but I'll try to make a coherent review out of this.
The Glittering Court is a book that is trying to be way too many things all at once. Someone (the author? the publisher?) saw fit to market this book as fantasy for some reason I can't quite figure out. The best way I can describe this book is historical fiction with lots of name swaps. The setting varies from 19th century England Osfrid to the American Frontier Adoria, where they are literally mining for gold. This book has it all! English(ish) nobility, pirates, Native Americans Icori "savages," and Pagans Alanzan heretics.
To be honest, The Glittering Court seems like (at least) two books crammed into one, although neither quite works for me. The first half is about Elizabeth's Adelaide's desperate flight from an arranged marriage... into another arranged marriage where she will actually be sold to the highest bidder. Um... what? So anyway, Adelaide runs away to The Glittering Court where she will (pretend to) learn to be a lady in order to gain passage to the New World for... reasons. Fast forward eight months and she's on her way! Then the whole story spirals into a Wild Wild West story complete with cowboys and Indians. But, wait! There's more! Every time this book seems like it might be over, it keeps going. Seriously, this book has more endings than The Lord of the Rings.
The Glittering Court made no sense at all and left me with more questions than answers. Here are a few:
- HOW did no one find Elizabeth/Adelaide?? She was an extremely well-known, influential member of high society in a time period when pictures existed. And NO ONE thought to look in a house full of girls her age that her maid had a connection to?
- Better yet, how was this not in every newspaper? How did no one at The Glittering Court know about this? Much suspension of disbelief is needed.
- Why in the hell would Adelaide run away from an arranged marriage into an arrangement where she would basically be sold to the man with the most money? What exactly was Richelle Mead's thought process when she came up with this plot?
- How exactly did this "romance" with Cedric even happen? Maybe this would have been better explained had eight months of their story not been jumped over, but I did not buy it at all. They go from acquaintances to in love with next to no explanation.
- What was the point of the Alanzan religion? It seemed like it was thrown together last minute for added drama.
- Is what Tamsin has at stake really that big of a secret? Are there people who didn't figure this out immediately?
This brings me to the actual ending of The Glittering Court, also known as the most glaring example of deus ex machina I have ever seen in my reading life. Just... wow. Dear authors everywhere, bringing in a random character who has never appeared in the story to save the day is extremely lazy writing and your readers are not fooled.
I haven't even gotten into the blatant sexism and racism in this book, or the fact that the secondary characters are infinitely more interesting than Adelaide is. I could honestly go on and on with the problems I found with The Glittering Court, but I'll leave it at that. I wanted to enjoy this book so much. Unfortunately, my first Richelle Mead book is definitely going to be my last.
liz089
Written on Apr 9, 2016
REVIEW.
This is the first book in the new The Glittering Court series by Richelle Mead. There will be three books in total, each featuring a different main character and has its own self-standing story.
So, of course I had to read this book.. It is a Richelle Mead book. That used to mean something, because well, she wrote one, no two, of my all-time favorites: The Vampire Academy series and the Georgina Kincaid series. I read some mixed reviews about this one, saying that it was dull and focused more on the clothes they wore then the plot. But I was stubborn and had to find out for myself.
But I will say it outright: I am really disappointed with this one. I really had to push myself to continue this series, and I had thoughts about DNF’ing this book on multiple occasions. But I kept hoping for it to get better.. which did not happen.
I really liked the sound of this book, it sounded kind of Victorian with it’s pretty dresses and a Glittering Court, combined with the New World and discovering gold.. And they said it would be a fantasy book, so yeah, count me in. BUT THIS IS NOT A FANTASY NOVEL. Not at all. Okay so maybe it is not set in this world, but apart from that, nothing magical or whatsoever happens. Nothing supernatural or powers or different creatures. NOTHING. So I don’t know how they dare to call this a fantasy novel, but it really is not.
So the story is about a countess who does not want to marry some dull guy and decides to run. She takes the place of her maid and goes to the Glittering Court. There they will all be transformed into ladies ready for the New World and to marry of some rich guy. (Maybe it’s me.. but did she not run away because she wanted to have a choice in marrying?) But well.. of course she falls for Cedric, the son of the man behind the Glittering Court. Of course they get discovered and it becomes a HUGE scandal. Because, New World or not, people stay petty and stab you in the back. Talking about that last one.. When someone offers you something that is too good to be true, IT USUALLY IS !!! OF COURSE it was all a big ruse. DUHHHH. Because of course, when some weird and psycho guy that wanted to marry you (even blackmailing you into marrying him) suddenly offers you and your husband-to-be a chance of a lifetime, you take it !
OMG. I got so frustrated during this book. Everything was so INCREDIBLY PREDICTABLE and STUPID. I had so many moments in which I wanted to bang this girls head into a wall, hoping for some clarity in her thoughts. They make her out to be really smart and perfect and blablabla, but for someone who is supposed to be so smart she makes the most horrible choices.
I really disliked the main character, “Adelaide”… She’s on that big high horse and nobody else is as good as she is. She acts and high and mighty all the time. I really disliked that. Nobody is perfect. But of course everybody thinks she is great and amazing and UGHHH. Oh and she can paint ANYTHING. Just.. very convenient..
And let me not even start on Cedric, because not only is he completely dull and boring, but he too makes the most ridiculous choices. And when the shit hits the fan they are all shocked and victims. NO you are NOT a victim, you’re just STUPID. EXTREMELY STUPID.
And because there is nothing more frustrating than stupid people I had ZERO connection to this people and the story.
I still can’t explain how a book that has a lot of things happing, can still make it so hugely dull. They start in the Old World, get to the Glittering Court, get into a boat during storm season (I can’t even..) to the New World, live a bit in Cape Triumph, get to the settlement to hunt for gold.. But it is still told so dispassionate. I felt no attraction between the main characters and I would care less about how there story would have ended.
Honestly, I would not have cared if they would have died because of their own stupidity.
I can’t help wondering if Richelle Mead lost some of her touch? She used to be a great writer, but with this kind of.. “story”, I don’t even know if I want to bother with her future work. I think I will just wait and see how others experience it, but I’m not going to blindly pre-order something because it is her. It might sounds harsh.. but she really disappointed me with this book..
So was there anything good ? Yeah, maybe the side character Mira. She stayed quite mysterious throughout the book that it did get me interested in her story.. especially when she is probably a kick-ass heroine. Which is also kind of predictable. UGH.
So, I might be a bit more harsh then I normally am when it comes to reviews, but in this case that is because I expect more from her. This is the writer behind Rose and Dimitri, behind Georgina and Seth.. and now all I get is this weak rip-off ??
FINAL THOUGHTS.
Like I’ve said before, I was really looking forward to this book and it really disappointed me. You know, the more you look forward to something, the easier it is to be disappointed. I found myself very disconnected from this story and its people, and caught myself skimming through the pages more and more. So I think I will have to go with 2 Freyja’s.. I can’t make more of it. Would I recommend it ? No, because this book is quite large (over 400 pages) but so little interesting things happened.. I would recommend to read something else instead.
shannonmiz
Written on Mar 14, 2016
4.5*
Ooooh this book was good. I thought that it was going to be good, of course. Because otherwise why would I have wanted to read it, right? But this totally exceeded my expectations! I was expecting a fun adventure about secrets and dresses and romance and stuff, but what I got was more- a lot more. Sure, those things are in the book too. The only minor qualm I can tell you about (and let's just get this out of the way so we can get to the good stuff!) is that there were a few parts that felt predictable to me. I wanted just a tad more suspense, but that is my only complaint!
The Awesomeness of The Glittering Court: A List!
- Female. Friendship. This is just the biggest win of the whole book. You'd think that in a book about competing to win husbands, the girls would be catty and uncivil- and some were, and frankly, they all had their moments, which is why it was so realistic- but when it came right down to it, Tamsin, Mira, and Adelaide had each other's backs.
- The females in general were also full of win. Again, this could have been a bunch of drama from girls just looking to land a hubby. But this was not the case. These ladies wanted the chance to go to the new world. And just so I can paint you a picture, in the world that is crafted in this book, women don't have many options, and are looked down upon as property. So these women trying to make a life for themselves was pretty damn brave in itself! I loved Adelaide, Mira, and Tamsin best of all, of course. They all had flaws and faults, but they were so authentic, and came from such different backgrounds, it was easy to become immersed in their stories.
- This world is incredible! So, it isn't England and America circa 1600... but it is. Like, a lot of the aspects of it are the same, in a general way. The old world order with royalty and luxury but no freedom, versus the new, frightening continent with opportunity but peril. There are natives to the land who are being pushed out, and there are some religious people who, if you ask me, act a lot like Puritans. It's awesome- I am such a fan of this time period, but doing it in a fictional setting where we can have the awesomeness of the court situation (and other awesome stuff that would be spoilery to tell you about, but trust that it is fabulous)? Biggest win ever!
- The romance is slow and swoon-worthy. And hate-turned-love. Who doesn't love that? Oh and it is a big no-no. I mean this romance was quite literally every single thing I love about a romance. There was banter, too! I loved both characters, too, so it was just the absolute perfect romance. I most definitely ship it.
- We get to venture back into this world- but with Mira and Tamsin this time! Oh yes, this is a thing. From Goodreads:
Each book in the trilogy is self-standing and told from the point of view of one of three girls as they travel to and experience life in the New World, becoming enmeshed in her own adventures and romantic intrigues while also playing a role in her friends’ stories—often in ways that aren’t obvious until the series is complete.
- Even the side characters are fabulous. Like itty bitty characters, some of whom we only meet briefly, are still super fleshed out and add to the story.
Bottom Line: This book got me out of a pretty serious slump. And it pretty much checks off every single element I look for in a book. Clearly, I recommend!
*Copy provided by publisher for review