The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead Book Review by Ines

This is my very first Richelle Mead book and I gave it the easiest five stars that I could ever give on GoodReads.
Going through some book talks on Youtube and some reviews on GoodReads and WordPress, I have realized that a lot of people were disappointed by this book, because the author did a huge mistake of classifying The Glittering Court in the fantasy genre; as a result, reader were expecting to at least come across some magic, paranormal creatures or an out-of-our-world sitting, but that has never come. This novel fits more in a historical- dystopian genre, this for sure, is what every reader agrees on.

Lucky me! I read this book without checking its synopsis, and that worked just perfect for me, because I was not expecting anything from it; therefore, I enjoyed my reading and found other themes than  » magic and paranormal ». And I think this is the best way to read The Glittering Court: without going through the synopsis first.

The main lead is an eighteen year old girl with the name of Elizabeth Witmore and the title of Countess of Rathford. To preserve what remained of her legacy (after the death of her parents), her grandma found her a young and wealthy baron,who shares the same blood line, to marry. The only problem was: she does not know him; she does not love him;and she can have no conversation with him, since all he talks about is his barley (He has a successful barley production, and all what he eats is barley; he has even sent some of it to Elizabeth. Who sends crops to their future wife as a present!) Thinking of this marriage, the young countess realized that she has no control over her life: her past was drawn by a bloodline that can be traced back to the country’s founders, and her future is planned according to her family’s and society’s expectations… NO CHOICES. So, she decided to give it all up and to steal someone else’s life: her maid’s, Ada. With this new fake identity, Elizabeth, oh! sorry, Adelaide joined The Glittering Court: a school and business venture that turned poor girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. There, she falls in love with one of the business owners Cedric Thorn. They kept each other’s dangerous secrets, and took care of one another. But, in a time that is more or less close to what we know as The Elizabethan Age, and a place that is almost identical to the British colonies in America, Cedric’s and Adalaide’s relation is a taboo, and it was not too long till someone found out about them. Will their love survive?  The answer is in the book. READ IT.

This book literally swallowed me inside of it; I read it during my final exams, and I put my handouts down so that I could pic up my iPad and finish reading the novel. I could connect with the characters in a very strong and strange way. Life was very hard for people in the time setting of this book; they had to live it according to their society’s thoughts and believes, no matter how old or ‘horrible’ they were. I loved both of Adalaide’s and Cedric’s characters because they rebeled against what they thought was wrong and fought for what they believed was right.

‘I am serious. You’ve made some dangerous choices.’ ‘But I made them myself,’ Cedric said.’And that’s what matters.’

Another theme that I loved in this book is: GIRLS’ POWER. Adalaide’s friends, Mira and Tamsin, are powerful young ladies. The reader could not know much about them, because  their stories will be narrated in the two upcoming novels that will complete  The Glitering Court trilogy . I cannot wait to know more about their backgrounds and the hard circumstances that made them who they are.
A little detail that I would have loved to read more about it is: the reaction of Elizabeth’s (Adalaide)  grandmother when she found out about the truth. Because she looked for her grandchild everywhere, and Elizabeth kept thinking about her all the time, it was obvious that they shared a strong relationship.

 

Another « kind of » negative thing about this novel is: the human face on the cover. The cover is beautiful, I admit that. But, I hate being given a picture of the protagonist (or any other character). I am sorry Richelle Mead, but this girl on the cover does not look like an Elizabeth or an Adelaide to me.
To conclude, the story is just amazing; I totally recommend it. The message and characters are so deep, and the reading is so enjoyable.