The Glittering Court

“Bad things are always going to happen. There’s no way to avoid that. Our control comes in how we face them. Do we let them crush us, making us despondent? Do we face the unflinchingly and endure the pain? Do we outsmart them?”

This was definitely an interesting book. Most certainly not my favorite Richelle Mead book, that honor goes to the Dark Swan series (I can't decide which of the books is my favorite, so I'll just say they all are), but I really enjoyed it.

Elizabeth is a countess... but she feels trapped. She is practically being forced to marry an idiot she seriously dislikes, and hates that she can't escape from it, all because what is a title without wealth? Nothing but a string of words put together to form some show more phrase.
Then, Elizabeth meets Cedric, who has come to convince her maid to join the Glittering Court, a finishing school to make servants into ladies and marry them off to rich men. Elizabeth convinces the girl, Adelaide, to run away, takes her place (and assumes her name), and drives off in a coach to a finishing school is isn't in need of.

The idea of this story was fantastic (rich girl runs away, meets boy, crosses social lines to be with him, jealous third person, etc., etc.), and it definitely took some turns I wasn't expecting. Several things that I thought would be absolutely necessary for the plot turned out to not be needed at all!

“I'd never really planned on stealing someone else's life.”

Elizabeth (or Adelaide as she is better known as) is a very smart girl. She is a planner, and often comes up with schemes that seem foolhardy, but they work. Possibly because it is necessary for the plot that they succeed.... But I digress. She is initially thrilled to be free from her stifling existence as a countess, but wants to make her own choices. Independence and free-thinking are her two biggest concerns, much to the dismay of Jasper, the head of the Glittering Court, who thinks she is far to outspoken (please, she doesn't have anything on me).

“Mister Thorn, something tells me you could sell salvation to a priest.”

Cedric Thorn, the man who recruits Adelaide, is obviously the love interest from the moment he walks into the plot. The focus isn't on WHO the love interest is, it's HOW the two fall in love and HOW (if ever) they get together. He is a heretic, a scholar, and desperate for money to move to a country where freedom of religion is practiced. Adelaide is his ticket out. He is frustrated by Elizabeth impersonating a maid, but agrees to go along with it, partially because with her training, she is a shoe-in for the Glittering Court. He is a true salesman (thus the above quote), and a bit more reckless than Adelaide, who tends to think things through a little better than him. But he makes up for his tendency toward idiotic schemes by his loyal, responsible heart (bless him), and of course, his good looks.

That easy, confident grin returned. “Don’t worry, it’s easily forgotten.”
“Well,” I said huffily, “it shouldn’t be that easily forgotten.”
“Would you like it better if I say I’ll eventually forget it but not without a great deal of struggle and torment?”
“Yes.”
“Done.”

One big problem I had with this book was the fact that Cedric is fine with Adelaide being smarter than him. They joke about it many times. They'll get in a fix and he'll be like, "Come up with a plan already, brainiac" (not in those words, but that is the gist of what he says), and one time, he tells her to do something, and she immediately shoots back "You can't tell me what to do, I'm smarter than you." For a mutual relationship, respect is necessary, and if one person is obviously more intelligent than the other, than it makes respecting the less genius-like partner harder. I'm not saying that Cedric was dumb, he certainly was not! All I'm saying is he was satisfied leaving the scheming to Adelaide, letting her lead because he was okay being the "dumb" one out of the two of them.
Another problem was the fact that the girls are literally being sold to the highest bidder (though to be fair they can choose who they want if they receive more than one offer). It seems so awful and unthinkable that these girls are indenturing themselves to the Glittering Court and will have to follow through with it if they don't want to end up in the workhouse. Not cool.

I feel like this book was kind of a nod to a bunch of historical elements such as, the fading of the aristocracy and rise of the industrial age, the California Gold Rush, the colonization of the New World (America!), the Native Americans being pushed out of their homes, and of course, ladies and their roles in society. I really enjoyed that, never knowing what little gold nugget (see what I did there?) of history I would find on the next page.

All in all, though, this book was interesting. Not one that is on the top of my list to buy, and not making it to my favorites list, but a good read, and certainly an interesting plot to delve into.

“We’re all in charge of our own lives—and we have to live with the consequences of the choices we make.” show less

Richelle Mead's books tend to be my guilty pleasure reading. I (usually) like the characters and the plot, I (usually) enjoy the conflict and romance, and I (usually) reread her books whenever I'm feeling under the weather. I mean, I've read the Vampire Academy series 4 times already, so there's no question about how much I like her stories. However, The Glittering Court fails to inspire that same love I (usually) feel towards her writing.

Okay, let's get something else out of the way: I don't mind dress descriptions, court life drama, or girly adventures. I can handle tropes if the story is good enough. And I really don't mind some fantasy thrown into the mix. But holy cow, The Glittering Court is rife with gaping plot holes that is so show more hastily fixed at the end of the book that it looks like a freaking rush job (and yes I actually used the word gaping, although I despise the word). The dress descriptions are weak (no seriously, The Selection did it way better). The court life drama is some weird-ass mix-match thing that makes no sense. And worst of all, the girly adventure just made me think about a low-budget gold-rush western movie with some goody-two-shoes pirate stories thrown into the mix.

In other words, I hated this book.

The Glittering Court was fun for 35% of the read, the rest just sucked. I didn't like the characters whatsoever - Adelaide-no-Elizabeth-no-Adelaide was an annoying protagonist who still pretty much changed everything about herself for a man (doesn't matter if you're downgrading for a guy, it still makes a bad impression in stories). She, being a countess, should have known how to be conniving enough to get whatever she wants. But no. No wonder she couldn't find a husband in her old hometown. Cedric wasn't nearly as likable as one would expect from a main love interest, which is just terrible considering Richelle Mead created Dmitri Belikov - one of the best characters I've ever come across in books. Tamsin just wanted a husband. Mira - the most enjoyable character - just didn't get enough show time.

I hated this book.

I'm sorry, I have the utmost respect for Mead, but The Glittering Court is a prime example of just not caring. It could have been great, don't get me wrong, but wow! The yawn factor was just infuriating.

Sorry, but if you're looking for YA books with pretty dresses and romance, I say stick to The Selection. This is not a series you want to spend your hard-earned cash on. show less

Let me start by saying I really wanted to like this book. I loved Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series - not just loved but fell head over heels in love. Sadly thought, the first word that comes to mind upon finishing this book is: obnoxious. This applies to the genre classification, character development, and giant gaping plot holes. To begin with, the book is classified as fantasy. The only fantastical feature of this novel is the made-up names of the cities and continents. That's it. No magic, no talking animals, no supernatural creatures - nothing, unless you're counting the sheer luck of how everything "magically" works out in the characters' favors every single time. If anything, it might be able to be categorized as dystopian show more with the various groups of people and social classes clamoring over one another. With the fashion descriptions and references to building and leadership type it lends itself to a possible historical fiction, but there are no dates or time frames with which to work to determine the time period

And the characters? One of the main rules of narrative writing I was taught was you don't include characters in the story unless they have a significant purpose. After 400 pages of nonsense and new plots adding to the original ones to confuse the reader as to the actual purpose of the story, we have learned absolutely nothing about the main character's, Adelaide, best friends. I understand there are companion novels delving into the lives of these two girls, but to give no one iota of detail or insight into them really leaves me questioning why they were ever necessary in the first place. And this really ties in to the Grand Canyon sized plot holes of the story. I can't go into much detail without giving the ending away, but upon finishing this book the only thing I can really say happened is the girl started in one place and ended in another with a bunch of flimsy, obnoxious obstacles invented for her to overcome.

In the end, for me, the Glittering Court didn't really shine as the title and cover promised. What saved it from the horrid one-star grade was the few times I managed to laugh out loud at a clever piece of dialogue. You cut me deep Richelle, you cut me real deep. show less

I'm really surprised to be saying this because Richelle Mead is such a good author, but this book was boring. The beginning was okay, when Elizabeth was entering into the court and learning skills and getting to know the girls, but it wasn't that exciting. I kept waiting for conflict, but most of it was like oh, it worked out fine. There was a bit of action toward the end of the book, but by then I was over it and even that was resolved quickly with little fuss. I was hoping something supernatural would happen, based on Richelle's previous works, or some crazy plot twist, but nope. I don't think I care enough to read the next book, unfortunately. I had high hopes for this and it just was blah.

The book opens with the sentence: “I’d never planned on stealing someone else’s life.” If I were the snarky type, I would add to that: “Plot lines, on the other hand, that’s a different story!”

This book is a mash-up of many movies, television shows, and other books, ranging from The Prince and the Pauper, to My Fair Lady, to The Bachelor, and to all those YA books featuring groups of teenaged girls getting dressed up in beautiful gowns, tutored in manners, and competing to be chosen for a match with a guy who turns out not to be the guy the girl wants.

The heroine of this first in a series to come is Elizabeth Witmore, the Countess of Rothford, who is seeking to avoid an unsavory arranged marriage. Thus she switches places show more with her maid Adelaide, who is preparing to go, albeit unwillingly, to "The Glittering Court.” This is a school for girls where, along with other girls chosen mainly for their looks, students learn how to be a "lady" who will command a big bride price from one of the eager men out in the frontier country. As “Adelaide Baily,” the disguised Countess leaves with the hot recruiter for the "Glittering Court" - Cedric Thorn, and travels to her new home.

She makes friends, falls for Cedric, meets a number of caricatures, almost dies a number of times, but just then! just in time! some improbable event or the fortuitous arrival of some improbable new character out of the blue saves the day!

At the end of the book, we are left with plenty of reason (except the writing) to await the next installment.

Evaluation: While this book appealed to the young girl in me who unfortunately wanted to be one of the “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the adult me wasn’t that awed by the writing in this book. But don’t pay attention to the adult me; this book is topping the best seller lists in the young adult category. show less

A lot of things happened in this book. It was an interesting story with an interesting heroine, though I was surprised by just how many twists occurred in the plot and how long it all went on (before very abruptly rapping up). Not a super fan of the pro colonial sentiments, but they are the sentiments I’d expect from a privileged couple moving to newly settled land (and I expect these views will be critiqued a lot by the heroines in the following two books of the series) who are more concerned with gaining religious freedom rather than considering the rights stripped from the land’s actual peoples.

For a select group of girls, the Glittering Court offers a shot at a life they’ve only ever dreamed of, one of luxury, glamour, and leisure. To high-born Adelaide, whose wealthy family is forcing her into a loveless marriage, the Glittering Court represents something else: the chance to chart her own destiny, and adventure in an unspoiled, prosperous new land across the sea.

After a chance meeting with the dazzling Cedric Thorn, Adelaide poses as a servant to join the crop of impoverished girls he promises to transform into proper ladies. But her familiarity with upper class life comes with a price: she must hide her identity from her new friends, mysterious refugee Mira and fiery former laundress Tamsin, and most importantly, from show more Cedric himself—even though she’s falling in love with him.

Everything begins to crumble when Cedric discovers Adelaide’s ruse, and she catches the eye of a powerful young governor, who wants her for a wife. She didn’t leave the gilded cage of her old life behind just to become someone else's property. But nothing is as daunting—or as wonderful—as the potent, forbidden attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. One that, if acted on, would make them both outcasts in a wild, dangerous, uncharted world, and possibly lead them to their deaths. show less