The Glittering Court Review

The Glittering Court 

by Richelle Mead

Release Date: April 5th, 2016

Spoilers

Synopsis:

Big and sweeping, spanning from the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, 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.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands…

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 4 stars. It still wasn't as good as the Vampire Academy or Bloodlines, but it was definitely a step up from Soundless.

I loved the premise of the book. A girl looking to get away from her life, so she goes off to a sort of Glam school to become a proper lady, even though she already is. I just love the secrecy of it all, her pretending to be someone else. It was endlessly entertaining.

I really liked the main character, she was really sassy. The scene where she told Clara off was one of my favourite parts of the book. She would not let anyone tell who to be, should would not conform to societies expectations. She may have put on a show, but that was not who she truly was, and she understood that.

I loved Tamsin and Mira. Honestly, I am so excited to read their stories because they both sound so interesting. Mira is all secretive and mysterious with this whole hidden agenda. It will be interesting to see what she has been doing behind the scenes. The anticipation is killing me.

Tamsin is very hotheaded, but secretly has a heart of gold. She's doing everything she can to get married to a very rich man so that she can take care of her family. She doesn't want them to have to work like slaves for the rest of their lives. I respect her so much.

What drove me insane throughout most of the book, was that I couldn't figure out what the protagonists real name was, I know she went by Adelaide for the majority of the time. She didn't want to be called her original name anymore, I know it seems insignificant, but I had a burning urge to just know. So when it was finally revealed, it was a bit underwhelming. Elizabeth, I should have figured that out considering it was a pretty common classic name. 

Cedric and Adelaide were just so cute together. They had their secret little romance together, then they had their secret wedding. Then they did the deed and were all romantic about it. It sucks that Warren and Viola had to ruin the whole thing. Honestly, what a bunch of little assholes they were.

Viola was pretty nasty, she tried to blackmail Adelaide into marrying her son just because she wanted noble blood in her line, which is absolutely ridiculous. And then she spurred Warren on too. Warren was worse though. He tried to rape the main character, then he tried to kill her and Cedric, and then he tried to blame everything that went down on them. Because he's a dumbs who got everything coming to him. I was so happy when he was finally taken down and was sent back to the mother country to be punished.

Quotes:

“Do you think my being someone else's wife will change anything? Don't you know that I'd lie with you in the groves, under the light of the moon? That I'd defy the laws of gods and men for you?” 

“Bad things are always going to happen,” my father had told me in his last year. “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 them unflinchingly and endure the pain? Do we outsmart them?” 

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

“For a moment, all I could think of was my cousin Peter. He was twice my age—and married. By the rules of decent, he would be the one to inherit the Rothford title if I died without children. Whenever he was in town, he'd stop by and ask how I was feeling”