“I’d never planned on stealing someone else’s life.”
Richelle Mead‘s new book, The Glittering Court, takes readers on a journey of hidden identities and ambitions in the new fantasy worlds of Osfrid and Adoria.
To avoid a horrible arranged marriage (and an even more horrible future mother-in-law), the young Osfridian Countess of Rothford jumps at her first opportunity to escape: impersonate a low-born lady-in-waiting and join the Glittering Court. Each year, the Glittering Court recruits a select group of attractive young lower-class women to be trained in all things fashionable and proper for a woman of good standing and then brings them to the “new world” of Adoria to find suitable marriages with the nouveau riche. For the Countess, the opportunity and adventure of Adoria is a dream come true. She assumes the identity of Adelaide Bailey – her witless lady-in-waiting – and leaves with the Court’s last group of recruits. Her only ally in this deceit and the only one who knows her true identity is Cedric Thorn, the son of the owner of the Glittering Court who “acquired” the original Adelaide. To avoid being turned in and sent home, Adelaide makes a deal with Cedric (who has his own secrets) to fly under the Court’s radar. But it is difficult to go unnoticed when she so easily excels at all things high-born and ladylike…
Complications easily arise for Adelaide and Cedric, especially when the Glittering Court crosses the seas from Osfrid to Adoria. There, the past is never too far away and the future can be just as dangerous.
The Glittering Court is something like this: a fictional version of England and colonial America (of course, with different names) and something kind of resembling mail-order brides but with fancy ball gowns and high-born-ladies training. As ridiculous as that sounds, it actually is really interesting and well-written! There are even pirates!
Adelaide’s time with the Glittering Court was by far my favorite part. I thought those sections were the strongest of the book, as they should be – it is called The Glittering Court, after all! Some of my favorite characters were Adelaide’s roommates and best friends, Tamsin and Mira. They were such interesting, and yet mysterious, characters that I wish we could have learned more about them (more on that in a minute). And of course, the obvious love interest for Adelaide is Cedric, whose protectiveness and devotion to her is the stuff all knights in shining armor are made of. Their relationship is seriously adorable.
The Glittering Court is the first in a trilogy about young women seizing control of their lives in any way possible. The next two books will focus on Tamsin and Mira’s experience during the same span of time and I cannot wait to finally learn the truth about the secrets they kept in Adelaide’s story!
Twisted Talk: What would you do to take control of your future? Will you read The Glittering Court? Discuss below!
