A countess of Osfrid is torn between duty and destiny when she is presented with an opportunity to escape for the wild and untamed land called Adoria. Stealing the identity of one of her servants in order to flee from an arranged marriage, Adelaide joins the Glittering Court.
The Glittering Court is where young women of impoverished backgrounds come to transform into ladies who are eager for wealthy marriages in Adoria. Adelaide, having grown up as a countess, struggles to hide her identity from her new friends, Tamsin and Mira.
The only one who knows her true identity is Cedric Thorn, son of the owner of the Glittering Court. Things get complicated when both Cedric and Adelaide acknowledge the
forbidden love growing between them, and a powerful governor wants Adelaide for his own. In this young adult tale of love and identity, Adelaide and Cedric fight against all odds to be together.
“The Glittering Court” is a fantastic start to a trilogy about all three of the girls we come to know and love: Adelaide, Tamsin, and Mira. The first book, “The Glittering Court” focuses entirely on Adelaide’s journey as she leaves the familiarity and comforts of high society to pretending she is an impoverished girl and working hard to get by in a world that thinks nothing of her.
The book is by Richelle Mead, author of “The Vampire Academy,” and her writing skills show in this fantasy book. She takes the reader to a new world where women are considered inferior to men and do not have a say in their own destiny. Mead creates a sense of desperation and need to escape in not only her main character, Adelaide, but the reader as well.
Imagine being one of the descendants of a man who helped found Osfrid, getting a strong title from being a descendant of that man, but then being unable to act alone with that title. That title brings in suitors with wealth and ability to make change in Osfrid and in Adoria. That title also brings powerlessness to Adelaide. With everyone watching her every move, Adelaide is unable to become an independent woman with her own thoughts and opinions. This is the power struggle that Adelaide faces on a regular basis. It is a juxtaposition to have such power while being completely powerless to change her own destiny until the opportunity of “The Glittering Court” presents itself.
Toward the end of the book, the writing purposefully becomes vague when referencing Tamsin and Mira’s fates. The ending relies wholly upon the reader turning to the second and third books in this trilogy to find out more specifics about characters being introduced last second in “The Glittering Court.” For this reason, the argument can be made that this book is an excellent start to the trilogy, but it is not a well-written stand alone book.
That being said, if you’re into young adult fiction series, I strongly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. The writing talent that Richelle Mead shows in the first of the trilogy is exemplary and gripping.
I fully intend to read the other two books. Keep a look out for my reviews for those books as well!
Elizabeth Yuen 