The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - ESSENTIAL

Mead, Richelle The Glittering Court, 400 pages.  Razorbill (Penguin), 2016.  $20.  

Language: PG-13 (17 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (mention of same sex marriage); Violence: G (danger, but nothing graphic).

She used to have another name, but now she is known as Adelaide.  In order to escape an arranged marriage, she has taken her maid’s name and joined a group called The Glittering Court which trains lower class girls from Osfrid in skills of the upper class and then transports them to the wilds of Adoria as potential brides of the men who are working to tame the New World.  Only one person knows Adelaide’s secret, and he is the one with whom she is falling in love, willing to leave everything behind and follow him into the wilderness.

This is a perfectly acceptable romance book, filled with beautiful dresses and manner plays.  What I don’t understand is why she felt the need to create a new universe for the book when it could have very easily taken place in our reality and just been slightly alternate history.  And I really don’t understand where the rest of the Glittering Court went to, as this was not the first shipment of girls to Adoria.  So enjoy this as long as you don’t think too hard about the details.  The title and the cover will sell the book, so don’t be afraid to purchase.

MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher