ellieroth's review against another edition
2.0
Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento
Tengo tantos sentimientos encontrados con Girl in the Shadows y no del todo positivos. Lo que me gustó del primer libro fue la magia que recorría el circo, los misterios "normales" que me esperaba. Pero Girl in the Shadows me ha dejado con una sensación no sólo de decepción, sino también un poco de enfado.
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Tengo tantos sentimientos encontrados con Girl in the Shadows y no del todo positivos. Lo que me gustó del primer libro fue la magia que recorría el circo, los misterios "normales" que me esperaba. Pero Girl in the Shadows me ha dejado con una sensación no sólo de decepción, sino también un poco de enfado.
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howlsmovinglibrary's review against another edition
2.0
*I received a free ARC copy for this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Moira is an aspiring stage musician, who finds out that she has real magic. When an invitation to join the mysterious Cirque American mistakenly falls into Moira’s possession, she takes joins them in the hopes of proving to her father that she has as much talent as him. But when a series of high stakes escape acts leave her performing real impossible feats, Moira discover she is one of the Prestigae, real magicians with powers beyond any stage trick.
This book had an interesting premise, combining real and performance magic in the same style as The Prestigate (as perhaps inferred by the group name Prestigae), in a more modern setting. Moira decides to escape her overbearing father, who refuses to let her follow in his footsteps, by joining a world renowned circus as it's resident magician. Performing seemingly impossible mistakes, Moira must balance her burgeoning magic with the desire for fame and fortune, while also avoiding the sinister Prestigae whom she has somehow remained hidden from.
There were several things that I thought were done well in this book. I liked the setting of the story in the world of Vegas and the circus, it was a fun environment to set a story in and the reader learns a lot of technical detail about magic and it's mechanics, which was new and interesting information. I also liked the way that gender was addressed in the world of magic - very few women are as successful as their male counterparts, and Moira emphasised this dynamic a lot in her interactions with her father and with other male performers in her life. I liked that this was something that the author chose to highlight in the performance setting.
However, as is often the case with ARCs, this story was in need of some serious editing. It got very longwinded in places, balancing Moira's arc as a performer with the Prestigae threat, as well as several subplots and a romance. There was a lot of exposition heavy portions of this book, and while I enjoyed that when it was addressing the technical aspects of Moira's tricks, there were other points - particularly in the initial dialogue explaining what Moira's real magic was and who the Prestigae were - when it just felt heavy handed and dull. This was very much the case once I reached the ending, as it seemed to end at several places - with the ferris wheel trick, then with her father's acceptance, then with the epilogue - where I just felt that it could have been cut down. Moira's narration was very descriptive and a hard slog at times.
While I think a lot of this can be fixed with some editing, what seemed particularly unfixable was that I just didn't find Des, Moira's love interest, at all compelling or interesting, nor Moira's interaction with him. Des himself is a knife thrower who just seems to....talk a lot? He didn't really do anything interesting, didn't show much backstory, and didn't stand out as a unique character in the same way the Raleigh and Dita did. The awkwardly paced witty banter that seemed to be the basis of their attraction was clunky and not that funny, not in, say, the way of Cassandra Clare, which obviously feels very unreal but at least is amusing. And Moira's constant 'I'm here for work, I can't be interested in boys' spiel that was used to inject the relationship with a 'will they won't they' vibe was just badly done: if you use that as the reasoning, particularly when your book focuses on the issues that face women's careers in comparison to men's, having her capitulate and stay with Des just seems like a pretty confused message. And even if you ignore its implications, her reticence felt forced, as if it was needed to provide some kind of obstacle to their otherwise very boring and personality-less romance. I felt that too much time was dedicated to building a relationship that wasn't really there and wasn't particularly interesting when it was, which really impacted and otherwise interesting story.
Basically, I really liked the idea but I felt it was executed badly, with too many plotlines that meant that the worldbuilding was confusing, and a romantic plot tumour that really dragged on the book. Hopefully much of this will be fixed with editing!
Moira is an aspiring stage musician, who finds out that she has real magic. When an invitation to join the mysterious Cirque American mistakenly falls into Moira’s possession, she takes joins them in the hopes of proving to her father that she has as much talent as him. But when a series of high stakes escape acts leave her performing real impossible feats, Moira discover she is one of the Prestigae, real magicians with powers beyond any stage trick.
This book had an interesting premise, combining real and performance magic in the same style as The Prestigate (as perhaps inferred by the group name Prestigae), in a more modern setting. Moira decides to escape her overbearing father, who refuses to let her follow in his footsteps, by joining a world renowned circus as it's resident magician. Performing seemingly impossible mistakes, Moira must balance her burgeoning magic with the desire for fame and fortune, while also avoiding the sinister Prestigae whom she has somehow remained hidden from.
There were several things that I thought were done well in this book. I liked the setting of the story in the world of Vegas and the circus, it was a fun environment to set a story in and the reader learns a lot of technical detail about magic and it's mechanics, which was new and interesting information. I also liked the way that gender was addressed in the world of magic - very few women are as successful as their male counterparts, and Moira emphasised this dynamic a lot in her interactions with her father and with other male performers in her life. I liked that this was something that the author chose to highlight in the performance setting.
However, as is often the case with ARCs, this story was in need of some serious editing. It got very longwinded in places, balancing Moira's arc as a performer with the Prestigae threat, as well as several subplots and a romance. There was a lot of exposition heavy portions of this book, and while I enjoyed that when it was addressing the technical aspects of Moira's tricks, there were other points - particularly in the initial dialogue explaining what Moira's real magic was and who the Prestigae were - when it just felt heavy handed and dull. This was very much the case once I reached the ending, as it seemed to end at several places - with the ferris wheel trick, then with her father's acceptance, then with the epilogue - where I just felt that it could have been cut down. Moira's narration was very descriptive and a hard slog at times.
While I think a lot of this can be fixed with some editing, what seemed particularly unfixable was that I just didn't find Des, Moira's love interest, at all compelling or interesting, nor Moira's interaction with him. Des himself is a knife thrower who just seems to....talk a lot? He didn't really do anything interesting, didn't show much backstory, and didn't stand out as a unique character in the same way the Raleigh and Dita did. The awkwardly paced witty banter that seemed to be the basis of their attraction was clunky and not that funny, not in, say, the way of Cassandra Clare, which obviously feels very unreal but at least is amusing. And Moira's constant 'I'm here for work, I can't be interested in boys' spiel that was used to inject the relationship with a 'will they won't they' vibe was just badly done: if you use that as the reasoning, particularly when your book focuses on the issues that face women's careers in comparison to men's, having her capitulate and stay with Des just seems like a pretty confused message. And even if you ignore its implications, her reticence felt forced, as if it was needed to provide some kind of obstacle to their otherwise very boring and personality-less romance. I felt that too much time was dedicated to building a relationship that wasn't really there and wasn't particularly interesting when it was, which really impacted and otherwise interesting story.
Basically, I really liked the idea but I felt it was executed badly, with too many plotlines that meant that the worldbuilding was confusing, and a romantic plot tumour that really dragged on the book. Hopefully much of this will be fixed with editing!
lberestecki's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 Stars.
I enjoyed the first book in this series, but this follow up was disappointing. It lacked the charm of the first book, and it wasn't as well written. I thought Bond did a great job evoking emotions in the first book, but here the dialogue was stilted and the characters were flat and unlikable. It was easy to root for Jules in her story, but I didn't find it easy to root for Moira, this book's protagonist. Bond also fell prey to the "I need to throw this in here to show how progressive I am" trap a couple times, which resulted in a few heavy handed moments. Overall I was quite disappointed with this book and it lessened my enthusiasm for what I thought was a promising author.
Received from NetGalley.
I enjoyed the first book in this series, but this follow up was disappointing. It lacked the charm of the first book, and it wasn't as well written. I thought Bond did a great job evoking emotions in the first book, but here the dialogue was stilted and the characters were flat and unlikable. It was easy to root for Jules in her story, but I didn't find it easy to root for Moira, this book's protagonist. Bond also fell prey to the "I need to throw this in here to show how progressive I am" trap a couple times, which resulted in a few heavy handed moments. Overall I was quite disappointed with this book and it lessened my enthusiasm for what I thought was a promising author.
Received from NetGalley.
pantsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Loved revisiting the Cirque American. Gwenda writes such fun and entertaining mysteries, and I love her circus so much—I really wish I could visit it!
Check out my full review on FYA.
Check out my full review on FYA.
biatryce's review against another edition
3.0
While the second installment of the Cirque Americain series was not as captivating as the first, it was still enjoyable.
This time, we dive into the world of magicians and, again, Gwenda Bond did her research on the history of stage magic and especially the women involved in it. Looking up the names of the women she referenced was fascinating. I really enjoy this extra layer that she adds when many authors would use fictional characters.
I also like that, though this book is a continuation of the story introduced in Girl on a Wire, it is told by a new character/narrator. However, the two girls are very similar and it doesn't read as an entirely new voice.
The romance was predictable, like in the last book. There's not much to say about it other than it's the typical YA, unnecessary romance. It was cute, but it didn't really add anything either.
Still, I love this series. It is easy and quick to read. It is empowering to young female readers, with the added bonus of giving real world examples to look up to. It explores gender identity with one character and has a diverse cast, which I really thought was a nice inclusion.
This time, we dive into the world of magicians and, again, Gwenda Bond did her research on the history of stage magic and especially the women involved in it. Looking up the names of the women she referenced was fascinating. I really enjoy this extra layer that she adds when many authors would use fictional characters.
I also like that, though this book is a continuation of the story introduced in Girl on a Wire, it is told by a new character/narrator. However, the two girls are very similar and it doesn't read as an entirely new voice.
The romance was predictable, like in the last book. There's not much to say about it other than it's the typical YA, unnecessary romance. It was cute, but it didn't really add anything either.
Still, I love this series. It is easy and quick to read. It is empowering to young female readers, with the added bonus of giving real world examples to look up to. It explores gender identity with one character and has a diverse cast, which I really thought was a nice inclusion.
kiaramedina's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. *Thank you Netgalley and Skyscape for this eARC*
This book felt a little dry as I read it and I ended up skimming the last 50% or so. The magic (ha ha) of the first book didn't extend to this one and it fell flat.
Moira is an okay character, but honestly, I would've much rather read a book that centered around Dita. Moira lacked the spunk and character of Jules in Girl on a Wire. Throughout the book, Moira seems to patronize her father, treating him as if he were the child. She continuously acted like she was the only one who had any sense, and most everyone around her did whatever she wanted them to.
The whole book felt forced, like it was trying to hard to get me to sympathize with characters, to guess what happened next, or even to figure out who was good or bad. It relied heavily on Girl on a Wire (which I did not remember all too well) to tell it's story. And the romance felt forced as well, I never liked the love interest and didn't feel any attachment to him as the story progressed.
Girl in the Shadows is not an awful book by any means. It has topics of gender identity and consent among other things, but it's too forced and shallow to be very entertaining.
This book felt a little dry as I read it and I ended up skimming the last 50% or so. The magic (ha ha) of the first book didn't extend to this one and it fell flat.
Moira is an okay character, but honestly, I would've much rather read a book that centered around Dita. Moira lacked the spunk and character of Jules in Girl on a Wire. Throughout the book, Moira seems to patronize her father, treating him as if he were the child. She continuously acted like she was the only one who had any sense, and most everyone around her did whatever she wanted them to.
The whole book felt forced, like it was trying to hard to get me to sympathize with characters, to guess what happened next, or even to figure out who was good or bad. It relied heavily on Girl on a Wire (which I did not remember all too well) to tell it's story. And the romance felt forced as well, I never liked the love interest and didn't feel any attachment to him as the story progressed.
Girl in the Shadows is not an awful book by any means. It has topics of gender identity and consent among other things, but it's too forced and shallow to be very entertaining.
foreveryoungadult's review
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Flash Sheet
BFF Charm: Heck Yes
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: School of Carolyn Keene
Bonus Factors: The Cirque American, Magic
Relationship Status: Season Ticket Holder
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Flash Sheet
BFF Charm: Heck Yes
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: School of Carolyn Keene
Bonus Factors: The Cirque American, Magic
Relationship Status: Season Ticket Holder
Read the full book report here.