joanneisreading's review against another edition
3.0
This story had a lot going on, and I wanted to give Simon the main character a shake something fierce. He was doing a lot of research, and was very intelligent but he was just like ‘bad luck Bryan’ the whole time. That aside, the story was great, lots of period history, interesting look into the traveling circus life. The Circus is usually a topic I would steer clear of because of the animal abuse situation over the years but this one did not have many animals it, and the few were very loved.... this one in particular was a human side show.
jackaroni_with_cheese's review against another edition
4.0
Slow going, but well written. Characters don't feel flat. Ending is a bit predictable. Would read again.
flowers_and_cows's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I liked that it had sort of fantastical aspect to it with the tarot cards. I also kinda like that when reading about the circus performers, they weren't perfect people and that they didn't get a redemption. And that everything had a connecting mystical element to it. I also like the way Simon's relationship with Alice ended up.
An issue I did have woth it though, was that sometimes scenes would change so quickly that I'd have to reread to kinda catch up.
An issue I did have woth it though, was that sometimes scenes would change so quickly that I'd have to reread to kinda catch up.
anika_bush's review against another edition
3.0
One reviewer of this book compared it to The Night Circus and Geek Love...but the only similarity for me was the fact that they are all "circus" books. I loved The Night Circus, could not make myself like Geek Love, and this one fell somewhere between those two.
The narrative is split between two stories: a traveling circus in the 1790s and a librarian living in a crumbling house that is perched on the edge of a cliff in the modern day.
Simon, the librarian, receives an ancient, water-damaged book in the mail from an antiquarian bookseller. The bookseller states that one of Simon's ancestor's names is in the book and that is why he sent it to him. This book is what ties the two different story lines together. It is also the crux of a curse that haunts his family, especially the women in his family--"mermaids" in the circus who can hold their breath for over ten minutes...yet all end up drowning before they turn 30 and always on July 24th. July 24th is fast approaching and Simon's sister, Enola, is back in town after years away (working as a fortune teller in yet another traveling circus) and he fears that she is destined to drown.
I read the first half of the book on my kindle and listened to the last half (when my library hold finally came through). I really liked the first half, the last half seemed rushed to get to the ending she wanted. Maybe, though, that was because I was listening while cleaning the house (which I don't love--does anyone?) and I didn't love the reader of the book--I'm afraid those two things may have colored my perception of the last half.
The narrative is split between two stories: a traveling circus in the 1790s and a librarian living in a crumbling house that is perched on the edge of a cliff in the modern day.
Simon, the librarian, receives an ancient, water-damaged book in the mail from an antiquarian bookseller. The bookseller states that one of Simon's ancestor's names is in the book and that is why he sent it to him. This book is what ties the two different story lines together. It is also the crux of a curse that haunts his family, especially the women in his family--"mermaids" in the circus who can hold their breath for over ten minutes...yet all end up drowning before they turn 30 and always on July 24th. July 24th is fast approaching and Simon's sister, Enola, is back in town after years away (working as a fortune teller in yet another traveling circus) and he fears that she is destined to drown.
I read the first half of the book on my kindle and listened to the last half (when my library hold finally came through). I really liked the first half, the last half seemed rushed to get to the ending she wanted. Maybe, though, that was because I was listening while cleaning the house (which I don't love--does anyone?) and I didn't love the reader of the book--I'm afraid those two things may have colored my perception of the last half.
k8lynl3wis's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this so badly but man, so duuuulllllllll
g_a_denholm's review against another edition
3.0
An excellently woven story! I feel like if I knew about tarot I would have caught more in the storytelling, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment.
Gives me vibes like [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387124618l/9361589._SY75_.jpg|14245059]
Gives me vibes like [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387124618l/9361589._SY75_.jpg|14245059]
alisarae's review against another edition
I gave this book two tries. The first time was an ARC and the second an audiobook from the library. I had thought that the first time I didn’t want to read it because sometimes I dislike reading pdfs. I really enjoy audiobooks and I still could not get into it. Too bad; the premise seemed interesting.
lachelle45's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rain_97's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
sweddy65's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the nightmarish quality of this. My summer reading = nightmarish writing, dragging you into unsettled depths of the human psyche.