Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs

9 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I came into this wanting something similar to The Night Circus. While this didn't quite live up to expectations, I did enjoy the read. The ending felt somewhat disconnected from  the rest of the novel - unrealistic in the context of the reality the novel sets up for us as readers, and at points it felt as if there wasn't enough page time allowed for readers to come to care for the characters in any deeper way. 

The incestuous rape plotline was unexpected and added to the treachery in disgusting and interesting ways. I would have preferred the novel be more of a character study than ending with Charlotte as a zombified avenging angel, working for a devil, but readers (beggars) can't be choosers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Infidelity

bookaquarius's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I finally finished this! It’s not been easy to find the energy to read lately but I made it through. The Carnivale of Curiosities is a great fall read for all the people out there who really miss the atmosphere around ABC Family’s 31 Nights of Halloween. It’s seasonal and intriguing but not so scary that a delicate girl such as myself could not sleep at night. It’s a gothic horror based around Faustian bargains and has a distinct creepy, dark vibe set perfectly against a historic (foggy) London backdrop. I liked the setting, several of the characters, the mystery that left some questions turning without feeling dissatisfying, and the magic/performances that are left unexplained. I also liked the theme of people being different does not mean they don’t have a place or that they need to conform. The book wasn’t overwhelming with circus scenes as this is really more a story about characters in and around this show rather than the show itself. 

I think this story would have been stronger if the author had gone with the real main character, Aurelius Ashe, instead of trying to make Lucien happen. I understand why he needed to be prominent but Ashe was the center of all intrigue in this story and should have been the heart of the plot. All Lucien does is complain and be hot which like… go off I guess! Him and Charlotte were anticlimactic and the forced chemistry dragged this down a bit, it wasn’t awful though. Charlotte and Ashe however were incredibly compelling together platonically, especially the ending! 

There were plenty of dark moments in this story as well so beware. S.A., abuse, child loss, death, violence all have a heavy hand in this. 

Overall I enjoyed it, glad I read it this season and tried something new genre-wise! The audio book was really well done; I recommend listening to this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

littlelizzieborden's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Stalking, and Gaslighting

freshaircure's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

kristengilmore84's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Murder

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Cancer, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

bzliz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Before embarking on this book, take care in reviewing the content warnings. If you still want to read it, be prepared for the first 50% to move at a glacial pace. Once I made it past that point, much of it made sense as establishing points for the characters, but it went on for so long that I seriously considered DNFing. 

Aurelius Ashe runs the Carnivale of Curiousities but behind the scenes he can make most wishes come true, for a price. The performers of the Carnivale are a little hodgepodge of quirky characters who’ve come together as a found family. Odilon Rose is a powerful man in his own right whose ward- Charlotte- is dying. Given that he enjoys assaulting her nightly, her death would be unacceptable, so he engages Ashe’s services to save Charlotte’s life, but the consequences could be severe. 

So many bad things happen in this book that I couldn’t possibly list them all. It is well written (a little overwritten, honestly) but I cannot forgive how slow the first half is. The focus changes so frequently that it can be hard to keep track of where we are and the people involved in the scene are often concealed until we’re being moved away which makes every chapter have multiple cliffhangers. I would only recommend this to someone if they asked for the grimmest book without any actual on page assault/murder. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Infidelity, and Classism

A note about incest & rape/sexual assault:

Charlotte suffers regular assault at the hands of Odilon. It is not on page itself but is referenced several times including feelings of deep shame from Charlotte, not-so-veiled allusions to actions he would take while assaulting her, strong evidence that his behavior was not only known but tolerated or even encouraged by his mother, overt reminders from him that it doesn’t matter if she locks her door, the beginning steps of an assault before fading to black, and more. Clues are laid throughout but in the end we are explicitly told that Charlotte is Odilon’s half sister, a fact known to both him and their sister Florence, plus their now late mother. All three delighted in her suffering.

gidgetdraws's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

nukie19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

ashleyerne's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Amiee Gibbs, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Carnivale of Curiosities 
Publishing July 11, 2023

🎟️ 19th Century London
🎪 Gothic Fantasy
🎟️ Morally Grey Characters
🎪 Slow Burn Romance 

Wow. Amiee Gibbs did an amazing job writing The Carnivale of Curiosities! All of the story lines are woven together perfectly. I enjoyed being able to see what the various characters were doing and thinking throughout the story. The gothic atmosphere of the book was incredible, and the historical aspects where amazingly showcased throughout the book. 

While reading, I really had no idea who the real villain was. There are so many characters plotting and trying to come out on top, but Gibbs managed to write this in a way that wasn’t confusing and was very interesting. 

While there are several villainous characters, there are so many more lovable characters. I love all the children that are part of the Carnivale. I adore Luce, Charlotte, and Dita.
The book has so many unique characters, and I enjoyed getting to know all of them! 

This is easily a five star read for me! I have my fingers crossed that Amiee Gibbs will write a sequel. I need to know what happens to these characters next. 🥺🤞🏼

🛑 Please make sure to check TW before reading! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism