poplora's review
4.0
alexandra_92's review
5.0
Following the introductory novella, the amazing setting of this magical circus becomes enriched with the story of Irene and Booker. Darkness and light, love and hatred all fall together as romance sizzles and the power to stand up for yourself makes an appearance. I will say it again; Emma Hamm is a stellar author and she never fails to make me feel her characters and the world-building. Not to mention that in this story the tattoos come to life!
aworldshapedbybooks's review
3.0
I don't know I don't think I liked this one that much, but it was interesting enough for me to finish it in like one sitting. Irene can see ghosts and demons, she was raised in an intensely religious family and they see this as her being possessed and want to exorcise her. She gets guided by a spirit to Cirque de la Lune where she feels safe etc. She meets Booker, he's thoroughly tattooed and has a questionable past. The complete foil to her very pale and "ghostly" appearance and her sheltered upbringing. He vouches for her and promises to give her the ability to perform in the circus.
There was just so much filler narrative that didn't really contribute to the story line here. I know that Booker was supposed to be the dark character, sometimes his narration went way too far and it felt like psychotic rather than just dark. He like was envisioning causing her pain or something at one point, and I nearly DNFed right there. I though the concept of the tattoos and her being a seer was fun but it wasn't really explained at all. Like, ok his tattoos could move but why were hers able to? He said it was like a curse to be passed on but I don't really understand the curse part of it it just felt like magic without boundaries.
Yeah, 3 stars might be a little high thinking back on it but I really liked the magic. I think it just touched on too many tropes and topics that it wasn't quite developed enough to truly represent. Wasn't a totally horrible read, I just think it could have had more depth if it was going to try to go where it did.
This review and all my others can be found at: https://aworldshapedbybooks.blogspot.com/
bookpauper's review
4.0
I’m not going to get into what the story is about. Simply put, this book is beautiful. It’s atmospheric in the best way. I want to know everything about the characters. Really, the whole thing was lovely.
In fact, my only complaint is I wish there was more. I wish it went deeper into the characters. I wish it was longer.