Scan barcode
whiskeywoman79's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Story: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Horror / Fiction / Historical/ Paranormal / African mysticism
Magical? Maybe, I guess. Keep in mind this is set right after the Great Depression and race plays a part in the story... A carnival run by a child-eating Demon. A young black woman who can communicate with animals, and who of course is the only one who can save them all. So many questionable characters, and events... It was a bit too much, I was confused many times. The ending was so lackluster, for the buildup. Overall, I'm left feeling very disappointed.
Narration: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Fantasy / Historical Fiction / Horror / Fiction / Historical/ Paranormal / African mysticism
Magical? Maybe, I guess. Keep in mind this is set right after the Great Depression and race plays a part in the story... A carnival run by a child-eating Demon. A young black woman who can communicate with animals, and who of course is the only one who can save them all. So many questionable characters, and events... It was a bit too much, I was confused many times. The ending was so lackluster, for the buildup. Overall, I'm left feeling very disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Child death, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Hate crime
Minor: Grief, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Slavery, and Racial slurs
ashtheaudiomancer's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I keep saying I'm burnt out on magical chosen one type narratives, but Bacchanal is a refreshing new take on the genre. Because it is technically a magical chosen one story, but it's also a reflection on poverty, family, race, generational trauma, identity, and finding inner strength through connections to those who came before. Plus it's a cursed carnival, which is one of my favorite settings of all time. Highly recommended--but don't take those content warnings lightly. There is a lot of disturbing, violent content here. I promise the end result is worth it, but yeah. Read the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Hate crime
lizzie24601's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If you liked The Night Circus, you'll love this book. Honestly, I felt pretty much the same about this as I did The Night Circus - loved the worldbuilding, liked the cast of characters, wasn't thrilled with the plot.
Veronica Henry brings forth a fun cast of characters in the carnival and intricately weaves African mythology with American historical fiction. I liked the few times we switched to other characters' perspectives and got to know them a little more. I especially liked Malachi, Autumn, and Ishe.
Liza is a well-rounded character, with a power she doesn't quite understand, and needs some character growth before she can control it. I liked that Liza has a lot of negative qualities that others find irritating about her, but she finds her friends nonetheless. I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the book and find a home with the carnival.
The book ends rather abruptlyand confusingly - Mico was the mom? Did that mean the old man was the dad? I don't understand but overall it's a fun read.
Additional thoughts on the ending:RIP Clay and Ishe... You didn't deserve to die in 2 sentences. And love that the whole book was about Liza finding a family and building up this cast of characters who support her and then the carnival ended and she never spoke to any of them again. Whatever.
Veronica Henry brings forth a fun cast of characters in the carnival and intricately weaves African mythology with American historical fiction. I liked the few times we switched to other characters' perspectives and got to know them a little more. I especially liked Malachi, Autumn, and Ishe.
Liza is a well-rounded character, with a power she doesn't quite understand, and needs some character growth before she can control it. I liked that Liza has a lot of negative qualities that others find irritating about her, but she finds her friends nonetheless. I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the book and find a home with the carnival.
The book ends rather abruptly
Additional thoughts on the ending:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Abandonment, Racism, Child death, and Murder
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
setaian's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A challenging work of fiction that deals with racism, race crimes and other difficult issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Child death, Animal death, and Racism
readingwithkaitlyn's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Murder, Animal death, Kidnapping, Racism, Death, Ableism, Infidelity, Child death, Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Colonisation
Use of g slur, illness, prostitution, gangs.peppers_books's review
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Child death, Self harm, and Hate crime
tonysipsandreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is so doggone good! I'm so upset that this book isn't getting more recognition! I love in love with almost every character in this book except the villan. And the villan was everything I wanted in a villan! I did not expect to fall in love with this book the way I did, but Bacchanal is one of those books that reminds you why you fell in love with reading. While reading Bacchanal everything in my world seemed to fall away, and I was transformed to this creepy carnival where karma caught up with several characters. I could smell the carnival food, I could hear the carnival music, my heart raced during the creepy parts and I could not read fats enough to find out what happens next! If you have not read Bacchanal, you are most definitely missing out! Get it and read it today!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Miscarriage, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime
lgarner8's review
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, and Self harm
aqulia's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
A good read overall, great if you like magic or carnival settings. One big grip: did we really need the Liza/Ishe romance? That was odd, and kind of creepy. The pacing was also a little janky, with it being slow at the beginning and fast at the end. The ending was also unsatisfying, and left questions unanswered. Still a good book, and I would recommend to people who like low-fantasy or historical fiction set in the Great Depression.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, and Animal death
Moderate: Murder, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
readandfindout's review
I received an advance reader's copy from Wunderkind PR in an exchange for a free and honest review. I read 29% and DNFed.
Style/writing: Unfortunately this was one of the biggest reasons that I DNFed. Writing is a really important factor for me when reading, and something about this style wasn't working. I found it to be a bit muddled, and I never felt clear on what exactly was going on.
Themes: At the point I DNFed, the author had introduced some themes around race and racism during the Depression era, and I think it's likely that those were more fully explored later in the book. What I read seemed to be done well, drawing from ideas about heritage after events like slavery and colonization.
Characters: I was having some difficulty distinguishing between different side characters at the carnival, as they were reading quite similar. I was still trying to get a feel for the main character of Liza, so I found it a bit distracting and clunky to have asides with secondary character backstory.
Plot: I wasn't quite certain what the main plot was going to be at the time that I DNFed. It could have involved the dark force at the carnival or Liza being reunited with her sister, but I didn't find it to be clear. The first 29% seemed to be more focused on the development of atmosphere than plot.
Worldbuilding: The atmosphere was well developed at the point I stopped reading. Something dark and creepy was obviously going on, and I think that this will really work for readers who enjoy a heavy atmosphere with some light horror elements. Unfortunately I don't think that the carnival setting held my interest like I hoped it would (which checks out because I've been nervous about trying The Night Circus for the same reason!).
Style/writing: Unfortunately this was one of the biggest reasons that I DNFed. Writing is a really important factor for me when reading, and something about this style wasn't working. I found it to be a bit muddled, and I never felt clear on what exactly was going on.
Themes: At the point I DNFed, the author had introduced some themes around race and racism during the Depression era, and I think it's likely that those were more fully explored later in the book. What I read seemed to be done well, drawing from ideas about heritage after events like slavery and colonization.
Characters: I was having some difficulty distinguishing between different side characters at the carnival, as they were reading quite similar. I was still trying to get a feel for the main character of Liza, so I found it a bit distracting and clunky to have asides with secondary character backstory.
Plot: I wasn't quite certain what the main plot was going to be at the time that I DNFed. It could have involved the dark force at the carnival or Liza being reunited with her sister, but I didn't find it to be clear. The first 29% seemed to be more focused on the development of atmosphere than plot.
Worldbuilding: The atmosphere was well developed at the point I stopped reading. Something dark and creepy was obviously going on, and I think that this will really work for readers who enjoy a heavy atmosphere with some light horror elements. Unfortunately I don't think that the carnival setting held my interest like I hoped it would (which checks out because I've been nervous about trying The Night Circus for the same reason!).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal death