Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Circus of Wonders

Parts of the book kept me riveted, while parts left me bored and fighting to keep my mind from wandering.

The book is told from the perspective of 3 characters and focuses mainly on 2 events/points in time. The narrative in the book shifts between the present day and events in the past.

I found the parts of the book that focused on the titular Circus of Wonders to be fascinating and beautifully layered. But the flash backs to the brothers’ lives before the circus felt slow and only served to break up the momentum. After a while the flashbacks became repetitive and added very little to the story itself.

Overall I give the flashbacks 2 stars and the circus parts 4 stars (the circus might have been higher if every time I started to get invested, I didn’t get pulled out of it). I would have loved an entire book from the perspective of Nell that focused on the exploration of the Victorian circus, which is what I expected when reading the book’s description. Instead the book feels muddled by trying to cover too much.

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leighsnerdlife's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is a brilliant book that explores the dark world of the PT Barnum era of 'freak' shows. Macneal has created a world both dark and glittering, showing both the brutality of the industry, as well as the hopes and dreams of the performers.

The story moves at a slow but steady clip, and is told through 3 different POVs. I've never hated a character before, but damn, I absolutely despised one of the them - kudos to Macneal for getting me that emotionally invested!

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kari_f's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

I am a sucker for circus themed books, whether they’re fantasy or realistic. There’s something so interesting about the inner workings of a circus and the planning that goes into the magic and wonder the audience will see. Those that are realistic often have brutality and a lot of sadness to them, though, with cruelty toward people and animals.

Circus of Wonders fits into the latter category, with an ambitious leader collecting people and animals to show off as spectacles. The multiple perspectives in the book allow the reader to see into the hearts and minds of multiple characters: the clever ringleader, whose greatest wish is to see his name in lights; the ringleader’s brother, whose desire is to be loved and accepted by his brother; and the newest “spectacle,” whose dream is to have a future that she is free to command.

Each of the main characters is complex and complicated and conflicted in some way, and it is often their faults that push the story forward. Add to this: lies and deceit, conflicting desires, and a secret that has the potential to ruin everything.

Be aware that this book, like many realistic circus books, does have some animal harm (not too much, as the ringleader is much more kind to animals than most in history were) and phobias against people who were considered different. There is quite a bit of liberation and beauty in each of the “spectacle” stories, though, and those were my favorite parts of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced readers copy!

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emmagreenwood's review against another edition

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relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tuppence Middleton - she is very good at creating difference voices for each character but for some reason the audio version made the story less enjoyable to me.

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hettyreads's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

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