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A review by emesskay
Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond
4.0
First of all, I received a Kindle version of this book thanks to Goodreads Giveaways. If you haven't tried the giveaways, check them out under the "Browse" option.
Moira Mitchell's dad is a magician ("the Mysterious Mitchell") who has his own show in Vegas. Her mother ran off when Moira was just a baby. All Moira wants is the chance to prove to her dad that she has the makings of a great magician, however her father is dead-set against Moira performing any kind of magic.
Desperate to be able to perform magic, Moira runs away from home and joins the circus, in this case the Cirque American. However after joining the circus she learns (the hard way) that magic is real, and it makes performing magical illusions more difficult. Moira has to learn to control the magic before it controls her (or burns her out). At the same time, there is this attractive guy, Desmond, who is trouble but also irresistible (and a professional knife-thrower). While at the circus, Moira starts learning more about her mother, why she ran away, and a secret society of magic workers called the Praestigae, who don't have particularly good intentions towards Moira.
I really liked this book - it is well written, the characters are believable. Although it is fiction, it also gives an idea of what life "behind the scenes" at the circus is like. There is romance, there is drama, there are death-defying feats of magic (both "real" magic and illusions/sleight of hand/escapism).
One aspect of this novel I particularly enjoyed was how the author worked in information about women who contributed to magic history. Somehow we all know about Harry Houdini, but there were many women magicians who performed amazing feats of magic and contributed to moving the art forward. It was something I had not heard about, and it has made me interested in reading more about it and learning more about these amazing women.
Moira Mitchell's dad is a magician ("the Mysterious Mitchell") who has his own show in Vegas. Her mother ran off when Moira was just a baby. All Moira wants is the chance to prove to her dad that she has the makings of a great magician, however her father is dead-set against Moira performing any kind of magic.
Desperate to be able to perform magic, Moira runs away from home and joins the circus, in this case the Cirque American. However after joining the circus she learns (the hard way) that magic is real, and it makes performing magical illusions more difficult. Moira has to learn to control the magic before it controls her (or burns her out). At the same time, there is this attractive guy, Desmond, who is trouble but also irresistible (and a professional knife-thrower). While at the circus, Moira starts learning more about her mother, why she ran away, and a secret society of magic workers called the Praestigae, who don't have particularly good intentions towards Moira.
I really liked this book - it is well written, the characters are believable. Although it is fiction, it also gives an idea of what life "behind the scenes" at the circus is like. There is romance, there is drama, there are death-defying feats of magic (both "real" magic and illusions/sleight of hand/escapism).
One aspect of this novel I particularly enjoyed was how the author worked in information about women who contributed to magic history. Somehow we all know about Harry Houdini, but there were many women magicians who performed amazing feats of magic and contributed to moving the art forward. It was something I had not heard about, and it has made me interested in reading more about it and learning more about these amazing women.