The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers

"It tried to be mysterious and otherworldly but it just fell flat and was a chore to get through."

1 Star

Pros: I've always had a soft spot for mysterious circuses, IE Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes and I had hopes for this book but that hope quickly vanished.

Cons: The plot was scattered, confusing/The characters were one dimensional, their apparent love stories made no sense and felt forced, a man buys you an apple and you're in love?/Althacazur/Cecile and the dialogue between them while Lara is at Le Cirque Secret was so painful it was horrific.

Full Review:

Lara is left on the altar on her wedding day. Her fiancée didn't just leave, he disappeared. His car was found in the same spot that the only crime in Kerrigan Falls' history ever occurred. A musician, Peter Beaumont, best friend to Lara's father, disappeared as well, 30 years ago. She doesn't know how it's connected but she knows that her mother is holding something back.

Lara and her mother also have the ability to do magic. They come from a long line of magicians it seems. Lara's great grandmother was the star of Le Cirque Secret, Cecile Cabot. We learn that the history behind Le Cirque Secret is dark and deadly. It's not a Circus. It's a prison and its inmates are denizens of Hell who have agreed to serve their eternal punishment acting in this fantastical performance. Althacazur, a being who appears to Lara as a child and then again as an adult, runs the whole show and his twin daughters, Cecile and Esme, are the stars.

I don't know if I can pinpoint the exact point where this book became a chore but, it was probably a little more than halfway through. And I felt like each chapter was convoluted, each character annoying and one dimensional. I'm not sure when I lost all faith in this book but by the end I was just glad to be done with it. When Althacazur explains that he's the demon of "real awesome shit" yeah...I just about threw the book across the room. I'm all for dark carnivals, IE, Bradbury's classic, Something Wicked This Way Comes but there was nothing in this book that had an ounce or inkling of the draw that Bradbury does. Suffice it to say, this book was a struggle and a waste of time.

Comments

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