The Ladies of the Secret Circus

by Constance Sayers

Paperback, 2021

Status

Available

Publication

Redhook (2021), Edition: Reprint, 480 pages

Description

"Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder--a world where women weave illusions of magnificent beasts, carousels take you back in time, and trapeze artists float across the sky. Bound to her family's circus, it's the only world Cecile Cabot knows until she meets a charismatic young painter and embarks on a passionate affair that could cost her everything. Virginia, 2004: Lara Barnes is on top of the world, but when her fiancé disappears on their wedding day every plan she has for the future comes crashing down. Desperate, Lara's search for answers unexpectedly lead to her great-grandmother's journals. Swept into a story of a dark circus and ill-fated love, secrets about Lara's family history come to light and reveal a curse that has been claiming payment from the women in her family for generations. A curse that might be tied to her fiancé's mysterious fate"--… (more)

Rating

½ (49 ratings; 3.7)

User reviews

LibraryThing member BethYacoub
This book started off in a totally different direction than what I expected and that worried me. It turns out that I worried for no reason because once I settled into the story, I was hooked.

I am a huge fan of Circus novels... doubly so when they are paranormal or occult in nature. This book was
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both and more. Not only did it have a magical, demonic circus from Hell... it also had anxiety inducing life or death events, a perilous romp through the streets (and ages) of Paris, familial drama and maybe the most imaginative and tempting depiction of Hell (as seen through the windows of the circus and by the Ferris Wheel trip slowly descending down... down... down). We get all of this plus fierce, bad ass female characters and the men who love them.

Then there were disappearances, intrigue, a treasure hunt (of sorts), personal quests, devious machinations and MUUUUURDER... dum dum dum... Watching it all unfurl and then coalesce was both gratifying and exciting. How each factor (and tidbit) was teasingly doled out led to an addictive need to know more as well as setting a well honed pace.

Sounds awesome right?? There's more...

There's MAGIC. The Magic System was not (and need not be) explained to us in detail... it was pretty straightforward, standard fare. High ranking demon passes on special powers to his daughters... his magically mischievous progeny perform in & are irrevocably linked to this scintillating circus for time immemorial. There was a (super) tame love making scene as well as (numerous) intimated
risqué trysts. There was betrayal, a slight love triangle (if pining over a missing or possibly dead fiancé could be considered one leg of a triangle) and then a cool magical showdown at the end.

The premise sounds both unique and intriguing right?? Yes and Yes!! It was also raw, tangible, rife with possibility... oddities... and filled with varying types of Love. There was the love between Parent & Child, sibling love, love of the Arts, carnal love and (of course) the most important kind of love... love for oneself.

Onto the Trifecta of Awesomeness:

Writing + Character Development + World Building:

The Writing was not too flowery nor bland or curt... it was in that ever elusive Goldilocks zone. It was just right.

There were a few interesting M.Knight Shyamalan bits that blindsided me. Better sleuths than I will most likely be able to suss out some of the twisty turns early on but I think there might be at least one in there that will have them caught off guard and reeling.

The characters: primary, secondary and even tertiary, were compelling and expressive.

The entire magical lineage was a conga line of gifted, kick ass females starting with twins Cecile (the favorite, sweet and slightly naive) and Esme (super strong and a tad touched in the head). They were never supposed to have survived their birth but SURPRISE... out popped the super close, twin female Hellians. Every woman, through the generations, found that their destiny/Fates were entwined with tangled roots, securely fastening their futures to their demonic progenitor and his super mysterious and exclusive playground of misfits. The imprisioned and tormented souls that performed were just trying to serve out their macabre scentences and then BAM!! They became babysitters for their boss's audaciously unrepentant offspring.

The World Building's grunt work was seemingly precise and exhaustively researched. The depiction of Paris's two very different eras was both rich and lush. I swore I could see it all play out, in glorious 4K High Definition, in my mind. Since I have never had the pleasure of seeing Paris firsthand, I was incredibly impressed by Mrs. Sayer's ability to paint an eloquent and vivid mental image.

It was grand yet subtle as to avoid clubbing you over the head and force feeding you info dumppy fodder. WHICH is never fun to swallow nor appreciated (yet is usually tolerated) by this ever evolving bibliophile's taste buds.

Overall:

I was wholeheartedly addicted to this story... it was unputdownable. I just needed to know more and more and more and... oops, it's dawn and I'm only 80 pages from the end... might as well stay up and finish the rest. As a result I ended up being bleary-eyed, hangry and (until the coffee kicked in) a bit of a snippy Grump BUT it was worth it because things felt complete... all was right in the world (sans pandemic) knowing where everyone ended up.

I could easily picture myself giving up (almost) anything just to be allowed to visit, play and/or perform within its wickedly delicious, seductive sanctum. It was so attractive a read that I am admittedly looking forward to reading book #2.

~ Enjoy

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***
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LibraryThing member Penny_L
Do I normally read this genre? No.
Did I love the book? Would I recommend it to others? YES!! and YES!!
A sweeping saga of old family secrets, lost loves, sacrifice and revenge. And in the center of it all is a dazzling circus with an insidious Master of Ceremonies.
This novel creatively blends a
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mystery with the supernatural into a mesmerizing tale of romance and the macabre.
There are many layers to this story - the history of the circus in Paris, the mysterious town of Kerrigan Falls, and a family's buried past. It is all seamlessly woven into an intriguing and suspenseful read.
A wonderful escape into a fantastic world of magic.
*Thank you Redhook Books, Constance Sayers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to give my honest review of the ARC.
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LibraryThing member CaitZ
I usually love any book with a circus setting, and this is no exception. A mix of romance, fantasy, magic, and mystery, it was a little darker than I expected, but the story was intriguing with well-developed characters. Lara’s fiance disappears on their wedding day and sets in motion a tale of
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good vs. evil that spans multi-generations. The story shifts from the recent past in a magical, serene Virginia town to 1920s Paris, The conclusion is filled with twists I didn’t see occurring. I”d recommend fans of The Night Circus and The Magician’s Lie read this.

I received an ARC from #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member indygo88
The story begins when Lara Barnes is stood up at the altar. Her husband-to-be disappears into thin air after his truck is found deserted alongside the road. But he's not the first. Thirty years previously, the same thing happened to another young man. And 30 years prior to that, again, a young man
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disappeared in the same location. Not too long after Lara's fiance's disappearance, she discovers some secrets related to a circus painting that's been in her family for years, along with some journals dating back to the year 1925. In order to discover the link between the journals and the disappearances, Lara is swept up in her family's past and its secrets, including a mysterious world consisting of a Secret Circus.

I'm going to say it now: circuses freak me out a little. I've never been a particular fan, though I've now read several circus-themed fiction stories, mainly because of their popularity throughout the past 10-15 years, and I needed to see what the hubbub was about. The thing with some of these more recent circus novels is that they have a dark undertone, and I suppose that doesn't help my freak-out factor. Regardless, they do make for interesting stories. And I have to admit that I was swept up into this one. I liked the intertwining of past and present. I liked the mysterious undertones. I did not particularly love the main character of Lara, but I did like the way the story unfolded and the subtle mystery involved. I probably would not have picked this book up had it not been a book club read, but overall I enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member sbenne3
This was a fine read, it was just a little closer to fantasy than I usually like to read so I struggled a bit to fall into the magic elements. The writing is good, but leaves a few gaps - I thought the conversations were a bit weak. Also, it was hard to track a couple of characters that turned out
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to be key. However, if you like a little magic and have some time (this one isn't short), you will enjoy the escape.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

480 p.; 8.3 inches

ISBN

0316493686 / 9780316493680
Page: 0.2258 seconds