This is a new author to me but I will certainly be looking out for other books by her after reading Miraculum.

I have a weakness for the circus or carnival setting and many authors seem to feel the same. There are a lot of books set this way but Steph Post does it particularly well with historical facts mixed in with her magic and fantasy.

The story is creepy and fantastical and it unfolds quite slowly. Daniel is presented as an intriguing and mysterious figure and for a while it is difficult to know whether he represents good or evil. You sure find out though! I admired the feisty Kate and felt a bit sorry for Hayden!

There is an amazing ending which involves a very tricky solution to all their problems. It was all great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.

Ruby came down Chole Mountain after losing her mama and grandfather with nothing but an old playbill, searching for the traveling circus -- and the father -- her mama had left behind.

Her father's circus has since turned into a carnival and Ruby travels the South as the tattooed snake charmer for Pontilliar's Spectacular Star Light Miraculum. Her father doesn't hide the disappointment he has that Ruby returned from the Louisiana bayou covered in tattoos of strange symbols instead of portraits and scenes that were to make her the Miraculum's Tattooed Woman.  The tattoos are of no use to the carnival and that makes Ruby useless to her father.

Between the disappointment her father harbors and the heartache she harbors from being left behind by her lover Hayden, Ruby is isolated from the world of rubes and freaks alike.

A mysterious man dressed in an expensive black suit appears on a summer evening as the Miraculum is rushing to leave town after their resident geek hanged himself in a rube's yard.
Pontilliar offers the charming Daniel Revont a place in the sideshow as the replacement geek, biting the heads off live chickens.

Daniel's arrival coincides with both the return of Hayden and several tragedies for members of the carnival.  While Ruby intentionally isolates herself from everyone, she finds herself strangely drawn to Daniel.  Daniel can manipulate everyone around him, except for Ruby.  
Intrigued by one another, they begin a deadly game of cat and mouse.

 Along the way we learn who and what Daniel is and how and why Ruby became the outcast snake charmer.  Their stories and destinies collide in unexpected ways that lead to a stunning finale.

Post has obviously done a great deal of research for her latest novel that touches on everything from folk magic (hoodoo/voodoo), mythology, the Prohibition era South, and traveling carnival lingo genuine to the time period.
Miraculum is a Southern gothic fantasy that takes readers from the sideshows of a dusty carnival to the glittering lights of Atlanta, leaving a trail of smoke and disasters in its wake.

Thanks to Polis Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.  Miraculum is scheduled for release on January 22, 2019.

Thank you Netgalley and Polis Books for the ARC.

1920's, Carnival, Big Top, Sideshow, this is gonna be good!
After being introduced to all the beautiful people of the freakshow, the focus is on our two main characters. Daniel, forever dressed as a wealthy gentleman, at the same time being the geek biting off chickenheads in the sideshow. Who is he really? And Ruby, intended to be a tattooed lady, but ending up as a snake charmer. Her story is heartwrenching.
Vivid descriptions of the surroundings and sublime dialogue put me smack in the middle of every scene.
The mystery of the geek and his attraction to Ruby has me turn page after page, eager for answers.
Miraculum is a magical place full of creepy characters, seduction and the overall feeling of a dark presence.
I'm totally absorbed in the otherworld until it all ends with a bang. Wow! What a ride! Breathtaking.

3.5 stars.

If you give me anything with a carnival/circus setting, you should expect that I at least like it. From the prologue the writing was captivating and all-around amazing, and maybe it even was the strongest part of this book. It added to the overall mysticism quite well, which is always a plus. The characters were pretty decently written and I honestly loved Ruby and Daniel, but felt kind of indifferent towards Hayden.

I did feel, though, that the ending was quite rushed. During most of the book nothing too spectacular was happening, but at the last couple of chapters everything happened all at once, which felt weird. It almost seemed like a buildup for a sequel, but the fact that it all tied up in the end confused me. Still a good read, though.

I love this book so much! Someone please make a movie out of this one.

Steph Post gets better and better with each novel and I can't wait to see what she does next. With Miraculum, think of a cross between Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this way Comes and Gruen's Water for Elephants, then add that Steph Post magic and you have Miraculum. The characters are finely drawn and the plot increasingly suspenseful. Every time I thought I knew where this story was going, Post surprised me. One thing I especially loved about this book was its visual imagery: Ruby is a strong yet vulnerable character, oddly enough, and she is as real as anyone you know. Daniel Revont is the mysterious stranger who enters the carnival world Ruby inhabits and he, too, is sharply written. I loved every moment of this book!

A shot in the heart and soul, Miraculum is a spellbinding triumph. Masterfully written with such obvious love for its intoxicating setting, it is bursting with memorable moments and characters who delight and thrill - just like a trip to the carnival itself.

Miraculum is a fantastic mix of supernatural and a historical novel. Steph Post is a magical author, who weaves her story and characters beautifully. I can't wait to read another book from this author.

All the freaking stars!!!

Miraculum is a beautiful, dark and mesmerizing book that will have the reader hooked from the very first line. This is, without a doubt, my favorite read of the year. Steph Post has set the bar so high and I am already jealous of all those who get to read this for the first time. Be prepared to have your mind, and your heart, explode! I need more and will be counting down the days until I can add this gorgeous book to my collection.

Full review will come closer to release date.

So many thanks to NetGalley and Poils Books for providing me with a copy of this book to read and provide my honest opinions. I am in awe!

A definite read for those who enjoyed the Night Circus. Interesting and well drawn characters lead you through the maze the author has created for her reader. A combination of historical fiction, supernatural, and a bit of mythology.

I enjoyed this novel very much. The characters were likable and the dialogue believable. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorie Bradbury stories “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, although taken as an adult story with the charachter of Daniel portraying Bradbury’s Mr. Dark. But the story is set up very differently. As a historical novel, it takes place back to the time of the early 1900’s with a traveling carnival and it’s many freaks and carnies that encounter much hardship along their travels and the way they deal with the owner/proprietor and his daughter the tattooed woman, Ruby. Also Ruby’s dealings with the man who keeps leaving her for the outside world and the dark stranger Daniel who joins the carnival as a freak, although he has no experience playing one.
The suspense is there, the plot is not as derivative of Bradbury’s but has borrowed some plot lines from Katherine Dunne’s “Geek Love”, and “A Son of the Circus” by John Irving, but weaves these together to form their own love story, murder mystery and sort of ghost story. I would look forward to reading other novels by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and reveiw this book.