The concept of this book - the circus setting, the world, the characters were all brilliant. Imaginative and dream like to read about. But I wanted more, more world building, more character development, more plot, more book!

The peak of the story began and was resolved very quickly.

The story is told from the perspective of 2 sisters. One of whom writes in pro's and one in poetry. I felt the poetry was pretty unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the plot.

*I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in return for my honest review*

I love Betsy Cornwall’s style – it’s lush without being overblown, poetic without being pretentious, and still manages to be both beautiful and accessible. I really liked this book. A queer retelling of a favourite fairytale with a circus as the backdrop was right up my street. The worldbuilding was excellent and the circus descriptions were lovely. I enjoyed both povs and found the characters engaging. However, this is not a book of twists and turns and grand reveals. It’s a slow build fantasy with much of the character journey taking place internally. When that’s done well – as Cornwall always does it – I’m a big fan. If you prefer more action and bigger fantasy pyrotechnics in your stories, then this might not be for you. I really enjoyed The Circus Rose and recommend it for fans of quiet fantasy that has a lot to say.

While The Circus Rose's intriguing synopsis promises circus magic, atmosphere, and found family, it fails to produce an interesting plot or provide characters the reader cares about. The plot lags; there is simultaneously too much going on and not enough fleshed out. We are rushed through some parts of the story that had potential to be interesting and further develop our characters, only to dally in parts where absolutely nothing happens. I felt like I was reading a first draft that needed several more rounds of edits to pare down extraneous information and plot points and fully flesh out the circus, relationships, and religious conflict. While this chalk full of diversity, that alone doesn't make a book good; characters of varying sexual and gender identities don't make up for a lackluster plot, atmosphere, or shoddy world building.