I did like this book as a fun, fast read. It did feel a little bit like I had read it somewhere before. Circu themed fantasy seems to be a trending genre. That being said I thought it was suspenseful and I liked the ending where Cat finally stood up for herself with the help of her best friend.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I thought it was a great start to a series.

A spectacle of souls is apparently a book #1 . There were some things I would of liked to know more about but maybe those things will be in a continuing book. It's a decent read about people with powers that work in a circus. A normal girl gets dragged into it unwillingly because her migraines are actually her psychic powers Trapped. The ringmaster wants her power so makes her join by threats then takes parts of her memory to control her while waiting for her powers to fully manifest so he can steal them. All the while he himself is being used and damaged by his painful past so while he's the criminal he's also a victim. There is also love & friendships in this book. A bit of the wording came across to me as kinda cheesy and not what you'd expect. towards the end particularly "vanessa speaking to cat" interaction in the soul realm. the wording just seemed too young & love-y like 10 yr old speaking not a 18-20ish person. I don't know maybe I just read to much YA with more emotions coming from one character that went thru what vanessa did than just "I love you" so its all ok kinda vibe. Even though it says it's a book #1 it was written and ends that you could only read this book and be fine, no cliffhanger or anything. Just some character development I'd like to see more of hopefully in the continuing story.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Magic and a circus. Those two words were all I needed. And it didn't dissapoint! I loved reading this book!

*DNF AND 30%

I´m sorry but i just couldn´t. I really wanted to read it but the has no sense and the character are annoying.
I love books that has circus vibes like the night circus so i was excited to read this one but i just couldn't. I was forcing myself to read it and it cost me a reading slump.

<b><i>Thank you Netgalley and Bleeding Ink Publishing for sharing this book in exchange for an honest review.</i></b>

<b>DNF @ 31%</b>
Ahhhhh I'm sorry but I just can't continue. I feel really bad. I wanted to love this book—especially when you look at that cover and description, but........I just couldn't get into the book. To me, it felt really dragged out and boring. The main character also came off bland and flat to me. I wanted to love <b>A Spectacle of Souls</b> but I just couldn't force my way through the book—though this may be because I'm in a reading slump.😅
<img src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/803a382b8e43eba12cd44b9d4cc516cd/tenor.gif?itemid=11997939"/>
I recommend to those who loved <b>The Night Cirus</b> to try this book out, though! Who knows.....you might like it.😉

I was unable to finish reading this book. I never really found a real interest in it, as the characters didn’t seem fleshed out or have authentic dialogue and interactions. I really liked the blurb and think the premise has promise, but this just felt very flat and uninspired.

« We could offer you a whole new life - a better one. One that is filled with adventures and people who understand you and what you’re going through, » he offered.⁣
« But I have a life here- friends, work, my parents. » She shook her head steadying the room.⁣
He lifted an eyebrow. « And if you didn’t »⁣
⁣
Caitlyn feels trapped in the daily grind of a life without adventures.⁣
So when a circus comes to town, she couldn't help but be tempted to visit.⁣
What she thought was entertainment was going to turn out to be far more dangerous than it seemed. ⁣
Who is this mysterious Ringmaster and why is he so suddenly interested in her?⁣
⁣
A SPECTACLE OF SOULS by Jessica Julien was quite a show (pun intended).⁣
The characters are well structured : especially the Ringmaster, that eccentric circus owner with dark secrets.⁣
The passages about the visions and those about the memories were a bit messy for me but I've been tired and I had a slight difficulty concentrating lately : my lack of sleep is probably to blame, not the author's writing.⁣
We've only had a glimpse of the spirit realm, but I have reason to believe that we're not done hearing about Lost Souls and Wanderers yet, and I'm looking forward to it.⁣
⁣
Thank you Bleeding Ink Publishing and Netgalley for sending me this ARC book.⁣

This book had a slow start but if you stick it out it is worth it. I gave it 3 stars because of the slow beginning but the story over all was good.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for a Chinese review!

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this but somehow the outcome wasn't pleasant at all. I wanted to experience a good mystery story set in a circus world, something close to the Night Circus, but somehow it felt too flat and childish
The dialogue was mostly unnecessary and the plot was somehow easily predictable. The characters felt more like ghosts than real persons with their one-dimensional personalities.
Unfortunately, I am not entirely pleased by this book.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and I really appreciated it!

With that being said, this was a DNF for me. I found it difficult to connect with the characters, the story didn't keep me engaged and I thought I would really enjoy it. The premise is promising but not completely fleshed out.

This book was so disappointing to read. The premise was perfect and spot on with some of my favorite fictional elements, but then it utterly failed in execution. The characters were stereotyped instead of being fully developed, and I was shocked to realize the protagonist wasn't 15 but around ~20 years old. I expected so much more from this book than I actually got.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. If I could give half stars this would only be receiving 1.5 stars.

I was so very excited for this novel as it was likened to Caraval and it started out quite interesting and then....quickly dwindled. Descriptively, in some scenes in this novel it was just amazing and beautiful, however, most of the novel had so many holes and things just did not add up. The writing was intensely confusing as one minute the narration is from the main character and then, with no explanation, the narration is from another characters point of view. The magic or powers or whatever they were are never entirely explained and so it's terribly confusing the whole time throughout the novel. Then the ending, I mean really? It was climactic and dramatic and....completely unbelievable. This started out really strong and quickly spiraled down and ended being a terribly disappointment.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book sounded so great when I read the description, but with books out there that are so hugely popular that revolve around circuses, it’s hard to top some of them. This one was good, but I feel like there was SO MUCH going on... and yet not enough happened.

The pacing was weird at times and it jumped between characters too often without the “voice” of the character changing- nothing was really in first person, but parts of the chapters were another character’s POV and it was awkward at times.

The ability aspect of this was interesting but I would’ve liked more extensive background on these abilities and why they exist and just so much of the world itself that I feel like wasn’t covered. It was a good book, it held my interest enough, but it wasn’t a favorite.

Reading this book was a pleasant surprise! I really enjoyed the writing style, tone, and voice of our characters! I thought the pacing was great and I definitely felt as though I was immersed in this world with every page that I read.

Spectral of souls follows a girl, Caitlin who experiences headaches . Her headaches are her magic powers that have been kept hidden for too long trying to come to the surface. When her and her best friend Vanessa go to the local circus show, the ringmaster senses her power and wants it for himself. With his own magic he warps her memories and forces her to work in the circus with the intent on coaxing our her power in order to steal them.

While the book was one that I finished in one sitting it did leave a bit to be desired. It was quite slow in parts and there was more about the magic that needed to be explained. There were also a lot of odd events (like disappearances and murders) that were glossed over or barely acknowledged by other characters. The love story also felt a bit forced to me. All in all it was a decent novel but I don’t see the need to continue with the series .

Wow! The first half of the book was excruciatingly slow. Nothing really happened in this part of the book and I didn't cared much about Caitlyn either.
She was described as a simple minded girl with no ambitions whatsoever.
But, if you manage to get past the first half of the book you will enter the magical circus.
From this point the story changes and becomes more engaging.
I found it interesting that she had a connection with all elements. With the psychic world/spirit realm. I liked how it was described in her dreams/nightmares (at the beginning).
I had some questions during the story, but they were all answered by the end of the book.
Here are some of them:
- Why was the spirit realm trying to kill her? Or was something else there trying to?
- How are her powers working exactly?
- What the Ringmaster really wants to do with her powers? (different scenarios went through my head)
- And the voice in her head?? It is her magic speaking to her??

I really like stuff like that. Things that keep you wandering about what it is and make you think about different scenarios.
I also liked very much the way the spirit realm was described and how the souls were represented there.

Can't wait to read the next book and find out what was with that creepy vision 🙄🤔😅

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This is a great paranormal read for high school students and adults! It is a fast-paced, easy read! I couldn't put it down! Who can resist reading a romance between performers in a circus! The characters are likable and you find yourself rooting for the team while feeling hatred for the antagonist of the story. I would highly recommend this book for lovers of paranormal books!
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I must admit: I have mixed feelings about this book.

Let’s start with the good. The story itself is great, a contemporary fantasy aimed at a young adult readership. Our heroine, Caitlyn, owner of some powerful but repressed psychic ability, finds herself drawn to the mysterious carnival that has rolled into town. But more than just magic shows and funnel cakes await her there. There are good things, like Daniel, the magician, called the King of Spades, with whom she feels an immediate and intense connection. And there are bad things, like the Ringmaster, who has built his troupe entirely of psychically gifted people and desires Caitlyn’s powers for himself.

What follows is a sort of cat-and-mouse game, as the Ringmaster forces Caitlyn to join the circus and learn to harness her powers, just waiting for them to reach their peak so he can absorb them from her, as he has done to so many others. But Caitlyn is not about to go down without a fight, and as she hones her powers she and the family of circus performers realize that she is more powerful than the Ringmaster. Clandestine meetings and secret plans ensue, leading up to the final battle when Caitlyn must face the Ringmaster in the Spirit World and battle to save not only herself and the souls of her newfound friends, but also to try to save the Ringmaster himself from the evil that has overtaken him.

So, the story itself is intriguing, exciting, full of secrets and dangers and that carnival vibe we all love.

But, the bad part: the writing skill is just not there. This book is not specifically called a Young Adult novel but it certainly reads like one. And the writing is just, well, amateur, to put it nicely. Too many detailed descriptions of everyone’s outfits. Describing the scent of everything. Far too much telling and not enough showing. Odd metaphors and similes (“Heat hit Caitlyn’s cheeks like an oncoming storm in the distance ruffling her loose hair”). Run-on sentences all over the place (“Everything inside her head seemed to mock her weakness and continued to torment her until the sun rose when finally she slept dreamlessly, her head resting in Daniel’s lap stroking her hair softly”).

Authors, please edit your work. If you don’t have the skill and knowledge to do it yourself, find someone who does.

In conclusion, the actual story here rates four stars, but the writing was distractingly poor and rates two stars, so overall I am going to give this book three stars and hope that Ms. Julien will share more of her imagination in the future….with some good editing.

I received a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the concept for this story, with a circus, secrets and supernatural powers and I am so here for all the dark and shadowy circus stories in the world! I also really loved the world building around the circus and all the magical elements/powers/performances- and it doesn't hurt that the cover is gorgeous and I am a cover snob.

I did struggle staying in the story and I think it was predominantly due to the continuously switching points of view. The author would randomly change which character was narrating in the middle of a page/paragraph and I could not keep up with what was going on or who was thinking what. It made it hard for me to stay invested in the story when I kept having to decode who felt what. Also at times the plot didn't seem to match up as to what had already happened, time jumped forward in random intervals and the choices made by the primary main character made no sense.

Overall I was a little let down by the book, but I am sure that others will like this story. I recommend this for fans of dark and creepy stories where good and evil battle and nobody knows who will win!