I was very excited to dive into this book as I love a circus theme, but this story was just not for me. The author had great ideas, but it felt as if the storyline and ideas were not complete. The story started to jump around and contain inconsistencies the further in that I got. I tried to push through to finish since I was a fast paced read but just past the halfway point I could no longer stay drawn into the story. I really hope to see the story reworked and built out more because I think it could be great.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

As the story goes, Caitlyn is your run of the mill small town waitress who has special powers that are trying to break through in the form of frequent headaches. When a mysterious night circus comes through her town, she manages to convince her best friend Vanessa to attend with her. Everything is exciting and despite ominously being warned by the circus psychic never to return after a reading, she does the next day and soon finds herself ensnared into the show and the Ringmaster himself.

Based off the synopsis, I was expecting something similar to Morgenstern's _Night Circus_ or Garber's_Carval_. Instead I found myself reading a mediocre YA novel that had the potential to be good, but instead left me disappointed and irritated with everything.

The writing wasn't always clear and I found myself re-reading a majority of the passages more than half the time. With characters that were rather one-dimensional and dialogue that fluctuated between inane to ridiculous cheese, I honestly could not find a single thing I enjoyed about the story.

2 stars.

I was intrigued by the description of this book. I was slightly disappointed with how the story began. I found the character's frivolous and without depth. Fortunately, I was wrong! The story was interesting and a quick read. The world was detailed and well explained without taking an inordinate amount of time away from the story, and the descriptions of the circus were vivid and colorful (both literally and figuratively). There is violence and death, and I sometimes found the characters' reactions to these events underwhelming. I am glad that this novel is the start of a series and will most definitely be reading the next book.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy intrigue, supernatural abilities, and vivid imagery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bleeding Ink Publishing for providing an e-book for an honest review.

#bookreview #netgalley #aspectacleof
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I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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The cover for this book is really eye catching and drew my attention immediately. Add in the description and I was over the moon to be approved for it.
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Description:
Caitlyn always thought she was just your average small-town waitress, but she’s anything but average. Suffering from frequent headaches and vivid daydreams, her oddities mask a secret hidden deep within her mind—one that could defeat even the cleverest of psychics.
When a mysterious circus arrives in town, Caitlyn is immediately drawn to it. While visiting the hypnotic show, she meets a seer who warns her of a gruesome future and urges her to stay away. But soon, Caitlyn finds herself ensnared in the show and the Ringmaster himself.
Recognizing Caitlyn’s powers for what they are, and believing they are the ones he has been searching for, the Ringmaster is determined to claim them as his own. Trapped within the circus and the Ringmaster’s devious grip, Caitlyn realizes that to escape the seer’s foretold fate, her only choice is to fight. Banding together with Bevier, an imprisoned psychic, Meg, an eccentric seamstress, and Daniel, a handsome magician, Caitlyn falls into the Psychic Realm to thwart the Ringmaster and stop the show before they succumb to his control and are trapped forever in his spectacle of souls.
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However, it was not one of my favourite reads. The book is very confusing at the start and stays that way about half way through. The writing style is inconsistent and ranges from cheesy teen to adult like wording. It is not NA and reads more for teens. Of all the characters, Daniel and the Ring Master were intriguing. Caitlyn didn't grab attention at all and as the main character, that is disappointing. Despite high hopes for this book, I was not impressed.

A Spectacle of Songs is a New Adult novel set in a Dark Supernatural background with characters having psychic abilities, the appearance of souls and demons and a Psychic Realm. Sometimes it got really obscure and messed up with graphic scenes but I didn't mind.

I  love the aspect that the author made it very relatable by including character traits and disorders that are very realistic and resonate with many readers like emotional trauma, anxiety, migraine and dementia.

There was also lots of girl love and female empowerment with the heroine's best friend Vanessa being an amazing addition to the cast. Also the special abbilities of each of the circus troupe members was very iteresting!

Though the first half was extremely gripping sadly the story didn't deliver and my interest diminished as the plot continued because the story and characters weren't convincing enough in my opinion.
What I also didn't like was the insta love trope. I couldn't stand this snap snap romance one moment stranger next love of my life. Sadly the hero was only a cardboard cut-out and our female mc the typical shallow YA heroine

Imagine the circus of "Caraval" with the battle in "The Night Circus" and you have yourself "A Spectacle of Souls".

I loved this story! Caitlyn is a young adult trying to make her life mean something in the small town that she lives in with her best friend Vanessa. However, the migraines and headaches that Caitlyn suffer from mean more than she realised and when the Circus comes and the Ringmaster and his mysterious crew find her, she needs to make a choice. And he doesn't make it easy either.

I really liked the characters and the story. Caitlyn wasn't daft, but I found she was too easily pushed into getting involved with the plans. Although she was also strong when she faced what was coming for her. The Ringmaster was such an interesting character and I wish there was more backstory for him. He was a villain you love to hate but want more of. I also liked Vanessa. Carefree and super loyal even though she wants the glamourous life she stays with her best friend and that's what makes me love her - I can totally relate to that.

I actually think the book wasn't long enough and that there was so much room for more story. I did find it jumped quickly in some places and a little more detail would have been nice. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

Circus story fascinate me but they're usually a hit or miss with me. I entirely disliked The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, so I went into A Spectacle of Souls hoping I would enjoy this circus story.

The beginning bugged me a little to be honest... We meet all the characters rather quickly, and there is a lot of useless talk. The first pages gave out the biggest weakness of the book : its writing style. I thought the writing to be very shallow. We understand the author wanted to characterize the characters very early on, especially Daniel, but it's done way too fast and way too obviously for my liking. Overall, everything is very cliché : the characters, the relationships, the antagonist, everything.

However, once I overcame the writing style, I got caught in the magic enough to enjoy the plot. The world building isn't much, as it's just our contemporary world, with the addition of a spirit realm we only get to see twice. A Spectacle of Souls is completely character-driven. You have to let the characters show you their magic, and imagine being a part of the circus.

The true gem here is the circus' troupe. They're a big family who's always looking out for one another, supporting each other and endure the Ringmaster's tyranny together. I loved them all. I would have loved more focus on them as individuals ! We get some interactions with a member of the troupe here and there, but nowhere near enough for my liking.

The magic system is pretty okay, and I liked that each person has a different power, that can often complement someone else's or help someone else. I feel like there are so much power we still have to discover through the series !
The pace of the story was rather fast, but it wasn't too rushed. That makes A Spectacle of Souls a perfect fast entertaining read for people who want a taste of magic. I mean, even though the writing style sometimes bothered me, I still got captivated by the plot, the magic, and many of the side characters. Those are the real strenghts of the book.

In the end, I don't think this book was completely for me, but I really enjoyed it and read it pretty fast. It was entertaining and somewhat magical, which is all I asked for !

Thank you Netgalley and Bleeding Ink Publishing for the ARC.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at 60%, I wasn't enjoying it and it was really hard for me to understand what I was reading.

The beginning was really strong and solid, so I had hopes to like this one. But the writing was really complicated to follow and I didn't really care about any of the characters.
Too many adjectives and too many jumps. It was exhausting and confusing.

I do think the author described the circus and magic really well, you could feel the atmosphere of it and I appreciated that.
The insta-love was another reason why I couldn't get through with this book. We've had too many books like this, and this wasn't anything special, it didn't add anything to the story.
I really didn't want to read an entire book about a protagonist with no backbone who fell in love at first sight with her love interest. Not for me.

I wish I could say more positive things and give readers other reasons to enjoy this book, but in this case I find it really impossible.

This book was archived before I was able to download it and read it. I heard mixed things about this book and my best friend read part of it before dnfing it. Her and I have similar tastes and when she said it wasn’t her thing and was confusing. I’m kind of glad I didn’t read it. It sounds like it would have been a dnf for me too.

I could have sworn I had already sent feedback for this title. Unfortunately, it was a DNF for me. I didn't really enjoy the writing. Also for some ridiculous reason, I thought it was going to be similar to The Greatest Showman.

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I DNFed this book at 43%. If I DNF a book, it only gets 1 star from me.

I wanted to like this book really badly, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and, worse, I didn't care about Caitlyn (the main character) or any of the others. I found the characters to be one-dimensional.
The whole magic/psychic aspect confused the heck out of me. It was not well explained and it didn't make any sense.
I have no clue what the plot actually is for this book. It was a confusing and jumbled mess for me.

Someone else may find that they really enjoy this book, but while I was reading it I was getting tired and falling asleep. I found it boring, unfortunately and couldn't bring myself to continue with it.

I enjoyed this book. In fact, I read it in one sitting. It was thrilling to read and had me on the edge of my seat. That being said a lot of the big twists were predictable I felt and I wished that some of the characters had been expanded on a bit more, but maybe they will be in the next installment. I'm not exactly sure where a sequel could go as this felt like a pretty self-contained novel, but I will probably pick it up to see if I can learn more about the world and its characters.

A Spectacle of Souls is a story that doesn't have its character's ideals and morals set, therefore the story really doesn't make sense as it is solely based on them. We have characters that are killed off somewhat untriunphantly, not given a real chance of success or appearance in the story. Characters that are deemed with high important, but don't receive a big enough death cause or grief through the other characters that us as readers eventually don't feel the feelings.

In my opinion one of the most important factors of a good storyline its the characters. Without the readers connection to the characters, you have nothing but words and a pretty world. This is what I think happened with this book. The setting appears to be majestic and confusing (on purpose), the mystery seems to unravel in certain ways that may be intriguing, however the characters fail to show the reader emotion and thus all that is desired to be achieved, isn't.

A Spectacle of Souls is the book that could've been. A book that could be improved and strengthen but as it is right now it is not interesting enough for the reader or in my case myself, to continue reading the next book if there is one.

The sad thing is I really enjoy circus reads, thus I am also highly expectant of this books to deliver and if they don't I get crushed really easily as many don't reach my standards of magical realism or my expectations of a book based on magic. This is also mainly due to the fact that my all time favorite book is The Night Circus, and really many books try to be what Erin Morgenstern created but are not able to reach the awe inspiring writing she has.

--- 1.5 stars ---

I enjoyed this. I thought characters were well thought out and described. I absolutely love the magical circus plot.
I loved seeing cat come into her own and loved the relationship between her and Daniel. Writing did get sloppy in spots but nothing to ruin the book.

Opinions: WOAH. Julien opened, dare I say created, a door to a whole new realm of fantasy that readers will ADORE. Circuses, clowns, and magicians, normally uncomfortable elements to stories, were the focal points of A Spectacle of Souls and made the atmosphere an encompassing shield that kept readers immersed in the drama. It was almost as if the book was its own circus tent! Apart from the world building, Julien expertly wrote characters for the story rather than a story for the characters. They were all unique, engaging, and most importantly, critical to the plot! This made the themes impressionable and the climax truly resonating. Although readers may cringe with second-hand embarrassment at the character flaws, our eyes widen in shock as their teamwork and devotion help them progress towards a shared goal! All in all, the writing style and passion Julien put into A Spectacle of Souls made it a distinguishable fantasy read for teens. I can't wait to reread it with my friends!

My Favourite Thing: I love the audacity of Julien's writing! Normally, the words weird, funky, and baffling imply negativity, but in this case, I adore A Spectacle of Souls and would still describe the book with these adjectives. The spooky, bizarre tone and voices made the book unique and enticing. The extraordinary and mysterious characters engaged readers yet created a heart-wrenching barrier between real life and fiction. Most importantly, the unexpected and astonishing themes gave the book a re-readable value that I will take advantage of!

Total Rating: PG-13
Language: PG-13
Adult Content: PG-13
Violence: PG-13+

Recommended For and Similar Reads: A Spectacle of Souls is weird, funky, and baffling in all the right ways! If you love fantasy but are looking for a spooky, intriguing twist, this book is for you. Similar reads are Double-Crossing the Bridge by Sarah Sover, Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, and Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman!

Caitlyn lives with her friend Vanessa in a small regular town, with a boring regular job and little in the way of future prospects. She suffers from severe headaches which the doctors have been unable to explain, meaning she has to medicate herself to keep them at bay.

Everything changes when a stranger comes into the cafe that Caitlyn works in and hands her a flyer for the circus. It is soon revealed the circus is not as it seems and finds herself drawn into it. Caitlyn also discovers that she may not be the regular girl she thought she was.

What I liked about this book

I actually really enjoyed the concept of this book. I liked the idea the the powers are an extension of their soul.
The circus theme - I love a circus themed book! The way the circus performances are described is great. I could really imagine it.
What i didn't like

There are a few continuity issues with this book. Some things happened that just aren't in line with what happened previously. It made me doubt my memory a bit?
Overall i think that i would rate this book around 2.75. I think if the details were ironed out then this would have the potential to be alot better.

DNF'd @ 16%

A Spectacle of Souls by Jessica Julien sounded like it was going to be right up my alley, but it just wasn't working for me. It's supposed to be a New Adult fantasy, but it comes across as much younger in tone. Also not much of anything happened during what I did read. Plus, I didn't care enough about any of the characters to keep reading.

Thank you Bleeding Ink Publishing for granting me access to a NetGalley digital ARC of this book. I'll admit, "A Spectacle of Souls" took me by surprise! In a lot of ways, the atmosphere of this story reminded me a lot of Stephanie Garber's "Caraval", but with a distinctly darker, more twisted and paranormal-centric tone...

In this first book, we follow Caitlyn Stoker, a young woman plagued with migraines who works as a waitress in a local diner in her hometown. Caitlyn and her best friend Vanessa are invited to attend the new circus that has just arrived in town... a circus that is unlike anything seen before. They are even presented with a pair of VIP tickets by one of the performers, the "King of Spades", also known as Daniel... A very handsome young man who takes an interest in Caitlyn from the very beginning. As the girls wind their way through two nights of revelry and spectacle, a darker plot unfolds and the glitz and glamour loses its charm. Caitlyn's migraines are more than they appear to be, and the circus psychic seems to know more about their meaning than she's letting on. The Ringmaster is far more interested in Caitlyn than he has any right to be, and he quickly ensnares her in the circus through bribery, threats and even darker deeds... What capabilities could Caitlyn possibly possess to make the Ringmaster go to such lengths, and more importantly, is she strong enough to face the ever-growing darkness taking hold of everything?

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me. I really liked the fact that, unlike many other ya fantasy villains out there these days, the ringmaster is a truly menacing and threatening figure who is more than just talk. There are severe consequences to be faced by our protagonist, which raises the stakes and makes the plot all the more exciting and suspenseful because you can never predict who will be safe. Going into it, I didn't realize that this was only the first book in a series. I'm definitely curious to see in what direction Julien takes this story in future installments.

My biggest critique would be the romance. It was far too instant and didn't seem to have much of a foundation. Knowing now that this will be a set of books rather than a standalone novel, I would have preferred to see the attraction build over the course of several books instead of an immediate "true love" sort of situation. Some of the paranormal aspects were a little difficult to follow as well, with transferring of energies, imagining abilities into being, and demon-like spirits. I feel like we've only scraped the surface with this installment and that there's a much deeper plot brewing, in which case, I look forward to reading the next book!

A typical coming of age with magical powers storey. The circus adds a lot of great content, and characters.

Spectacle of Souls is one of those books that is oddly captivating and you're left lingering in a world equal parts forebodingly creepy and whimsically magical ❤

The book follows one characters interactions with the circus act first experiencing the whimsy and a patron, the horror as a patron being hunted because of her latent talents, then back to the fun and magic of being a member of the troupe back to the bone chilling horror of the realities behind the circus's corrupt and evil ring master.

The plot line is beautifully crafted and has several BAM moments where you're left knocked off your feet. Murder, mystery, magic, psychic powers, lost memory, teamwork and ultimately hope and recovery all come up.

Each character is wonderfully written and so much fun to follow. I will warn you though this is NOT happy tale. This is very much a horror/fantasy. It is dark and creepy and gorey and incredibly atmospheric. The whole book is downright creepy in a magnificent way and I was left enthralled from beginning to end.

Taking off a star sue to certain language and grammar things making me pause and reread but overall it's still a great read!

Review will be live on socials next week.