The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers is an enchanting, mysterious novel that blends historical fiction, magical realism, and romance. The story follows the lives of three women, separated by time, whose lives are bound together by a secret circus that holds more than just performers. In modern-day Washington, D.C., a woman named Phoebe, who has recently lost her fiancé, uncovers a family secret linked to a strange circus from the past. As she digs deeper, she discovers her connection to the circus and the captivating women who once performed there.

The authors does a wonderful job weaving between different timelines, with each chapter revealing new layers of mystery and magic. The setting is atmospheric and haunting, with the circus itself feeling both wondrous and dangerous. The novel explores themes of love, loss, and the search for identity, all while maintaining a sense of wonder and intrigue.

Books that felt similar to this one were The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab with a blend historical fiction, magical realism, and themes of mystery, romance, and secrets

A magical circus from Hell?! I was all in. A start that grabs you, then….a whole lot of nothing much. Then some intriguing backstory and a meh ending. This could have been awesome and I should have loved it, but it just fell flat for me.

The ladies of the secret circus.

First, I want to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book, it was about time for me to read it.

Now, this story is all about Lara Barnes and her family, because they're kind of speacial, and they all have secrets well kept, but somehow they will need the truth to come out after an unfourtunetly event happened in what was supposed to be "Lara's best day of her life".

I loved all of the plot of this book, magic, and an old times vibe that I enjoyed, but I gotta be real and the only thing that I didn't like of the book was towards the end.
The end of this book was so fast paced, like all the drama and all the battling and discovery the characters made lasted so little, it wasn't as grand as I would've wished it to be, and the epilogue was so open that I didnot understood if they really got what they wanted or not. besides all of that, even the plot twist was shocking to me, I never saw anything coming, It was so good, that's why I Give some 4 stars as my rating for this book, this was my saving for all the emotional waste of this year.

If you are a fan of magical misteries and circus this mighbe something you'd like. (I admit that sounded weirder than I imagined)

thanks for reading, and thanks again for the book.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus follows two timelines - Paris 1925, where Cecile Cabot is bound to her family’s strange and magical circus, and embarks on a love affair with a young painter; and Virginia 2005, where Lara Barnes’ fiancé disappears on their wedding day.

I wanted to love The Ladies of the Secret Circus. The themes, the ideas behind it, this mix of whimsical and dark, all pulled me in at the beginning, and I felt like it was going to be the perfect mix of magical and mystery.
Instead, I found that we meandered a lot, jumping between the timelines, adding a lot of unnecessary descriptions, and just generally dragging on what the main story was.

I did really enjoy the beginning of the book, struggled through the middle, and found the ending to be that little bit of a bang I was waiting for. But it wasn’t enough. A lot of the middle of the book could have been edited down, and the character development should have been more consistent rather than feeling like info dumps. I also would have appreciated more of the whimsical, magical part around the circus.

I’m sure many readers will enjoy this if they like a more slow burn of a book, or if they’re okay with extra descriptions that aren’t overly pertinent to the story. It is a more character driven story, which works better for some readers. So, while it wasn’t a bad book, and I know the right person will love it, it just wasn’t for me.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook Books, and the author for the eARC of this title (about a million years ago**

I am the absolute worst with ebooks and this one somehow fell to the wayside for me and I never looked at it after downloading. I wish I had picked it up sooner!!

The Ladies of the Secret Circus has a lot of ~spooky~ elements and I appreciated the darkness of some parts, while also wishing it was a little bit darker in places. I loved the dual points of view, especially with them all coming from strong, female characters. I could see how this book could be confusing if you weren't paying close enough attention, and it for sure took some getting into for me to really enjoy the rest of the book.

I can say that after (finally) finishing this book I will be checking out more from this author in the future!

I received an advanced digital copy of this novel from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus started out with a great premise and then fell apart a bit. Slow pacing was a problem for me, I wanted to get into the action more quickly than the author did. The suspension of disbelief was a bit weak as well.

3 out of 5 stars.

I was very excited for this book, but unfortunately I found that I couldn't connect with it. The "circus" in the book only appeared for a few pages, and the action took over half of the book to reach. I feel like the romance took more of the center stage, so I wasn't sure what theme the author was going for. The author's writing was very beautiful and I loved her descriptions so I would still love to try more of her work.

I appreciate NetGalley for allowing me an arc of this book for my honest opinion.

🎪 This is exactly the type of book that is usually a 5-star read for me because I LOVE magical realism, but I didn’t end up loving it as much as I’d hoped. I enjoyed the book in general, but preferred parts of the story over others.

🎪 I typically like multiple timelines, but this time it felt a bit disjointed for me. And I felt like the book had a lot of extraneous information that could have been left out for a more concise story.

🎪 Usually, books that involve magical elements will require some degree of suspension of belief. If the story is intriguing enough, I can do that easily. This one required effort beyond my ability.

🎪 The “circus” part of the story didn’t impress me as much as I hoped. I may have had some preconceived notions in my head (from previous books involving circuses) that altered my perceptions in this regard. Nevertheless, I wasn’t as compelled as I’d wanted to be. I think I needed more fear, more horror.

🎪 The book isn’t bad at all – but it is 3 stars from me, rather than the 5-star book I hoped for. I fear I am guilty of comparing it to Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (which is one of my favorite books) and it didn’t quite hold up IMO. That said, if you enjoy dark, magical, circus-centered stories, then give this a shot. You may appreciate it more than I did.

Thank you @netgalley and Redhook Books for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

3.5 Rounded Up.

I received a reviewer copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers from the publisher Redhook Books from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: In Paris 1925 there is a secret circus where people enter a world of wonder, it is where Cecile Cabot grew up and it is all she has known, but then she meets a charismatic painter and their passionate affair could cost her everything. Now, we are in Virginia in 2004 and Lara Barnes (Cecile's great granddaughter) and her fiance has disappeared on their wedding day. Desperate for answer, Lara searches through her great grandmother's journals and finds the stories of the secret circus.

What I Loved: Okay, I did overall enjoy my reading experience. I switched to audio because I thought this story was dragging. Once I started fresh on audio, I found the story really intriguing and enjoyed the adventure. I think the best part of this read was the connection between mother and daughter and the generations. The love between Lara and her mother, Audrey, is just really a shining point of this novel. The story and connection between Cecile and Esme was also well done. I truly found the family relationships quite interesting. I also found the unraveling of the mystery really interesting and how little details that were seemingly insignificant matter.

What I didn’t like so much: Okay, for me I have to say I found the writing not the best (this problem was largely fixed for me on audio, so it could have been my internal reader, but I struggled) and found it took quite a bit of time to get into the book. This is a slow build (and it has a worthy pay off!) but we are talking about 40% or so before you start getting into it. I also could have done with a bit more world building and understanding of the magical system.

Who Should Read It: People who love a book about a magical circus with dark secrets.

Summary: A magical circus and its dark history has been causing chaos for a family for generations.

I enjoyed how interesting the book was. It has surprises and keeps me reading.
I will be looking for more by this author.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I really enjoyed A Witch in Time by the author, so I was really looking forward to The Ladies of the Secret Circus. Unfortunately this did not hold my attention, and I gave up after about 100 pages. It wasn’t bad, just not for me.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. This is a great book I found hard to put down.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. The cover is really pretty. A fun interesting novel..perfect weekend read.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc. Surprising, vivid, tense, so imaginative and creative. All that is good about contemporary literature. At times dark but with a driving plot that takes us through a century of a family line of mystery and intrigue. Absolutely delightful.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so refreshingly different I have never read a book with a circus as a theme before. I also loved the era this was written in. I truly believe this book deserves to be made into a movie because it was so atmospheric! This book felt magical to me, and I didn't want it to end. 4 stars!

I really enjoyed The Ladies of the Secret Circus, a magical circus tale! I loved both of the settings. It did take a slightly darker turn than I expected. I recommend this book if you like magic and magic circus plots! I am looking forward to reading A Witch in Time by her as well!

I was unable to finish this book, so I can’t give it an honest review. It was much darker than I had expected. I wish I would have known that going in to it.

I did like this book, though it wasn't great. It was a good story but not a standout in any way. 3.5 stars rounded down.

As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher ( Redhook) for a copy of Constance Sayer’s second novel “ The Ladies of the Secret Circus.” From the Jazz Age of Paris, France to modern-day America this novel is filled with mystery, supernatural elements, and wonder. The novel is told between two time lines (Paris, 1925 and Virginia, 2004). Romance is central to the plot as love is the catalyst for creating a lifelong curse and the answers recovered after love is lost. The novel follows two women ( Cecile Cabot and Lara Barnes) whose destiny’s are intertwined despite the length of time between them . For Lara is about to be married and shows the promise of the relationship and union to come. However tragedy befallen her fiancé as he mysteriously disappears and is lost to be found. Nearly 79 years earlier Cecile Cabot is at the center of Parisian entertainment as her family owns their own circus. She forms a passionate affair with a young artist whose works are being nationally noticed. It is this relationship thereafter that changes her future. At the helm of this story is a mysterious circus adding suspense, intrigue and answers for both women. I have previously read Sayer’s debut novel “A Witch in Time” and enjoyed it. This novels pace for me was under par compared to her previous work but held my interest towards the second half of the novel. Overall I recommend it for those who enjoy slow plotted works filled with suspense, drama, and romance. Out of five stars on goodreads , I give the novel a strong 3 out of 5.

Anytime circus is mentioned I’m onboard. Throw in Paris with dual timelines and that’s the icing on the cake. This was all I wanted in a story and more. If you like historical fiction pick this up!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eGalley. All opinions are my own.