Synopsis: In this book we are treated to speculative fiction with magic, dual timelines and cities – 1925 Paris and 2005 Virginia. In 2005 Virginia, Lara Barnes is stood up at the alter on her wedding day when her fiancé disappears and his car is found the next day on the bend of a quiet road. Interesting thing is that 30 years ago to the day, another man’s car was found in that exact same place when he went missing and 30 years prior to that, it happened to someone else. Lara’s family were part of a circus many years ago in Paris and in her search for answers to her fiancé’s disappearance, a set of her great-grandmother’s journals are given to her along with an invitation to Paris to find out more about her family’s history with the secret circus. There she uncovers secrets, enchantments, and someone who wants her dead.

My thoughts: Such a fun read! I absolutely loved all the descriptions of the circus and the ingenious storyline the author wove. It is a complex plot with quite a few characters but as it is so well crafted, you don’t feel overwhelmed. I find that usually if the plot of a book is the main emphasis of the story (e.g. a spy novel), then usually character development is very limited but this book is the full package and delivers both an intriguing storyline and great characters. This book is now available for purchase. I highly recommend it and I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This enchanting tale is a remarkable blend of of mystery, historical fiction, and magical realism. I loved visiting the world of the secret circus and uncovering the links between the each of the characters. While the story delivered awe and wonder, the characters brought extra dimension that helped me connect with the story at a deeper level. I especially loved learning about Lara and her maternal line. The pacing starts out a little slow but the pay off is well worth it! Readers of all genres will find something to appreciate within the pages of this mesmerizing book. Thank you to Redhook and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for an honest review!

The Ladies of the Secret Circus was part fantasy, historical fiction, thriller and murder mystery all tied together in a story that packs an emotional punch. There was plenty to like about this book, but there were parts that fell a little flat for me which made it a like, not love read.

Lara Barnes isn't sure what to do when her fiancé disappears on the day of her wedding. The only clue is his car left on Wicklow Bend, but with no blood, no prints, no evidence at all the police have little to investigate. But what Lara doesn't realise is Todd's disappearance may have more to do with the secret she has kept all of her life, Lara has magic, and the more she investigates Todd's vanishing act, the more she finds herself delving into her families mysterious and deadly past. Her investigation will take her to the streets of 1920's Paris filled with culture and a mysterious circus that appears every night and disappears the next morning. But Lara won't know how her fate is tied to the circus, and the ladies who lived there, until it's too late.

Like I said, there was plenty to love about this book and the characters were certainly one of the big selling points. Lara is incredibly strong and resilient, not that she will believe it of herself. She had her whole life planned ahead, until the day Todd disappeared and her world turned upside down. But when she is offered the chance to find out what happened to him she jumps at it, never mind the danger or that the offer came from a Prince of Hell. He tells her she must come to the circus and he will explain everything. But when she gets there she learns the disturbing truth behind the circus and the ring master who has control. Her story is heart-breaking in parts, but it isn't simply hers. What happened to Lara has been happening to her family for centuries, and it will come down to Lara to stop it from happening again.

The story is set, for the most part, in the present as we follow Lara's story, but we also get flashbacks to the circus told from Cecile Cabot's diary entries. Cecile and her sister Esmee were the original 'Ladies of the secret circus' and their story really hit me in the feels. Cecile's diary entries were used to fill in the history of the circus and the characters, but also to give us clues that prove absolutely vital to the plot. The diary entries add a whole new depth to the story and add to the twisty and turny feel, keeping you on your toes and getting you to realise not everything is as it seems. They also introduce us to a whole new host of side characters who were all brought to life brilliantly. My favourite of the side characters had to be Ben, the Sheriff who Lara turns too after Todd's death. The both like each other, and he was just so nice and caring, never overstepping, leaving Lara to mourn Todd, but letting her know he is here when she's ready for something more.

The setting for this book was both magical and extremely creepy, the more you learn about the circus, the more depraved you realise it is, not just for the 'ladies' but for the other acts and creatures that inhabit it. One of the issues I had with this book was that I felt the magic system could have been slightly better explained. We know Lara has magic, and where it comes from, but we have no idea of what she can do. There were some lengthy descriptive parts and I felt a couple of these could have easily been chopped to make room for a deeper insight into the magic, not just Lara's but the Circus itself. I would also say the 'fantasy' aspect of this story was a little more on the nose than I was expecting. I got used to it quickly, but I did expect it to be a little more 'hints of magic' than the outright witchcraft we got.

Sayer's descriptive writing really brings the circus, in all it's creepy wonder, to light. It's easy to get swept into the story and to feel like you're there along side the audience gasping with delight at all the circus acts. The story really is magical, and a huge part of that is down to the authors writing style. The story is also sped up by the amount of plot twists thrown at us. A few I had a good guess at, but others seemed to come out of nowhere. At around 75% through I had no idea how the story was going to end, which would normally infuriate me to no end, but it didn't really bother me, the author had written a book with that much scope that there were a multitude of ways it could go and all would make sense to the overall plot.

Overall this was a tragic and magical read that I enjoyed as a whole, I just felt there were a few plot gaps mainly due to the readers lack of understanding of the magic system. This didn't take away from my overall enjoyment though and I will eagerly be searching out the authors other works. An easy 4 out of 5 stars.

Just finished this wonderful fantasy which brings the mystery and intrigue of a enchanted circus to life. We begin the story with Lara who is getting ready for her wedding and enchanting her wedding dress. It’s clear she’s inherited her magical abilities, but also appears that she hasn’t really tried to do much with them or explore why she and her mother can make things transform. Tragedy quickly befalls Lara and brings the attention of the local sheriff to solve the disappearance of her fiancé. What they uncover involves answers to questions that Lara never really bothered to ask and reveals a history she didn’t know about her family. Along the way, we get glimpses of her ancestors and their abilities and the elements of this fantastical circus. Loved the book and can’t wait to read the author’s future work.

In a town with no crime, Lara's fiance Todd diappears in the exact spot on the same road and the same date as the last man that disappeared 30 years ago. As a child, a man had appeared to her in a vision, teaching her about her magic and showing her a beautiful but mysterious carousel. Also hinting in this vision that Todd wasn't her destiny. But things take a darker turn when they earn her that someone is after her wanting to kill her. When she discovers her grandmother Cecile's journals of the Secret Circus and a long lost painting of her performing, Lara travels to Paris to find the truth about her family.
A mysterious circus that only select ticketholders can see filled with unusual magical performers? Yes, please! This book is so deliciously sinister and dark...I loved it! It reminded me a bit of Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Night Circus which I've also read and enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Everyone loves a good book about a circus, and a magical circus makes it all the more delectable. But, don't be fooled, The Ladies of the Secret Circus is dark and macabre. It draws you further and further into it's twisted plot. I enjoyed the book immensely , but felt as if the frequent f-bombs were unnecessary and really did not add to the plot or characters dropping them. But, I am looking forward to more books from Constance Sayers!

I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The beginning of this book was a little hard to get through. I did not feel invested in the story because the author failed to make me care about The main characters missing fiance. However, after getting past the beginning and learning more about the past and the various aspects of the circus, the book was super interesting, and the dark twists were pleasantly surprising. All in all, most characters were very well developed, and if you like magical realism or stories about circuses, this is definitely a must-read.

This story is a multi timeline, Multi- perspective, supernatural suspense story, that really pulls you in. The first thing that drew me into picking this book up was definitely the cover, it is beautiful. I loved the dark blue and gold with the acrobatic woman that was stunning and tied into what the story was about. It is a slow burn read, there were many pieces coming into play throughout, that it takes time getting to the big reveals. All these pieces connect several mysteries that the main character Lara is trying to figure out, some of which include two different timelines. The past of her famous family and surrounding the mysteries of them and their ties to a very sought after circus in Paris and what happened inside the big tent. As well as the Present. Lara, who on the day of her wedding her fiancé disappears. In her search for answers not only stumbles upon a pattern of other disappearance but a family legacy tied to this famous mysterious circus as well. I enjoyed this story and the author took it to a place I did not expect at all, I love being surprised so it was a great treat. It had a very magical, 1950 feel with a lot of art references and well known painters. At times it was pretty dark and sad, for the main character Lara. She went through a lot of painful experiences trying to solve several mysteries that were happening. There is a small amount of romance going on, between Lara and another main character, but it is definitely not the main focus of the story. The writing was good and the author was great making sure everything came together. The big conflict at the end was a bit anticlimactic and just felt over too quickly, especially for how long it took us to get there. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and it was full of surprises that I could not get over, a dark atmosphere and tragedy. I definitely recommend checking this book out.
Trigger warning: Blood, Violence, and murder
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review

DNF - I finally gave up on this book after 100 pages or so, finding it extremely difficult to get into. I loved the idea of this book and was so excited for it, but puns that it spent a lot of time on exposition and details that get irrelevant to the plot.

I first became familiar with Constance Sayers when I read her novel, A Witch in Time, for my book club. It was a good blend of the modern with the supernatural. The Ladies of The Secret Circus moves further into the fantasy realm, with much of the novel set in the magical "Secret Circus", and the rest set in a small Virginia town. Both settings had wonderful world-building, intriguing characters and a plot full of mystery and suspense. This was a fun, exciting read.

What I Liked:

World-Building:

I enjoyed both the small town of Kerrigan Falls, Virginia and the chic world of Paris in the nineteen-twenties. Sayers got the details of a small town just right. Everyone had known each other since childhood. This could be stifling, but also a comfort in difficult times. I loved the details of how the downtown area changed over the years. While there were several new businesses run by the younger generation, they were all housed in older buildings. The radio station used to be a pharmacy, and the new coffee shop had been repurposed from a feed and supply shop.

In the world of nineteen-twenties Paris, there was both excess and destitution. While the young and carefree lived it up in bars and nightclubs, many people barely eked out a living. Artists, especially, suffered in order to afford their paints.

The Circus itself was a gothic nightmare, run be a daemon, Althacazur. All of the performers were living in their own personal Hell. There was a whole mythology associated with the Circus. People in Paris would need to desperately willing to do anything in order to the Circus, and only then would they receive a ticket. Did they sell their souls for this? Possibly so. But the Circus itself was so magical, people were eager to do whatever it took to get in.

Characters:

In Kerrigan Falls, Lara has been left on the altar by her fiance, Todd. Is he really missing or did Todd just skip out on his wedding? Lara is both angry that he abandoned her, and worried that he may actually be missing. It's hard for her to move on.

Lara relies on Ben, the police chief. At first, he is a strong, reassuring presence as Todd's disappearance brings news outlets from all over the U.S. But when a year passes and there is still no lead on what happened to Todd, Lara begins to see Ben as a person she enjoys spending time with. Ben, a divorced man who is a good ten years older than Lara, is obviously interested in Lara. But he also worries that Lara isn't ready to move on. I liked that even though Ben was very comfortable with himself, he still wasn't sure about starting a relationship with Lara. He was also a shot of realism to the story that kept the novel from going over the top with the fantasy elements.

Cecile (of the Circus) is very innocent considering she lives in actual Hell. Her Father, Althacazur, seems to indulge her, but is harsh with her twin sister, Esme. Yet, Cecile is terribly jealous of Esme, who is the star of the circus. Cecile doesn't feel as though she is really a part of the circus, since she only helps behind the scenes. She is constantly looking to be valued by others. It's no wonder that when a Parisian painter is interested in her, she falls madly in love.

Esme is both a tragic figure and a villain in the story. Given how she is punished by Althacazur, it's no wonder she resents Cecile. She has many reasons for hating her sister, which are revealed as the story progresses. While this doesn't excuse her behavior, it does explain it.

Plot:

The main plot takes place in the more realistic world of Virginia, where there have been several mysterious disappearances, each thirty years, to the day, apart. Somehow, they are connected to the Barnes family and their ancestor's past in the Secret Circus. As Lara grieves for her missing fiance, she begins to learn about the Secret Circus, and it's connection to her family. The portion of the plot reminds me more of a crime novel than a fantasy book, with Ben, the no-nonsense cop, following the clues.

Whenever the story switches to 1925 Paris, we are transported to a strange, gothic world. Cecile and her sister are humans living among daemons and magical creatures. One false move, and the punishment could be being sent to the White Forest (where people go mad) or worse.

The main plot in the circus portion of the book revolves around the rivalry between Cecile and her sister, Esme, and their infatuation with a French painter. This is a wonderful vehicle for the author to delve into the fabulous Paris of the nineteen-twenties. Famous artists, such as Hemingway, Picasso, and Gertrude Stein make cameo appearances.

I NEVER give a synopsis of the book in my review; there's a blurb at the beginning that (in theory) tells you everything you need to know about the subject matter of the book. For whatever reason, I feel a compulsion to give the briefest and simplest of summaries of this book: Lara lives in Small Town USA. There's a mystery involving disappearing men over the span of 90 years. And there's a circus … There. Done. Summary over. Now I can get on to …

The Circus. What a fabulous example of fantasy and escapism! I'm honestly still absorbing so much of this book. There are so many delicious twists and turns and curves thrown at you, it's almost (wonderfully) overwhelming. But the circus. I could literally read an entire book on JUST the circus. Forget all of the present-day and "real" people stuff. Just give me 469 pages describing the glorious and twisted and enchanting circus. The imagery and writing literally transports you to another world (multiple other worlds, actually) where the imagination just runs wild and free and dark and sinister. It's a fantastic story in such a wicked way. It's beautiful and menacing, all at the same time. I frankly almost feel personally enchanted by it all. And without giving away any spoilers, I will just say that the meaning and purpose behind the circus was nothing short of brilliant.

Given my fascination with the circus, I was a bit underwhelmed at times with the present day sections of the book. But the author managed to create a full cast of truly captivating characters, so even the more "boring" (in my mind) parts were saved by these intriguing people whose lives are so intertwined in such a tangled way. There are a lot of reasons to like this book. Unfortunately, you won't hear about them from me because I'm just so stuck on that damn circus.

In closing, I want to know more about the people of the circus and who they really are.

Magic, a secret circus, Paris in the 1920s, and the women whose love stories span the ages. I loved the way the lives of four generations of women intertwined, the historical aspects, and the magic that surrounded them.

The story begins with Lara Barnes, a young woman with magical abilities, she is in love and is about to be married. Although Lara’s mother only wants them to live a normal life, Lara has never been able to resist playing with the magic she and her mother share. Everything seems great until Lara is left at the wedding, seemingly jilted by her fiancé. But the mystery of his disappearance is only the start of the story.

Stories of love, betrayal, and the wickedness of the Devil’s Circus give this book so much depth. And there were plenty of surprises, twists I never saw coming. This is a very emotional book and was hard to put down once I started reading it.

I want to thank NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus. This is my honest review.

This book gave me Addie LaRue and Night Circus vibes! If you're a fan of either, you'll be a fan of The Ladies of the Secret Circus as well.

The story goes back and forth from Paris 1925 and Kerrigan Falls 2004. In Paris 1925 there is a magical circus where you need an invite to be able to even see the circus! Every performer in the circus is paying a debt to be there. In Kerrigan Falls we have Lara, who is a descendant of the Secret Circus. This book follows Lara discovering how she is connected to the circus.

This book was full of magic, performers, and devastation. I am hoping Constance Sayers gives us a prequel for one of the main circus performers.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers is a story full of witchcraft and mystery. It is a mix of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus meets Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray. The story draws you in with a compelling mystery then adds the magic and the Secret Circus. The family history sometimes got messy and complex, but the ending was clear and concise, clearing up some of the plot point I had problems with. This is Constance Sayers second novel, her debut was A Witch in Time, a book I really liked and gave 4 stars, my one criticism was that she tried to have everything connect in a really neat bow which would be my biggest complaint in this one as well. That being said the writing is still good and she is able to draw the reader in and make me feel for these characters. The ending was exciting and wrapped up a lot of story lines. The midway point I was not sure about this book but the ending was really good and made my rating go up a point. I received an advanced readers copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus thanks to Netgalley and Redhook Books. The Ladies of The Secret Circus by Constance Sayers is published on 3-23-21.

The Plot: Lara is a lowly witch ready to me married, the only problem is her husband to be has gone missing. His car is found with no trace of her husband and all evidence removed. Ben the local sheriff start to find similarities between this case and another that happen at the same places and same day 30 years earlier, with ties to Lara's family. Lara always knew her family once ran a circus a long time ago, but she finds the Circus might still exist in her dreams and in death.

What I Liked: The the mystery of the missing men, dying every 30 years. I liked the Secret Circus and how you gained entrance. I liked the Paris backstory on the circus and family history. I liked the unconventional love story of Ben and Lara. The ending was so good and really emotional. I liked how A Witch in Time is loosely connected through the magician Angiers. I liked the magic and how it grew through out the story. I liked the twist with the family

What I Disliked: The Bad guy connection was too convenient, it was really unbelievable they could hide in plain that long with no real explanation when they're caught how they stayed hidden for so long.

Recommendations: I would recommend this this witchy mystery. I liked A Witch in Time more but this is a great follow up second novel. If you liked The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstrern, then you will like this story. I rated The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers 4 out of 5 stars.

Magic runs in Lara Barnes’ veins and she descends from a circus family, but has yet to find out how onerous that legacy is. When Althacazur, the most powerful Underworld daemon-general under Lucifer, visits her in 2005, he promises to meet her in Paris, the 1920s home of Le Cirque Secret, and answer her silly human questions ― why her fiancé vanished into thin air on their wedding day, why she can hear songs in the back-track feedback of her records, who is depicted in the small heirloom painting her mother gave her, where the rest of her great-grandmother’s journals are, and why he has singled her out?
Armed with the painting and a translation of her great-grandmother’s first journal from 1925, Lara journeys to Paris. There a ticket for Le Cirque Secret is slipped under her hotel room door. Things couldn’t get much weirder if she were to attend the circus, could they? Who wouldn’t want to witness a supernatural circus, which mysteriously moved from place to place and which didn’t exist except for those patrons who had been gifted a ticket? And Lara now holds the last one.
The descriptions of the circus are otherworldly, strange and grotesque, which of course is the point. As with many dual timeline novels the past is often more engrossing than the present, but Sayers melds the two periods well. Lara’s visit to the circus is heart-pounding, all the more so because, with a front row seat, she is the only one in the audience. Her host and the owner, Althacazur, is mesmerizing and seductive, equipped with scathing banter and truly frightening. I was enticed and repelled in equal measure. A wondrously imaginative historical fantasy, a genre which requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but I wanted to believe it all and could have stayed far longer at the circus.

This book was wonderful. Virginia wine country, mystery, family secret history, and magic— it’s like it was written just for me! The characters were beautifully compelling, the story so well crafted. This can easily sit among the greats like Erin Morgenstern, Deborah Harkness, Elizabeth Kostova, Susanna Clarke, and Erika Swyler.

The title doesn’t do justice to the book. It’s a little clunky and I get it a little bit wrong every time I recommend it to a friend (the lost ladies of the secret circus, the secret ladies of the circus, etc). I would have gone with something short and pithy, like The Secret Circus, Le Cirque Margot, Le Cirque Parisienne, or even The Lost Circus.

Overall this is a stellar read and I’d highly recommend! I got this book as an advanced ebook from Netgalley but I’ll be adding it to my physical bookshelf soon!

I have to say that this is a book which captured me from the start. Despite not being exactly sure what to expect when I read the synopsis, I am so grateful that I've had the opportunity to read Ladies of the Secret Circus. Immediately pulled into the story of a missing man, Lara's fiance. I loved the narrative structure of this story and how it felt like we were discovering the mysteries of not only her missing fiance but her family's secrets and magical past. There is not really any way to talk about the story without giving something magical away. 5/5 You will not regret picking this one up and falling straight into a world of travel, mystery, secrets, magic, and the circus.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Redhook Books, the author, and NetGalley for the gifted copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus. All opinions in this review are my own.

The premise of this book immediately grabbed my attention. A dual timeline book set in Jazz Age Paris and the present with a mysterious circus connecting the two stories sounded amazing!

Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its description for me. I found the pacing to be extremely disjointed. It took over half the book for the circus to really be in the story and then it was only for a small portion.

I should have DNFed this book when I stopped caring about the characters early on and had to check to make sure I was reading the right book. I still love the concept but the execution was not for me.

This is a historical fiction novel that’s chock-full of magic. It’s also about family secrets, deception, revenge and spells. And it’s got quite a few complicated love stories.

We meet our main protagonist, Lara Barnes, as she’s about to get married. Then something goes terribly wrong and she has to figure out why. Luckily, she finds some answers from her great-grandmother’s Parisian journals (written in 1925). And then she has to visit Paris to find out even more answers.

The narrative bounces between Paris in 1925 and Virginia in 2004. I found several parts of this story did not have my attention. I think I preferred the modern day aspects best. Overall, it was OK.

This is a sweeping saga of old family secrets, love and loss, sacrifice, beauty, magic and revenge that blends a family generational mystery with the supernatural which results in a mesmerizing tale of romance and the macabre.

And in the center ring. . . a magical, demonic circus from Hell.

Our journey to Hell includes anxiety inducing life or death events, a perilous romp through the streets (and ages, as this is a dual timeline adventure) of Paris, family drama and the most imaginative, and tempting, depiction of Hell (as seen through the windows of the circus as well as a spin on the Ferris Wheel as it slowly descends down the realms of Hell, lending view of the river Styx.)

This circus definitely came to please. There are disappearances, mystery and intrigue, a treasure hunt (of sorts), personal quests, devious machinations and of course there are the murders. All of this interwoven and laced with magic and trickery was both gratifying and exciting.

The magic surrounding the ladies, and of course the secret circus, comes from a forbidden love affair between a high ranking daemon and a mortal, producing daughters who have daemonic powers passed down to them. These magically mischievous daemon prodigies perform in, and are irrevocably linked to, this scintillating circus in Hell for all eternity.

There is betrayal, a slight love triangle (if pining over a missing or possibly dead fiancé could be considered one side of a triangle) and then the tense, well planned out magical showdown at the end.

I was wholeheartedly addicted to this story. This is one that will have you compulsively turning pages, promising yourself just one more page, until you find yourself in the wee hours of the morning, still curled up with the book in your hands, and realizing you can’t stop now as the showdown is just beginning for you! You just won’t be able to put this novel down.

This story was so captivating, that I also could see the appeal of giving (almost) anything to be able to watch, join, fly, perform, and just enjoy this wickedly delicious, and utterly seductive sanctum. I am definitely on edge to see (and read) a sequel! This is definitely one you should not let pass you by.

I would like to offer my sincere thank you to Redhook Books, Constance Sayers, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions and review.

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