The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
Pub Date:March 23,2021
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First of all Happy Publication Day to this beauty! I am very grateful to receive a signed ARC by no other than Constance Sayers.
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The book is an enchantment itself! The circus on the title got me so good. When you say magic- this is packed! From the prologue on to the very last page. We follow a generation of Cabot Family whose matriarch is a circus performer. Along with the circus comes all the magic, the colors, the spectacular wonder! I don’t want to leave spoilers but let me just say, an enchanted dress , a vanishing groom and old victorian houses at the very beginning has way more than enough to be glamorously captivating. It got even better because the plot turned dark, evil, intense and all the while mesmerizing.
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I love the characters! I feel Lara and her emotions and thoughts! I love the romance that goes along with everything in her life complicating matters at hand. I love the satisfying ending!
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To Connie, you did say the next book after Witch In Time will be magic packed and it sure was full . I love it and thank you! You did mention about the ending being merged on the finished book, and I am excited how that goes because Amazon will deliver my pre-ordered copy today! Once again, thank you and Looking forward to the next book wonder that you are slowly cooking in your witch cauldron of books right now!
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Loved this book. Was hooked from the start. There is mystery, magic and love. Reminds me of the show Carnivale with a touch of the Night Circus. Highly Recommend!

Special thanks to NetGalley, Constance Sayers and the publisher Redhook for the advanced copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus.

Sayers captivates with her illustrative story telling. The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a beautiful and dark fantasy weaving four generations of a family and their bond to a secret circus. This story has everything – magic, illusions, mystery, adventure, and historical elements including a visit to Paris, along with music and art references.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ladies of the Secret Circus.

Thank you Netgalley and Redhook Books for the chance to read The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers. Everything about this book intrigued me: The cover is gorgeous, the description just made me want to grab the book and hide myself away and read. This is a magical, but dark and macabre read. And I loved it! Told in dual timeline: Lara's in 2005, and Cecile (mostly through a diary) in Paris, 1925.
Virginia, 2005: Lara Barnes is on top of the world-until her fiancé disappears on their wedding day. Desperate, her search for answers unexpectedly leads to her great-grandmother's journals and sweeps her into the story of a dark circus and a generational curse that has been claiming payment from the women in her family for generations
Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder-a world where women tame magnificent beasts, carousels take you back in time, and trapeze artists float across the sky. But each daring feat has a cost. Bound to her family's strange and magical circus, it's the only world Cecile Cabot knows-until she meets a charismatic young painter and embarks on a passionate love affair that could cost her everything.
I totally recommend this book, but it is dark, and could be disturbing to a few.

I don’t know what I expected going in. There have been books that I thought were going to beautiful and magical and then they were not. There are the ones that become huge. Those can be great or overhyped. Then there are the hidden gems. The magical stories that touch you that only so many others you meet ever know. I hope this one doesn’t become that.

This is a women’s story. The characters that really have the power when it is all said and done are the women. Even the human ones who influence the powerful. Lara thinks her life is about to start as she prepares for her wedding. She isn’t wrong. When her fiancé doesn’t show up, Lara begins to learn about her town and her past. He isn’t the first man to disappear. Not in Ohio and not back in Paris when The Secret Circus was in its prime.

The novel mixes the love of family, strength of sisters, mothers, daughters, and a dash of magic. More than a dash. Mixed in to the magic, daemons, and family drama is a glimpse of the world of art in Paris of 1920. I appreciated the mix of the fictional artist that is the center of one such family drama with the real artists that had flooded the city at the time. I love a story that can take me back in time and make me stop to look up the works of the people I am meeting.

This book seemed like it was going to be a bit long but I curled up with it on a snowy day and finished it in one day. This was my first book by this author. I am looking to grab her debut soon. Hoping to recapture that magic.

Love this cover! I was given an early copy to review on Netgalley. I was instantly drawn to this book for the cover(of course) and for the mystique of the secret circus life.
This book follows two timelines-Paris 1925 and Virginia 2005. Although I liked this book, I didn’t love it due to the fact that the secret circus should have been embellished on more. I had a glance at the secrets it beheld but didn’t feel like it left me entranced.
The modern day story with Lara Barnes starts out with a small wonder, then became dull toward the middle as I felt I wasn’t pulled into the story. About the 70% mark I started becoming more interested as the the two worlds started colliding and certain truths were revealed that I didn’t expect.

Lara Barnes is set to marry the love of her life, when the unthinkable happens on the day of her wedding - her fiancé disappears without a trace. Her desperate search for answers leads to a centuries-long curse against the men the women in her family have loved.
This book was absolutely magical. It is told in multiple POV's and it jumps back and forth in time from 1925 Paris to 2004 Virginia. The "secret circus" was only visible to those who had been given a ticket, to all others it was invisible. It was an occult-themed circus, and it was shrouded in mystery and illusions. I did not want to put this book down. It kept me captivated from beginning to end. If you are a fan of rhe paranormal and fantasy genres then this needs to make it onto your must-read list!

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

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This one was a VERY interesting, sometimes trippy, read. I was immediately sucked into Lara's life (which is usually the purpose of a good story), so much so that I spent WAY too much time trying to find about a TV show that doesn't exist :). Most of the characters were easy to feel sympathetic to, with very few exceptions. The story flow was well done. I will be looking for more of Constance's books in the future.

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Y’all, don’t let the first section of this novel fool you, it’s all fun and games until things get dark 👀 “From the author of A Witch in Time comes The Ladies of The Secret Circus by Constance Sayers, a magical story set in Jazz Age Paris and modern-day America of family secrets and lost love set against the backdrop of an extraordinary circus.”
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We were pleasantly surprised (or spooked) when this book took a turn from being light and magical to just straight up dark. Maybe the title fooled us? Or just our general bias when it comes to circus’, but this was full of less than bubbly magic and we are here for it! Some of our favorite bits came from the historical aspect of the novel (we love good world building), our characters and their development (y’all know how important they are), and how this novel hit on dark fantasy/romance! Buy a ticket, get your popcorn ready, and step right up to read this amazing novel!

There's something about a circus that's truly magical. The wonder and awe that it inspires makes it feel otherworldly. What if it truly was magic? Not a dazzling, exquisite kind, but one that is merely beautiful on the surface. Inside, it's a rotting, macabre thing that is filled with despair and lost souls. The blurb for this book fascinated me, so I knew I had to read it to discover all of the secrets that were inside. There's an ominous feeling hanging over you as you read which makes you almost not want to know them. Lara Barnes has no idea what secrets her family has been hiding for generations, but on the day of her wedding, she gets her first tragic clue.

After her fiancé disappears, Lara is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. She fluctuates between anger and sadness, not knowing if she was abandoned or if some horrible accident has befallen Todd. You really sympathize with her as you experience her loss and confusion. When she starts to see bizarre coincidences about the circumstances surrounding Todd's disappearance and others in Kerrigan Falls, things start to get even stranger. Not only have there been other missing people in the past, they are the only suspected crimes or tragedies to have occurred. The people in town have enjoyed an almost utopia like atmosphere where the only bad things to have happened are the mysterious cold cases that have almost been forgotten.

As the book wears on, it seems that rather than getting answers, the questions only build. Lara's mother Audrey seems to know things but won't divulge anything of importance to her. She goes out of her way to keep her in the dark, and many times her fear reveals that Lara is facing something she could never conceive of. Ben Archer, the chief of police seems to be the one person in town who wants to unravel the mystery as much as she does and a personal relationship grows between them over time. Although he hasn't had to put his investigative skills to work in their strange little town, he's sharp as a tack and it doesn't take him long to start to connect some of the dots.

The story has two timelines-one in Lara's 2005, and the other in her great, great grandmother Cecile's time in the 1920s. Cecile's flashbacks are told through her first person experiences in her journal. We don't get to see that perspective until a solid chunk into the book, but her story is the key to everything. Lara must know the full extent of her family history before she can understand what is happening in the present. The journal entries are exciting to read and more than a little fantastical. However, right from the start you understand that Cecile's doomed life is not a pleasant one.

The past and present are tied by a trio of paintings done by Émile Giroux. The paintings titled, The Ladies of the Secret Circus are the stuff of legends. They're told to depict Cecile, her twin sister Esmé, and a third secret circus performer. If they exist, they would be the only concrete evidence of the dark manifestation that was the subject of curiosity throughout the ages.

This is a difficult review to write, because so much of the plot is shrouded in mystery that I don't want to reveal too much. Part of the draw of this book is following along on this mindboggling riddle. I give the author serious props for her ability to create such an unpredictable, disturbing tale. I think that the best thing about her books is knowing that she will keep you guessing and feeling nervous for her characters. When you don't care at all, that's where you have a serious problem. I can definitely say that there is no chance of that happening here.

My one complaint about this story was Lara. Her one major character flaw was how impulsive she was which led to some very bad decisions. It's okay for a character to be flawed, in fact, it makes them more interesting most of the time. Especially if there is growth in overcoming that by the end. Lara did a couple of things that REALLY had me pulling my hair out and questioning her sanity. As well, her feelings of admiration for the secret circus were so puzzling to me. I mean, in a way it made sense because of who she was, but on the other hand, I couldn't fathom her draw to a place that was essentially a prison of torture. Logically you would think that anyone would be repelled. I guess I just couldn't relate or connect to who she was and I suppose that's okay. I don't necessarily have to as long as she makes sense. It was the choice she made at the end that I was left feeling very conflicted about. I didn't hate it, but I honestly didn't know what to think.

If you want a book filled with mystery and danger that won't be quite like anything else you've ever read, this one is for you. It's unsettling and grim, but oozing suspense from every chapter. A Witch in Time had some similar themes, though don't make the mistake of thinking this is too similar to Ms. Sayers' first novel. They both manage to be unique in their own right, so if you loved her first book, there's a very good chance you will love this one as well.

I simply adored everything about this novel. The story, the setting, the pacing, and the characters worked together to create a reality I easily slipped into and didn't want to leave until the last page. I loved the way it flipped from past to present as several mysteries unfolded, merging together beautifully. The circus lends itself to an otherworldly atmosphere that worked perfectly as the supernatural elements grew stronger. The characters evolved in ways I never imagined and some of the twists really caught me off guard. The writing has a voice also perfect for a supernatural mystery with a haunting tone and beautiful darkness. And that end... just wow. This will easily sit alongside my favorite dark circus books. Great read.

“The Ladies of the Secret Circus,” by Constance Sayers, Redhook, 464 pages, March 23, 2021.

In 2004 in a small town in Virginia, Lara Barnes is preparing for her wedding to Todd Sutton. Lara and her mother, Audrey, can do magic. They were Cabots, who years ago owned Le Cirque Margot. They now breed horses and Lara works at a radio station.

Lara sees Todd the day before their wedding, but he disappears when he goes to clean his car. The Suttons call police chief Ben Archer.

Police find Todd’s car at Wickelow Bend in the same spot where another missing man’s car was found 30 years earlier to the day. Peter Beaumont was never found. Jason Barnes, Lara’s father, was his best friend. Peter was the leader singer in a band that Jason played guitar in.

Five months later, Lara is moving on with her life. She and her father buy the radio station. She buys a house. Her mother gives her a painting of her great-grandmother, Cecile Cabot, a circus trick rider and trapeze artist who left France in 1926.

Then a fortune teller says the dark circus is Lara’s destiny and that her life is in danger. Lara is given a family journal from 1925. She finds that Cecile had a twin, Esmé. Cecile met the painter, Emile Giroux, who did a series of circus paintings.

Lara takes the painting of her great-grandmother to Paris to be verified as a Giroux. Soon secrets about Lara’s family come to light, revealing a curse that has been in her family for generations. A curse that might be tied to her fiancé’s disappearance.

The complex plot is one of love, family, history and dark magic. The characters are excellent, even the minor ones. Both timelines are richly described. This reminds me of “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern, published in 2012, although “The Ladies of the Secret Circus” is also original. Fantasy fans and other readers will love this.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

https://lynns-books.com/2021/03/23/the-ladies-of-the-secret-circus-by-constance-sayers/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Sometimes a book just delivers

I had high expectations for this book. The cover and the description worked their magic for me and added to that my love of fiction that includes circuses, magical realism and anything diabolic – well, I was quite simply transported.

The story gets off to a great start. We meet Lara on the eve of her wedding, literally making last minute adjustments to her dress through the use of magic and this captivating start sets the scene for the rest of the story. Unfortunately, Lara’s husband-to-be, Todd, is a no-show, and his strange disappearance and abandoned car, at the same spot where 30 years ago someone else went missing, provokes Lara into an unusual magical adventure.

Told in three distinct sections that allow us to get to know Lara before she travels to Paris and then back again in search of answers, the world building and settings are beautifully depicted. The secret circus itself is wonderfully described, fantastically creative and utterly fascinating. Only visible to those who have been invited, guests step into the circus via a huge devilish mouth that sets the scene for what they can expect. On top of that we step back in time to Paris of 1925. A place of creativity and passion where artists and writers mix with the glamorous ladies of the circus sparking passion and jealousy along the way.

Fundamentally, this is a story of family, of family ties, history, curses, revenge and coming home told through a combination of current day accounts involving a murder mystery that takes us to a magical realm where nothing is what it seems. I mean, yes, on the face of it, there is a lot going on here but it all works so incredibly well. The pacing is excellent and the final denouement nothing short of breathtaking.

On top of this the characters were good. Lara was easy to like and I really enjoyed the family backstory. Enough so that I was worried about her safety at certain points. Always a good sign that the author has worked their magic.

Overall, this was a great read for me. The combination of fascinating family and mysterious murder mystery worked a treat and I could barely put this down. I definitely want more from Constance Sayers and I will be checking out her backlist as well as looking forward with enthusiasm to whatever she pens in the future.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 of 5 stars

This story started out slow, and it took me awhile to get into, but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down. It was atmospheric and mysterious and darker than expected. I enjoyed it, however the ending felt rushed. It was a good mix of genres and you get a bit of everything, historical fiction, mystery, magical realism, romance. I enjoyed it 3.5/5⭐️

I usually love any book with a circus setting, and this is no exception. A mix of romance, fantasy, magic, and mystery, it was a little darker than I expected, but the story was intriguing with well-developed characters. Lara’s fiance disappears on their wedding day and sets in motion a tale of good vs. evil that spans multi-generations. The story shifts from the recent past in a magical, serene Virginia town to 1920s Paris, The conclusion is filled with twists I didn’t see occurring. I'd recommend fans of The Night Circus and The Magician’s Lie read this.

The more I think about this book the more I enjoy the intricacy of the plot. The first half was a bit clunky in execution with the different pov’s. I really enjoyed the circus aspect. It’s kind of like The night circus meets practical magic. It’s less focused on the How’s of the secret circus that comes to town and more on the main people who lead it. They keep the intrigue up by slowly peeling back the layers but it’s heavily inflicted by magic. Lara was a staring heroine. I wish we would’ve seen more of the interactions between her and her mother as ultimately these familial relationships were more important than the romantic. I wish we could’ve had more of a straightforward ending but I’m hoping that means we’ll once again visit the circus. I did also enjoy how all the questions are answered. We know The Who what and why’s and it’s twisted. I definitely recommend for fans of magical realism and intrigue

I cannot stop thinking about this book. I will not stop raving about this book. It had all my favorite elements of a good story - fantasy, history, romance, mystery, complex relationships, and just the right touch of darkness. While it wasn’t the most unpredictable piece of literature, it was fast paced enough that I was never bored and I never wanted to put the book down. I was absolutely enchanted and thrilled by all of it. This is absolutely going down as one of my all time favorite books and I cannot recommend it enough!

What a truly fun read! While I liked Sayers's previous book just fine, this one was even better! For a 450 page novel, it reads/moves fast. I finished most of it in one afternoon. The story was compelling and interesting, urging me to turn the page faster and faster to try to figure out what the heck was going on. It definitely took a turn I didn't see coming, as far as the characters's mythologies were concerned, so that was a huge plus. I loved the Esme twist near the end, too.

The only thing keeping me from giving this five stars is that the novel could have been shorter, because there was a lot of repetitive moments throughout. And there were a LOT of typos and editing problems for a finished book (I read the finished, hardcover copy), and that pulled me out of the story a lot. Lastly, I was hoping for a more finite ending...and the author said this was a standalone novel, but...I can't help but think there's going to be more by the way it ended. (Which is fine if there IS going to be more...but I like to wait to read books in a series when they're all completed so I don't forget anything!) But I would say give this book a read!

If you love books with a magic circus setting, I highly recommend The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers. It's one of the best books I've read with this premise. This book has all of my favorite things: A Parisian setting, a mystery, a romance, and paranormal elements. I loved Sayer's debut, A Witch in Time, and her second book did not disappoint either. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author!

3 stars

If you read The Night Circus and wished that it read a little more like women's fiction, then this is the book for you.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus spans many genres: mystery, romance, fantasy, all of which I love. Unfortunately, that did not add up to this book sweeping me away.

Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy it! However, it just never felt like the book landed anywhere. By pulling in all of these genres into one epic novel, none of them really live up to their full potential. The concept is good enough to carry it through, but I was definitely wishing for a little more magic with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!