This book started soooo good with its mysterious loss memory theme and portraits from so much lovable twelve years old girl’s life.

But in the middle of the book, the magic ends and it starts getting flat, pace gets slower and slower like never ending nerve bending song! And the conclusion comes out of nowhere abruptly and haphazardly.

Maybe I’m not the right reviewer choice for this book because it seems like written for middle grade more than young adult age group ( even though I have a young soul, I’m still freaking middle age woman! So it could be a little challenging for me to make an object evaluation because it seems like I’m not in the targeted reviewer group of this story)

Overall: the author creates so much impressively adorable characters but the way of story telling style was a little bumpy! Beginning was fascinating and hooking you up but I wish the ending could be well executed!
I’m giving three mysterious, vivid, mystic circus stars!

As far as I see the author has still great potential to create magical worlds and connectable characters so I’d pleased to read more of her works in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

There are so many fascinating elements to this story. I love the character of Frankie because it is not often that we see a teenage goth that is not a total stereotype and as the main protagonist. Her first-person perspective is done very well, she is layered and complex, her background slowly unravelling, and her thoughts and reactions felt authentic to me. There is some great character development throughout the novel as she comes to accept her skin condition and regains the ability to trust the people who care for her. There is a slightly eerie tone to the Egyptian magic which adds another interesting flair, however I think it could have been a little darker and more sinister for more of an impact. My favourite part was the mysterious unravelling of Frankie’s past and what ties her, Max and Jessica together. It was unpredictable and I found the ending unexpected and suspenseful, but for some reason, it lacked the drama and tension I had been hoping for in the final climax. Overall, a really impressive YA novel that blends together pieces of genres from all over the place. It ticked all of my boxes with good characters and a suspenseful plot while covering some heavy issues which left the reader with some additional valuable messages.

TW: non-explicit rape scenes and child abuse.

It's a 4.5 for me, for a few little things (mostly because Frankie's friendship with Max had a few didn't-phase-me moments for me).

This was an incredible read from the start. With its great summary, Frankie's story hooked me in and didn't let me go.

The best part of this book was never really knowing what was going to happen because of the many, many possibilities. Was a spirit or something like that telling a story to Frankie through her dreams? Was that spirit asking for help? Was it Frankie's past life? Was it her life before being found abandoned when she was ten?

The characters are great, even those secondary ones that don't have many scenes nor characterization. All of them had their grays, their good and bad days, and that also helped to not really knowing what was really happening until the very last end. You don't know who's the bad guy (IF there's a bad guy), don't know if the multiple plans will be successful, don't know if Frankie's gonna make it. It's really interesting and it's really well done.

A last detail: I hated Frankie at the beginning. She was unbearable, incredibly superficial much to her regret and biased. I suffered reading about her, but that made her narrative arc even more realistic and interesting.

Really recommended!

Intriguing, fun, but misleading.

The book starts off really well, the author knows her characters and builds a very interesting world. She hooks the readers with so many promises for the story and for its main character, Frankie Doe. But I must say that her writing felt flaky (no pun intended) - sometimes you can see how this book would be classified as YA, but most of the time it seems to be a perfect fit for a middle-grade audience.

Putting that remark aside, and thinking of this book as middle-grade, it really was enjoyable. I can see a 12-year-old kid having the time of her life with this book, but I can't see a 16+-year-old kid digging this.

Also, the ending felt a little bit rushed for my taste. Colleen got us hooked on her characters, she made them likable enough for us to care, so I'd have liked to see a better and thought-out ending.

I really loved the story, I devoured it in one sitting. I loved the concept of the book and the lush, atmospheric tone of the book added to the experience. I also really like the writing style of the author. I hope I get to read more book from her in the future.

The summary was very intriguing and I really enjoyed the first half but the second half felt more slow. The characters, and most of the plot was well written for the most part. I can't wait to see what else Colleen Nelson will write next.

This book was fast paced, with a lovely writing style! The descriptions were lush and the characters themselves were very interesting.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the storyline and I liked the way the author writes. I look forward to more from the author.

3.5 stars

This started amazing. Mysterious. With a little girl found in an alley with no memories at all. It got me hooked up to 40% then somehow it became pretty predictable and thats a shame because I really wanted to love this.
I did like the story and how it developed and how everything started clicking on but in the end i got confused because too much story was "dumped" in one chapter and it became too hard to follow. Thats why im giving it this rating.

TW: mentions of sexual assault and child abuse

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.