Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This review is my own and does not represent the view of the company I work for.

I’m afraid this book ended up in my ‘did not finish’ pile. This may be unfair to the book itself as it came after I had read three other fantastic circus related novels in the months prior. The first few chapters didn’t capture my attention and I got the impression it was a rather sad and maybe even depressing story which I was not in the mood for.

I am sad to say that I just couldn’t finish this book. I found it boring and the characters boring.

I know some will just love this one but it just wasn’t for me .

”All of history is just fiction.”
A well researched novel about the circus during the time of P. T. Barnum, although he doesn’t feature in the novel. Elizabeth MacNeal brings us into the realm of those who do do not look ‘normative’, and it’s truly a display of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The characters are all well flawed and feel quite human. The practicalities of the personalities, choices made, and hopes and desires of each person reflect upon the circus quite well. From the lowly mouse to the large elephant; and from a birthmark speckled girl in a small village to the startling charism of the Ringmaster; we see the classism that exists inside the small community of a circus. Our lead characters are quite different from one another; and yet all of them wish to be so much more than they are. Dreamers who will strive for more and often, inevitably, fall short.

My favourite part of Circus of Wonder is the ending. It’s so rare to come across an ending that is both happy, yet sad; both realistic, and idlidic; and ultimately feels appropriate, even if no one really wins or looses.
If you enjoyed The Night Circus this might be for you. But be forewarned, there is no magic here. Just dangerous stunts, and conditioning, along with some genetic deformities. This is a story about life, making choices, and then living with those choices. No matter how it turns out there is one thing for sure; we can write our own history and make it as fictional as we want whilst brood

“Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.”

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a pretty magical book. I would say don't expect it to be like the book it's being compared to. It's its own book.

Set in the Victorian era, Elizabeth Macneal follows Jasper Juniper's Circus of Wonders, as its ringmaster, Jasper, tries desperately to capture the attention of Queen Victoria. His goal seems in reach when Nell, a girl with birthmarks peppering her skin, is sold to the circus by her father while the circus is performing in their village. As the story unfolds, we follow the perspectives of the circus' ringmaster, Jasper, his brother Toby, and Nell. I found Nell's pov the most compelling and I loved her story arc. I also really liked the exploration of Jasper and Toby's relationship, and thought it was interesting how they brought in flashbacks to their experiences during the Crimean War.

This was a very visual book - it really brought you into the world. The relationships between the characters were complex, exploring themes of friendship, jealousy, love, war, heartache, kinship, and belonging. Excellent for fans of Water for Elephants and The Greatest Showman.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and #NetGalley for the arc!

I genuinely don't know how I feel about this book.

I know, I know, flaky 3-star reviews are the worst. But despite the luminousness of Elizabeth Macneal's prose and the sparking emotion of her characters, I finished the last chapter feeling ... nothing, really.

Perhaps because CIRCUS OF WONDERS seemed to close to other Victoriana-circus-type books I've read before. Perhaps because everything about the plot felt inevitable, as if characters were only making their terrible decisions because the author was plucking at their strings. Or perhaps because Macneal seemed to come *so close* to saying something about the "othering" and exploitation of disabled people in the 19th century, never quite pulling those ideas fully into the open.

So, yeah, I don't know.

Don't get me wrong -- I definitely enjoyed Nell, Toby, and Jasper's story! It was grim at times but also dramatic and fierces and beautifully written. I particularly enjoyed Toby and Jasper's complicated sibling relationship, more so that the Nell/Toby romance (which also seemed kinda ... authorial?); I also LOVED the bond between all the women in the circus.

My verdict is lukewarm, but nevertheless, I'd be interested in reading more from Macneal in the future.

Covered in birthmarks all over her body, Nell is seen as bad luck by the people in her village, and does her best to make herself as small and unobtrusive as possible. When a travelling circus comes to her village, her father sells her to the proprietor, Jasper, who immediately imagines how he can make her an unforgettable feature of his show.

Nell is initially heartbroken and enraged to be part of Jasper’s show, but gradually sees how her “deformity” can actually be empowering, just like all the other women in the show believe their unusual features are.

Jasper’s younger brother Toby is entranced by Nell. Toby is also quiet and shy, a forgettable contrast to Jasper’s flamboyance and fearlessness. And Toby feels he is painfully, utterly inferior to Jasper and Jasper’s dreams, and desperate for Jasper’s affection and commendation.

Add in Jasper’s constant need to be successful, to control Toby and his show’s crew, mounting debts to finance his bigger and better show ideas, as well as a public eager to gawk and grimace at the freaks and grotesques who are stars of the show (Victorians, what can I say?) and “Circus of Wonders” is a highly readable story.

I loved Nell’s journey from covered up, hunched over young woman, to someone who is bold in and out of the spotlight, fearless and comfortable in herself. Despite Jasper’s desire to control her, she defines who she is when she “is Nellie Moon”. That this causes conflict and acrimony between her and the self-absorbed Jasper is inevitable.

The author vividly brings to life the lights, smells, grime and cruelty of Victorian London, as well as the fascination people had for the fantastic and frightening.

The relationships, including the dysfunctional ones, are central, and work well, with things spinning and whirling tighter the further into the story one gets, and an ending that is not shocking, but is still destructive and sudden, making this a compelling and occasionally grim read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Shuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

When young Nell, is sold by her father into a circus of human curiosities, she has no concept of what her future will hold. Disfigured by birthmarks over much of her body, showman and ringmaster, Jasper, sees the potential for her to make him the greatest purveyor of oddities in the country. Her new persona as ‘Nellie Moon’, speckled like the constellations, will soon have her soaring above the crowds on mechanical wings in the Southwark Pleasure Gardens, and into the coveted purview of Queen Victoria, herself an eager spectator of oddities. Only Toby, Jasper’s brother, sees Nell for who she really is, but how can he have what is owned by his formidable and brilliant brother?
We piece together the story of Jasper and Toby through two narratives - one depicting their circus life in the present-day 1860s and the other telling of their shared experience at the siege of Sevastopol, in the Crimea. Much of the novel’s narrative is contingent on this background exploration, which delves into the irrevocable bond between the two brothers. The narrative alternates between three points of view – Nell, Jasper and Toby -- all told in third-person present tense, creating a spectator’s view as though the reader is part of the rapt audience at “Jasper Juniper’s Circus of Wonders.” The story explores themes of greed, sibling rivalry, betrayal and sacrifice and such arrogance and hubris as might presage a monumental fall from grace.
Amongst a series of interesting portrayals, Nell’s character arc is particularly intriguing as she blossoms from frightened outcast, accepting of her life in the shadows, visible yet unseen, into a girl who knows her own mind and will make any sacrifice for a life in the adoring limelight. A finely wrought symbolic novel which sensitively explores the Victorian appetite for the grotesque and macabre. Recommended.

Victorian era, character driven, complex plots = love!!! LOVE!! LOVE.

Loved that the circus was Nell's escape. It became a reprieve away from the horrors of her old life. The village shunned her, dead mother, absent/drunk father in the picture. Her brother was also getting married, so Nell felt isolated.

Her father happened to sell her the circus, and it ended up becoming her saving grace.

I would recommend to read this! If you're a fan of old circuses (not like the Night Circus, and Caraval, mind you).

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Elizabeth Macneal for providing me with the opportunity to read Circus of Wonders before publication.

Within the pages of Circus of Wonders, Elizabeth Macneal creates a compelling duality of worlds. Glimmering, seductive enchantment. Bleak, hopeless oppression.

Though slow-moving at first, rich description of character and setting builds a satisfying reading experience. A new element, introduced during the second half of the novel, propels the story forward and gives room for rich character development.

Spend a little time under the big top with a colourful cast of deeply human characters. 3.5 Stars.

I was really excited for this Victorian historical fiction book about a 'Circus of wonders," sadly though it fell a little flat for me. Set in 1860s England at the height of the popularity of all things different and macabre. Jasper Jupiter and his brother Toby aspire to create a circus to rival that of Barnum and Bailey's. The stars seem to align for the brothers when they come across Nell, a young woman with mottled skin, whose father sells her to the circus for a pittance.

Told in alternating perspectives from Jasper, Toby and Nell we get to see the rise of the circus, Jasper's growing ambition, Toby's growing love for Nell and Nell finding a confidence and self-acceptance she never would have had in her tiny village home. Overall it was interesting and if you enjoyed books like The night circus, Water for Elephants or The museum of extraordinary things by Alice Hoffman, this might be right up your alley. For me, it was hard not to make comparisons and this story just wasn't quite on the same level as the others. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

Elizabeth Macneal's Circus of Wonders thrills & delights readers as it takes you on a journey beyond the red top... and into the backstage lives of the people, animals, and macabre showbiz of Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders. Deeply prosaic while also provokingly disturbing, Circus of Wonders is a lush story written by a masterful pen. Fans of The Greatest Showman or even fans of Victoria will surely love this book!

Told from the perspective of three characters (Nell, Toby and Jasper), Circus of Wonders spins a beautiful, storied web of family, brotherhood, friendship, love, war, risk and the grand world of the Circus. I appreciated how well-researched this book was and how much I learned about this time period even from reading this fictional book. The characterization and triangulation of not just Nell and Toby, but also Toby and Jasper, was really well-done. I appreciated the ending of this book and the particular emphasis and colourization of the sibling relationship between Toby and Jasper.

My one (rather large issue) with this book was the graphicness of scenes, in every meaning of the word. I felt the gory and gratuitous descriptions of certain moments or memories to be completely inappropriate and outlandish. Honestly, it felt like the author was intentionally trying to be inflammatory in her choice of language or focus at times, and the "shock value" of those graphic moments quickly began to irritate me.

Circus of Wonders was a read I gobbled up as the story enveloped me in its world. 4 out of 5 stars, easily! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow, this book was entertaining from start to finish. Circus of Wonders is written from the point of view of three characters; Nell, Toby and Jasper. Of the three viewpoints, Nell was by far the most interesting and the main character I had cared about. The story follows Nell, born with birthmarks all on her body. Ostracized by her village and her father, Nell finds comfort in her brother, Charlie. But, their relationship changes when Charlie finds love. One night, Nell is sold by her father to Jasper, the showman of a circus. Now thrust into the life of a performer, Nell finds her purpose. The more fame Nell attracts, the more Jasper becomes jealous leading to many problems for Nell. Toby, Jaspers younger brother, finds love with Nell.
Fans of The Greatest Showman would love this book! It is more drama-filled and deals with heavy subjects of finding your place in a world where you are seen as different.
I loved the book! The story was well researched and at points, the characters really came to life. My only problem was the ending. I would have loved to see Nell and Toby together but such is life. It was heartbreaking to see the fall of the two brothers but it was justified. Seeing Nell, Stella and Pearl finally be free from Jasper was beautiful.

This is a truly magnificent story, the author does a wonderful job of telling the story in three distinct voices, Jasper, the owner of Jasper Jupiter Circus of Wonders, Toby, Jasper's brother and Nell the young woman with birth marks covering a large portion of her body, making her an outcast in the village she lives in. Jasper's circus stops for a performance near the village where Nell lives, after a get together with other village residents, Jasper sees Nell and decides he has to have her offering Nell's father a small some for her. Nell is kidnapped and placed in a caravan as the circus moves onto the next stop. Nell eventually comes to realize that being a part of the circus allows her more freedom than living in the village where she was destined to be a spinster and outcast. Nell becomes the star of the show, more popular than Jasper, something he doesn't like. Throughout the story there is the backstory of the two brothers, their younger years where they were very close, their time in Crimea where Toby photographs the atrocities and Jasper, with his new friend Dash, belittle Toby while participating in the atrocities, eventually culminating in an event that links Toby to Jasper forever. This was a very brisk read, I could not turn the pages fast enough it was very good, I highly recommend. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Atria for the ARC.

There is a line early in the book where Nell says of herself "A life of being both intensely visable and unseen." To me, that really captures the essence of this book. That desire to be seen by others. It is what drove Jasper to try to be the greatest showman of the age. Toby to try to gain Jasper's approval. Nell to just be seen for who she was, to be important somehow.

This is a haunting, sad story, but so so good.

I predict this will be a big smash! Such a different read - i was mesmerized from page 1 - and the ending blew me away! This would make a great film as the images were so imaginative! Any story that takes place within a circus always intrigues and captivates, always a bit of sadness, greed, and search for fame mixed within. This one does not dissapoint!

I love it when I go out of my comfort zone and read a unique book that turns out to be rewarding!

Elizabeth Macneal explores the fine line between exploitation and empowerment within the Victorian circus setting. She delves into the darker side of Victorian London, capturing the golden age of showmen and spectacle by highlighting the public appetite for the ‘freak industry’ driven by seeing physical difference as an exciting form of entertainment.

Nell works on a flower farm in southern England picking miniature violets when she finds herself kidnapped and sold to Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders for his circus entertainment. Nell has been set apart from her community because of her speckled birthmarks, but soon discovers that she’s become the center of attention due to her leopard-like appearance. The hurt from the greatest betrayal of her life (read to find out!) takes a backseat as her fame grows and soon she’s seeing her fate as the best thing that ever happened to her. It all goes well until her fame threatens to overshadow Jasper Jupiter, the showman who obtained her.

Macneal has a fantastic way of bringing Victorian culture alive for her readers and I was amazed at the lengths she went to make her setting and characters feel authentic. Using multiple points of view, that of Nell, Jupiter and Toby, Macneal is able to explore Nell’s story more fully. Macneal highlights how society treats those who are vulnerable or marginalised, examines the delicate balance between power and ownership, and sheds light on fame versus the threat of invisibility.

Set in 1866 England, The Circus of Wonders is a thought-provoking, emotional read.

I was gifted this advance copy by Elizabeth Macneal, Simon and Schuster Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book is told from three different points of view. We have Nell the new performer, Jasper the circus owner and Toby his brother who is the circus photographer...he also has a heart of gold and a soft spot for Nell. I liked how this book isn't just about the circus but about the effects of war, sibling relationships and coming into ones own.

I loved this book so much and Nell was such a wonderful character. I felt so bad for her at times, being different isn't easy or for the faint of heart. You have to be made of tough stuff, I should know as I am deaf and I do my best to not let it get in the way of doing what I want. I was so happy to see Nell spread her wings (no pun intended) I loved being on her journey of self discovery.

A fun read, the author does a wonderful job of keeping a sense of wonder and grandeur through out the book, balancing the joy of the circus with the ominous powers at work behind the scenes.