A magical coming of age story about a traveling carnival trick rider coping with his repressed magical inheritance that apparently came with an insidious unconscious evil intending to cause havoc.

Set in the American southwest of the 1930s, Vandy (Vandemere) is a truck riding carnie who experiences black outs every time he uses his “magie”. This magie is a power he has inherited from his mothers Romanian side, that as a kid was warned never to use, but now as a 17 year old his magie is taking over a mind of its own and overpowering his conscious mind to be unleashed.

This was a little confusing at times but questions are answered throughout the story in his memories/past history. This is currently free to read on NetGalley and my interest was piqued on the beautiful cover before reading the book description. Overall a magical young adult read with some mature themes. There is a second book and this can be read in any order, however the author recommends reading this one first. I will definitely be picking up the second book as well.

I listened to the audiobook.
It was narrated by Kyle Shive.
Kyle Shive did an excellent job breathing life into this production. His conveyance of emotion had me enthralled. It was like he was Vandy.
The book was beautifully written. As someone who traveled with the carnival, and sometimes the circus, at an early age, the descriptions brought back fond memories of the midway. The feeling of family was well expressed within the carnie and gypsy community.
Some might find the terminology upsetting but in the era the book describes, these are the words used to describe the people who lived it by the people who lived it. While my time was during the 1970s and this book was set in the early 1900s, it still felt the same.
There are times that you won't be able to tell if Vandy is experiencing reality or something else, I feel that really makes this more captivating. There are so many different personalities on display. I can't wait to read the next book to learn even more about these characters.

Vandemere (Vandy) Petruska is circus through and through. Born and raised to perform trick riding on his father's horses, his life would be perfect if it weren't for the fact that his father left, his mother is a drunk with bad taste in men, and the magie that he inherited from his mom is getting stronger and more dangerous by the minute.

The story pulled me in from page one, and I loved reading about Vandy's life, both as a kid stuck between his parents' very different ideas of what his life should be and as a teenager who finds himself unwittingly (and unfairly) embroiled in a missing child case. The way that Tait treats the mysterious magic that Vandy can wield makes for intense moments that add to the overall uneasy vibe of the story. It's tense and slightly bleak while also showing what perseverance and not giving up can achieve, giving it a nice balance that kept me turning pages even when things got highly depressive.

I was impressed with Kyle Shive's narration because you can very easily tell who's talking and what their intentions and mood are. The story is good enough that I was all in on it already, but Shive makes it feel like you're living it along with Vandy.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Kimberley D. Tait for the positively peculiar read!

This audiobook left me breathless a few times. The plot was unlike anything I have encountered previously as it was set in the 1930's about a 17yr boy Vandemere who worked in a circus as a trick rider. The idea of the magie’s as a physic ability was intriguing and never fully explained. I guess that's the hook for book two and I'll definitely be checking it out. I'm fully invested in where his store takes him as the obstacles he must overcome seem to be piling up.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free eaudio-arc of this book. It is readily available to read for anyone if you're interested.


This was an interesting read. It started off mainly earning about the main character and his background in the traveling circus, though I thought that it would focus a little more on the circus life than what it did. The story took a sort of paranormal/mystery turn towards the middle of the book, which was a good twist and played well into the story.

There is a book 2 to the series which I am interested in reading. However, I think I will wait for the audiobook for it as well as I did enjoy the narration.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The world building was fun, impressive and mysterious. The main character has a complex back story and I would happy listen to the rest of the series. Thanks NetGalley for letting me listen and review.

I loved the setting! And the audio narration was fantastic
It got a little bit lost in itself and sometimes I wanted to tell Vandy to chill out a little/ a lot, He's 17 and it shows
the amount of times it says "virgin" is Hocus Pocus comical

3.5 🌟

To be honest I was drawn in by the mention of the circus life.
Very, very early on though, I'd decided to stay for the narration.
Both the character and the audiobook.
Laid back, a little bit funny, a little bit charming.
Then it hit a point, I don't know what that point was, and it went a little bit crazy.
In a good way.
Though I swear I don't ever need to hear the word virgin again.
Just a really fun listen.
There's a second book.
I'm obviously going to read that.

Beautiful cover, interesting writiing but sadly this book ended up not being for me. I loved the beginning of it but it got confusing and unsatisfying by the middle till the end of the book. I really wanted to love this one.

Vandemere by Kimberley D. Tait is a very interesting story of a 17 year old boy navigating his life as a circus rider and a powerful gifted passed down generations on his mother’s side. This book is very well written. I listened to the audiobook version of the first book in this duology and greatly enjoyed it! The narrator, Kyle Shive, is fantastic!! I look forward to reading the second book. I need to know what happens next to Vandy. Thank you to NetGalley, AudioBee Productions, and Kimberley D. Tait for providing me with an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this audiobook so much. It was fenomenal!
I rated this audiobook 5 stars. Such a cool story and characters. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

4.5⭐️
Wow! I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would! I’ve mentioned many times that I’m not a history person in my fiction.. but sometimes books come along that are set in an earlier time period and it just hits! This is one of those books.

I read another review that labeled it as an urban fantasy and I absolutely agree. I am thankful to have gotten an audio ALC for free from Netgalley and the author to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

I enjoyed the narrator who did a great job with his narration especially with our MMC who embodies and angry teenager. The author really brings him to life and he has these special abilities in a regular world.

Circuses freak me out a bit and this was no exception but it was in such an entertaining way.
This book came out a little over a year ago and I’m so surprised it didn’t get more attention. Im not sure if the audiobook just came out and that’s why it was on NetGalley or what but I’m glad it was!

I’m going to get myself a physical copy to have on hand and o think you should too!

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again