Set in Victorian era London, this is the story of a mysterious and magical travelling carnivale. The Rose family made a pact with the cunning Ashe and Pretorius, owners of the carnival and magicians, that made the family rich, but it was a dark bargain and had a price. Now Odilon Rose, hearing that they can cure the dying, wants to take Charlotte, his ward, to be brought back to health, but he is also working with the enemies of the circus to destroy it. Meanwhile, Lucien, Ashe’s son who has a clockwork heart and was raised from the dead, is haunted by his mother’s ghost. What is the dark secret that the carnivale and his father is hiding from him?

From what I can tell, this is the authors first book, though she has worked in publishing and with Penguin for years. I was really drawn to the beautiful cover design, it’s very cozy and decadent looking. Who doesn’t love a beautiful book? And I loved the idea of a traveling carnival or circus that has magical and steampunk elements. The book tells us early on in the first few pages that this is a world where magic is real, but most people don’t believe it it or know about it. Isn’t that what we all secretly hope? I liked that idea.

When I started to read this, I really struggled to get into it at first and had to put it down and start again later. I really liked the dark and murky atmosphere and the opening scenes that were dramatic and hinted at darker things to come… but I struggled with the vision of London that the author was creating. It felt a little bit like Dick Van Dyke doing a cockney accent in Mary Poppins. An American’s idea of London. But when I picked it up the second time, I found this was mostly just in the world building of that first chapter or two, and I got into the book a lot more. And at that point, I started to have a good time.

The book and it’s environs have a baroque, theatrical lushness to them, which is really nicely done. Magic, velvet, tea cups and gold fringed curtains. There’s a really nice vibe to the story, it feels almost shiny, full of colour and texture. The life on the ship they travel on feels exciting and adventurous, and the theatre they have in London is clockwork, dynamic and magical. These were great details. While there is rich, bright details here, there is always an eye to darkness, things behind locked doors, death, blood and fog, illusion, and this gives the book a little bite.

The characters who belong to the circus are a family and all the more warm and inviting to read about because they are chosen family. There are people who would otherwise be sideshow freaks, but here are allowed to shine and they all feel like interesting individuals with their own stories and relationships. And they live on a boat that travels the world. I loved this. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, I did forget once or twice who was who, but on the whole, I think that may have been a me thing, rather than a failure of the book.

Lucien and Charlotte are our leads in the book. Lucien is fun. He’s called Lucien the Lucifer on stage, and works with magical fire. He’s described as handsome but tortured, which is fun in a male lead in this genre. His clockwork heart is such a great detail. Charlotte is the ward of Odilon, but she’s more like his possession, and her fading away feels very Victorian. I liked these two as leads.

There are hints that she and Lucien are a match, some foreshadowing that they may end up together, but nothing really comes of this, which feels like a failed plot line. It felt like the book was going to go somewhere with that, and then it just didn’t. I’m not sure why the author shied away from having a romance plot in this book. In fact, the book, while great at character and atmosphere, does have a fairly soft plotline, which means that at the end, it loses it’s way a little bit. I can’t really say much without spoiling it, but I felt like Charlotte’s ending did not match her character up until that point and didn’t offer anything meaningful. It felt a bit rushed and highly emotional, without the foundation for that in the plot preceding it. I’m not convinced the characters really go on a journey and grow in the course of the book. The plot is not driven by them, but they’re hung upon it.

Read It If: a bit of an uneven one. I think the plot could have been tightened and deepened to match the rich atmosphere and character design. But there is something charming here, and if you like the sound of a magical, dark, traveling circus and steampunk elements, it’s well worth a look.

With thanks to HBG Canada for the copy of this book for review.