This was quite disappointing. I was so excited to dive into this as the blurb was so intriguing. However, only a fourth of the book was thrilling and mysterious, focusing on her "gift." The rest was slow, boring, and in no way forwarded the plot or in any way important.

Melanie Golding's "Sight" is a dark, depressing, bone-chilling, and intense supernatural thriller that revolves around Faith, a 22-year-old woman with a unique gift or curse: she can see how a person dies, earning her the nickname "Oracle of Death."

The plotline has Guillermo Del Toro's "Nightly Alley" meets "AHS: Carnival" vibes, hooking you from the first page and taking you on a journey into the universe of a traveling circus. The circus is filled with acrobats, trapeze artists, fire eaters, aerial hoopers, jugglers, knife throwers, and more.

Faith's entire world revolves around the circus, her family, her job, her friends, and her horse, Macha. Her life changed the day she dreamed of her brother Tommy's death, which changed her family's perspective of her. She turned into something problematic, cursed. Her relatives cannot look into her eyes because she can tell how they will die as soon as she looks in their eyes. She couldn't get an education because when children realized her gift, she was bullied and kicked out of school.

Her only true friend is Betsy, whom she met at her lowest point.

Now, she barely holds her job as her uncle watches her like a hawk to catch her in the act of predicting the future. Her mother is bedridden, and Faith spends each penny she earns to pay the nurses for taking good care of her.

But she realizes there's a man watching her in the shadows, stalking her. Who is he? And when she accidentally sees how he dies, she becomes frightened.

People out there are gossiping about her gift, and her own relatives are planning to put an end to her.

Who can she trust? How can she survive in this harsh world when she's alone, trying to keep her head above water?

I loved the riveting writing, clenching my fist many times when I witnessed how unfairly her own family treated Faith. She was a unique, vulnerable character struggling to find her place on earth, trying to make peace with her power even though it scares anyone who gets close to her.

I foresaw the big twist from the beginning, but it was still well-executed.

I highly recommend this paranormal thriller that gave me shivers and made the hair on my neck stand up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing this page-turner's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I was attracted to this title due to the premise of a carnival performer who has visions of people's deaths if she looks them in the eyes, and the promotion of it being for "fans of Stranger Things." The writing was decent, the story reasonably interesting, as I do enjoy tales involving carnivals/circuses and such. But overall it was a bit too Urban Fantasy, and not really what I tend to read. Not a bad book by any means, but just not really my thing.

Thank you to Cooked Lane Books and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of The Sight. I was really intrigued when I read the premise of this book and about the main character's gift of "sight". The issue for me was only about 20% of the book was focused on her gift and the mystery surrounding it, with the other 80% being really dull information about the circus and a family drama. The twist at the end was interesting but just not enough to redeem the rest of the book. Unfortunately, I can not recommend.

Unable to post to Goodreads due to IBSN error. Please find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5404592176

This was a great mystery novel, it had what I was looking for based on the description. Melanie Golding has a great writing style that worked with the genre. The characters were what I wanted and felt like real people. The cover was what drew me in and I'm glad I got to read this. I can't wait to read more from Melanie Golding.

"One time, not long before she died, Calum had gone missing, and all the men went out looking for him. He was probably eleven or twelve. Mum joined the search party, leaving Tommy and me with Daisy, and with instructions not to move or do anything while she was gone. I was crying, I remember, and Daisy had me sit at her feet so she could pat me on the head."

I received this book from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This statement is always true. I’m not given compensation to discuss a book and I’m not told how to rate a book. I am given a book in exchange for my opinions on it, and I am truthful in all my reviews whether I loved them or not.

Overall, I give this book a 3. The story within itself is interesting enough to stay involved for a period of time. I had to put it down a few times, though. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It seemed ok. The premise was a great plot. A young girl, Faith, has a "curse" or "gift' depending on who you ask. She can see how people will die. Something that was passed down to her. She sees her brother's death in her dream, then in real life. She sees a murder in her dreams, a murder that she is committing.

Her family are circus performers and have been for multiple generations. The book jumps back and forth to a ten year old Faith and a 22 year old Faith. Sometimes the timelines and narratives ran into and blended with each other and it was difficult to determine which timeframe I was in. I really do enjoy books that have back stories and narrarate from different characters or timelines. This one didn't cut it for me.

Also, what I found distracting was the overuse of descriptions. Sometimes they felt long and drawn out that I had just skimmed over them. Also, the repetitive descriptions throughout. I can't count how many times the circus performers outfits were described. At times, the book felt drawn out and long that I couldn't wait to rush past it.

I really wanted to love this book, which is why I requested it, but unfortunately, it didn't keep me enticed enough to finish it through. I will give it another shot, and I may update my review.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

I received a free ebook ARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Faith’s brother dies suddenly when she is 10, but she sees his death before it happened. Her family believes her to be cursed. 12 years later she is still trying to fit in with her family despite her visions. Carnival families are supposed to be tight, but she feels ostracized from her own. Her mother is dying and she is having trouble finding her way.

This is my first time reading Golding, but I liked the pace of her story. She alternates between Faith at 10 when her brother dies and 22 in the present time. The European carnival setting is very alluring and the family dynamics described kept me reading the story. While this didn’t have any major surprises for me, it was a good read, solid suspense and one I could recommend to others.

Faith is a young girl with a gift or curse, depending on who you’re talking to in her family. She can look in your eyes or have a dream and know how you’re going to die, and she predicts her brothers death which comes true. Part of a circus family whose roots go back a generation, her family uncomfortable with Faith’s ability no longer want her performing her act, or anywhere near the circus. But this is all Faith knows, and she can’t believe her family is turning against her.
Reading the synopsis I was hoping for more of a horror story as it’s being advertised as supernatural, instead this is about a large, close family and a young girls place in it.

Some people might call it a “gift” but Faith knows her ability to be able to tell how and when a person will die, a curse. She’s learned to keep what she sees to herself for years, but one day she slips up and a video of her predicting the death of an employee at the circus where she works goes viral after her prediction comes true. When she’s fired as a result, Faith must find a way to care for her dying mother and begins to offer her “services” for a fee. It’s a horrible way to make a living, but it’s keeping her mother’s medical bills paid. Then one day, Faith “sees” a man being murdered – and she’s the one killing him. Golding’s books pack a real punch, they’re eerie and will haunt your dreams