Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that Parisian Fantasy/Historical Fiction just isn't my jam.

After the disappointment that was Grim Lovelies (a slow-paced, trope-filled book that came out last August) I was reluctant to give this genre another chance... But, I thought that perhaps Spectacle would be all the things Grim Lovelies wasn't: Engaging, interesting, and well-written.

Alas, it was not.

I have two primary issues with this book.

For starters, the characters. Nathalie, our protagonist, had absolutely no depth or complexity to make her stand out amongst other fictional characters. She lacked any personality whatsoever and had no interesting qualities about her. And, as you might already know, dry and bland characters lead to a dry and bland book... Which, sadly, was exactly what Spectacle was.

My other problem with this book was the pacing. Seriously, it was SO. TEDIOUSLY. SLOW. Sometimes I found myself unknowingly skimming through pages due to the book's boring and action-less content. Oops.

Overall, Spectacle was a huge disappointment for me. With one-dimensional characters and pacing slower than that of a turtle, it was, to say the least, not a five-star read.
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Thank you to Tor Teen Publishers and Jodie Lynn Zdrock for giving me the opportunity to read this novel! Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Spectacle is at once a murder mystery and a magical adventure. The book features a multilayered lead with complex agency. Jodie successfully captured every aspect of the setting. Vivid imagery paired with intimate writing make this title a treasure.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Spectacle was very surprising at many chapters of the story because it was totally unexpected. Throughout reading the book, I was expecting the story to go in one direction but when identifying the woman murdered, the story just took another turn that totally changed the course of the plot. Our readers are in search of more mystery book and historical fiction and this is another that gets the best of both worlds. However, there were some parts that dragged for a long time making it very difficult to get through so some readers might be a little bored but when the secret is revealed it is definitely a surprise.

We will consider this book for our adult fiction section at our library. That is why we give this book 4 stars.