Trapeze by Leign Ansell is the story of Corey Ryder, a young trapeze artist, whose life if thrown into chaos when the circus she is apart of is targeted by an arsonist. She is sent to live with the mother she’s never met and forced to attend a traditional school for the first time in her life. When Corey finds herself growing closer with town golden boy Luke Everett, she has to learn to navigate her old life and her new one while staying true to the person she knows she is.

I’m not a big YA reader, but I found this book very compelling. I found the characters to be pretty multi-dimensional, which is something I find usually lacking in YA fiction. This book did a nice job navigating the teenage experience (struggling in school, making new friends, parental relationships), while also covering heavy subject material (parental abuse). It was a super quick read, but still very enjoyable. I liked the circus aspect of this book, which I thought was unique. I would definitely check this one out if you’re looking for an easy read.

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for honest and thoughtful review.

I loved the premise! Corey was a good character. It starts off strong, and I just thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a good young adult read, and I want to read more by Leigh Ansell!

An entertaining read, Trapeze makes you think: what would you do if your whole world was turned upside down.

This book was pretty good. It didn't blow my mind but I really enjoyed the read and look forward to Leigh Ansell's work in the future.

A light, quick YA book about a teenager who has spent her life on the road with a circus getting thrown into the life of public high school following a tragic event with the circus.

First off, my biggest peeve is the cover image. It shows a blond on arial silks and our main character is a brunette trapeze artist. I seriously can’t get past this inconsistency & has irked me since it was revealed that she has “dull brown hair” and she was circus enemies with the arial silk cliche.

I loved the first part of the story with the circus descriptions and storyline, but once the main character joined the school it seemed like her whole circus life disappeared. She doesn’t communicate with her old friends, aunt, trapeze mentor, or anyone until the last few chapters of the book. She doesn’t seem to miss trapeze itself and her confidence from the first chapters vanishes completely.

The story left me wanting in several areas, but wasn’t down right awful either. An okay summer read, but not one I’ll likely recommend to others.

I follow an aerialist on Instagram so I was excited to have been approved for this! I did see a bit of the trapeze and circus life, but as the blurb promised, this focused more on home and high school life drama, and a bit of teen romance. And while the plot was established well enough and the conflicts were clear; I just didn't feel like I could connect with any of the characters. I'd read another work by this author, though, because I liked the voice

FULL REVIEW: https://wordsunfilteredbys.wordpress.com/2019/07/04/trapeze/

I literally finished reading it about an hour ago and I’m just sitting in awe. I loved this book. It was phenomenal and so, so well written. I did notice some changes from the Wattpad version and if anything, it got even better. Leigh’s writing has always been amazing but it’s only improved over the years, and this version of it is marvelous, honestly. When I finished reading it, I knew that this is a book I will be raving about to all my friends. It touches on the things we try to push away, making us realise that sometimes the cycle we’re in isn’t always right and it isn’t something we should be used to. It makes the reader realise that when seeing something — when finally seeing beneath the surface and the mask someone puts up — that is so awful and harrowing, there needs to be something done about it.

In some ways, it was reminiscent of Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. I won’t say why. But the latter half of Trapeze really reminded me of that particular book.

Trapeze is a book that has always stood out amongst other Wattpaders, and this version is no exception.

When the traveling circus - Mystique - is set ablaze during an performance in northern California, Corey's career as a trapeze artist comes to an abrupt halt. With the circus' future uncertain, she is sent to live with the mother who gave her away. For the first time, Corey is living in one place, going to school and trying to hide her circus roots in an unfriendly town. When she starts to make friends, she discovers that everyone has a secret and some are not meant to be kept. Can Corey reconcile her past with her present and give herself a future?

This was an interesting premise that I found to be a bit lacking. Corey is two people, confident in herself with regards to anything athletic and dismally aware of her shortcoming in other areas. I was really rooting for her to come to a decision about who she wanted to be and make that choice for most of the novel. I was also hoping for more about the circus itself. As the story progresses, Corey's trapeze work becomes almost meaningless until the secret gets out. What initially drew me to this book was the concept of a teen trapeze artist. There is very little about trapeze in this novel beyond the opening chapters - one could almost replace this by any other upbringing quirk and have the same novel.

Kudos to Ansell for handling the domestic abuse subplot with aplomb.

Mystique circus in in town. And Corey is part of it. She is a trapeze acrobat. But due to a tragedy, she has to stay in California with her mom. And she has never seen her! She must attend high school and there she meets another teenagers.
And I can't say anything else. Because I couldn't finish the book. I tried. And I tried. And then I tried some more. For six day. But it was impossible. In my opinion, it was boring and it was dragging on. After 200 pages nothing had happened!

I was given a netgalley copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a super quick but super enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the characters and how they progressed throughout the story.

My main issue was that, for a book called Trapeze, there wasn’t very much trapeze in it. I wished there was more about Corey missing it when she wasn’t doing it or even trying to find ways to practice. For something that was her whole world for 15 years, to have her not even think about it after a month seemed a little out of character.

I thought the Luke storyline was also well done and his character seemed morphed by his experiences. (I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say what) I think it was true to life the way he dealt with things and I liked that.

Overall it was a really good read that I would recommend to those wanting something soft and easy.

Set in the world of a traveling circus, Trapeze is a wonderful young adult romance that is sure to grab your attention from the first page. I absolutely loved reading more about life as a trapeze artist, especially while watching people in The Greatest Showman and America's Got Talent living out these dreams. I don't see Leigh Ansell having a day job in marketing for much longer!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was such a unique, enjoyable book! The premise of a MC raised in the circus is so fascinating and sets readers up to want to know more about Corey right away, then I found myself just as invested in her return to "normal" life and subsequent love story. Ansell's writing is engaging and she handles some heavy topics sensitively. I recommend this to YA romance fans, The Greatest Showman fans, or anyone who loves a good story.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

Honestly this book was hands down one of my favourite reads so far this year.
I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover and amazing description.
I quite literally could not put this book down it was so good!
I loved the characters and the whole circus element made it even more interesting and magical.
Both main characters come from broken family backgrounds and honestly lukes story broke my heart!
A thrilling read that kept me engaged the whole way through.
It was such a cute romance I can’t say enough how much I loved these characters.
Well deserved 5 stars.


4 stars

I liked this one a lot it told me about the circus and being on the road and the main character has to be a regular kid in school when the circus stops in California and I always wanted to go to Cali!!!

This was a delightful story about a girl who is a Trapeze artist who has to deal with life outside of the big top. It delved into topics of dysfunctional families, abuse, bullying and sexuality. The main character Corey is a string determined girl who faces these issues. When I began this story I thought it was going to center more around the circus life than the other issues. I enjoyed this story. Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summer is coming, and so are summer reads ! Contemporaries are my to-go genre for the summer, and when I saw Trapeze on Netgalley, I thought it would be a great read for the beginning of June.

First of all, this is a Wattpad book. I used to love Wattpad before so many kids used it ! There were a lot of amazing stories, especially romances, and they were pretty cool to read. I'm sure there are still some around, but they're drowning in horribly written fanfictions now... Anyway, I'm super happy Wattpad one day got the idea of creating a publishing house for the gems on its website.
Some books there really deserved the love, and it's great the group is helping those stories get into the world in a more professional way.

As all teenage romances, Trapeze has a few clichés in it : Corey is the outsider, the "weirdo" and Luke, main love interest is the popular guy with a secret. Family relationships aren't great and drama is never too far, and the "villain" of the story was pretty easy to figure out.
That being said, I must admit a few things surprised me, especially towards the end, and this is why I liked the story. There are some clichés, but everything is not one, and the author still tried to make a few things realistic regarding Corey and Luke.

Moreover, the characters are really likeable, and I found myself rooting for both MCs, but also some background characters, such as Kim and George, two of Corey's friends (that could definitely be more present by the way, they're nice !)

I wouldn't say this is a spectacular book, but it's a nice cute beach read that I thoroughly enjoyed !

TOTAL THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (ZENDAYA & ZAC EFRON) VIBES. I loved that. I was really craving a cute YA contemporary romance so this was totally up my alley.

I loved that this came from Wattpad because I know there are so many amazing stories on Wattpad, but I don't use Wattpad that often (especially because there are just sooo many stories) so it's really exciting to see those stories become successful and transition into the published world!

Now back to the story, the plot was pretty unique and I definitely loved the thought and storyline behind each of the characters. It was a pretty quick read for me, but I liked that because it felt like the plot was never too slow.

Why you would enjoy this book:
You like a good romance
You enjoy those plot twists
Getting to know the background stories
Getting to know Corey! (what a cool girl!)

I can see why this story got the praise and support to transition from Wattpad to being published and I would definitely recommend you to pick it up and give it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Life on the road is all Corey Ryder has known. At seventeen years old she works at her aunt’s circus as a trainee trapeze artist. Being up in the air performing every night is what she loves to do and cannot imagine her life any other way. The circus is her home and its performers her family.

The circus stops at Sherwood, California and to Corey it seems like nothing can go wrong especially when she is given the opportunity to be the lead trapeze artist for the performance. However, a rogue fire leaves her life in tatters and Corey is forced to leave the circus and revisit a part of her life which she’s been trying to forget.

Corey is thrust back into her mother’s life and the two are exceptionally awkward around each other. Her mother is quick to enter Corey into high school and for Corey it’s a clear sign that this is her new home. There would be no more travelling, instead she would be cooped up in a house which her mother obsessively cleans and having to start fresh when all she really wants is to be back on the road with her true family.

Corey is convinced she’ll never fit in to Sherwood and cannot wait for the moment that she can finally break free and return to life on the road. However, an unlikely romance blossoms between Corey and Luke Everett, the most popular boy in school, which has Corey second guessing leaving Sherwood.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it within a few hours! I was completely hooked from the synopsis and the book did not disappoint. The characters were well written and the universe that Leigh Ansell has created is phenomenal.

I adored Corey and how strong she was through everything that happened in this book. She was thrown into a situation which was completely out of the norm for her but quickly adapted and found herself even wanting to achieve at school. Her relationship with Luke was adorable and I was rooting for them from their first meeting in Joe’s Diner.

This book did touch on physical abuse and I’m impressed with how well Leigh Ansell wrote those scenes. Sometimes when you read books about abuse, trauma, mental illness the writer sometimes has trouble trying to make it realistic, but Leigh did a fantastic job of making it feel so real even when the matter was so dark.
I do wish I could have seen more scenes of the circus life and more scenes of Corey and her mother trying to form a relationship after seventeen years. There wasn’t much dialogue between the two and I would have just liked to see the two sit down and have a proper conversation.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and have given it a 5/5 stars. It’s such a quick but unique story about a young girl who is thrown into a situation that is so out of her element and how she deals with it. I really do recommend reading this and I cannot wait to pick up the final copy!