*I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review*
A novel involving a circus loses the appeal for me for the most part. I couldn't find the connection to the main character that would be needed to enjoy this book.

I'm with a couple of the other reviewers who feel a vague sense that they've read this before but can't remember where. Perhaps it's that every creepy circus book turns out to hinge on this same central premise: a "regular" person who doesn't know they're special but who the circus wants to claim as its own stumbles into the big top and Mayhem ensues... I like the way it began, but a handful of chapters in it started to lose my interest and I felt like I was forcing myself to keep turning pages. The writing was a little rough and felt like it needed a stronger edit than it got. There were a number of typos, I know these are Advanced copies so that is to be expected, but the more there are the more difficult I find the read - especially when the writing isn't as tight as it could be. And I agree with those critical of the use of threatened suicide as a good choice for avoiding the RingMaster... That one made me cringe. I think there's a really interesting premise here, I just felt like some of the magic got lost in the execution...

Jumping in the first chapter, I had a hard time with the amount of adjectives to content— hardly holding my interest. But I pushed on because I love the circus, and this posed an interesting story! All in all I did like the story, but the writing, wording and style could all use a little refinement.

If you like water for elephants, this is basically the same story only with the addition of magic.

A main complaint I have is the violence is used so much and so many people die that I as the reader became desensitized to them and it no longer help power or meaning. A note to the author is to use these means sparingly to make the reader feel the feelings stronger. Also, the ending was too nice a tiny bow, all the ends tucked in tight.

I was actually thoroughly impressed by this book. Absent a few critiques, I thought it was fun and exciting and perfect for someone looking for a nice, easy read!

The novel follows Caitlyn, a small town girl with some killer migraines. However, a circus comes into town (along with a hot magician) and Caitlyn's world is turned upside down. Those migraines end up actually being psychic powers and the circus is run by The Ringmaster, a brutal man who will do anything in his power to keep control of the circus troupe.

As the story unfolds, Caitlyn must save the troupe from The Ringmaster and learn how to master her abilities. I thought it was such a fun story! Daniel, the magician, and Caitlyn have a nice dynamic. I loved Caitlyn's sassy friend Vanessa and I thought there was some fun backstories. Once Caitlyn got to the circus, I was fully invested in her and her story.

As far as critiques, I thought the book was too short. I really think there could've been some more development, such as the relationship between Daniel and Caitlyn and Caitlyn learning to use her powers. Those are the things I love and, with such a great story line, I think it's completely acceptable to make it a longer book. I also felt some transitions were a little abrupt, but it didn't kill the book for me.

Overall, I would suggest this to a friend!

The cover is beautiful and the summary pulls you in, but the writing is dull, occassionally cheesy, and is more tell than show. Too much eye rolling. Too many adjectives. The story started off with too many descriptions but I'm glad it didn't last too long. The pacing stumbled making some sections feel longer than necessary. I do think the appearance of the circus was described well though.

The MC was bland, and her instalove relationship earned eye rolls from me (hardy-har-har). Sometimes the who-is-who cast of characters was hard to keep straight. I've read a few books lately that are similar to this one and this one doesn't stand out.

I try to be constructive with my reviews especially because I don't want to discourage anyone from writing but I honestly had a hard time finding much to like in this book. A lot of development and fine tuning would be needed for me to love it. If I had borrowed this book from the library and had not received it from NetGalley, I probably would have abandoned it after a few chapters.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this novel.

Actual rate: 1.50 stars

This is the worst rate I have given a book in a while, but honestly I was tired, and bored, and I had to force myself to keep reading this novel.
I try to be the most polite possible when writing reviews, but this time I have to admit the exact thing I thought when reading this book: this is stupid.
This novel felt like a Wattpad book, and not in a good way. It felt like a fanfiction written by a 16 years old girl: it has potential, yes, the original idea is there, but it's executed terribly. The characters were extremely flat, the dialogue was the cringiest I have seen in a while, the romance was a half-baked insta-love, the worldbuilding was all over the place and the writing style put the same (lack of) emphasis to describe magical moments as it did describing the main character choosing her outfit. I think the only thing I enjoyed was the presence of small scenes described from the villain's point of view, even though those weren't exactly neat too.
This book made me realize that either a good portion of the fantasy books that came out recently are badly written, or I loosed my ability to read because most the ones I have read in the last two months didn't even deserve more than 3.50 star rating, so I guess I'm going to take a break from this genre.

The story is as luscious and creepy as the cover suggests.

Two friends attend a circus only to discover that it is more than it seems. The ringmaster wants Caitlyn to join and he’s not taking no for answer. She has an unrealized supernatural power that could change everything.

Twisty and violent, this story accomplished everything a circus should. It entertains, horrifies, and surprises. And the end confrontation is worthy of a round of applause.

Caitlyn, who suffers terrible migraines and her best friend Vanessa decide to check out a circus that has come to their small town. Along the way they meet some interesting people. A Ringmaster who wants and is something more than he appears. A boy who wants to help and more. Plus some other wonderful people. Join Caitlyn on her journey to find herself and help others along the way.
This book held my attention the entire time. I enjoyed all the characters. They story was different from other paranormal stories I’ve read in the past. If you enjoy a good paranormal, this book is for you!

Thank you Bleeding Ink Publishing and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this E-ARC. I will be posting this review on my blog (abookishstar.blogspot.com), Instagram (@abookishstar), Barnes and Noble, and Amazon nearer to the release date.

I loved the overall concept and plot of A Spectacle of Souls by Jessica Julien. Normally, it takes me a week to finish a book. Whereas, with A Spectacle of Souls, I was able to complete it within 72 hours. It took me about five or six chapters to get fully invested in the story but, after that, I was hooked. I kept wanting to know what would happen next in the story. I also found the romance, between Cat and Daniel, to be cute.

I liked the idea of a circus that is run on illusions and the workers' supernatural ability. Past YA books have shown readers that the circus can be a mysterious and fantastical setting. The circus has this grand appeal of being unique and exploring the world. I would say that A Spectacle of Souls has a darker feel to it. This book, based on the characters' ages, almost feels more New Adult than Young Adult. I don't think we ever learn Cat's age but, based on a conversation with another character, I am guessing around 20-21. Daniel, I think, is around 24 years old. The only complaint I have is that I wish the circus workers' abilities were given more page time. I would have liked to learn more in depth about the troupes' abilities before the climax of the novel. But, that being said, I thought Cat's ability and how it is connected to a different realm was something new and refreshing. I also felt the author brought the Cirque des Volés to life. I would have liked a little more description in the surrounding areas (ex; the scene where they were driving to the next tour stop).

I enjoyed the overall storyline of A Spectacle of Souls. I am curious to see how book 2 will turn out in this series. The middle half and the ending were what intrigued me most about this story. The beginning, for me, started off a bit slow. It took me, as I said earlier, about five or six chapters to get into the storyline. The writing flows pretty consistently throughout the novel. There were a few times when I noticed more of a "telling" than "showing" approach. I also noticed a few times where other characters' point of views were present during other characters' narration. This left me a bit confused, at times, of who was telling the story. Especially when each chapter would tell you, with the character's name, who was narrating the story. Also, I would have liked Cat's visions to be described in more length and description.

Daniel was, by far, my favourite character in this book. I shipped his and Cat's romance from the start. Did I think his feelings, and overprotective nature towards Cat, developed a little too fast? Yes. But I am ok with that!! I also loved the friendship between Vanessa and Cat.

How old is the Ringmaster? I'm guessing he is in his late twenties to mid-thirties. I would have liked to know this piece of information while reading the book. At first, I found the Ringmaster to be cliche evil. He came off, at first, as being evil without a cause. However, as the plot progresses the readers learn more about his motivation and backstory.

The ending wraps up pretty neatly with the events of the first book. For a minute, I was wondering how this would turn into a second book. But the author was cruel, haha, and left us, readers, with a cliffhanger/big question.

Overall, A Spectacle of Souls was a fun read. The storyline got me hooked, and the ending left me curious for more from this author.

The circus and magic?! YES PLEASE!! This story flowed so well and the characters were so alive. I really enjoyed all of the characters in this one which normally doesn't happen. This was a great escape book and could see those who love magic and or the circus loving this one!!

A Spectacle of Souls by Jessica Julien
Genre: New Adult, Teens & YA
Publisher: Bleeding Ink Publishing
Publish Date: 7 July 2020

Having finished a heavy academic book I was looking for something easy, light, and magical to get lost in and A Spectacle of Souls ticked all the boxes. Not only that, it's about the circus, a topic in fantasy I can't resist. The story follows Caitlyn, a small-town girl with not much going on apart from horrendous headaches...or is it that simple... The circus rolls into town bringing with it a troupe of psychics as the performers, making this a 'no ordinary' circus to the unsuspecting audiences. Caitlyn's world is about to change forever because the suffering evil Ringmaster has decided that Caitlyn is the one that will cure him of his hunger, and he's willing to cause as much pain as possible to make sure Caitlyn joins the troupe. Add into the mix a ruggedly handsome magician/illusionist and the stage is set for an adventure.

I liked this book a lot, Caitlyn's adventures of wondering into the Spirit Realm was unique in its landscape and I loved the Ringmaster's back story. What I didn't like too much was the ending, without saying too much after all that happened it seems unlikely. Also, there was an uncomfortable cringe at certain parts of the book. I love humor cringe but this wasn't that kind of cringe. Regardless as I said I did like the story and when the next book comes out I would be tempted to pick it up.

If you're into a light, good storybook about a circus filled with psychics you should give this book a go!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A spectacle of Souls by Jessica Julien is amazing book. It starts out with Caitlyn Stoker who is a waitress in a small town at Pop's one stop soda shop diner along with her Bestie Vanessa Clark. When Cirque des Voles comes into town and Caitlyn stoker who has never seen a circus wants to see what the experience is her Bestie Vanessa takes her. Although this isn't your normal circus its a very unusual circus which relies on people with other powers and strong auras. Soon Caitlyn learns With Cirque des Voles nothing is what it seems. Also This book had me tearing up then crying slightly, towards the end.

The life of Caitlyn will change forever when a mysterious circus arrives in town and a seer predicts a very dangerous future for her, warning her to stay away from it. The magic of the circus is however to charming for her and soon she found herself bounded to it.
Everyone in the circus has some kind of power and Caitlyn will start to discover hers while fighting the ruthless Ringmaster.

I really liked the writing style of the author of this book as she seems really a master of making you feel the thrill of the various moments of tension of this book. I swear that sometimes I had to remember me to breath as I was too captured by the narration.

I also really appreciated the author’s descriptive abilities; I was totally able to visualize in my mind all the magical phenomenon and illusion of the circle’s spectacles and I think you need to be really good at writing to give such vivid images.

The story is clearly divisible in two different parts: one before and the other after she joins the circus. I felt the “after” part as a bit too rushed, while the “before” one was almost too slow; I would have preferred a more linear rhythm through all the book.
Some parenthesis in the first part seemed unnecessary and that were there only to give more drama to the next scene and the book would have totally been the same even without it.
I would have preferred to have more of the circus’s everyday life instead of packing the second part with events; maybe this would have add more meaning to some particular parts of the story.

I would have liked to have a bit of focus on all the member of the company and not only on few of them, but I hope this would be handled in the following books of the series.

This book is the first of the series of the Circus of the Stolen but don’t be scared by this thing because it can be totally read it as a stand-alone one.
You can totally enjoy the book even without having the worry of having to buy the next one to have a “complete product” but, at the same time, trust me that you would want to know more about Caitlyn and her adventures with the Circus.

From the very first page this book reminded me of something, it felt like I had read this before,I couldn't quite remember if it reminded me of "the vampires assistant, I never read that book but watched the film, I can't quite out my finger on it, but it really felt like I had read this before.
I did like it from the beginning, but I felt myself losing interest the more I got into it.

Welcome to the Cirque des Volés! You may quite literally don't believe your eyes... And maybe you shouldn't.

Caitlyn suffers from headaches and strange visions which she believes to be the effects of chronic migraines. But can that really explain the voice that sometimes speaks to her in her mind? When a circus comes to town Caitlyn marvels at the impossible wonders with the rest of the audience. What she doesn't know is that The Ringmaster himself is watching her. When he shows up at her doorstep, offering her a new life, she's not quite sure what to believe. Others, like the handsome magician Daniel, try to warn her that nothing is what it's seems when it comes to the Ringmaster. Soon she will find herself trapped in a battle of wills with more than her own life at stake.

The plot is intriguing right from the beginning. It's that kind of plot that unfolds as you read, giving you more background information little by little that explain how you got to the current situation. It does have some weaker parts were it kind of get stuck, but then you also have a romance to enjoy.

The thing I liked best was the different take on psychic abilities. The power is described as an conscious entity that sometimes has a will of it's own. And it's closely connected to a place called the spirit realm, a place both beautiful and terrifying. Unfortunately it's not as developed as I would have liked. It was kind of hard for me to grasp how it all fit together sometimes and I would have liked to just have a bit more. I also would have liked to know more about the other characters' abilities that seemed to be powerful in their own right but was rarely used. Since so much of the story was focused on these powers it felt like some pieces was missing.

Obviously I have good things to say about A Spectacle of Souls but when it comes down to my personal reading experience, we didn't quite get along. I think the main reason was the writing style. It just never managed to convince or immerse me in the story even though I mostly liked the plot and magic setting. I just need a bit more tension and motives behind the characters's choices for me to really believe in them and get engaged. We also got off to a bad start because the introduction of some of the characters felt very stereotypical, like the best friend who is really into makeup and give our main character a makeover in the beginning of the story. I read a lot of YA and usually enjoy it but maybe this book should be targeted at the younger part of YA? On the other hand, the characters themselves seemed to be a bit older than your typical YA and the book does have some darker scenes even though it's never graphic or detailed, so you don't have to worry about that.

So, in the end I think you should give this book a chance if you;
- don't mind a more simplistic writing style that may be suited for a younger audience,
- would like a sweet and fluffy romance,
- want a magical circus setting,
- enjoy a story centered around psychic abilities.

A mesmerizing circus paired with magical abilities. What more can we want?
This book follows Caitlyn, a young waitress that always suffered from migraines and how her life drastically changes when she meets Daniel and his circus world.
I really liked both protagonists, which doesn't happen very often. I'd say that most characters are actually very well developed and felt real. The story flowed seamlessly and had me very intrigued.
I am very partial to any story with magic, a cruel dictator, and improbable saviors. This had all of that. I honestly loved it and would recommend it to everyone that likes a little magic in their life.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and the published for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#ASpectacleofSouls #NetGalley

I was interested in the premise of this book - I'm a sucker for a circus themed story. And the plot originally caught my interest. However, I was not incredibly interested in the romantic interest for this story. I also read some other reviews of this book and someone named that suicide threats were used as a plot device, which is not something I am interested in reading, so I don't know that I'll be finishing the story.

A really exciting and full with action fantasy book, which absolutely hard to resist and always wanting to read more and more. After receiving this book from NetGalley for reviewing I started to read, and couldn’t put it down till I finished the whole book.

On one hand the book took me back to my childhood, when I read Cirque du Freak. The excitment, the vibe of the circus and the hunger to read and get to know about the characters and what will happen in the next Chapter. Other hand it’s a perfectly charming, adult fantasy book, which pulls the reader in it very quickly.

Through Caitlyn’s story we get to know more about her, her ability and the fantastic characters of this magical world. Starting with Caitlyn’s ordinary life, she gets deeper and deeper into a mesmerizing new world which started with just a visit in the circus but then turns into exploring her true self. A completly well-written fantasy book, with great characters, entertaining storyline with so much feelings and really detailed description which makes the reader feel like they are part of the book. I really hope there will be more books for this amazing world and characters from the author.

What will happen with Caitlyn? Will she need to leave behind her old life? Will she agree to the Ringmaster to join to the Troupe? And what will happen then? I truly recommend this book to everyone who just a little bit into fantasy or magic as this book will make them mind busy till the very last sentence of the story.

I've read a lot of YA about shady magical circuses, but for some reason I feel like I rarely see that in a realistic-fic so that was really fun! I really liked the first act of a Spectacle of Souls. It does an excellent job of introducing us to its characters and mysteries. My interest dwindled more as the plot continued but that was mainly because of a shifting focus towards the protagonist's relationship with a love interest who never really sparked my interest. The plot was still good, but since it was framed around how it would effect them and their relationship that I didn't care for I became less invested.

My nitpick-y main issue with this book is how the character attempts to gain leverage. To try and get the books antagonist to give her what she wants, Caitlyn threatens to kill herself and it's treated as a clever move on her part which yeah, I get he's the villain, but I wasn't a fan of a character using suicide threats to manipulate being framed as a good decision. I feel like there were a lot of other ways she could have gotten what she wanted and what the plot needed to continue that are a lot less problematic.