This book had me at jazz age Paris and a secret circus that only people with a ticket can see. I’m a sucker for magical circuses and this book hit all the marks for me in terms of that. It was really well written and while it started off slowly, the second half of the book picked up and pulled me in. I enjoyed the setting in Paris and the different stories interwoven into the overarching plot. This is an enjoyable read for readers who like magic, circuses, mystery, family secrets, and historical settings.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus is an interesting and unique novel that grabbed my attention the whole time. The story alternates between the past and present. The past and present collide in an interesting twist. Paris 1925 there is a secret circus that only people with a ticket can see. Cecile grew up in the circus with her twin sister. Virginia 2004 Lara’s fiancé disappears on their wedding day. Every 30 years a young man disappears on this day in the same spot. Everyone has secrets that are revealed. Some secrets have been in the family for generations. I recommend The Ladies of the Secret Circus to anyone looking for a story of mystery, family secrets and magic.

The Ladies of The Secret Circus by Constance Sayers is a remarkable book, with a truly original premise. It takes the reader from Jazz Age Paris to modern day America as they unravel the mystery of the Secret Circus and the ladies who are cursed to be associated with it.
The book opens in Virginia in 2004 where Lara Barnes is preparing for her wedding. Very quickly we realise that there is more to this woman than first appears, as she uses her magical skills to redesign her wedding dress. Unfortunately the wedding does not go ahead as on the morning of the ceremony her fiancé disappears in mysterious circumstances which mirror those of earlier disappearances in the town over the past decades. Desperate to find out what happened, Lara begins to investigate and uncovers a surprising family secret. Her great grandmother's journals imply that that there is more to the family than first meets the eye. She knew that her family was once a circus family but from the journals it seems that they were part of not just any circus but rather the so called "Secret Circus" where the magic may have been more than tricks and illusion.
These journals give us the second plot line of the book, Cecile Cabot's perspective , which is set in 1920s Paris, and gradually reveals more about the magic that the women of her family still wield to this day, and the curse that has followed them through the years and across the Atlantic Ocean.
This book gets off to something of a slow start , but once the two plot lines start to come together everything clicks into place. The writing was at times as magical as the setting, and the descriptions of the secret circus and its members really made it come to life on the page. There was enough of the macabre to add a little thrill without tipping over into full on horror territory and I could really see how this book would work adapted for the screen. I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publishers .all opinions are my own.

I don't know there is just something about a circus story that I find appealing, so when I was given a chance to review The Ladies at the Secret Circus I jumped at the chance.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus bounces back in forth in time from present day Virginia to Paris in the mid 1920s. Lara Barnes fiance disappears on her wedding day. Soon she discovers her great-grandmother's journals and through them discovers the existence of the "secret circus" and a supposed curse that has affected females in her family for generations. The circus was a dark and magical place that was only visible to those who held a ticket. The story is full of dark magic, twisted love stories and jazz-age Paris. It is definitely an atmospheric read.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review.

So I absolutely loved the synopsis of this book. A mysterious circus in the 1920s that has people selling their souls (literally) to get a ticket alternating with a woman in 2004 that discovers a connection to the same circus after his fiancee goes missing on the day of their wedding all sounds interesting. But I didn't feel like the mystery was fully executed and while most of the loose ends were tied up at the end, it still felt incomplete.

I went into this book being really excited so it was disappointing when the narrative fell flat. I didn't hate it, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Overall I have lackluster feelings about this novel.

If you enjoyed a Witch in Time, I highly recommend reading this book by Constance as well. I love the way the story is set up and rolled out to us readers. It leaves an intriguing tale in my mind and has a mysterious sense to it.

Stories about the circus and freak shows are some of my favorite in both the horror and fantasy genres. It is the one topic that I will read in any genre and is why “The Ladies of the Secret Circus”, by Constance Sayers, instantly grabbed my attention.

The story line alternates between the present and past. Paris in 1925 there is a secret circus that only people with a ticket can see. Cecile grew up in the circus with her twin sister. Fast forward to 2004, Lara’s fiancé disappears on her wedding day. Every thirty years a man disappears in the same spot.

I loved the premise for this book. A dark and twisted circus and a curse that has plagued a family for generations. I found the execution of this book a bit lacking.

“The Ladies of the Secret Circus” was broken up into parts. The first part was a little difficult to get into for me. There were several time jumps that were brought into the story that were confusing. As the book hit the midway point, I was a little more invested in the story and began to enjoy it more. The story cohesively began to talk about Lara’s family and their ties to this dark circus.

The circus itself was well developed. This part of book was highly atmospheric and descriptive.

I normally do not skim books. I either read the entire thing or do not finish it. The mystery of the curse was well done by the last fifty pages and I was already skimming to the end. There were a few unexpected twists which was enough for me not to abandon the book. I wish the first half of the book was as cohesive as the second half.

“The Ladies of the Secret Circus” has drama, murder and tragedy. I would read another book by this author. Although this book fell short for me, it was nicely crafted. This might be the perfect book for fans of the “Night Circus”.

The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a magical book and now I want to check out Le Cirque Secret. The story follows several generations of Cabot family, from the 1920s in Paris, France to mid 2000s in Virginia. The Cabot women were once high fliers in the Secret Circus, and the current generation are fairly regular women with a bit of magic in them, but they all seem to share a curse.

In the current timeframe, Lara is set to wed her fiancé Todd, but he goes missing on their wedding day. His car is found abandoned a few days later in the exact same spot where another man went missing thirty years prior on the same day. Is it a coincidence? Are these disappearances connected? Where is Todd? A few months later there are still no leads on Todd’s whereabouts and Lara starts to move on with her life, but when her mother gifts her a unique painting Lara begins a quest to learn more about its origination. Turns out the painting is 1 of 3 featuring women of the Secret Circus made by the great Jazz Age artist Emile Giroux. As Lara's adventure unfolds she learns more than she bargained for, including what happened to Todd. The 1920s storyline is told through journal entries of Cecile, Lara's great grandmother, which details her own time spent in the circus along with her twin sister Esme and is the key to everything.

I loved that this story was unique and I appreciate Sayer's imagination in creating it. The circus was fantastic. I loved the 1920s Paris setting. I totally envisioned David Tennant as the daemon Althacazur and would definitely check out the movie version of this story if it were made. I recommend The Ladies of the Secret Circus to anyone who enjoys books that feature a circus and those looking for a story of mystery, family secrets and magic.

I would probably like this one better if I had never read The Night Circus, but I can't help but compare the two books, and this one comes up lacking when compared to one of my favourites. Still pretty well done, and honestly, I want to visit this terrifying circus.

This book is a fanciful flight, full of family secrets and mystery. It tells the story of a circus, but not just any circus. It's a circus with secrets and magic, and it's more than a little dark. We follow women through several generations as they unravel the past that is holding them back from being happy. Why can't they find love, get married, and live happily ever after? They are determined to find out and end the curse that has haunted them for far too long.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, was drawn into the twisted tale. I found the characters relatable, very well written, and I was cheering for them to find a happy ending. This book is more than a tale of a circus family, it's a tale of what happens when you gamble with your future.

Family secrets make up this engrossing book. Switching through time, the history of this dark circus is brought to you skillfully and poignantly. Intriguing, this novel will draw you in and perhaps want you to use that bloody ticket for your own entrance into this world!

I wanted to really love this book. The idea is completely incredible. However I felt like the writing style did not lead to the story of the past or the whimsy and mystery surrounding this story. This wasn't my favorite and I don't know that I will read anything else from this author.

Unlike any circus you could imagine, the Secret Circus takes you on a wild ride to hell and back again. I absolutely love how the secrets of the circus slowly unfolded through the book, and you learn about it from so many different angles.

Perfect for fans of The Night Circus and Water for Elephants, this is a perfect blend of mystery, romance, and magical realism. This story follows several generations of Cabot family, from the 1920s to mid 2000s and their connection to The Secret Circus. I have to admit that I wasn't hooked immediately but once I got past the first little bit I couldn't wait to see how it would end! An interesting and utterly unique novel

The premise sounded very interesting. The world-building of the circus was very descriptive and terrifying. The only thing that I did not like about it was the the book mostly focused on the romance element and not the plot line. Still, this is much better than A Witch in Time, which discussed on some controversial matters.

i loved that the book didn't just stay in one time period, the characters were beautifully done and I really loved getting to go on this journey. It was nice to get to know each generation of women.

LOVED IT! Little bit macabre, little bit romance. Truly had so many different aspects and I enjoyed. them all. Looking forward to more books by this author.

Wow. Just wow. I wasn’t what to expect going into this one, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a story about magic, daemons, circuses, Paris, murder, mystery, and so much more. The idea of a secret circus and the mystery of three portraits no one has seen in over 70 years….it was just so good. The author spun a wicked tale and I would definitely read more by her.

The premise of this book is that a secret circus exists, primarily found in Paris, and linked to Hell itself. The circus is shrouded in mystery, and only those who receive a special ticket can even see it, let alone visit its wonders. Is it real? Is it a myth? No one seems quite sure, but three paintings are linked to the stories of the secret circus -- these paintings depict the Ladies of the Secret Circus.

After tragedy strikes her life, Lara discovers one of the paintings has been in her family's possession for several generations. Not only that, but the picture is said to depict a relative of hers. Suddenly she is on a quest to discover the history of the secret circus and the ladies in the paintings, because they might be interwoven with her own history, and possibly her future as well.

Sayers has written a satisfying romp through history, combined with a more modern mystery, jumping the reader skillfully from one timeline to another as the two stories are woven together. While the storyline wraps to a satisfying conclusion in the end, the reader may find themselves wanting to know more of the circus itself, about it's creation, and about the performers found therein. Overall, the story is enjoyable.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the author's book A Witch in Time, but it just fell short for me. The story which sounded so great didn't grab my attention as I expected. It had plenty of mystery and spookiness in it. The plot was very unique. I liked some of the characters but I found myself most disappointed.