Veronica G. Henry’s U.S. Depression-era fantasy fiction, “Bacchanal,” is centered around a primarily all-negro traveling circus named the G. B. Bacchanal Carnival featuring an orphaned girl named, Liza, left by her parents and little sister in Baton Rouge, LA, and found and taken-in with the traveling band of misfits as they performed and schemed throughout the Southern States.

Liza is a talented animal communicator and is tasked with creating an act in the carnival training a turtle and a Tasmanian lion to dance and perform bizarre stunts for the crowds.

The Bacchanal is like no other traveling carnival. An air of mysticism lies heavily over it’s entirety. Men, women, children, and dogs have been know to disappear into the shadows and darkness of the tents and caravans of the midway never to emerge again.

Shops, general stores and local homes are known to have food stuffs and dry goods mysteriously vanish from their supply shelves during a tour of the traveling freak show as well.

With a brooding wickedness prevalent throughout the Bacchanal, troupe members are reluctant to question what the cause of this undercurrent of dangerous tension and violence may be. It’s hard-scrabble times. Work , a hot meal, and a safe, clean home is hard to come by. This is especially true when you’re dark-skinned in the South and the KKK are still wearing masks and stringing folks up for laughs.

“The Bacchanal” is a great read! It’s thought-provoking, educational and inspiring. The winner of the 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award, this is a fast-paced historical tale to add to your reading list.

TheBookMaven graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Veronica G. Henry, and Publisher 47North for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

This was quite interesting but overall I feel like it wasn’t for me, I wasn’t massively engaged with the plot and found the ending quite rushed

I really enjoyed getting to know Eliza and her world, it's a wonderfully done story with a unique atmosphere that I really enjoyed. I hope there is a sequel as I really enjoyed this one.

Bacchanal is a spooky, atmospheric, and somewhat uncomfortable read which takes place in a travelling carnival in the depression era American South.
The POVs jump around a fair bit, as fo the events, which can make it a little confusing to start with, until you get the hang of who is who.
Eliza is an interesting main character, and I could empathise with her fear of her powers, and desire to learn more about herself and her family. There were several other characters who I liked less, and I found myself hoping that their sections would end quickly so I could get back to Eliza’s story.
Overall, it was an interesting read, however I found the ending clunky, rushed and disappointing.

Abandoned by her family, Eliza Meeks is barely getting by cleaning a bed & breakfast in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The only thing she really has to her name is a necklace that her parents gave her that she promised never to take off, and the power to communicate with animals.

This power catches the attention of Clay, a talent scout from a traveling carnival, and his assistant Jamey. They offer Eliza a chance to join them to liven up their animal show...she doesn't hesitate in saying yes.

But this is no ordinary carnival. The G.B. Bacchanal Carnival is actually a front for an ancient evil...a demon who is hunting down the last of her rival's children.

How Eliza fits in this hunt is the main mystery of the book, which balances black Depression-era Louisiana and Southwest America with African folklore and traditions, adding in a touch of the real American legend of the gangster Madame Stephanie St. Clair aka Queenie of Harlem.

The book starts out slow, and I do have to give trigger warnings for animal and child deaths (one described in gruesome detail). There's also an unnecessary love triangle between Eliza, Jamey, and another carnival character (who literally has demons of his own to contend with).

About 2/3 of the way in, all the many storylines start converging, and the action picks up into a final battle between all the characters. But so many questions were raised for me by how easily she just accepted all the strange new events happening in her life. Small leaps of faith were required to just go along with the story for me.

I'm giving Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry 3.5 stars out of 5.

3.5 stars

Bacchanal follows Eliza Meeks is gifted with the ability to talk to animals, and she's also searching for her family. She soon joins the carnival and slowly integrates into the carnival life while honing her talents. But not everything is what it seems in the carnival, a demon is hiding in disguise and preying with the souls of the townsfolk.

Will Eliza be strong enough to own her destiny and save all that she loves from this demon?

Bacchanal is an atmospheric and slow read. Set in the Depression era, it mixes magical realism with historical fiction and horror elements. The setting, plot, and the African-inspired magic system are original and refreshing. It has a diverse cast of characters, the carnival is composed predominantly of African-Americans. The characters are okay. It was hard to connect with them, and they were a bit underdeveloped.

The writing style is my favorite. It's beautiful and descriptive which is perfect for the atmospheric setting. The explosive ending made up for the slow pacing although it felt rushed.

Thank you to 47 North and Netgalley for the DRC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Even if the world building is interesting and I loved the blurb I found the story a bit too flat and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I liked the concept here a lot but the delivery just was not what I was expecting. I was looking for a lot of lush description and fantastic elements, befitting the description and carnival magic ideas, but the whole thing felt a lot flatter than it should have given the subject matter. Starting with the alligator wrestling in the first few pages, the descriptions just never drew me in. And if you can't make alligator wrestling exciting, you're going to have a hard time making character development and plot establishment exciting.. On top of that I never connected to the characters enough to feel engaged in the story. This one just didn't work for me.

2.5

This one's a bit of a headscratcher. I loved the southern U.S. carnival setting, the dry ambience and heated dusty roads that felt palpable. The characters were eclectic - some terrible to the core, others terrible for the sake of survival and telling themselves they're the heroes of the story - and the African-influenced magic was delightful and fresh. But I felt the ending like a rug pulled out far too quickly. Relationships shifted at the last minute, the final confrontation was anticlimactic, and everything just ended with a snap. All in all, it didn't quite live up to the potential that it showed in the beginning.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This was not what I was expecting at all. It was pretty terrible to be honest.

Liza Meeks is working as a housekeeper when The Bacchanal carnival comes to Baton Rouge, once its "owner" spots Liza's special gift he gives her the opportunity to work at the carnival and utilize her gift it in a show. While Liza is training, an enemy lurks, one who has been searching for her for many years. Can Liza unlock the mystery of her gifts in time to defeat her faceless enemy or will her abilities fail her when needed most, pick up Bacchanal, if you are curious and read for yourself.

I enjoyed Bacchanal. I found it to be a nice blend of magical and historical realism with a subtle mix of horror. In my opinion, Bacchanal was about finding ones self at a carnival, whether it be the "carnies" or the customers, and what the carnival brings out in the people of the community and the workers in each town they visit. It is not so much learning historically about the towns themselves. The book may move slowly to some but as a avid horror reader I found something grisly happening at the end almost every chapter perhaps it is not gratuitous in its violence but I found its subtly to be quite chilling. Readers who were expecting soaring fantasy may be disappointed and some of the romantic elements of the book did not work for me even though it advanced the storyline. Fortuntately, these critiques did not take away from my overall enjoyment of this story about a cursed Black carnival.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me this!

This story had an interesting, eerie premise that lived up to the expectations - but only halfway through.
The writing style was my main issue here, since it dragged a lot and felt underdeveloped in a way, though it had potential. Therefore I was unable to feel fully connected with the characters or the story itself, I felt a bit detatched.
Would I recommend it, though? Yes, because all the afore-mentioned "issues" were strictly subjective. I think fans of the Night Circus and historical novels (it's set during the Depression era, Louisiana, and told by a Black girl perispective) will appreciate it very much!

I was lucky enough to work on this title and can say that it is dazzling. Veronica Henry is an author who will gift readers with many incredible books and BACCHANAL is a perfect debut.

Bacchanal is like The Night Circus, The Golden Compass, Black Girl Magic, and The Soul Eater from the CW show Supernatural all came together and roamed Baton Rouge and other states in the south wreaking havoc everywhere they go!

I enjoyed it a lot. I read the ebook version and would be interested to see how the audiobook is. In reading the ebook, the antagonist was more interesting to me and I would look forward to scenes with the antagonist more than the hero. I didn't feel very connected to the hero, Eliza Meeks.

But, maybe with a voice to listen to and characterization in the form of the audiobook where you can hear the inflection in her words and feel what she is feeling a lot better, I think she would become more dynamic to me.

The shock value of whatever the antagonist was doing in their scenes stood out to me and "perked me up" in a way while reading that the internal dialogue and thoughts of the MC didn't.

But, this is a common problem I experience since I love and prefer audiobooks so someone who doesn't read audiobooks probably wouldn't have this problem. I find I can't distinguish the voices of characters well in my head while reading ebooks. I'll think, "wait who is talking again" and I have to look at previous sentences read. When the antagonist was on page-I always knew. It was a stronger character presence and the way the scenes opened made it obvious to me right away.

I enjoyed the uniqueness in the cast of characters and their magical powers/abilities/character traits. I also loved the epic final battle!

The author's note at the end talking about the historical character that was part of her inspiration was fun to read as well.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy from NetGalley and Wunderkind PR free of charge. It was my choice to read and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

I was enjoying Bacchanal at first. It follows a cast of characters working at a carnival in the 1930s. But this book was trying to crossover many genres and just wasn't hitting hard enough for me. It didn't have enough dark fantasy or horror elements to intrigue me. Much of the story is just following the characters through daily carnival life. Liza has a gift that allows her to speak to spirits and animals and she's learning to balance that. I had problems with the pacing in that in some areas it went too fast and in other areas it moved too slow. I liked some of the more creepy moments when the spirits exposed themselves at the carnival but it wasn't enough to make the story memorable for me.

It is increasingly rare to find a book that is both beautifully written and a riveting page-turner, but Bacchanal is the total package. The character development, not just of the main character, but the entire "supporting cast," was so interesting and created a connection to the characters that had me rooting for, or against, them. The setting and plot were fresh and unlike any book that comes to mind. The elements of the supernatural were not at all hokey or unbelievable, and flowed seamlessly into the story. As you can probably tell, I highly recommend Bacchanal and will be anticipating any forthcoming novels from this author.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

2.5 stars

The beginning of this book was difficult to understand and I had to reread the first parts several times until I understood what was going on.
I didn't like the author's writing at all, I found the book not very well structured.
His premise is great the execution not so much, I found the story confusing.
And while it was a quick story it was slow because the author extended herself into parts that didn’t matter and went through important parts of the story very quickly.
The characters are great, I liked most of them, but in the end, I got the feeling that we have no conclusion for any of them except our protagonist Liza.
The ending was terrible and what made this book go from 3 stars to 2, it seemed a lot that the author didn't know how to finish the book so she ended it and put an epilogue on it, which made me think that the story was useless.
I am disappointed because I really wanted to like this book if you are interested in reading it a give it a chance you may like it more than I did since the part of African culture was very well done in my opinion and it is worth reading for!

I requested this because it looked fascinating and dark and spooky and it was.... not those things. Mostly, it was bland and boring. I didn't care about the characters or what happened to them. I ended up skimming to see if it got better and it.... didn't. The pacing was weird, with scenes that felt redundant. There were a lot of things I just didn't understand. I agree with other reviewers: it felt like a first draft. It could be amazing - but it needs some work to get there.

*Thanks to NetGalley and 47 North for providing an e-arc for review.

In 1939, Eliza Meeks joins a traveling carnival—the G.B. Bacchanal—to get out of Baton Rouge, Florida, and to find her little sister and the parents who abandoned her. Eliza soon discovers that G.B. Bacchanal is home to a variety of people with peculiar talents that are comparable to her own strange ability to communicate with animals. But as Eliza searches for her family, an evil spirit searches for Eliza—and the fate of humankind rests in the hands of who reaches their goal first.

Bacchanal is the debut, dark fantasy novel by Veronica G. Henry. Told from various perspectives, this imaginative and enjoyable read deals with themes of belonging, identity, and destiny while incorporating diverse characters and elements of African folklore. Treading lightly yet honestly on issues of race and racism, Bacchanal focuses on Eliza as person—not a symbol—her struggle to know herself, where she comes from, and understand how her ancestry is linked with her fate.

Bacchanal does a superb job in the bridging of two worlds. There is the merging of the new world and the old world, the melding of fantasy and reality, and the poignant point that American history is Black history—the two cannot be separated or compartmentalized. The novel also gives representation to people from all walks of life. Henry’s characters are imaginative, otherworldly, and yet so real. Each character is written with a healthy mix of flaws, desires, and hope. No matter where they are from, what they have done, or what secrets they hold, the characters of Bacchanal are human to the core.

As the reader follows Eliza, and those who surround and seek her, they see a Depression-era America from a fresh perspective, fleshing out the history of this time with people who were left out of stories like The Grapes of Wrath. But as a fantasy, Bacchanal is an inspiriting way to look back. Henry sets the location and time with historical context that encompasses the central story without forcing out the fantasy elements, creating a place where wonderment and history coexist.

These coinciding events—real and imagined—harmonize and mesh into an exciting and informative read. In Bacchanal, an evil spirit who preys on children is lose in the American southlands, which can be as frightening as a severe drought that ravages the Midwest. A young Black woman carries the blood and gifts of her magical ancestors, which can be as awe-inspiring as the true story of Stephanie St. Clair, a Black woman, who rose to power as an underworld kingpin in 1920s and 1930s Harlem.

For fans of dark fantasy, sinister carnivals, and the everlasting battle between good and evil, Bacchanal shakes lose the cobwebs of those familiar tropes and genres. Readers seeking stories populated with diverse characters will revel in Bacchanal’s cast and find a fantastical and refreshing view of a moment in American history.

dnf after 30 pages
trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of slavery, being abandoned </spoiler>

Lizzie joins a travelling carnival to escape the landlady who treats her with scorn regardless of how good her work is, and also in hopes of finding her family. Not only misses she her sister, but there might be a possibility of her father being able to teach her how to control her gift.

Yes, I did not get far.
I had this suspicion that the author has not written yet the 100.000 pages that are said to be necessary for you to develope your own style and get to know some writing techniques. It reads very bland, the characters are not three dimensional, and it's more about what the author thought they'd write instead of what's actually written on the page.
Or, as other reviewers said, this reads like a first draft.

I'd be interested to see what this author does further down the line, after writing more.
But right now, there is no way I am reading 300+ pages of this.
No recommendation.

The arc was provided by the publisher.