Did you read Caraval and think to yourself, I wish this book had slavery and took place in the rural US South in the mid-1800s? If so, I have good news for you...

Once Upon a Sideshow was an...interesting book to say the least. It's a story about unexpected romance and hints of magic and curses. However, before I review any further, I think it is important to note that this book has a LOT of grammatical and spelling errors. The word "believe" is consistently spelled as "beLeive" because one of the character's names is Leiv. Some chapters announce the POVs while others do not; there are several scenes that switch POVs without any indication because each character's voice sounds relatively similar. There are several scenes that feel like they are missing as well. If you are a person who is nitpicky about grammatical errors in books, do not pick this one up.
The plot itself wasn't terrible. The story follows a variety of characters, but the main protagonist is Violet, a girl in love with her childhood best friend - Declan - but who must marry a rich man instead. The first half of the book is mostly Violet's very creepy interactions with Count Cristo, while the second half involves more magic with an also creepy sideshow. There's a fair amount of action and some very unexpected twists, but the ending is quite vague and leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion.
I also struggled to connect with the characters. Violet and Scarlet reminded me a lot of Scarlet and Tella from Caraval, but they lacked the spark of the latter. Declan was okay but a bit bland, and Leiv was okay at first until he made questionable decisions later in the book that I can't explain for spoiler purposes. Violet and Scarlet's mother also got a POV later in the book, but both her and the villain weren't super intriguing to me.
Once Upon a Sideshow probably appeals to a very niche audience...one that I am not a part of.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

2.25/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC and leave my honest review!

2 stars

This book has so much potential! Truly - it has everything you could want in a book: a traveling circus, forbidden romance, family drama! I really wanted to love this book but it definitely needs a better editor and would benefit from more character depth and plot development. I loved the traveling circus and the overall atmosphere of the book, and I would definitely enjoy reading this more with a little tweaking!

I had high expectations of this but it fell flat.

The premise is awesome! It includes a lot of things I love not to mention the cover, it’s spectacular!

It just needs more.

“A storm is rising. Like the one in my heart.”

“Once upon a Sideshow” by Brynn Chapman is about Violet. Violet, lives in a toxic home, loved the sideshow and is determined to run away with it. A dwarf in the show gives her exactly what she wants, a new life.

The cover of this book is beautiful, but it ended up being the only thing I really liked about it. The book has forbidden romance tropes and triggers like abuse. I would have liked the book a lot better if it was in one POV, I think the story would have made a stronger connection with me if I was fully invested with Violet. The book had inconsistencies such as when the sister thinks that she hadn’t realized her sister and mother were being abused by her father until his temper was turned on her but then in her next POV chapter she states that she knew her sister was abused because she saw the bruises she hides. I gave the book a 2 out of 5 stars.

-Circus
-Abuse
-Dwarf
-Forbidden Romance
-Multi POV

I found this book to be badly put together. It has promise but needed more editing and clearer definition between character changes.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Once Upon A Sideshow by Brynn Chapman follow Violet, a young woman who dreams of two things : leaving St. Simon's Isle to explore and to marry her love, Declan. Her family, specifically her father, only wants to find her a husband and be rid of her, as he only truly cares for her sister, Scarlet. Polar opposites, Violet said to be darkness and Scarlet lightness with appearances matching the descriptions, always have each others backs. So when the carnival comes in with a handsome man and dwarves who catch their eyes, Violet is quick to leave her life behind to escape the things she hates most, captivity and being told what to do. Only to find herself in an even worse position than before as the star of the sideshow. Along with the carnival comes dangerous rumors, making those of St. Simon more scared of night and being alone near the swamp.

There is not much positive to say regarding this story. I went in with low expectations and was met with even lower results. I think at some point this was a good idea but too many components were thrown in to make it different than what is currently out there.

A historic novel with Gaelic representation and science and family affairs in a seemingly known and unknown place. The choice of diction was bold and poorly done, followed by the style of speaking. I might have liked it more if I understood and could follow along what was being said or done. I was told what was happening more so than shown and there were no indications of some actions or scenery to set up a scene. The story jumped around so much I didn't know who was talking until a side character made an appearance. Violet was very wish-washy as a person from the beginning and it made her unlikeable to follow. It read as if no research was put in to the languages, history and appropriate items, characters, or plot. The work. needed both a read through and a major rewrite before I would consider rating this higher than a 1 out of 5. It's nice to have a cool idea.

A little outside of my typical genre, but a nice book and very interesting plot! I would have enjoyed a little extra depth in some of the character building and smoothing shifting between scenes. Overall it was well done!

This book was a mess. I think it has the potential to be amazing but it needs some heavy help with the way it's written. I would say that as it sits I can not see anyone who would enjoy this. It needs to be re-edited with some major fixes. The story was hard to follow and a lot of it was just confusing.

I was hooked from the first page and so glad I was able to read this, it had a beautiful cover and I enjoyed how it tempts you into reading this. The characters has a great feel to them and worked in the setting. I enjoyed that it shows the that being a star doesn’t equal freedom. It had a great story and I can’t wait to read more from Brynn Chapman.

Very disappointed as the download came through jumbled and was impossible to read. At first I thought it came through in another language . I was looking forward to reading this book.

What would you do for those you love?

The carnival has come, bringing in its secrets that hide in plain sight. Only those that know them are forbidden to speak on them, and those that accept them do so out of true love.

This book was.. interesting. The story itself was good in some parts. It could have been great, but there were many parts that didn't make sense. There were tons of spelling and grammatical errors, as if the book was never proofread at all. There is a character named Leive in the book, and every time the word "believe" comes up, it is spelled as beLeive??

There are many character shifts in this book, if only to drive the plot. There were a few attempts at stating which character we were following, but soon it turns into the wrong characters being stated and then no character at all.

The ending scenes were abrupt and nonsensical, which was frustrating and disappointing because I had spent so much time reading. I wanted the ending to at least be good (as some points of this book were), but I feel.. nothing after finishing it. Maybe relief, since it's finally over.

Disappointed, as I did want to like this book. I wouldn't fervently recommend it to anyone to be honest.

I've rated this book 2 stars because the idea behind it was interesting, but the issues I stated were enough to take me weeks to finish it.

The year is 1860, and an ancient Crone commands a traveling circus and sideshow, which rolls into St. Simon’s Isle each year.

Excellent horror with great atmosphere!

The book had already been released, and I was too late to read it. So, I will make sure to receive a copy and still write my review on it on my website. My standard rating is 3, and I will edit it as soon as I read it.