Freya is living in Maine after escaping her small hometown in New York. She needs emergency surgery and can't pay rent, so she's forced to go back to the house she inherited after her parents died. The house needs a lot of work, and she finds out her 15 year old niece has been living there. Together they work on repairing the house and their relationship.

I loved The People We Keep, so I was really excited for this one. It did not disappoint! It was so emotional and raw. I loved Freya's relationship with her niece. There was a bit of a love triangle element, which is not my favorite (but no cheating really). We also got to see Freya grow and stand up for herself. Especially to her awful sister.

This is one of the best books I've read about "found family" and I loved it. With Freya (the aunt) and Aubrey being her niece, the two both needed new families. Freya's sister, Steena, and also Aubrey's mother was an awful, terrible human being. OH MY GOD! Maybe the best sentence to describe this despicable person's actions was when Shray said, "Steena...chips away at her" (loc. 5057) when Freya asked him how Aubrey was doing. By chipping away he meant constant demeaning hurtful words and over absolutely nothing!

Freya knew her sister was abusive and she'd tried her entire life to get Steena to show her at least SOME kindness, but literally every opportunity Steena had to belittle Freya, she did. Ugh...I was so frustrated at some points with Freya too because she just couldn't stand up for herself because she wanted so badly to be loved. But she and Aubrey had each other. I loved that every year on the 23rd of (March?) they'd celebrate their "birthday" / togetherness.

I loved JAM (Ben-JAM-in) so much! He was a flawed character for sure, but he was such a loving person that I couldn't help but to fall in love with him. I at first liked Eddie a lot too but then learned some things about him that made me do a 180. I thought all of the characters were totally believable and I liked all of them except for the two god-awful human beings: Charlie and Steena (especially).

I really wanted to love this book but I felt like it dragged through the middle. I kept up with it because I wanted to see the outcome, but it was predictable. The big twist as to why the main character left was able to be seen from a mile away.

I found this to be a beautiful, heart wrenching story with a through line about the home of the American circus and the first circus elephant. I wish there had been a few less characters/ plot lines as the story at times felt bogged down with so much going on.

This one almost broke my heart. The way that the MC's family treated her and her niece...it was so hard to read. But the book had this very redemptive feel about it which I wanted and appreciated. It's worth feeling bruised over by the end. So well written.

Outstanding writing and a feel-good found family story without the cringey sappiness? Sign me up.

Aside from found family themes, this is first and foremost a character study, and those two things intersect beautifully in this tale of a woman who left her home to find a better life and later discovers that what makes a home is the people, not the place.

This book boasts a really well-developed protagonist. She’s both complex and likable, and her interactions (while always well intentioned) aren’t always flawless, making her an intriguing person to follow along with and also a lot more realistic than many characters with her backstory.

To that end, this book should include a trigger warning for rape and assault, though the plot line is treated gently and ends with something satisfying for the reader and the characters.

All of that said, my favorite part of this was actually the setting and atmosphere (generally a neglected element in these types of books). Everything—from the crumbling house to the making of a martini to supplies for hiking the Appalachian Trail—is so well-drawn that the places and objects begin to feel like characters themselves.

This reminded me slightly of A Crooked Tree, or maybe of Backman without all the insufferable nonsense situations and schlock.

* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Larkin's writing immediately pulls you in. There is such depth and maturity to her words, making me feel like I am totally immersed in the setting with these characters. This was such a unique story and I found myself unsure which characters I was pulling for at different times. They all pulled on my heartstrings!

Home of the American Circus is a love story about a chosen family. When Freya cannot afford her rent due to a medical emergency, she is forced to move to her hometown and into her childhood home. Somers is home to the American Circus; it is where the first circus elephant was born. When Freya returns to Somers, she finds her niece, Aubrey, hiding in the childhood home she shared with her parents after they kicked her out. The story takes place over a year and a half, measuring time in seasons. The first half was a little slow and hard to get into, but the second half of the story was faster paced. Freya is a grey protagonist. She is dealing with her trauma while making questionable decisions about raising her niece, paying her bills, and balancing multiple relationships, but her heart is in the right place. It took me a while to warm up to Freya, but her friends in the community won me over. I recommend this novel to people who enjoy literary fiction, family dramas, and character-driven stories. 4/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this digital arc in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book was one that will stick with me for a while. Allison Larkin writes beautiful stories with characters you can’t help but root for. The People We Keep is one of my favorite books and this one is just as good as her last.

HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS is one of my top reads of the year so far. I loved the story — and a family drama/character-driven novel isn’t always my fave. But when it hits, it hits. And oh how this hit.

Freya has been living paycheck to paycheck as a bartender in Maine when a series of unfortunate events leads her back to the suburban New York hometown she fled from. It also leads her back to her best friend and niece — two people she loves but left. She’s repairing both those relationships as well as her childhood home and figuring out a future for herself.

The emotional rollercoaster this book was!!! Even in the good times I was so stressed because I knew the other shoe was gonna drop. I want this to be a movie so badly.

Thank you Gallery for the gifted physical and digital copies and Simon Audio for the gifted audio!

Home of the American Circus
Allison Larkin
Publishing Date: May 6, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Narrator: Julia Whelan 🎧

Let me start off by saying, this book takes place in the town that I live!!! I could not believe it when I read the blurb, and was beyond thrilled when Gallery sent me an advanced copy.

🐘 Small Town
🐘 Found Family
🐘 Family Drama
🐘 Character Growth
🐘 Generational Trauma
🐘 Second Chances

Allison Larkin’s writing is stunning. Her characters are well developed and relatable. They are flawed and complex. The emotions feel real and raw. She immerses you into her hometown and the atmosphere is beautifully set. She throws in little interludes with historical facts about the town and its connection to the circus, which are haunting and help set the tone in such a unique way.

Sorry Bet..

This book is a character study that takes a look at generational trauma, the way it can break a person, the choices made in order to survive, and what (or who) it takes to put the pieces back together and find your way home.

These characters will grab your heart and won’t let go. The amount of empathy invoked through Larkin’s writing is commendable. This is my first book of hers and most certainly won’t be my last.

This was Mays selection for @thebookedandthebookclub and we got to have a small intimate zoom with the author! It was SO FUN! I will also be joining the zoom with @lbtheloverofbooks on Sunday! Allie is absolutely lovely. Down to earth, open and honest, you feel like you’re talking to a friend. I’ll be here hoping she comes back to the Somers area so I can say hi in person!

🎧 Julia Whelan is nothing short of perfection every single time. The moment I saw she was narrating this I knew I would have to tandem read with my eyes and ears. Zero regrets. Both formats are wonderful. Fun fact: her and Allie are friends, which I just love 🥰

My primary struggle with this novel was its pacing. The plot felt consistently slow-moving, and I found myself waiting for a significant development or a compelling turn of events that, unfortunately, never truly materialized. What was the point of the elephant?! We may never know.

I LOVED Allison Larkin's last book The People we Keep so I was ready to love this book too. Home of the American Circus tells the story of Freya who goes home again and finds herself caring for those around her but especially for her niece. For me this book was a bit of a slow burn but maybe that's just that I was in the mood for more plot. Still it's very well written and I came to care about the characters. All in all a good 4 star read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was like being cut and healed on every other page. I five star loved it, and love even more when that happens with a book I know nothing about and picked based on the title. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

4.5 rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc -- Allison is an Auto-Buy author for me!

This book feels like a warm hug followed by a beer spilled on your shirt by friends, delivered by a small town filled with rumors.

There are tough subjects and trigger warnings in here for sure, but in a digestible way that make you feel empathy, sorrow, and love. So much of this book felt authentic to those individuals who are "stuck" in life. My only gripe is that it also involves a teen girl who has generational and personal trauma and not once is therapy brought up as an option for her. When you have a book that feels so real in parts, I would have liked to see that aspect of her "getting professional help". But the bottom line is I still appreciated so much about the storyline, especially the real lore around an infamous elephant known to the town of Somers.

I will read anything by this author. She’s a gem of a human and her writing only solidifies that!

Larkin is a skilled storyteller. It took me a bit to get into this story, but after about the first 25% I was sunk into this book. I'm a sucker for a found family and appreciated how that trope was utilized in this book. Part of the story dragged a bit for me, but overall I thought this was an enjoyable read.

** I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just perfection. I loved to see the growth in Freya and how she came out of her shell. How she stayed for her niece and the others who grew to depend on her. Even mending some old relationships and letting go of those that can’t be. I think this is Ms. Larkin’s best yet.

I liked her last book a lot, but I read about 10-15% of this and everyone was just too much of a mess. It's hard for me to connect to characters when their lives are in complete shambles and it seems like they have nothing going for them. I've heard good things, and maybe I should've kept going but I just wasn't in the mood for "adult who needs to grow up and get their act together".

This book was one that was hard to put down. The characters were relatable and you just wanted to see things work out for them.

This one truly is a beautiful, emotional, coming-of-age story, focusing on family and relationship dynamics. If that's the type of story you love, than I highly recommend this one! Very well-written and the characters feel very real.