I am still reeling from The Ladies of the Secret Circus, not because of the insanity within but because it took so much time to listen too and I am still attempting to wrap my head around what I did listen too and what I believe I listened to was a LONG novel about the devil's circus, its descendants, and destiny. This is a novel worth reading (maybe not listening too) if you appreciate fantasy and history combining, secrets, magic, and power. Also, a clown with his tongue cut out.

The writing is fantastic. You will be presented with beautiful imagery and the plot does a solid job separating the past from the present and in Part 3, connecting them together. I believe the novel is longer than necessary and it could drag on for you also. Because it is so long, like me, you may lose steam towards the end which was so frustrating because it was written so well but couldn't captivate my attention for the amount of pages within the story.

Obviously, I toughed it out as I am writing this review and am glad I did. I was able to feel the excitement again at the end of the story allowing for the moments that did drag to be put in the past to finish the read on the high note. The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers is a read worth your time, but definitely a long one.

The plot is a whirlwind. From the present to the past, The Ladies of the Secret Circus is told from two viewpoints, Laura's and Cecil's. One revolves around the secret circus and one revolves around the descendants from the secret circus. The plot may have benefited from a bit of shortening near the end but in all, is entertaining and contains moments of distinct and creepy writing to effectively emphasis that the circus is not one of pleasure.

Laura is a plain protagonist despite having magic. So, let's move on from her because there is not much else to note. The best character is Cecil, Laura's great-grandmother was was a trapeze artist in the secret circus and whose diary you read through Laura's eyes. She is a spunky character who is filled with anguish and whose father is a daemon. The perfect recipe for a powerful character? Yes.

The other characters all support the story and play well off each other. Apart from one scene towards the end, no interaction is out of place and even though Laura, to me at least, is not an interesting protagonist, it works well in this context because it allows the insanity of the circus and its secrets to thrive and pull you in.

With how long the novel was, it could have benefited from a bigger and more powerful ending. I mean, this is a story about the devil's circus and a powerful curse, where was the bang the ending needed? The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a novel that I have many mixed thoughts about but, they hedge towards overall being positive and is why I say this novel is worth an hour of your time.

Towards the end, I was tired. Once Laura entered the devil's circus, the plot slowed to a snail's pace and never regained the suspense I felt was required. Once Laura resigned herself to be the gatekeeper of the circus, I stopped being interested. I wanted to see some fight! I wanted to see the missing men trapped in the circus but no! And how Esme died? It was plain. Throughout the whole fight I was thinking how absurd it was that such a powerful woman was so weak. She literally killed hundreds and her strength was not seen. I wish the cold blooded killer she was portrayed to be had shown up for the fight BUT, maybe she was done fighting and ready to head home? Who knows.

Also, I didn't feel vindicated that Esme, the one portrayed as the villain was beat. She was the son of a daemon who split her and her sister in half and then was required to commit ritualistic murder every fortnight to keep them and the circus alive whilst keeping the secret from her 'weak' sister? If there is a recipe for insanity, I would say this is it. She literally carried the burden of the circus's creation on her shoulders to never be praised or rewarded for it.

Yes, Esme was evil but I doubt anybody wouldn't be in her position. Even Cecil would have transformed into a monster and she was written as the saint-like sister. OR, maybe when they split, there was a distinct division between good and evil? Evil Esme and Good Cecil? Ooo.. now that would be an interesting component that would add an extra layer to this story.  Maybe their separation could even represent the division between human (good) and devil (evil). It is why I found Esme's demise to not be as powerful as I would have liked because damn, her past and carrying that insane burden made her more of a sympathetic villain than a lunatic-like one.

Now, moving on to the living. Laura, she bored me. She had insane magic and did not capitalise on it until the epilogue? The biggest thing I valued in her was her passion for those around her. She cared deeply for those she loved and that helped progress the story forward but in comparison to Cecil, she was like a dull knife.

Cecil's flashbacks were awesome! The best part of this novel was entering the devil's circus. Circus's are meant to be entertaining, but this one was magical. I would be terrified to attend this circus but honestly, who could resist? The descriptive writing drew me in during Cecil's diary and that clown, I don't like that his tongue was cut out but still, it was intriguing.

The novel in all was intriguing. I do think it could have been shortened. It was long. So so long or at least, it felt long. I think the France part could have been shortened to increase the pace? I also feel a bigger battle with Esme could have helped enforce her as a terrible villain worthy of destruction. All in all, The Ladies of the Secret Circus was a fun read with fantastic descriptions of a terrifying but magical circus.