There were hints of The Night Circus in Circus of Wonders but I preferred that Circus of Wonders relied less on supernatural magic and instead focused on the risks, sadness and failures that humans endure, which shape their future self.

Wow what an amazing read! The cover was what first drew me in, then the blurb and I was hooked! It was such a great escaping read which had me wanting more with each turn (or scroll) of the page.

Jasper Jupiter is the owner of a Victorian circus and great show, determined to make his mark he is inspired when he sees Nell. Nell has a skin condition which means that she is spotted with birthmarks and is shunned by the people in her village but when her father sells her to to the circus she realises she has the chance to make something of her life. Toby is Jasper's brother, quiet and introvert he is bound to Jasper by a secret. When Nell's fame eclipses that of Jasper the seeds are set for disaster.
This is a really wonderful book about empowerment and greed. Each character is complex and has their own motivation for their actions and the descriptions of the life of an entertainment troupe in Victorian England are detailed. The only part I felt was a little false was the audience with the Queen but it drove the latter part of the narrative so made sense in that respect. I enjoyed McNeil's first book and I loved this one

I was so excited about this release as I loved MacNeal’s debut ‘The Doll Factory’. There were elements of this book that I loved, but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. There was so much potential, but I wanted more of the circus element, more of the darkness.

Ultimately it lacked the two things a circus should have; magic and charm. I didn’t connect with the characters very deeply and some not at all. The main character of Nell, could have been a fantastic female protagonist. MacNeal gave her many opportunities to stop being the victim, but I felt like she never took it. To me, the most interesting characters were the side characters, the “freaks” of the circus, and they didn’t get anywhere near enough page time.

I’m unsure if MacNeal had a word limit to hit but there were huge parts of this book where very little happened. It wasn’t until the final few chapters when things started to pick up. The pacing, for me, was just off. A book with this good a concept, shouldn’t be hard going.

“My creations are marvellous, magnificent, the most extraordinary thing you will ever see.”

MacNeal covers topics of identity, difference and love in this book. There is also the potential for covering mental health, which she opens up with sections about two of the characters experience of war, but it doesn’t go anywhere else.

Some of you will love this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Nell lives with her father and brother, set apart because of birthmarks all over her body. She is sold by her father to Jasper Jupiter and his circus. Jasper is obsessed with fame and power, determined to exhibit all the so-called wonders and oddities of society and Nell is to be his crowning glory.

In this story, Elizabeth Macneal weaves a magical and yet sinister tale of power, ownership, love, revenge, and obsession. Nell doesn't want to leave her village but grows to love the circus and is drawn to Jasper's shy brother, Toby, a photographer. She befriends several other women in the show, including Stella, who knew the brothers in the Crimea. Something eats away at Toby concerning the death of another soldier, Dash, who was threatening to usurp Toby in Jasper's affections.

Like Icarus, Jasper eventually flies too close to the sun and is burned by ambition when Nell becomes more famous than him. The story conveys the Victorian obsession with freak shows and people who are gawped at and paraded as marvels, exploited for being and looking different. And yet, Nell feels part of a family among the other performers in Jasper's circus, in spite of being inside a spectacle that she initially wanted to shun.

I enjoyed this book with its descriptive prose and compelling storyline and look forward to reading more by Elizabeth Macneal.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Pan Macmillan, in return for an honest appraisal.

I struggled rating ‘Circus of Wonders’ because I couldn’t help but compare it to The Doll Factory - which was my fave book of last year! Whilst it didn’t quite reach the same heights for me, it is still a beautifully vivid world. Macneal is fast becoming my favourite writer.

This book is about belonging and finding yourself, with Macneal’s signature darkness lurking beneath the surface. The circus world is as magical as you expect and the characters are wonderfully crafted.

I can’t quite put my finger on what brought the rating down. If I’m brutally honest maybe it’s the lack of a Louis-Iris level love! But I devoured this book in one sitting and despite getting an e-ARC bought myself a gorgeous copy as soon as I saw it!

If you’re looking for a Circus story that’s equal parts dark and wonderful, then Circus of Wonders is for you. Our protagonist, Nel, blossoms into a strong, independent woman who learns the importance of self-love/acceptance. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in return for a review.

I really couldn't get into this one. I'm so sorry but I had to DNF it. It's beautiful writing but the story just didn't grip me unfortunately. Three stars because I know it's a me problem not a book problem.

This was a wonderful, detailed story with gorgeous worldbuilding and in-depth characters. The cover is also so gorgeous!!

Beautifully written, engaging and magical novel following Nell, who makes the most of her life after her father sells her to a circus for a measly £20.

The Victorian backdrop is brought to life with the descriptions of the novel, with plenty of research having been done with reflections to Barnum's circus bringing a hint of The Greatest Showman to the novel. Characters are unique, some of which you truly fall in love with and some greedy and rotten that you love to hate (and potentially quite stereotypical in some ways)..

Plenty of emotions throughout, love, sadness, heartbreak, hope and much more. My first Macneal novel but certainly won't be my last.

3.5 stars overall, rounding to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Elizabeth Macneal for an eArc copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Macneal’s debut novel, The Doll Factory, showed this was a writer with a lot of skill and talent. Macneal demonstrates this once again in her second novel, Circus of Wonders, and there won’t be a future release of hers that I’d ever miss. The Doll Factory is more Thriller than Circus of Wonders, but both are set in Victorian era, featuring strong female protagonists who, for one reason or another, are slightly discarded by the society they live in.

For Nell, this means standing out in her small coastal village. Birthmarks speckle her skin, and though she attempts to cover them up, the villagers stay away from her. Her whole world is her brother and the sea, until she is kidnapped by Jasper Jupiter, sold by her father. At the circus, however, she sees a different way of living. Not one hiding in the shadows, but right in the centre, drawing crowds and enabling Jasper to finally make his circus bigger, even drawing the attention of Queen Victoria herself.

Jasper has his own secrets, along with his brother Toby, but as Toby and Nell grow closer, and Nell grows more famous, the secrets grow, threatening to eclipse the relationship between the two brothers, the relationship between Toby and Nell, and her fame.

In both books, Macneal tells the stories of those who don’t usually have their stories heard. With Nell, it’s a chance to experience the circus from the other side, the performers themselves rather than through the eyes of those at the centre of the ring. It feels like it would have been easy to have Nell’s character arc one in which she shuns shame and refuses to participate, but Macneal moves away from the easy road, and gives us a protagonist who almost embraces the fame, even if she doesn’t necessarily like the way it’s gained at the hands of Jasper.

As a newcomer to this world, we get to see the cracks in the façade through Nell, while we also witness the magic. There’s a combination of the old and the new, too, and a look at the way technology is slowly growing during this time period, while old ways are still firmly in place. To achieve the wonderful fantasy of the circus, Jasper employs machinery, creating contraptions to help his circus stand out. The glossy, magical spectacle of The Greatest Showman is gone in Macneal’s own circus, giving us the raw truth instead, and slipping in the names of those Barnum took advantage of, comparing and contrasting them with the performers in Jasper’s show.

It’s easy to see the care Macneal has used when dealing with these characters. She gives them full lives, personalities, embracing them outside their appearance and status. She shows us the type of fortitude needed to survive this environment, but also shows the different opportunities presented to those who did embrace their fame.

Contrasted with the world Nell is slowly embracing, we also see glimpses of the Crimean war, through the eyes of both Jasper and Toby. Jasper as a soldier who, along with his friend Dash, embraces the war and adventure. Toby arrives as a photographer, and to him, Dash represents the growing chasm between him and the brother he adores. Through these scenes we got more of an idea of the two brothers, what ties them together and what stands between them. We get a depth to both Jasper and Toby, as well as a mystery in what, exactly, happened to Dash.

Macneal weaves these two worlds together well, the ‘present day’ flowing well into flashback without breaking the story. She’s also effective at grounding the story in the time period, creating a vivid, real setting, reality serving as a backdrop to the fictional story.

It really is a fantastic novel, with a great choice of characters in a wonderful setting, and well worth checking out. I can’t wait to see what Macneal releases next.

Set in victorian times (same time period as the doll factory) and looks at the victorians obsession of the unusual, abnormalities, the 'freaks'.

Jasper owns Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders. Hes always looking for new stars, which leads to him buying Nell from her father. We are then taken for a journey in the circus of wonders, getting to see the behind the scenes, but also expectations, worries, jealousy, pressures. Jealousy is certainly a big part of the book as it causes flashbacks to Jasper and his brother Toby time in the Crimean War.

You do feel part of the circus, but also seeing the show through the audience eyes. The characters both main and side are so well developed that you get a sense for their worries, feelings and motives.

I really enjoyed the doll factory, and the enjoyment flowed into this book the circus of wonders.

I want to thank netgallery and the publishers for providing me with an ARC to give an honest review.

Nell’s body is covered in birthmarks that have set her apart from the rest of the world for her entire life. When Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders comes to town Nell’s father sells her and she is put on show for all the world to see. She becomes a sensation and when she over shadows the man who made that happen things get tricky.
Told form three perspectives; Jasper the narcissistic, Svengali ring leader, Nell his leopard girl and Toby Jasper’s gentle giant of a brother, the Circus of Wonders explores explores themes of love, desire, ownership and ambition. It’s beautifully written but I felt the three threads never really combined they were very much three separate people which was odd considering how intertwined they became none of them seemed to have a proper conversation with the other. Even Nell and Toby’s feelings for one another seemed transactional. I never got the sense they truly cared for one another which given the ending may have been the point.
The ending was annoying, normally I love a bit of ambiguity but this just frustrated me. I wished better for Toby. I did really enjoy all the parts about the Crimea and I would have liked more of the bearded lady. A mixed bag.

Set in Victorian England, Circus of Wonders follows Nell who has birthmarks on her skin and is sold into the circus. A story about finding your place in the world.

A magical and beautifully told story, that will captivate you and take you on a magical journey. Truly lived up to all my expectations and one I will be making sure to get lots of people to read.

I’ve come across so many books set in a circus recently (Surely it’s The Greatest Showman effect!), but this one stands out.

Nell is a young women born with birthmarks covering her body, she is considered an outsider in her village. When the circus visits her father sells her to the ringmaster, Jasper Jupiter, and she becomes drawn into the world of the circus. Jasper has great ambitions to put on a show that’ll draw the biggest crowds, make the most money and draw the attention of the Queen Victoria herself. Jasper and his brother, Toby, also harbour a secret from their time in the Crimean War which is slowly revealed.

The Victorian Circus is a fabulous setting and Macneal creates such a vivid picture of both circus life and Nell’s seaside village..

The characters are equally well written with complex personalities. Many of the circus acts do not fit into Victorian society, and they both struggled with this as well as celebrate their differences. There are also some really interesting relationships and dynamics between characters. Those in the circus become a family in ways and yet there is a divide between those considered ‘normal’ and those that are ‘spectacles’. The brotherly relationship between Jasper and Toby is also at the centre of the story, it’s incredibly layered with love and admiration mingled with manipulation and resentment.

What this book does well is how it explores both the magical and cruel side of the circus and by extension life in g
general. I do think the book could have been a bit shorter and the plot a little tighter but overall a wonderful read!

A mesmerising jaunt under the circus tent. The tensions between the two brothers and their shared past is what really drives the novel. Nell's experiences as a 'curiosity' are heartfelt and Macneal does a great job of expressing the duality in her personality, her desire to show herself off and her instinct to hide.

A captivating read, the writing evokes the magic and wonder of the circus world. The repetition of a momentous event in one of the characters lives becomes a bit wearing however. I also felt there were a few facets of the plot that could have been developed further. I did find myself immersed in the story and devoured the book quite quickly. A good read.

Thank you Netgalley.

Such a lovely read. It was magical and captivating and I did not want the story to end. I loved everything about this book from the Victoria Era to the amazingly strong character Nell. A truly captivating read. I can't wait to read more by this author.

I am very torn on this one. On the one hand, the subject matter- circuses, adventure, Victoriana, romance- are right up my street. And I enjoyed the scene setting and the immersion into the circus and the story. But the narrative drive was somewhat missing, for me.

A lot of the prose was beautiful, but- strangely- it didn't help immerse me in a world that I was actually desperate to be immersed within. I always felt removed, especially from Nell, the Queen of Moon and Stars. I wanted to be there with her, but there was something missing at the heart. The same applied to her relationship with Toby, the second brother, always a step behind Jasper, the owner of the circus. Their romance should have been sparkling and dreamy, but it felt perfunctory. Jasper was the more engaging of the three; he was more layered and *human*.

I loved the set-up and the world, but the story itself struggled to engage and enrapture me.

A magical and wonderful story full to the brim with magic, fantastical characters and settings and brilliant storytelling. After reading caraval and the night circus i fell in love with the idea of magical circus'. the slight mystery and thriller plot of nell being kidnapped really made the reader want to continue the story and capture their attention. i liked getting to know all the different characters and really felt like I got to know them through Macneal's writings.

the story itself was really accessible with he right mix of magical and detailed writing. the story of love and friendship throughout this story was so important and I think portrayed really well. I cannot recommend this story enough to people who love fantasy, magic and a compelling plot that makes you not want to put he book down!

I loved this book. It is even better than her last, which is saying something. She writes so well and makes historical fiction feel so contemporary. Outstanding.