TBP March 10th, 2020
384 Pages
Harley Milano has dreamed of being a trapeze artist for as long as she can remember. With parents who run a famous circus in Las Vegas, she spends almost every night in the big top watching their lead aerialist perform, wishing with all her soul that she could be up there herself one day.
After a huge fight with her parents, who continue to insist she go to school instead, Harley leaves home, betrays her family and joins the rival traveling circus Maison du Mystère. There, she is thrust into a world that is both brutal and beautiful, where she learns the value of hard work, passion and collaboration. But at the same time, Harley must come to terms with the truth of her family and her past—and reckon with the sacrifices she made and the people she hurt in order to follow her dreams.- Goodreads
I loved this book but Harley needed her ass kicked. Let me explain, her feelings were valid. What she did was completely wrong, she was spoiled and self-centered. There is no way around it and there was character development but then there wasn’t. Acknowledging what you did wrong and still getting what you want without an actual consequences doesn’t work in my eyes. Because what did she actually learn?
Harley was a great character to read. I loved her drive. In regards to the circus she knew what she was talking about and what she was doing. Everything else she didn’t know what she was doing.
What I loved most was the circus. I am not a circus person and this is the first book I have read surrounding the circus that made me see the magic (and the shade). What Harley feels when performing, when watching performances was really inspiring to read and it was the most beautiful part of the book.
There is romance within this novel and I liked it. The romantic interest had depth and he was cute and his story. . . made sense and worked with everything happening in the book and he worked with Harley. That was the most important part. He worked with Harley and not against her.
The pace of the novel was great. But the author touches upon mental health issues but doesn’t dip into it. I am not exactly sure about why but it would have been good to see some form of insight. Towards the end of the novel there were some things that happened that would have been great to have more insight on. The author was a bit too vague when it came to what I believe is mental health issues.
And more on a personal note, there is another relationship that Harley has within this novel and how it goes down really bothered me on a personal level. I shall leave it at that because that is the best I can do without spoilers lol.
Overall, love this book and would recommend it.
4 Pickles
Motif by Tanya 