An intriguing, ⁹and original interleaving of two storylines, one in 1920s Paris where Cecile Cabot is trapped in her family’s magical, dark circus and forbidden from a love affair that could set her free, and two, in 2004 America, where her descendant Lara Barnes’s search for her missing fiance leads her to her great-grandmother’s journals, revealing a generational curse tied to a circus and a mysterious disappearance. The story is alternately fabulous blend of magic, family secrets and a romance- fuelled mystery, exploring themes of sacrifice, lost love, and the power of hidden magical bloodlines.
The 1920s storyline has Cecile Cabot as part of a mysterious secret circus, a world where magic allows illusions of beasts, time-travelling carousels, levitating trapeze artists. She falls for a painter, a relationship that could challenge her family’s control and the secrets of the circus
In the 2000s storyline, Lara Barnes is about to marry when her fiance vanishes. Her desperate answers lead to her great-grandmother, Cecile’s diaries, which unveil the dark magical world of the Secret Circus, her family’s history of sacrifice, and a curse that might be connected to her France’s disappearance.
Secrets abound in this book woven expertly by the author, about fantastical and dark circus with a connection to demonic entities, powerful illusions, and a magical DNA-link to a witch-like bloodline. The women in the Cabot family posse magical abilities, but their power comes at a cost, tied to a curse that has claimed members of the family for generations. Lara’s investigation into her France’s disappearance uncovers dark family secrets leading to a thrilling mystery and romantic undertones with a climactic magical showdown.
The novel blends fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, and romance, featuring real-world elements alongside paranormal ones. Constance Sayer immerses the reader in the enchantment that Springs forth from the unique energy of circus life. However, while the plot has enough gaps to draw you in, the overall premise is exciting. Lara’s relationship with Todd is complex with a devastating toll exacted by her, the town of Kerrigan Falks, where an eerily similar dis happened 30 years prior to the day, as another handsome, young beloved man, named Peter goes missing in the midst of his aspiring musical career.
Devastated Lara learns to do simple magic or “correctional she calls it, distracting herself by purchasing a local radio station and fixing-up her home. A budding romance forms with the local sheriff Ben who though out of his depth with such a big case in his small town is helped by Lara’s bits of information. Mother Audrey and Lara attend the Rivoli Circus, where Lara has an unusual encounter with a fortune teller, where she is gifted the diaries of her great-grandmother, Cecile Cabot.
The circus is created by Althacazur, a favourite of Lucifer, who needing a home for his daughters when his wife passes, creates the le Cirque Secret, run by demons trapped fulfilling contracts for eternity. The book has a unique plot and is memorable for its originality with a wonder rendering of 19th Century Paris.
Sayer does a great job of combining the mundane and the magical, a winning combo. The ending is open-ended, unusually magical and complex.
Featured image : Author pic
