A Spectacle of Souls follows Caitlyn as she experiences mysterious headaches and migraines. When a circus comes to town, she meets Daniel: a hypnotic magician who seems to know what’s really behind those headaches. But there is something sinister going on at the circus, as Caitlyn struggles to unlock her dormant powers and regain her lost memories.

This book had a beautiful cover and intriguing premise. I’m always interested in a mysterious circus and magical powers. However, I found myself let down by the execution. The writing was cheesy, contained awkward cliches, and overall was very simplistic. This book felt confused about what it wanted to be. You could say it is intended to appeal to younger readers with the style of writing, but there were also cringy attempts at romance and trite instalove.

While I did laugh a lot, I don’t think I was supposed to find the book this funny. I thought the writing lacked a consistent flow and created more of a confused than compelling atmosphere. It was difficult to connect with these characters. This story could have benefitted from additional editing and perhaps more feedback from young adults. I understand that this book was trying to accomplish a lot, but it unfortunately fell flat for me.

Nevertheless, this book did succeed in making me want to eat tacos. Those taco descriptions really were spectacular.

A Spectacle of Souls releases on July 7, 2020. Thank you to Bleeding Ink Publishing and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.