I empathize strongly with both Lilly and Julia, the circus and Blackwood Manor are particularly vivid settings, and the issues of child & animal abuse are important and well incorporated here. However, I was a bit iffy on Julia’s POV: while I liked watching her grow into taking charge of the manor, I don’t think her storyline added all that much to Lilly’s story, which was the main attraction (no pun intended) for me. Actually, come to think of it, it might have undermined it by giving away the plot progression ahead of time, removing suspense.

I wouldn't compare this book to The Night Circus as the blurb does, in large part because its undertone is so much darker, more perverse and twisted — not a bad thing, but fundamentally different. I enjoyed it in its own way, for colorful characters and a mostly playful plot that sometimes delved a little deeper than was comfortable (again, not a terrible thing because it was quite effective). Not a book I'd necessarily want to reread over and over again, but it certainly left an impression.