A circus that appears only to ticket holders is more than the magical thing it seems to be.

Lara has grown up seeing a man appear to her at times. He tells her of her fate- a circus just waiting for her. When Lara's fiancee vanishes on their wedding day, she finds her grandmother's journals and starts on a journey to learn the secrets of this circus and the curse that plagues her family.

I was a little bit disappointed that we didn't spend more time in the 1920s with the circus. I found that even though most of the story is in the contemporary time, I was more entranced with the circus. It's a magic that you have to suspend belief for sure but it's entrancing and deadly.

I love this Rumpelstiltskin retelling! We all know that short fairy tale but this had a little more woven into it... The German tale of the Erlking.

Serilda is a very good storyteller (some call her a liar) with golden spokes around her eyes. When she rescues two moss maidens from the Erlking's hunt, she ultimately tells a lie that makes the Erlking want to steal here each hunt. She says she can spin straw into gold.

When she is forced to do that very thing, she is surprised by a ghostly boy that can ACTUALLY do it. He helps her in exchange for trinkets and stories.

I love Marissa's way of storytelling. This book may look big (and it is at 500 pages) but it goes by quickly. I read almost 300 pages in one sitting! I could clearly see in my minds eye all that Serilda saw and I could feel all she felt. The end had a great set up for book 2 and I cannot wait until they day comes!

The Erlking is frightening in what he does and who he is. I want Serilda to take him down. It will be exciting.

This was a cute "hate to love" trope.
Kennedy is set up by her good friend Emma with Charlie and though the date (to Kennedy) ends in disaster, she keeps running into Charlie as she moves in into his building.

One of the best parts of this book is "the Ducks" The sweet old women in the building who just want to see sweet Kennedy get a man.... Even if they push her towards Charlie.

The relationship developed very quickly, stopped really quickly, and then got together again very quickly. The power of love and forgiveness I guess.

3.5

Who hasn't wanted to find out where their favorite crush worthy celebrity is and would love to embark on a journey to find them?!

Lu is devastated when she hears that her celebrity crush, Keanu Reeves, is getting married in 90 days! She needs to stop this now or she along with all other fans will be heartbroken! Here comes best friend True (Truman) to the rescue. He knows a guy who knows THE guy.

Both these MCs have been in love with each other for a very long time but something in their past seems to be standing in between sharing those feelings. But True is determined to take Lu to chase her celebrity, even if it means he never gets to have her for himself.

I love the other celebrity encounters she gets in this journey. Although, everything that happens when/after Lu actually comes face to face with Keanu is fantasy and probably wouldn't happen in real life that way.. It was still a very fun book and I love the slow burn of chemistry between Lu and True!

Jo is expecting to pay is a blackmailer and gets a bullet instead. She also leaves her blackmailer bleeding out on the floor as she escapes. She tries to flee but is caught. During her interrogation, she is shown a picture of her "blackmailer" but she had no idea who this really is.

As we dig into Jo's past, it's heartbreaking. Her sister she turned to when she had no one else was supposed to protect her but instead pimped her out. I did not like her boyfriend. I see why she didn't disclose her past to him but he didn't pay the bail she needed and felt she needed to go to prison for at least a night to, I don't know, learn a lesson I guess.

I felt the only one who actually cared about Jo in her life now was Detective Sheryn and she was investigating her!

This was such a cute Christmas book to get you in the mood for the season.

Ivy left her home in Atlanta after a divorce. She buys a farmhouse that is well known to the little town. She finds some things left behind by the preview owners, most notably a Santa suit.

This turns into a mystery as she finds a little note written to Santa in the pocket. It all does tighter at the end at she inadvertently helps make a reunion between lost family members. She also gets to fall in love again with a remarkable man.

I think Kyra and her family were so brave to go live abroad in Italy for a year.

Kyra thought that with her husband working all over Europe it made sense to live abroad and maybe a slower life would help with her migraines.

They find a lot of obstacles during this time (such a different culture from their Manhatten lives) but they persevere and make do with their limited Italian. The whole experience is fascinating to read about.

Rena and her family own a motel in rural Kentucky where a legend of a Ghost Bride has been told for centuries. Her family has been told that the women in their family line are cursed. To rebel and get away, she goes to the neighboring Atwater Hotel to get a job. There she starts to find pieces of the real ghost bride story. Rena has seen the ghost bride so it becomes real and not a story anymore. Rena has to discover what the story is so that the bride can get her final rest .

Rena feels cursed in her own way. She's the "problem child" while her brother Graham is the "golden child". All she wants is a chance to be heard and no one in her family, except her grandma Malice, wants to hear. I felt bad for her. She also had this photography talent that she didn't get enough credit for.

Cassandra is a lady and Crispin is a stable boy in this Victorian era novel. They become friends in secret and a near deadly accident sees Crispin shipped off to India to work.

The two write each other letters to keep up their friendship. Years later, they meet again but with each of their circumstances changed.
While longing for each other, they are both engaged to others.

This was a VERY show burn romance with friendship leading the way for most of the book. I felt proud of both Cassie and Crispin as they take on the roles that life gives them with diplomacy and heart.

This was an interesting look into a string of murders.

When the murders come to Michael's town and a girl found by the bodies covered in blood, this shakes up the town. This whole spree, the bodies have been found with no blood in their bodies. What comes next is Michael, a 17 great old want to be journalist, sitting with the girl to find out the truth.

I like that this alluded to vampirism but that it wasn't the focus of the book. The relationship that develops between the girl and Michael is what drives this book the most. I did find it a bit unreal that the adults let Michael interview the girl in the jail with no presence of anyone that SHOULD have been there.