Circus of the Dead: Book 1 by Kimberly Loth

 

I recently listened to the unabridged audio version of Circus of the Dead: Book 1 by Kimberly Loth, which was well narrated by Sarah Puckett. 

Circus of the Dead is a young adult novel, which deals with the supernatural, horror, and fantasy genres all mixed together in one novel. I liked the concept for this novel, but it didn't play out very well... Or at least, as good as I hoped it would play out.

Callie, the main character, is a teenager sent by her mother to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer. Luke is Callie's mother's brother. Callie and Luke have never met before. In fact, Luke has no idea that Callie is coming all the way from California to the Louisiana Bayou to work at the circus. Things go wrong from the  very start of this novel and continue to go from bad to worse rather quickly. Callie is almost killed by a tiger when she is locked inside the tiger's cage. Then, Callie visits the fortune teller at the circus for a tarot reading. Callie draws two tarot cards that seal her fate. Callie's fate is that she will be stuck on the island where the circus is held, unable to escape forever, and that she'll fall in love. 

Throughout the remainder of the novel, Callie tries to escape the island numerous times without success. Callie is almost killed a few times... And Samuel, the mysterious ringmaster, has strange powers/control over the permanent residents of the island. Samuel isn't who he seems to be, yet Callie is attracted to him. Stranger still is the fact that Callie's parent's won't rescue her despite several pleas on Callie's part to come home. Nor do Callie's parents and her younger sister believe she is in any sort of danger.

Circus of the Dead: Book 1 by Kimberly Loth starts out pretty well and the ending is decent enough. However, the middle of the novel has a lot of action that doesn't move the storyline along substantially... Sure, we learn a little more about some of the other islanders and the circus itself. But, I felt like the plot didn't explain enough about the mysteries concerning the circus itself, or enough about Callies's Uncle Luke and her parents, or even much regarding the mysterious, Samuel, and his backstory. I will skip the rest of the 'Circus of the Dead' series.

Below is the plot summary for Circus of the Dead: Book 1 by Kimberly Loth found on the Goodreads website:

There are many ways to die at the Circus of the Dead. You’re invited to witness them all.

Mom sent me all the way across the country to the Louisiana bayou to join the circus and help my uncle for the summer. Except, there is something not quite right on this swampy cursed island, and after having my fortune told, I can’t leave. I try to escape, but Benny, an all too charming ghost gangster, tries to kill me by feeding me to a tiger.

Thankfully, I’m rescued by Samuel, the incredibly hot ringmaster who can’t be a day over 20. Can he?

In addition to avoiding the human scorpion, staying away from the big cats, and having trouble figuring out who’s dead and who’s alive, I have to find a way to escape this horror show.

Will I get out of the circus alive, or will I join their army of ghosts and become a murderer myself?

I am giving Circus of the Dead: Book 1 by Kimberly Loth a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!