The Circus Rose

Oh, this book is so much fun and so inventive. Look, I loved Mechanica, so if you disliked that book, don't expect this one to be different. Not really.

So I didn't know anything about Snow White and Rose Red until I did a bit of quick research 3/4 of the way through the book. As it is, I'm glad I didn't know anything because there is this awesome, amazing plot twist that you will totally see coming if you know the fairy tale.

But, so I don't gush for dozens of pages, a quick overview of what I loved herein.

Sisters carry the book. They don't always understand each other, but they always love each other and have one another's backs.

Unique writing. This book is told from Ivory and Rosie's povs. You will never get them mixed up.

Ivory. I adore this girl. She's quiet, rational and prefers working backstage to under the lime lights.

Diversity. When this book is billed as a ‘queer retelling' it is. And, as it takes place in the same world as the amazing Mechanica, poly relationships are totally a thing. (Racial diversity, too, but to be honest, my brain shorted out when there was a dual partnered marriage proposal.)

The circus as family. They even say it. Often.

Finally, I have to add, I adore the fact that our dancing group in the circus is comprised of all males. Males that dress up and challenge the status quo by being someone the women can find sexy and the men, for possibly the first time, can also find sexy.

(Side note: does it say something about me that I love when religious zealots are villains in stories?)

(BTW: This book caused me to have to create a new shelf, because I have to make mention of the fact that one of the sisters is involved in a romance with a non-binary character - ergo, a new f/x shelf. That I will probably be adding more books to, now that I have an idea how to do it! (Or, rather, probably be creating another, similar but different shelf.))

This is a strange little book, but not really in a bad way. Just not what I was expecting from the blurb - I honestly didn't know this was a fantasy novel until I started reading it, and even then I didn't know right away. I could've done without Rose's chapters, since I don't have a lot of patience for poetry like this and they were so elliptical and strange it was hard to tell what, if anything, was important to the story. It's also hard to call this a romance, when there's a HFN at best between Ivory and her love interest, and the major plot is more about the circus and the threats to it, instead of their relationship. (I do love the queer/poly/non-binary rep, but the romance here isn't the central aspect of the story, that's all.) I liked the found-family of the circus as well. Overall, this was a fast read and an odd book, but one I'm glad I read.

(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: circus, could maybe work for friends to lovers, or loosely for tattoos.)

4,5 en realidad.