Book Blurb:
Le Grand’s Carnival Fantastic isn’t like other traveling circuses. It’s bound by a charm, held together by a centuries-old curse, that protects its members from ever growing older or getting hurt. Emmaline King is drawn to the circus like a moth to a flame…and unwittingly recruited into its folds by a mysterious teen boy whose kiss is as cold as ice.
Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for.
Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss.
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Leslie smiles at the girl with a mixture of pride and tentative hope. “It took us a few days to get Sidney set up somewhere else, and I’m sorry about that. But this wagon belongs to the occupant of the box.” Leslie strokes the side of the ladder that leads to the door. “What you’re going through is terrible, we know it is, though we can never truly understand. It’s a small comfort, but we want you to have a place that’s just your own, a place that you can use to escape.”
A weak, wobbly smile lifts the corners of the girl’s mouth as her gaze roves over the outside of the wagon, a shadow of the smile I saw the other night, when she was with her friend. I wonder what it would take to get her to smile for real.
“What about Sidney?”
“Sidney can make do.” Leslie’s smile broadens into a grin. “Have you seen the way he’s been eating? I wouldn’t be surprised to see him waddle out of the cook shack one of these mornings like Templeton the Rat.” She dangles a small copper key from the end of a length of faded red ribbon. “It’s like I said—the carnival owes the person in the box. This is the least we can do for you in return.”
The girl’s hand shakes as she reaches for the key, and she wraps her slender fingers around it tightly, as though she’s afraid of dropping it. I lose sight of her as she steps inside, and all I can do now is hope she likes the wagon.
I turn to head home and feel the sickening lurch as my foot lands in a slick patch of mud and whips out from beneath me. I throw out my arm. A flash of white-hot pain flares through my hand, but I manage to keep my footing. I step out of the mud that had nearly sent me sprawling on my ass, unsure as to how I even missed it in the first place. Then my hand begins to throb.
A gash runs diagonally across my palm. Blood wells from the wound, filling my cupped hand. The pain sets in, a deep pulsing starting in my palm and radiating up my arm. I glance over at the trailer and see a splash of red smeared along a sharp flap of metal. I must have sliced my hand on that as I tried to grab onto something to keep from slipping.
Falling on carnival grounds doesn’t happen; the charm sees to that. But my bloodied hand begs to differ.
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My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Supernatural, Teen--
"I think about how all I ever wanted was somewhere to call my home, unaware that home could be a person and not a place."
Emma is not thrilled to be living with her father again in a deadbeat town while her mother is off for work, but at least the circus is in town for a few days. When she goes with her friend Juliet to the show, she realizes how left out and out of place she really is when Juliet goes off to talk to her friends. But Emma is not alone, she is approached by the quiet fortune telling boy from the box who wants to spend time with her. After some questionable choices, Emma finds herself alone with the boy when he kisses her- her first kiss, a kiss she can never get back.
I have been obsessed with the idea of carnivals and circuses since I read Carnival last year, and it was then made even worse after seeing the movie The Greatest Showman last month, so when I first hear about this book I knew I had to read it- it was not an if but a when. The concept of being swept up in the excitement and flair that makes up a circus, the ability to suspend your beliefs for a moment to just enjoy the performance is such a cool idea. But there is also a darker side to the circus as well, and that is where Jaime created her story. I found By A Charm and a Curse to be a dark, interesting, twisty read, full of the mystery and magic that I hoped for as well as brand new, super unique plot line that I have never encountered before- and at the heart of it all was romance. As a side note, marionette dolls are creepy, but maybe that is just me...
By A Charm and a Curse was my first read from Jaime and I can't wait to see what else she wants to imagine. I enjoyed her writing style, it was effortless to read the story, the words flowed so smoothly that I blew through the pages in just a few sittings. I enjoyed the characters and the world, and the fact that this was a standalone fantasy made my heart so happy (I really don't have the patience to wait for sequels!) I highly recommend her book for fans of the carnival/circus theme, dark twists and an endearing love that can last through epic challenges.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
JAIME QUESTELL grew up in Houston, Texas, where she escaped the heat and humidity by diving into stacks of Baby Sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books. She has been a book seller (fair warning: book lovers who become book sellers will give half their paychecks right back to their employers), a professional knitter, a semi-professional baker, and now works as a graphic designer in addition to writing.
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