3.5 Stars 
 I'll be the first to admit that I had unreasonably high expectations for this book. A forbidden love / circus story with a twisted chronology that involved MAGIC? All of my favorite elements were in place! 
 Unfortunately, and maybe because of my expectations, this book didn't capture me quite like I anticipated. Instead of falling head-over-heels in love, I only merely liked it. (Gasp!) 
 Don't get me wrong. This book is very beautiful. The descriptions of the sights and smells of the circus are sumptuous. The romance holds its own and the secondary characters are all fascinating in their own right. Even the design of the book is magnificent. But, all in all, there was something about the circus (and the writing) that was too pretentious for my taste. I guess I like my circus stories and debut novels to be a little bit more down to earth.