As Karen said, this book is all atmosphere with little in the way of characterization or plot. So for me, it all amounted to a whole lot of nothing. 
 For all the heavy-handed magical, mystical, mysterious build-up, there's not actually much tension until the end, but it's too little too late. Much is made of the competition between Celia and Marco, but it never felt very high-stakes, even after the "reveal" that it's a fight to the death, probably because the game seems to be about who can make the coolest circus attraction and who will finally declare themselves too frustrated to continue. And in the end, neither Celia or Marco even made a move to end the competition, it all came down to a side character. So, what exactly was the point? 
 The book wants to be epic, but never actually gets there. Mostly because the romance between Celia and Marco is pretty lackluster. They're rivals who fall in love! One of them must die! Oh the tragedy! That's about it. 
 The same goes for the secondary characters, who seem to be there only to fill pages, since there's not much plot, and to provide the author with a tidy resolution. 
 Still, although this is a review of complaints (and what else would be expected of me?) I did enjoy reading the book, although mostly because I was anticipating a grand finish that never happened. 
 ETA: And how the heck was Bailey supposed to stop everything from coming to a head? Isobel and Poppet imply that his presence would have averted the crisis, but since he had no magic or knowledge of what was happening, what could he have done? So many plot holes....