Kimberly Loth is one of my favorite go-to authors because I know that whatever she writes, I will be thoroughly entertained! Even if the genre isn’t my usual fare, her writing is amazing, her world-building is great, and her characters really come alive.
Callie is a true 16 year old California girl, loving the life of surfing and hanging out at the beach. However, her plans for the summer are changed when her Mother sends her to help out her Uncle Luke in his Circus on an island in Louisiana. When Callie arrives, she finds that this circus is unlike any other she has ever encountered.
She soon begins to wonder about her sanity when she sees dilapidated tents come to life during the new moon and people seem to die every time the circus is open to guests. Then, one boy she meets tries to kill her and she is told that he is a ghost. Things get even stranger when Callie visits a fortune teller and learns that she can never leave the island because of the cards that are drawn.
This book was very unique with vampires, ghosts, zombies, voodoo, and all the “normal” circus creepiness like clowns and side shows. Callie is a typical teenager and it takes her a long time to begin to accept the fact that some of the supernatural things she is encountering are actually real. I loved the details in the writing in the descriptions of the area and the people. I felt like I was seeing them through Callie’s eyes.
Add in a little love interest in the devastatingly handsome (but also creepy) Samuel, who appears to be an 18 year old boy, but might be much, much more. Since this is the first book in the series, it ends on a cliffhanger (of course) and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Loth has in store for the next part of Callie’s adventure.
The narrator, Sarah Puckett, did a great job and her voice for Callie was perfect with just the right amount of attitude for a teenaged girl. Her pacing was great and her performance added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. Even though I had read the “real” version of the book, the audiobook really brought the story to life in a totally different way. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the author and chose to review it.