Published by: HQ, September 7th 2017
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT+
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival’s Freak Show.
But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.
Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn’t actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca, and their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina’s illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all of her loved ones disappear.
Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival’s Freak Show.
But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that—illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed…until one of them is murdered.
Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn’t actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca, and their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina’s illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all of her loved ones disappear.
Illusions that can be killed? Heck yes.
This book's concept is awesome. I love the plot, the illusions themselves, and I especially love Gomorrah. What a cool, unique circus (a travelling CITY that's ON FIRE.) While sharing many traits with other circus books, this manages to stand out too. It's dramatic and dangerous and so magical, and even has political elements which I always like. I just didn't fall for the characters at all, even if I found them interesting. What I really liked about this book was the illustrations and character profiles throughout; they are so creepy. And I only predicted the killer towards the end, so I consider that a plot twist well done. Speaking of ... there's a pretty shocking plot twist about one of the characters I did NOT see coming at all, and it's so cool (and tragic, really.)
There's nothing to not like about this book.
Characters ★★★★☆
Setting/world ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★☆
