Sorina is a jynx-worker, daughter of the proprietor of a Freak Show. She can create illusions of people, with their own thoughts, feelings, and actions. Like a real person. These illusions are her family, but when a mysterious assassin begins to take them down one by one, she needs to do something. 

There’s a lot to unpack here. First of all, I appreciate having a bisexual protagonist, as well as an asexual demiromantic love interest and a lesbian side character. We find racial, religious, and sexual diversity in this book, which improves it. I also loved the comments criticizing beauty standards.

When it comes to circus performances, I found the descriptions fascinating. I envisioned the setting, the characters, and the magic happening all at once. I would have loved to see more of them.

That said, I loved the drawings. At first I thought it was the victims and the order in which they were killed, but I was completely in love with them [I love drawings and maps in books.]

Overall, it’s a nice book.

TW: chronic/terminal illness, death (of family members), graphic murder (multiple), ableism, sex worker discrimination, aro/acephobia.