by Mary Ellen Dennis
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: Aug 1, 2011
Source: ARC sent by publisher
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
Set in the exotic world of a 19th century circus, Dream Dancer sweeps readers into deathdefying feats, dangerous rivalries, and a love that has all the thrills and romance of the greatest show on earth.
Bold, beautiful star equestrian Calliope Kelley has two passions in life: her father's circus and daredevil animal tamer Brian O'Connor. When the circus is destroyed by fire and Brian disappears, Calliope changes her name and becomes engaged to another man. But then Brian returns and everything in Calliope's new life goes topsy-turvy...
My Review:
I enjoyed the circus setting very much, it was very refreshing and unique. The author did a great job writing about the circus and it's inhabitants. However the romance in the story was off-putting for me. There were many cringe-worthy moments that made the romantic scenes hard to read.
Brian and Calliope had been separated since she had been a child, but when he returns to the circus, they start making out within the same scene. It seemed unrealistic and at the same time it seemed like Brian was taking advantage of a teenager. There wasn't a lot of development of their relationship besides the physical and what development there was felt awkward.
It was fun to read about the circus acts and performers though. It reminded me just a tiny bit of the travelling show in "Annie Get Your Gun." The author excels at the other areas of the story besides the romance.
Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 2/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Bottom Line: I would recommend this book to readers interested in a unique setting who won't mind skimming over an awkward romance.
Ugh too bad about the romance b/c this book's cover is amazing and really caught my eye. :-(
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts.
XOXO~ Renee
What a cool setting - too bad the romance element didn't work for you.
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 for romance, hm, dunno about that part. Awkward romance?
ReplyDeleteAah, awkward romances never work for me. With few exceptions, I need to like the characters and their relationships. If I'm supposed to sigh over a romance, I want to love it.
ReplyDeleteThe circus setting sounds great though :) Haven't read one of those since... that Series of Unfortunate Events book? LOL. Great review!
ooh, yeah no, I don't think this one is for me. But the unique setting sounds very cool!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the romance. It has a very interesting cover.
ReplyDeleteHmm - I think the circus setting can work SO well for a romance (like SEP's Kiss an Angel), so it's disappointing when it doesn't work. Bummer. :( At least the rest of it was OK.
ReplyDelete*sigh* I don't think this one would be fore me. Partially because it reminds me of Like Water for Elephans - like reminds me of the trailer of the movie, and that reminds me of RPAtz and I bloody hate RPatz, so it's a fail.
ReplyDeleteLOL
too bad, I think Water for Elephans has ruined the circles setting for me. *Sigh*
I love the cover and there is a great premise but it is unfortunate about the romance - I would think that could be pulled off so well!
ReplyDelete