Come Join the Circus - Ring Rider and Ring Ghost Review!

TITLE: Ring Rider (The Enchanted Circus of Jules Compere #1)
AUTHOR: Jane George
PUBLISHER: Beeswax Books
PUBLISHING DATE: March 22, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: A teenage, trailer-park runaway is offered a place to live and work in a struggling, one-ring circus. But nothing at Circus Lunastrata is what it seems, especially not the young circus cook, a guitar-playing, Edgar-Allan-Poe-quoting guy intriguing enough to be dangerous to her off-limits heart.

Soon, she’s risking not only her heart, but her life, as she dares to enter this magical and treacherous new world.

But it’s the only world she’s ever wanted to call home.


TITLE: Ring Ghost (The Enchanted Circus of Jules Compere #2)
AUTHOR: Jane George
PUBLISHER: Beeswax Books
PUBLISHING DATE: June 31, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Wally never wanted to join an enchanted circus. Working as the cook was supposed to be temporary. He wants to form a band. He wants to find his mom. Except, thanks to a major, magical screw-up, he can never go home again.

Now the circus is cursed, haunted. The Ringmaster is in peril. Everything’s falling apart.
If there’s no more circus, Wally might be free. But Circus Lunastrata means everything to the beautiful, beguiling bareback rider—and his possible soul mate—Evangeline.

It’s a no win situation. Can Wally find a solution while there’s still a ghost of a chance?

MY THOUGHTS: 
"Ring Rider" pleasantly surprised me as I was reading it. Also, I think I'm pretty much mesmerized by circus tales after reading this one. Evan has bounced from foster home to foster home since she was a young child. One evening she finally has all she can take and runs off, only to run into an odd little clown riding an odd little bike in a back alley. He sets up a meeting with her for later than evening with his boss, Jules Compere, and Evan agrees simply because she sees it as a way to get a free meal. Evan meets with Jules, an equally odd but mesmerizing man, who offers her a job with the Circus Lunastrata. Evan agrees and that's when the real fun begins.

Jules Compere is a magical man who hires only the most magical of individuals to help him keep his family's circus legacy surviving. Evan meets all kinds of interesting characters once she joins from other runaways, to small people who can change material things to other material things, to a talking elephant and a whole family of individuals who can transform into polar bears. There is intrigue, fantasy elements, action and some mystery all wrapped up in between the cover of this book and I really couldn't put it down (but had to work and sleep, ya know?) George creates a truly magical world. There is some romance in the book but the author stays away from insta-love and creates more of a "slow burn." While reading this, the reader might initially feel there is a love triangle brewing but if they drive you as crazy as they drive me, give it time because that is certainly not the case.

The second book in the series continues on with the world of the enchanted circus.  It was great visiting the same great characters so soon after this first.  "Ring Ghost" is told from Wally's perspective though and it was nice to learn more about him and see his life from his point of view.   Once again, the circus is in danger and Wally has to decide if he really wants to be bound to it for the rest of his life - not that he has a lot of choice.




This series  is marketed as a young adult read and although not that intended audience, it was still incredibly enjoyable. However, that being said, I am VERY intrigued with Jules Compere and would love to know more about the main adult in this book. If you like circus themed books, you should definitely add these to your TBR.


I received these books from Expresso Books/author in exchange for an honest review.

 RATING: 4 PAWS