Yay, everyone! I get to be part of a blog tour. How much fun is that? Today I’m posting a book review for Kristy Cambron’s latest book, The Ringmaster’s Wife.
Back when I signed up to review this book I never imagined I would be sitting in a hospital waiting room in North Dakota with my adopted dad in open heart surgery as I wrote this review. I guess it’s true that life is full of surprises.
The Ringmaster’s Wife
Find it on:
Third-Person
4 Points of view (I think…)
Fiction
368 Pages
About the Book (Backcover Blurb):
What is revealed when you draw back the curtain of the Greatest Show on Earth?
Rosamund Easling is no stranger to opulence. As the daughter of an earl, she’s grown up with every comfort money can buy. But when hard times befall the family’s Yorkshire estate in the aftermath of the Great War, Rosamund’s father sells her beloved horse, setting the stage for a series of events that would extend beyond even her wildest dreams.
Though expected to marry for a title instead of love, Rosamund feels called to a different life – one of adventure outside the confines of a ladies’ parlor. She abandons all she’s known and follows in pursuit as her horse is shipped to the new owner – an American entertainer by the name of John Ringling. Once introduced to the Ringling Brothers’ circus and knowing she has much to learn, Rosamund agrees to a bareback riding apprenticeship in the shadow of the Ringlings’ winter home—Ca’D’Zan. It is at that mansion, in what would become the last days of the enigmatic Mable Ringling’s life, that Rosamund finds a deeper sense of purpose in the life she’s been given, and the awakening of faith in her heart.
With a supporting cast of characters as mysterious and dazzling as the Ringlings’ big-top world, Rosamund’s journey takes her from the tradition of the English countryside to the last days of America’s Roaring ‘20s—a journey that forever changes what one life might have been.
Rosamund Easling is no stranger to opulence. As the daughter of an earl, she’s grown up with every comfort money can buy. But when hard times befall the family’s Yorkshire estate in the aftermath of the Great War, Rosamund’s father sells her beloved horse, setting the stage for a series of events that would extend beyond even her wildest dreams.
Though expected to marry for a title instead of love, Rosamund feels called to a different life – one of adventure outside the confines of a ladies’ parlor. She abandons all she’s known and follows in pursuit as her horse is shipped to the new owner – an American entertainer by the name of John Ringling. Once introduced to the Ringling Brothers’ circus and knowing she has much to learn, Rosamund agrees to a bareback riding apprenticeship in the shadow of the Ringlings’ winter home—Ca’D’Zan. It is at that mansion, in what would become the last days of the enigmatic Mable Ringling’s life, that Rosamund finds a deeper sense of purpose in the life she’s been given, and the awakening of faith in her heart.
With a supporting cast of characters as mysterious and dazzling as the Ringlings’ big-top world, Rosamund’s journey takes her from the tradition of the English countryside to the last days of America’s Roaring ‘20s—a journey that forever changes what one life might have been.
Why I Choose this Book:
I’ve read Kristy Cambron’s other two books and really liked one of them, and was rather disappointed in the other. I figured I had a 50/50 chance on either really liking or feeling “meh” about her third book.
What I Thought About this Book:
Humm… I think I’ve done so much editing recently that I’m having a hard time just appreciating a book, so please keep that in mind throughout this review.
Scene by scene I enjoyed the book. There were some beautiful word pictures, the setting was fairly well developed, and there wasn’t questionable content (yay!). The characters also started out with promise.
Unfortunately, the story didn’t exactly make sense to me. It felt disjointed, as if a bunch of scenes were thrown together to create a partial story that didn’t have much of a plot line I kept waiting for a lightbulb moment to go off and have everything make sense, but that never happened. There was a slight lightbulb moment around page 330, that if it would have been at page 30, it would have totally changed the trajectory of the book and would have made a huge difference. Since that didn’t happen though, the book was a fail for me.
Conclusion:
I’ve seen a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews floating around for this book, which means my assessment isn’t very popular and therefore you probably shouldn’t take my word for it. Instead, y’all should read some other reviews and see what other readers are saying about the book.
Rating:
I’m giving The Ringmaster’s Wife 3 stars out of 5, and 4 stars out of 10.
*I received this book free from Litfuse in exchange for an honest review*
Noveltea 