Great book, loved it a lot. I anticipated I was going to enjoy this magical beast circus and its interesting troupe of performers and the book did not leave me disappointed.

Jake is a former dragon rodeo rider with an injured back running his father's circus as well as he can... if only he knew he inherited a whole heap of problems as well.

Along with top-notch performers and amazing tamed beasts (which includes a real dragon named Calico Thunder who is the real star of the show), Jake discovers his father owed heaps of money due to poor money management skills, and it seems like a dangerous mobster has just showed up right when he was starting to turn a profit to collect an impossible sum of money.

Jake must ponder between selling the circus to this man or try to obtain enough money by downsizing. Will he pay back the debt on time?

Well-written and full of nonstop fun, this is definitely a good read! ( )

4.5

Book source ~ BBNYA

Jake Strickland used to ride dragons in a wild west show until an accident at 23 ended that career. When his dad dies he inherits his magical traveling circus. Literally magical. Though not as magical since the Ban and thus not as profitable. Jake finds out his dad ran it into the ground and it’s so far in the red Jake’s not sure he can raise it up again. But he digs in and after a lot of hard work and money to pay off debts, they are making a profit again. Until a mobster comes along and tells Jake his dad owed him a fuckton of money and he’s calling the debt due in full by the end of the month. Wut?! What follows is what a desperate man does to save the people he cares about.

This is one of those stories that eases you into the story and then carries you away. It’s not a flashy fast high speed chase. More like a slow slide into a nice hot bath on a cold snowy day. First, it’s about a circus. Then the author kicks it up a notch and makes it a magical circus. With illusions and mystical beasts including a dragon! Third there’s the Ban where most magic is against the law so charms and jinxes and things of that sort have to go underground. Next there’s some great characters and a look at how a traveling magical circus operates. Now, all of this is good stuff, but maybe a bit dry. However! Jake, owner of the circus, has just reached a goal he’s been working towards for three hard years and is finally in a good place. Well, that’s just not going to cut it, now is it? Enter the villain. And, oh boy, what a nasty piece of work this dude is. You’ll hate him.

Jake, all around great guy, is now desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. I have to say how much I felt for Jake. Stuck between a rock and, well, a bigger rock, he’s scrambling for most of the book to make the villain go away. It’ll break your heart. Assuming you have one. *squints at you* Anyway, I really thought this book was going to end on a big downer, but I should have had faith. The ending is awesome. Seriously. I have no idea if there will be a next book or not. It doesn’t really need one, but I’d definitely follow the characters into their next adventure. If you like magic, a circus, great characters, and a nasty villain then I highly recommend you pick this book up. I really don’t think you’ll regret it. ( )