Betsy Cornwell

In this queer retelling of "Snow White and Rose Red" twins battle religious extremists to save their loves and circus family.

The Circus Rose

Jennifer

I'm always down to read Circus-themed books which is why I added The Circus Rose a while ago. I dished out this afternoon finishing it in a single sitting (something that haven't happened since ages). The Circus Rose is the queer retelling of Snow White and Rose Red. Wrote in alternate poetry vs prose form, this is a story about coming of age, sisterhood, love, as well as political extremism. So it packed both the fun (the circus and the magic) as well as the heavy topics nicely into one.

I'm going to summarise what I enjoyed below:

+ Diversity of characters: This is definitely a standout. Both Rose and Ivory have distinctive voices. I also found the Fae's gender role quite intriguing.
+ The central themes: coming of age, sisterhood, and the effects of political extremism
+ The alternating poetry vs prose structure: Rose's POV is poetry-based but the words hit hard. Ivory's POV is written in proses but explores in depth on both her relationship & coming of age.

Quotes I love:

"A circus is all about illusion, peoplie lining up to see something impossible. For most circusgoers, wonder is the goal." - foreshadowed that there are a lot to be fleshed out through the novel. That there are things which need to be understood beyond the surface level.

"We loved each other, we protected each other and helped each other survive in all the strangeness that had surrounded us as we grew up, but there was some profound gulf of difference between us that we rarely crossed." - this is a wonderful quote on sisterhood and rifts due to personality differences & different priorities.

"A hundred of us, at least. A menangerie of humanity. Hands that knew how to open cages." - I love the diversity of the novel and this quote summarised it up really well!

While I read this in a single sitting & wasn't bored, I don't think the details of The Circus Rose will stick in the long run. There are several aspects of the novel which have rooms for improvement.

- The worldbuilding wasn't sufficiently fleshed out. So I was a bit confused how the story built up to the climax moment.
- Similarly, the side characters could be better developed if The Circus Rose is slightly longer. I think the characters would be more likeable if there were more explorations.

Nevertheless, this is a pretty clever retelling of a popular fairytale, with some Circus magic twist! While I don't think I'll recommend this to hard-core fantasy readers, I think this is nevertheless a fun read that younger audiences would enjoy.

N.B. This book contains following triggers: kidnapping, hospital visits, and accidents

The Circus Rose

Reviews