Circus of the Dead

The Complete Series

By: Kimberly Loth

Narrated by: Sarah Puckett

Length: 20 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

There are many ways to die at the Circus of the Dead.

You’re invited to witness them all.

Mom sent me all the way across the country to the Louisiana bayou to join the circus and help my uncle for the summer. Except there is something not quite right on this swampy cursed island, and after having my fortune told, I can’t leave.

I try to escape, but Benny, an all too charming ghost gangster tries to kill me by feeding me to a tiger.

Thankfully I’m rescued by Samuel, the incredibly hot ringmaster who can’t be a day over 20.

Can he?

In addition to avoiding the human scorpion, staying away from the big cats, and having trouble figuring out who’s dead and who’s alive, I have to find a way to escape this horror show.

Will I get out of the circus alive or will I join their army of ghosts and become a murderer myself?

©2020 Kimberly Loth (P)2020 Kimberly Loth

Out of touch.

While I did enjoy a good portion of the story, a lot of it was racially insensitive. What bothered me the most was the appropriation of a primarily black religion being translated into a white cheerleader’s hobby. Beyond that many of the characters motivations were very poorly established early on causing strange twists and turns that don’t make sense for the character’s personality. If you want a thoughtless read this is good for you but if you’re hyper critical and have any knowledge of witchcraft in the slightest this book will infuriate you.

Can’t finish it

It was all over the place. Story just didn’t make any sense. For a girl that wants away from there so bad and everyone creeps her out, she certainly cozies up to all the guys instantly.

dark story

could not get enough of this dark love story. it has a bit of a mystery. the narrator is good as well. will listen again

Circus of the Dead

Kimberly Loth is one of my favorite go-to authors because I know that whatever she writes, I will be thoroughly entertained! Even if the genre isn't my usual fare, her writing is amazing, her world-building is great, and her characters really come alive.

Callie is a true 16 year old California girl, loving the life of surfing and hanging out at the beach. However, her plans for the summer are changed when her Mother sends her to help out her Uncle Luke in his Circus on an island in Louisiana. When Callie arrives, she finds that this circus is unlike any other she has ever encountered.

She soon begins to wonder about her sanity when she sees dilapidated tents come to life during the new moon and people seem to die every time the circus is open to guests. Then, one boy she meets tries to kill her and she is told that he is a ghost. Things get even stranger when Callie visits a fortune teller and learns that she can never leave the island because of the cards that are drawn.

This series was very unique with vampires, ghosts, zombies, voodoo, and all the "normal" circus creepiness like clowns and side shows. Callie is a typical teenager and it takes her a long time to begin to accept the fact that some of the supernatural things she is encountering are actually real. I loved the details in the writing in the descriptions of the area and the people. I felt like I was seeing them through Callie's eyes.

Add in a little love interest in the devastatingly handsome (but also creepy) Samuel, who appears to be an 18 year old boy, but might be much, much more.

"All the people I love end up dead." This seems to be the mantra for Callie as her story continues to unfold in this wonderful series! What's not to love when you have a Circus where someone is killed every month, zombies inhabit the swamps along with the alligators and snakes, and ghosts come back to life every time the Circus opens?

Without giving away too much of the plot, Ms. Loth has managed once again to rip out her reader's hearts and throw them against the wall in this series. Be prepared to have a couple of good cries as you read this one!

Kimberly Loth has created a unique world and cast of characters and when some of these characters die (or do they?), the reader feels like they have lost a friend. The worst part about reading the last in a series is not being able to interact with the characters anymore.

This series is geared at the YA crowd, but don't let that fool you. There is plenty of magic, voodoo, zombies, witches, villains, romance and tension in this series. The ending was perfect and I loved the twist at the end that opens up the possibilities of more books set in this world.

The narrator, Sarah Puckett, does a great job and adds a lot to an already wonderful series I was given the chance to listen to this book by the author and chose to review it.

loved it

I couldn't stop listening. it was a good storyline and I loved the ending. I want more.

Good story

This was a good series I liked how well the author painted the background of the scenes

needed a little gore!

story was good, i enjoyed it but it missed a few obvious points, Kelly seemed like an airhead at times

Loved it

The narrator made this book easy to listen to. Wish there were more books. Looking for more of her books !

only finished because I already bought it

I was pretty excited reading the premise of this book however it was a let down. The main character was whiney the love interests in the story where falling over themselves for no reason. The main character is also supposed to be this all powerful witch who outsmarted 2 other magical beings who have studied for years while she studied for a few weeks..... I sadly couldn't wait for this story to be over

Has tons of potential

I’m not a huge fan of this narrator, she made the MC sound like a bit of a ditzy brat. The story is pretty unique as far as not being super predictable it still had quite a few predictable story lines. There was a lot of “this but that” going on throughout the whole story. Like the MC would think this should be impossible but it’s happening so it must be true sort of things. Also she didn’t even question who was behind her coming to the island until way after she should have. It could have been a great story with a little more finesse from the author and narrator , but fell short.