Once Upon A Sideshow

by Brynn Chapman

The year is 1860, and an ancient Crone commands a traveling circus and sideshow, which rolls into St. Simon’s Isle each year.
Violet, obsessed with the sideshow, vows to run away with the circus—to escape her stepfather’s cruelty and his intention to marry her off to an octogenarian.
A dwarf in an offensive, flaming red suit meets her eye in a crowd, promising a new life.
But this year, there is an air of…evil in the sideshow. Its creatures eyes hold a piercing intelligence, their cries altered, eerily humanoid. Whispers float about town of an escaped rogue crocodile that has been consuming livestock, and perhaps a local child.
Violet's refuge, the swamp, sits between her land and the Sideshow. Ball Lightning inhabits the trail, and time there, like the Fae tales of her Celtic heritage, seems unstable.

For Violet, the sideshow embodied freedom…until she became its star.

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 14, 2023

About the author

Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Brynn Chapman is the daughter of two teachers. Her writing reflects her passions: science, history and love—not necessarily in that order. In real life, the geek gene runs strong in her family, as does the Asperger’s syndrome. Her writing reflects her experience as a pediatric therapist and her interactions with society’s downtrodden. In fiction, she’s a strong believer in underdogs and happily-ever-afters. If her ancestry tree is true, she is a descendent of the House of Stuart.



Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brynnchapman...

Reviews

[Jennifer Lynch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really do not know how this got published.

Once Upon A Sideshow by Brynn Chapman follow Violet, a young woman who dreams of two things : leaving St. Simon's Isle to explore and to marry her love, Declan. Her family, specifically her father, only wants to find her a husband and be rid of her, as he only truly cares for her sister, Scarlet. Polar opposites, Violet said to be darkness and Scarlet lightness with appearances matching the descriptions, always have each others backs. So when the carnival comes in with a handsome man and dwarves who catch their eyes, Violet is quick to leave her life behind to escape the things she hates most, captivity and being told what to do. Only to find herself in an even worse position than before as the star of the sideshow. Along with the carnival comes dangerous rumors, making those of St. Simon more scared of night and being alone near the swamp.

From the get go this started off poorly, with the diction, the attempted dialects and phrases, to the plot lines and holes. My main qualm is that this story needed some serious editing. I think there might be an enjoyable story when you get deep down in it. I could not follow what was happening as we kept jumping from character to character without warning.

Kudos to those who were able to see around the areas that needed improvement

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did you read Caraval and think to yourself, I wish this book had slavery and took place in the rural US South in the mid-1800s? If so, I have good news for you...

Once Upon a Sideshow was an...interesting book to say the least. It's a story about unexpected romance and hints of magic and curses. However, before I review any further, I think it is important to note that this book has a LOT of grammatical and spelling errors. The word "believe" is consistently spelled as "beLeive" because one of the character's names is Leiv. Some chapters announce the POVs while others do not; there are several scenes that switch POVs without any indication because each character's voice sounds relatively similar. There are several scenes that feel like they are missing as well. If you are a person who is nitpicky about grammatical errors in books, do not pick this one up.
The plot itself wasn't terrible. The story follows a variety of characters, but the main protagonist is Violet, a girl in love with her childhood best friend - Declan - but who must marry a rich man instead. The first half of the book is mostly Violet's very creepy interactions with Count Cristo, while the second half involves more magic with an also creepy sideshow. There's a fair amount of action and some very unexpected twists, but the ending is quite vague and leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion.
I also struggled to connect with the characters. Violet and Scarlet reminded me a lot of Scarlet and Tella from Caraval, but they lacked the spark of the latter. Declan was okay but a bit bland, and Leiv was okay at first until he made questionable decisions later in the book that I can't explain for spoiler purposes. Violet and Scarlet's mother also got a POV later in the book, but both her and the villain weren't super intriguing to me.
Once Upon a Sideshow probably appeals to a very niche audience...one that I am not a part of.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

2.25/5

[Jessrah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The carnival has come, bringing in its secrets that hide in plain sight. Only those that know them are forbidden to speak on them, and those that accept them do so out of true love.

This book was.. interesting. The story itself was good in some parts. It could have been great, but there were many parts that didn't make sense. There were tons of spelling and grammatical errors, as if the book was never proofread at all. There is a character named Leive in the book, and every time the word "believe" comes up, it is spelled as beLeive??

There are many character shifts in this book, if only to drive the plot. There were a few attempts at stating which character we were following, but soon it turns into the wrong characters being stated and then no character at all.

The ending scenes were abrupt and nonsensical, which was frustrating and disappointing because I had spent so much time reading. I wanted the ending to at least be good (as some points of this book were), but I feel.. nothing after finishing it. Maybe relief, since it's finally over.

Disappointed, as I did want to like this book. I wouldn't fervently recommend it to anyone to be honest.

I've rated this book 2 stars because the idea behind it was interesting, but the issues I stated were enough to take me weeks to finish it.

[stephanie cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once Upon a Sideshow has a lot of potential to be a captivating story, though it feels like it’s still in need of some refining. The characters, while intriguing, could definitely benefit from more depth. I'd love to see their backgrounds and personalities explored further, so we can better understand what they bring to the narrative. As they stand, they start to grow on you, but there’s room for more development to really make them stand out.

The writing style and flow, unfortunately, were the biggest challenge for me. It was difficult to stay fully engaged at times, as the pacing and structure seemed to disrupt the overall immersion. With some revisions, I believe the story could become much more captivating and easier to follow.

I’m definitely curious to see how the book evolves after the editing process. There's a solid foundation here, and I hope the changes will help it reach its full potential.

[Adrianna Heaney-velu · Rating 2 out of 5]

“A storm is rising. Like the one in my heart.”

“Once upon a Sideshow” by Brynn Chapman is about Violet. Violet, lives in a toxic home, loved the sideshow and is determined to run away with it. A dwarf in the show gives her exactly what she wants, a new life.

The cover of this book is beautiful, but it ended up being the only thing I really liked about it. The book has forbidden romance tropes and triggers like abuse. I would have liked the book a lot better if it was in one POV, I think the story would have made a stronger connection with me if I was fully invested with Violet. The book had inconsistencies such as when the sister thinks that she hadn’t realized her sister and mother were being abused by her father until his temper was turned on her but then in her next POV chapter she states that she knew her sister was abused because she saw the bruises she hides. I gave the book a 2 out of 5 stars.

-Circus
-Abuse
-Dwarf
-Forbidden Romance
-Multi POV

[CR · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a mess. I think it has the potential to be amazing but it needs some heavy help with the way it's written. I would say that as it sits I can not see anyone who would enjoy this. It needs to be re-edited with some major fixes. The story was hard to follow and a lot of it was just confusing.

[Becky Rice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has potential but needs more editing. Clearer delineation between characters, etc..