Darlington Circus: The Eternal Act

by SK Hinkley

Nicole discovers she's been reincarnated once again where she reunites with her eternal husband and the enchanting immortal circus. As memories resurface, she grapples with the mystery of her past life's tragic demise. Defying her usual submissive nature, she confronts Bellamy and Velar, who hold the keys to her forgotten past. As Nicole delves deeper, she must navigate a love triangle, restore the circus's magic, and confront evil forces targeting the Ringmaster's magic. The story unfolds with themes of identity, love, sacrifice, and memory, culminating in a heart-wrenching decision that changes everything.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy

408 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2024

Reviews

[Erika Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like there was real promise with this book, but the tense errors and grammatical errors are pretty distracting. I also struggled to get past the female lead calling her male dominant husband "daddy." Not for me, but I'm sure it will appeal to others. I would be interested in exploring this author's work when they mature into their writing style and find a good editor.

[bobbi]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I wanted to like it, because the premise had so much potential, but I just couldn’t get invested.

This book has an identity crisis. It reads like YA in every way (voice, dialogue, pacing, characterization) but keeps tossing in awkward sexual scenes and “Daddy” references in an attempt to convince you it’s adult. Instead, it just made me cringe and took me completely out of the story.

Unfortunately, the romance didn’t save it either. The MMC did absolutely nothing for me. By 41%, I had zero emotional investment because he was just…there. No charisma, no tension, no chemistry, no time to get to know him.

If the adult content had been removed and the story had fully embraced being YA, I think it might’ve worked better. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with YA…it’s a huge and successful genre! But this felt caught between two audiences and never committed to either.

Ultimately, I realized I was forcing myself to keep reading, and life’s too short for that. This one just wasn’t for me.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this as a giveaway winner, a big thank you to the publisher!

WOW ok I had nooo idea what this book was about when I began reading it. It sounded like a dark fantasy about a vampire circus. While that was somewhat true, the story was mainly about a D & S relationship between a head vampire and his human submissive. I really, REALLY struggled with the main character calling the dominant (Bellamy) “Daddy.” It just…ugh, made me cringe every time. Anything but Daddy. That being said, there were fun and interesting magical components here: witches cursing people, a magically teleporting circus, vampires with insanely powerful magic etc. I enjoyed those parts. This type of read is just not for me, but I think fans of the genre will very much enjoy this fast paced, spicy read.

[Melissa Wiltjer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book quite a bit, it was an intriguing read and chapters were well broken up and easy to move through. I will definitely be checking out the other DC books. The idea of the intermingling of mortal and immortal with the magical circus was an interesting concept.
However, the one thing that did give me some icks during reading was the Daddy-Baby Girl nicknames especially given the fact it was mentioned that the female lead is usually found earlier in her mortal life than she was in this story and she was quite young during this novel.

[Heather Shower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicole arrives at the Darlington Circus expecting a fun day, but instead steps into a world that changes everything, her clothes, her fate, and the truth of who she really is. From the enchanting circus family to the immortal love story, the spice, and the battles with witches, this book swept me away from the first chapter.


A captivating blend of magic, emotion, and destiny. I’m already itching to dive into Book 2.

[Maggie Bruno · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prologue was promising, but I couldn't get past the first few pages of Chapter 1. There are many grammatical errors, especially run-on sentences, which made it difficult to focus on the content of the book. I think this book may have read better in third person.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from page 1, I just had a hard time putting this book down. I felt like I was transported into the story with how well it was written. I loved Nicole I definitely could relate to her character. Its definitely a most read. I promise you won't regret it.

[Deanna]

This wasn’t for me.

[Sonia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Received book as a giveaway.

I was a bit disappointed, as this book was not what I thought it would be. The writing was okay, but shortly into the book, I could tell it was going in a direction that was not for me.