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Unfixed #1
Unfixed
Julia Trencher has died. Twice. But Geppetto’s Circus of Strange Marvels offers hope of others like her—a place she could be welcomed, celebrated even. She didn’t know it would lead to herself and the circus vanishing amidst a mysterious fire.
Now, all that remains are the historical circus wagons at the edge of town and a darkness that a young man Max can’t seem to shake. As Max investigates the enchanted circus claims and the Trenchers abandoned mansion, the line between villains and sidekicks blurs, and revealing the circus’ secrets may come at the cost of confronting his own.
Now, all that remains are the historical circus wagons at the edge of town and a darkness that a young man Max can’t seem to shake. As Max investigates the enchanted circus claims and the Trenchers abandoned mansion, the line between villains and sidekicks blurs, and revealing the circus’ secrets may come at the cost of confronting his own.
- GenresFantasy
338 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2024
7 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Amy L. Sauder
3 books14 followersAmy L. Sauder writes stories of enchantments and secrets, including the Unfixed duology and I Know You Like a Murder. She lives on the edge of an enchanted wood with her husband Josh and her mannequin Delilah.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 22, 2024
Thank you to Amy L Sauder for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Julia Trencher has died. Twice. But Geppetto’s Circus of Strange Marvels offers hope of others like her—a place she could be welcomed, celebrated even. She didn’t know it would lead to herself and the circus vanishing amidst a mysterious fire. Now, all that remains are the historical circus wagons at the edge of town and a darkness that a young man Max can’t seem to shake. As Max investigates the enchanted circus claims and the Trenchers abandoned mansion, the line between villains and sidekicks blurs, and revealing the circus’ secrets may come at the cost of confronting his own.
Julia wants a life where she doesn’t feel like an outcast. So when she comes across the circus, she thinks all her prayers and wishes are answered. It was interesting to see Julia’s side of things, especially with her … oddity. But I do feel she was a little impulsive and naive with the decisions she made. There are so many things I felt she could have done, but she seemed to steer away from any rational thought and just jump in, uncaring of any possibly consequences. I don’t like where she ended up and I feel that despite having such a large presence in this book, she immediately falls to the wayside.
Max seeks answers but doesn’t know how to seek them. He is extremely persistent over the course of the book to understand who he is and what has gone on, perhaps to his detriment. I wasn’t so keen on Max’s perspective on things. It was jumbled and incredibly opinionated - leaning towards negative for a lot of it. I found myself wanting to skip his chapters.
When the author reached out to me to see if I would like to review her book, the blurb intrigued me. A story with a circus vibe filled with mystery? I am eager to read! The plot was pretty good, though I’ll admit that I found myself confused for a lot of this story! I’ll hold my hands up to it! I do think it is perhaps the author’s intention because we are all wondering what has happened but I did find it taxing to keep up. Of course, this could be because my brain isn’t on right - I’ve been having a lot of these moments recently! Sometimes my brain doesn’t entirely compute what I’m reading so I don’t take it all in. Despite this, I did like the whole shrouded in mystery vibe this story has throughout. It added an element of eagerness to see what was going to happen. The characters weren’t too bad but I did feel they were rather surface level. Again, this very well may have been intentional but I felt like I was missing a connection with them - some spark that would allow me to empathise with them, or be eagerly by their side. I needed deeper details, needed a bit more personality and needed to get to know them much more. The ending is deliberately left open-ended but I have to admit I wasn’t keen. I had so many questions and frankly felt confused about what I’d just read. As I’ve said before, it could just be that my brain hasn’t been in the right headspace for this book but I just wanted so much more. I’m giving this book 3 stars because I do appreciate the work that went into it and it did have its good moments, though perhaps it’s more of a 2.5.
Overall, Unfixed is a story that sadly didn’t click with me but I do recommend others give a read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you again to Amy L Sauder for an advanced copy of this book.
Julia Trencher has died. Twice. But Geppetto’s Circus of Strange Marvels offers hope of others like her—a place she could be welcomed, celebrated even. She didn’t know it would lead to herself and the circus vanishing amidst a mysterious fire. Now, all that remains are the historical circus wagons at the edge of town and a darkness that a young man Max can’t seem to shake. As Max investigates the enchanted circus claims and the Trenchers abandoned mansion, the line between villains and sidekicks blurs, and revealing the circus’ secrets may come at the cost of confronting his own.
Julia wants a life where she doesn’t feel like an outcast. So when she comes across the circus, she thinks all her prayers and wishes are answered. It was interesting to see Julia’s side of things, especially with her … oddity. But I do feel she was a little impulsive and naive with the decisions she made. There are so many things I felt she could have done, but she seemed to steer away from any rational thought and just jump in, uncaring of any possibly consequences. I don’t like where she ended up and I feel that despite having such a large presence in this book, she immediately falls to the wayside.
Max seeks answers but doesn’t know how to seek them. He is extremely persistent over the course of the book to understand who he is and what has gone on, perhaps to his detriment. I wasn’t so keen on Max’s perspective on things. It was jumbled and incredibly opinionated - leaning towards negative for a lot of it. I found myself wanting to skip his chapters.
When the author reached out to me to see if I would like to review her book, the blurb intrigued me. A story with a circus vibe filled with mystery? I am eager to read! The plot was pretty good, though I’ll admit that I found myself confused for a lot of this story! I’ll hold my hands up to it! I do think it is perhaps the author’s intention because we are all wondering what has happened but I did find it taxing to keep up. Of course, this could be because my brain isn’t on right - I’ve been having a lot of these moments recently! Sometimes my brain doesn’t entirely compute what I’m reading so I don’t take it all in. Despite this, I did like the whole shrouded in mystery vibe this story has throughout. It added an element of eagerness to see what was going to happen. The characters weren’t too bad but I did feel they were rather surface level. Again, this very well may have been intentional but I felt like I was missing a connection with them - some spark that would allow me to empathise with them, or be eagerly by their side. I needed deeper details, needed a bit more personality and needed to get to know them much more. The ending is deliberately left open-ended but I have to admit I wasn’t keen. I had so many questions and frankly felt confused about what I’d just read. As I’ve said before, it could just be that my brain hasn’t been in the right headspace for this book but I just wanted so much more. I’m giving this book 3 stars because I do appreciate the work that went into it and it did have its good moments, though perhaps it’s more of a 2.5.
Overall, Unfixed is a story that sadly didn’t click with me but I do recommend others give a read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you again to Amy L Sauder for an advanced copy of this book.
October 26, 2024
(2.5 / 5)
A mysterious circus in a barley field becomes a pivotal point for two intersecting storylines—one before the fire that destroyed the circus and one after. As Max looks for Julia, the last person to join the circus before the fire, the story of Julia joining the circus unfolds for the reader. This circus, though, is not ordinary. With living puppets, each of whom has a special power, there's much more going on than meets the eye.
Urban fantasy is not my normal fare, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by an "enchanted circus." The author did a great job with the dark, mysterious atmosphere, and there is certainly some intrigue involved. Unfortunately for me, I struggled to follow the story most of the way through. Dialog between characters often felt like a peek into a longer discussion I wasn't privy to. I had the feeling of "just hang in there until it makes sense" for a lot longer than I prefer in a book, and by the end, I was still left with a lot of questions and things that didn't make sense. A cliffhanger or an open-ended book is fine sometimes, but not when there are this many questions, this many bizarre things that don't get any kind of explanation. I won't list them, because most could be seen as spoilers. Maybe these questions will be answered in the 2nd book of the duology, and I don't mind some questions being left for a future book to resolve. But I really feel like nothing was resolved in this book, and some of what's left hanging seems fundamental to the plot, which makes this first book difficult to enjoy.
When I read a self-published book, it is my intention not to let things that a professional editor would help with affect my view too much. I’m not saying that there is no burden of responsibility here, but it’s harder for self-published authors. So while it did not affect my rating, I will at least mention that the narration tends to switch between past and present tense—Max's sections are in present tense but switch to past, and vice versa for Julia's sections. It can detract from the book for some, so let that be a warning. Also, there's a torture scene, which is feels out of place to me and gets a bit graphic for my taste. In the end, I wish I liked the book more, but I think it’s just a bit too muddled and dark for me. Perhaps I’m the wrong audience for a story like this, but if you have any interest in the book, please still consider reading it for yourself.
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
A mysterious circus in a barley field becomes a pivotal point for two intersecting storylines—one before the fire that destroyed the circus and one after. As Max looks for Julia, the last person to join the circus before the fire, the story of Julia joining the circus unfolds for the reader. This circus, though, is not ordinary. With living puppets, each of whom has a special power, there's much more going on than meets the eye.
Urban fantasy is not my normal fare, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by an "enchanted circus." The author did a great job with the dark, mysterious atmosphere, and there is certainly some intrigue involved. Unfortunately for me, I struggled to follow the story most of the way through. Dialog between characters often felt like a peek into a longer discussion I wasn't privy to. I had the feeling of "just hang in there until it makes sense" for a lot longer than I prefer in a book, and by the end, I was still left with a lot of questions and things that didn't make sense. A cliffhanger or an open-ended book is fine sometimes, but not when there are this many questions, this many bizarre things that don't get any kind of explanation. I won't list them, because most could be seen as spoilers. Maybe these questions will be answered in the 2nd book of the duology, and I don't mind some questions being left for a future book to resolve. But I really feel like nothing was resolved in this book, and some of what's left hanging seems fundamental to the plot, which makes this first book difficult to enjoy.
When I read a self-published book, it is my intention not to let things that a professional editor would help with affect my view too much. I’m not saying that there is no burden of responsibility here, but it’s harder for self-published authors. So while it did not affect my rating, I will at least mention that the narration tends to switch between past and present tense—Max's sections are in present tense but switch to past, and vice versa for Julia's sections. It can detract from the book for some, so let that be a warning. Also, there's a torture scene, which is feels out of place to me and gets a bit graphic for my taste. In the end, I wish I liked the book more, but I think it’s just a bit too muddled and dark for me. Perhaps I’m the wrong audience for a story like this, but if you have any interest in the book, please still consider reading it for yourself.
I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.
October 23, 2024
I am a sucker for unique styles, as long as they have a strong voice and the story is compelling. This book has both. I spent a lot of the book delightfully confused, but it was clear that I was going to figure it out if I just stuck with these people and heard them out.
The characters are fascinating in their strengths and flaws, their histories and the way they come together. The villains aren’t always villainous and the heroes aren’t always heroic and I was left guessing at many turns.
Some of these twists left me gasping with how visceral and brutal they were, the terrible things these characters could and would do to each other. The descriptions had me wincing in pain and disgust in the best way. I can say going into this I wasn’t expecting the horror aspect but it is there and I am here for it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m looking forward to the sequel, because (WARNING) this one ends on a cliffhanger that had me shrieking at my ereader. Poor thing takes so much verbal abuse.
Unfixed dug its claws in and isn’t letting go anytime soon. Highly recommend!
I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
The characters are fascinating in their strengths and flaws, their histories and the way they come together. The villains aren’t always villainous and the heroes aren’t always heroic and I was left guessing at many turns.
Some of these twists left me gasping with how visceral and brutal they were, the terrible things these characters could and would do to each other. The descriptions had me wincing in pain and disgust in the best way. I can say going into this I wasn’t expecting the horror aspect but it is there and I am here for it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m looking forward to the sequel, because (WARNING) this one ends on a cliffhanger that had me shrieking at my ereader. Poor thing takes so much verbal abuse.
Unfixed dug its claws in and isn’t letting go anytime soon. Highly recommend!
I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 17, 2024
What I Did Like:
+That cover 😍
+The opening chapter had a GREAT tone. It sets up the story well and plays into that circus vibe by starting with a narrator letting us in on the start of a show.
+The mystery is compelling. Having many of your chapters follow our unlikely detective, himself trying to unlock the secrets of the circus, adds an element to the story that gives it depth.
+Julia’s gift is original in the best way. Truly this alone will spark wonderful conversations about gifts vs curses and keep the interest of many a book club or reader. Even after reading tons of circus style fantasy, that was a new one for me.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of fantasy stories set in circuses. This one is one with elements you haven’t heard but that vibe you crave from the circus. Mysterious, dangerous, and intriguing, this one will captivate you.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2024/10/...
+That cover 😍
+The opening chapter had a GREAT tone. It sets up the story well and plays into that circus vibe by starting with a narrator letting us in on the start of a show.
+The mystery is compelling. Having many of your chapters follow our unlikely detective, himself trying to unlock the secrets of the circus, adds an element to the story that gives it depth.
+Julia’s gift is original in the best way. Truly this alone will spark wonderful conversations about gifts vs curses and keep the interest of many a book club or reader. Even after reading tons of circus style fantasy, that was a new one for me.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of fantasy stories set in circuses. This one is one with elements you haven’t heard but that vibe you crave from the circus. Mysterious, dangerous, and intriguing, this one will captivate you.
My Rating: 4 Stars
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2024/10/...
November 26, 2024
Wow! I really enjoyed reading Unfixed by Amy Sauder. If you enjoyed reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I think you will enjoy reading this as well. This is an interesting tale about a bizarre, enchanted circus and the lives of the circus "performers". The story is written in two interesting points of view that really adds to the mystery and will keep you guessing until the end how things will go. A word of warning, in the beginning I had a hard time following the story because of the different points of view, but I promise if you keep reading it all comes together and you will be so glad you kept reading. The author did a great job with descriptive writing, I could imagine everything that took place, even though it was really beyond my own imagination. I definitely recommend this book!
January 13, 2025
Here you have your ultimate mystery: A circus has burnt down and all its members have disappeared. You're here trying to figure out what has happened since your first memory is from that circus. Everything else is gone from your memory, including your name. You call yourself Max.
While you investigate what you can, the book also shows Julia's point of view, a girl who ran from home to join this circus. She feels trapped in her life between her parents and an endless series of operations to repair her when she magically falls apart. It's better to hope in a magical circus where she can be part of the show.
These two plot threads continue with a wild array of lying magical characters until they collide in a dramatic end--to the book, not the series.
Fans of mysteries and magical realism will love this book. It wasn't my cup of tea.
While you investigate what you can, the book also shows Julia's point of view, a girl who ran from home to join this circus. She feels trapped in her life between her parents and an endless series of operations to repair her when she magically falls apart. It's better to hope in a magical circus where she can be part of the show.
These two plot threads continue with a wild array of lying magical characters until they collide in a dramatic end--to the book, not the series.
Fans of mysteries and magical realism will love this book. It wasn't my cup of tea.
March 16, 2025
“Unfixed” introduces Julia Trencher. Julia’s got some “oddities”, so when she finds Geppetto’s Circus of Strange Marvels, she can’t help but hope she’s found somewhere she can fit in.
Overall, I was a bit torn on this one. Told by competing point of views and timelines, the story follows Julia in the past and Max in the present. However, the timelines are mixed together, starting/stopping, and skipping around. It provides a bit of confusion while reading, especially for the start of the novel. Find the full blog review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
Overall, I was a bit torn on this one. Told by competing point of views and timelines, the story follows Julia in the past and Max in the present. However, the timelines are mixed together, starting/stopping, and skipping around. It provides a bit of confusion while reading, especially for the start of the novel. Find the full blog review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
October 16, 2024
The narrative style is compelling, skill-fully shifting between different perspectives and timelines. The world-building and character development are executed with great finesse, ensuring that readers remain engaged and consistently surprised. The intricately planned twists and turns contribute to a richly immersive experience. The author has delivered an outstanding piece of work.
January 22, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the magical yet peculiar circus vibe that completely immersed me into the story. The characters were well developed, each with their own mysterious oddity and distinct personality. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me quickly turning the pages, curious to know more. I’m looking forward to book two!
November 23, 2024
This took me about 100 pages to really get into and feel like I really had a grasp on things and then I couldn't put it down as everything fell into place. I enjoyed this read and it's unique style and am looking forward to learning more in book 2.
December 31, 2024
A circus fantasy that involves detaching body parts, magical contracts, and a mysterious fire. I loved the quirky and colorful cast of characters and was delighted at all the twists and turns. I am unsure where the next book will take me, but I’m eager to find out!
December 27, 2024
Full review now up on the blog: https://www.thewritinggreyhound.co.uk...
The first instalment in the Unfixed series is a dark and enigmatic tale that promises mystery and intrigue but ultimately falls short of its ambitious premise. Though it showcases a striking cover and a tantalising blurb, the novel struggles with pacing, accessibility, and character engagement, leaving readers more perplexed than enchanted.
The first instalment in the Unfixed series is a dark and enigmatic tale that promises mystery and intrigue but ultimately falls short of its ambitious premise. Though it showcases a striking cover and a tantalising blurb, the novel struggles with pacing, accessibility, and character engagement, leaving readers more perplexed than enchanted.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews