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Sisters of the Circus
As Noor pulled the curtain back and stepped up to the mirror to view herself, she gasped.
She looked as if she’d been dipped in liquid gold. The fabric moulded to her like a second skin. Each time she twisted and turned the light reflected off her body like the ocean at sunset. The attendant handed her gold cuffs to slip onto her ankles. She dragged a chair to face the mirror and sat down to watch her sister’s reaction. Kahina’s eyes widened as she gave her body a once-over.
Trapeze-artist twins Kahina and Noor are one of a kind. Kidnapped from their home in India, they were sold to a travelling circus in Europe at four years old. Now it’s the Roaring Twenties, the girls are twenty-one, and they want to escape their circus trailer and abusive ringmaster and make their way to India to find their birth parents.
The circus world is all they the daily drills in technique; the fittings for sumptuous costumes that will make their dark complexions shine and keep customers rolling up to buy tickets; the blue-and-white striped tent with its coloured lights and the smell of popped kernels and melted caramel wafting through the stands; and their renowned double two young women leaping, tumbling and soaring above the audience.
Yet beyond its glamour, Garrett’s circus is rife with cruelty. You’re only as good as your last trapeze act, and secrets behind the curtain are sinister enough to kill.
When Kahina is forced to train a handsome new recruit in the art of trapeze work, his disdain for rules pushes her out of her comfort zone and ignites a sequence of events that threaten to force the sisters apart.
Laila Manack’s debut novel is a vivid tale of the power of sisterhood and womanhood, trust and self-worth, flying and falling and getting up again, no matter what.
She looked as if she’d been dipped in liquid gold. The fabric moulded to her like a second skin. Each time she twisted and turned the light reflected off her body like the ocean at sunset. The attendant handed her gold cuffs to slip onto her ankles. She dragged a chair to face the mirror and sat down to watch her sister’s reaction. Kahina’s eyes widened as she gave her body a once-over.
Trapeze-artist twins Kahina and Noor are one of a kind. Kidnapped from their home in India, they were sold to a travelling circus in Europe at four years old. Now it’s the Roaring Twenties, the girls are twenty-one, and they want to escape their circus trailer and abusive ringmaster and make their way to India to find their birth parents.
The circus world is all they the daily drills in technique; the fittings for sumptuous costumes that will make their dark complexions shine and keep customers rolling up to buy tickets; the blue-and-white striped tent with its coloured lights and the smell of popped kernels and melted caramel wafting through the stands; and their renowned double two young women leaping, tumbling and soaring above the audience.
Yet beyond its glamour, Garrett’s circus is rife with cruelty. You’re only as good as your last trapeze act, and secrets behind the curtain are sinister enough to kill.
When Kahina is forced to train a handsome new recruit in the art of trapeze work, his disdain for rules pushes her out of her comfort zone and ignites a sequence of events that threaten to force the sisters apart.
Laila Manack’s debut novel is a vivid tale of the power of sisterhood and womanhood, trust and self-worth, flying and falling and getting up again, no matter what.
345 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 13, 2023
“Nothing worth having ever comes without risk. You defy death for a living - nobody knows that better than you”
December 12, 2022
** Review and PenguinBooks PR post**
Sisters of the Circus
By Laila Manack
Rated: 🌟 🌟 🌟
Trapeze-artist twins Kahina and Noor are one of a kind. Kidnapped from their home in India, they were sold to a travelling circus in Europe at four years old. Now it's the Roaring Twenties, the girls are twenty-one, and they want to escape their circus trailer and abusive ringmaster and make their way to India to find their birth parents.
This book took me a bit of a while to really get into it,and I may have not been in the right space when i started it as a buddy read with @where.the.pages.bleed ,but after picking it up again and nearly over halfway through,it had me hooked!
Although a slow start, I couldn't help but be amazed with the descriptions of the circus throughout! Attention to detail was amazing!
I loved that the author touched on really important issues througout this book..with GBV, animal and human torture and slavery(because essentially this is what buying and selling people is) being some of the trigger warnings!
I also loved that both Noor and Kahini, even though being out of their country from such a young age were still able to give us glimpses of their Heritage and Culture!
I wanted a little more love.. maybe because I wanted them to get more happiness,but felt that was missing(although I guess that is life hey??) 🙈 Guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings!
But.. that said.. after chatting to the author, I believe this is book1 in a duology and series... so here's me holding on to my seat and waiting for more from Kahina and Noor!! Eeeek! The end was so action-packed and so much happened...that I need to know MORE! I need CLOSURE! 😫
This book was gifted to me by @penguinbookssouthafrica @penguinbooksya as a review copy,so a big thank you to the Penguin Team ❤️
This is also a book by a fellow South African and ya'll know I love promoting our local talent on here!! Spread the LOVE!
And thank you bestie @where.the.pages.bleed for buddy reading this with me!
#books #Bookstagram #booklover #bookworm #bookmail #PenguinRandomHouseSouthAfrica #ProudlySouthAfrican #LocalTalent #SupportLocal #BookmarkMyWorld
Sisters of the Circus
By Laila Manack
Rated: 🌟 🌟 🌟
Trapeze-artist twins Kahina and Noor are one of a kind. Kidnapped from their home in India, they were sold to a travelling circus in Europe at four years old. Now it's the Roaring Twenties, the girls are twenty-one, and they want to escape their circus trailer and abusive ringmaster and make their way to India to find their birth parents.
This book took me a bit of a while to really get into it,and I may have not been in the right space when i started it as a buddy read with @where.the.pages.bleed ,but after picking it up again and nearly over halfway through,it had me hooked!
Although a slow start, I couldn't help but be amazed with the descriptions of the circus throughout! Attention to detail was amazing!
I loved that the author touched on really important issues througout this book..with GBV, animal and human torture and slavery(because essentially this is what buying and selling people is) being some of the trigger warnings!
I also loved that both Noor and Kahini, even though being out of their country from such a young age were still able to give us glimpses of their Heritage and Culture!
I wanted a little more love.. maybe because I wanted them to get more happiness,but felt that was missing(although I guess that is life hey??) 🙈 Guess I'm just a sucker for happy endings!
But.. that said.. after chatting to the author, I believe this is book1 in a duology and series... so here's me holding on to my seat and waiting for more from Kahina and Noor!! Eeeek! The end was so action-packed and so much happened...that I need to know MORE! I need CLOSURE! 😫
This book was gifted to me by @penguinbookssouthafrica @penguinbooksya as a review copy,so a big thank you to the Penguin Team ❤️
This is also a book by a fellow South African and ya'll know I love promoting our local talent on here!! Spread the LOVE!
And thank you bestie @where.the.pages.bleed for buddy reading this with me!
#books #Bookstagram #booklover #bookworm #bookmail #PenguinRandomHouseSouthAfrica #ProudlySouthAfrican #LocalTalent #SupportLocal #BookmarkMyWorld
January 6, 2023
I loved the loved the flow of the book. You were constantly eating up the story. Very well written and I would recommend that all South Africans read it because its not the typical South African author story.
December 7, 2023
What drew me to Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack is that I'm a huge fan of stories about performers that are set in liminal spaces such as theatres and circuses. This story introduces as to twins Kahina and Noor, who together perform a trapeze act in a circus. This life is all they know, although they are aware that they were sold to the circus owner, Garret, when they were very young – so in essence, they are slaves.
Although the setting is nominally European, and it's suggested that the story takes place during the interwar period, the focus is very much on the microcosm of the circus and the small dramas that play out beyond the eyes and ears of the audience. Theirs is a tight-knit, often toxic community, and Noor and Kahina endure much cruelty.
It's a kind of love-hate situation, because undeniably performance offers one heck of a kick to the sisters, and this is the only life that these two young women know. Although they can conceive of a life beyond that which is familiar, it is understandably difficult for them to break from the routine – until events conspire that see Kahina training a mysterious young man to be part of her act. Central to the plot is almost a coming of age, as the sisters struggle with notions of identity and a claiming of agency out of an oppressive space.
All this plays out against the somewhat exotic background (for those of us not in the business, of course) of circus life and the often harsh realities the performers face when they're not in the ring. Kahina and Noor soon discover that there is a bigger, more dangerous game at play, and while they navigate and negotiate the terms of their potential freedom, they face many risks while bigger players revel in their machinations.
This was, largely, an enjoyable read. I did feel that the editing for this book could have been a bit sharper – I picked up quite a few obvious typos and grammatical errors. And not just copy editing, but I felt that the story itself, while it has a strong start, becomes a little muddled towards the end, as if Manack wasn't quite sure where to end it and the developmental editor either didn't leave strong hints or these edits were rushed and not implemented. It could be a combination of all these, which I've seen played out with otherwise awesome books over the years. Some pretty exciting stuff happens plot wise, but I often feel as if Noor and Kahina are carried along by events rather than having a firmer hand in steering them. I also would have liked to have seen more attention paid to differentiating their voices, as I often struggled to tell the two apart.
All things considered, this is still a great little story, left open ended enough for continuation. Manack's voice is fresh, and she weaves a compelling tale in the kind of setting that should appeal to those of us still sore about the fact that a series like Carnivale was canned after only two seasons.
Although the setting is nominally European, and it's suggested that the story takes place during the interwar period, the focus is very much on the microcosm of the circus and the small dramas that play out beyond the eyes and ears of the audience. Theirs is a tight-knit, often toxic community, and Noor and Kahina endure much cruelty.
It's a kind of love-hate situation, because undeniably performance offers one heck of a kick to the sisters, and this is the only life that these two young women know. Although they can conceive of a life beyond that which is familiar, it is understandably difficult for them to break from the routine – until events conspire that see Kahina training a mysterious young man to be part of her act. Central to the plot is almost a coming of age, as the sisters struggle with notions of identity and a claiming of agency out of an oppressive space.
All this plays out against the somewhat exotic background (for those of us not in the business, of course) of circus life and the often harsh realities the performers face when they're not in the ring. Kahina and Noor soon discover that there is a bigger, more dangerous game at play, and while they navigate and negotiate the terms of their potential freedom, they face many risks while bigger players revel in their machinations.
This was, largely, an enjoyable read. I did feel that the editing for this book could have been a bit sharper – I picked up quite a few obvious typos and grammatical errors. And not just copy editing, but I felt that the story itself, while it has a strong start, becomes a little muddled towards the end, as if Manack wasn't quite sure where to end it and the developmental editor either didn't leave strong hints or these edits were rushed and not implemented. It could be a combination of all these, which I've seen played out with otherwise awesome books over the years. Some pretty exciting stuff happens plot wise, but I often feel as if Noor and Kahina are carried along by events rather than having a firmer hand in steering them. I also would have liked to have seen more attention paid to differentiating their voices, as I often struggled to tell the two apart.
All things considered, this is still a great little story, left open ended enough for continuation. Manack's voice is fresh, and she weaves a compelling tale in the kind of setting that should appeal to those of us still sore about the fact that a series like Carnivale was canned after only two seasons.
May 19, 2024
Another great South African author to enjoy!!!
Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack (@lailamanack) follows trapeze artist twins Kahina and Noor who have been travelling Europe with Cirque du Ciel. ever since they were stolen from India when they were 4. Set during the 1920s, it is a time of great highs, and horrible lows. The highs include their makeshift family of circus performers and having each other. The lows include their abusive boss Garret, the economic crisis as well as the threat of new people entering the troupe.
Noor is passionate, loving and seeks rebellion. Kahina is methodical, a workaholic and cautious. While no one can doubt their love for each other, events to come may lead them to the unthinkable.... Their separation.
I adored the setting and characters. Kahina and Noor sucked you into their thoughts and felt you worried for them. The rest of the cast were also really interesting. Loved Dadi, Kel and Teo to name a few. I almost wished I could have spent more time with them, which I would say is a good thing!
While I loved the mystery and build up, and thought the tension was really well done, I do think the set up for the third act could have been clearer. BUT I did get stressed and, if this gets a sequel, I'm definitely invested in learning what happens next!
You can't end the story just like that!!!!
If you love stories about the Circus, siblings, love of all types and historical fiction, give this a try! If you've read this book, what did you think?
Sisters of the Circus by Laila Manack (@lailamanack) follows trapeze artist twins Kahina and Noor who have been travelling Europe with Cirque du Ciel. ever since they were stolen from India when they were 4. Set during the 1920s, it is a time of great highs, and horrible lows. The highs include their makeshift family of circus performers and having each other. The lows include their abusive boss Garret, the economic crisis as well as the threat of new people entering the troupe.
Noor is passionate, loving and seeks rebellion. Kahina is methodical, a workaholic and cautious. While no one can doubt their love for each other, events to come may lead them to the unthinkable.... Their separation.
I adored the setting and characters. Kahina and Noor sucked you into their thoughts and felt you worried for them. The rest of the cast were also really interesting. Loved Dadi, Kel and Teo to name a few. I almost wished I could have spent more time with them, which I would say is a good thing!
While I loved the mystery and build up, and thought the tension was really well done, I do think the set up for the third act could have been clearer. BUT I did get stressed and, if this gets a sequel, I'm definitely invested in learning what happens next!
You can't end the story just like that!!!!
If you love stories about the Circus, siblings, love of all types and historical fiction, give this a try! If you've read this book, what did you think?
August 5, 2023
This was a DNF for me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews