Hello creatures of the night,

Welcome to another book review! I haven’t read a vampire novel in some time, so today I’m reviewing Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare (The Saga of Darren Shan #1) by Darren Shan. 

I watched the film adaptation of this book series back when it came out and loved it, so I figured I’d see if the book was just as good. Let’s see how it went!

Blurb

Darren Shan and his best friend, Steve, get tickets to the Cirque Du Freak, a wonderfully gothic freak show featuring weird, frightening half human/half animals who interact terrifyingly with the audience. In the midst of the excitement, true terror raises its head when Steve recognizes that one of the performers– Mr. Crepsley– is a vampire!

Steve remains after the show finishes to confront the vampire– but his motives are surprising! In the shadows of a crumbling theater, a horrified Darren eavesdrops on his friend and the vampire, and is witness to a monstrous, disturbing plea. As if by destiny, Darren is pulled to Mr. Crepsley and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.
This is Darren’s story.

GoodReads

Amazon

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The Review

I absolutely loved this read!

In this series starter we follow young Darren. He lives a mundane life with his family and friends, but that all changes when his friend shows up with a flyer to a freak show. Only able to secure two tickets, he and his friend Steve attend the show, where bizarre individuals perform feats no human is capable of. As Darren finds himself allured by the performance, he embarks on a journey that will change his life forever.

This one really knocked it out of the ball park. The writing instantly drew me in, and each page flowed so seamlessly it was hard to put down. The chapters are nice and short, so what’s one more, five more, ten more? I couldn’t get enough.

Darren is a good teen. He cares about his family and friends, and he has this curiosity and kindness that was really endearing. His personal journey centered on friendship and doing the right thing despite terrible odds and consequences. I especially liked his little sister Annie and frenemy Steve.

The pacing is fast with small moments in between to breathe. There was a lot of mystery and fantasy throughout, with a subtle horror element to it that felt more quirky than gruesome. No complaints on this read. If you need a solid fantasy read you can’t go wrong with this one!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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