REVIEW: Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

A ballerina, twirling on a wire high above the crowd. Horses, prancing like salsa dancers. Trapeze artists, flying like somersaulting falcons. And magic crackling through the air. Welcome to the Cirque American!

Sixteen-year-old Jules Maroni’s dream is to follow in her father’s footsteps as a high-wire walker. When her family is offered a prestigious role in the new Cirque American, it seems that Jules and the Amazing Maronis will finally get the spotlight they deserve. But the presence of the Flying Garcias may derail her plans. For decades, the two rival families have avoided each other as sworn enemies.

Jules ignores the drama and focuses on the wire, skyrocketing to fame as the girl in a red tutu who dances across the wire at death-defying heights. But when she discovers a peacock feather—an infamous object of bad luck—planted on her costume, Jules nearly loses her footing. She has no choice but to seek help from the unlikeliest of people: Remy Garcia, son of the Garcia clan matriarch and the best trapeze artist in the Cirque.

As more mysterious talismans believed to possess unlucky magic appear, Jules and Remy unite to find the culprit. And if they don’t figure out what’s going on soon, Jules may be the first Maroni to do the unthinkable: fall.

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I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

MY THOUGHTS
Wow! This was such a surprising read!
I've been seeing this book all over the web, but never thought that it would be worth reading. All I knew was that it took place in a circus, which didn't interest me for some reason. I eventually read the synopsis and decided that I should give it a try. I saw that this book has a family rivalry, which I'm always a sucker for.

I was expecting this to me an okay read, but this ended up being such a great book! I was drawn into the book quickly and was immediately glued into the pages. I actually read the entire book in one sitting. Above all, this book is a mystery in a circus setting (a setting which I ended up liking) and I really interesting in how everything played out.

I also ended up liking the romance, which is surprising, but I was shipping it the entire time.

My only issue with this book was how the mystery was resolved. I can't explain without spoilers, but it seemed really unbelieveable and way too much was done for just a small thing. <highlight to view spoiler>All of this over a stupid coin? Really?! I know it's an actually good luck coin, but that's still too much! And how can he be forgiven?!<end of spoiler>

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, a really intriguing mystery with a really great, and new, setting. I had issues with the end, but other than that, this was a really amazing book!
I would definitely recommend it!

I hereby give this book

4 Wheels!

Meaning: It was amazing!