Title: The Carnival Keepers
Author: Amber Gulley
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Publisher: World Castle
Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: October 10, 2016
Rating: 4/5 "Really
Liked It!"
Find it on Amazon!
I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
Prologue
This night seems
still, yet the wind pushes galleons of stormy intent in an unbroken flow across
a web of moonlit clouds that stretch, sticky and endless, in all directions,
perversely trapping the outer greatness of the universe and occasionally
revealing a cold, white blink of starlight.
It was a night very
much like this one, the night that I lost everything. Which is hardly
surprising, because that night was exactly one year ago to the day. Of course,
I’m not at all drunk, the way I was back then. I sometimes wonder if I might
remember things differently if I had been sober at the time or perhaps even
just less drunk. I don’t know. Hindsight makes fools of us all, at one time or
another. Still, no matter how I remember it, it is nights like these that keep
me coming back here, to stand in the spot where the gates of my old home used
to be.
As I stand here so
still in the darkness, waiting for what I cannot tell, there is tension in my
shoulders and a lump in my throat. And it’s not just the deep anticipation of
the terrible things conjured by my psyche and the darkened wilderness before
me. It’s not childhood reminiscences or even regret for the loss of my home,
although I will admit that I miss my old life very much.
I stand here waiting
for answers, but even the voices in my head, the voices of conscience, have
left me. I suppose silence is their way of punishing me. Because, without them,
the reality of everything that happened cannot be buried or put away or sorted
through to make me feel better. And so here I stand, remembering all the
terror, the madness, the memories of blood and fear, each event that led to
that one final, terrible event. The moment when I lost the treasure of my
treasures, my Laura. Oh, Laura! This world is a terrible place without you!
But, of course, she
does not answer my silent cries. Not a creature stirs within the woodland where
my home used to be, but I dare not set foot inside its boundaries. Even when I
fancy that I can hear laughter or whispered voices through the trees, I dare
not search its cursed pathways. Why? Because I am a coward.
Description from
GoodReads
It's 1879, and James, a time-wasting
escapist, is trying to win a bet. His challenges include purchasing a
lighthouse, hosting a séance, and spending the night with his father's
prize-winning stallion in a notoriously haunted attic. But the Carnival is in
town for the All Hallows' Eve celebrations, and the London fog has other ideas
for James. Something vicious is waiting to pounce and lead him unwittingly
towards a destiny he could never have imagined.
My Thoughts
WOW! I loved this book! I
am so happy that I was asked to participate in this tour because it introduced
me to Amber Gulley and this wonderful book!
At first, I was a little bit unsure of
the sheer multitude of point of view switches and story lines that Gulley
expects you to keep track of. There is so much going on that I was
worried nothing would come back together again. BUT IT DID! I loved
that although she swings you round and round on wild ride of confusion and
suspense, Gulley made dang sure that you would see how everyone was connected
to everyone else. There was absolutely no confusion about what had
happened by the end of the novel.
Not only were the characters
wonderfully intertwined, they were realistic and well-developed. It was
so easy to understand how Arry and Robby become the best of friends. It was so
natural to see several of the characters look up to Mr. Scraps as a father figure.
My favorite character, however, was Collin the elephant. I loved
that he was so loving, patient, kind, and headstrong. He's very shut off
until it comes to Vanessa, who seems to be the only one who is afraid of him.
Doesn't that just figure?
I was also impressed by Gulley's
ability to add dark humor and seriously funny moments into such a dark novel. I
have seen so many authors neglect comic moments in order to keep the audience
in a dark mood. Gulley would have lost so much had she decided to write
in that vein. Rather than keeping us depressed, Gulley brings us to a
high point of suspense and then makes us laugh. Then, she destroys our laughter
with the next horrible or suspenseful thing. I was on the edge of my seat
the entire time!
This book sent me on a whirlwind
adventure that I was able to experience through the eyes of several characters.
I look forward to reading it again!
About the Author
Amber Gulley moved from Australia,
where she was a qualified massage therapist, to the south of Spain, where she
could, amongst other loves, write books and spend as much time in the ocean as
possible.
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