Calico Thunder Rides Again

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Most Fantastic Show on Earth...

Three years ago, the Ban changed everything, outlawing certain forms of magic and bringing about the rise of powerful crime syndicates. Now, speakeasies in every city sell illegal charms and jinxes, and bootleggers traffic restricted potion ingredients across the country. But even in this changing world, the magic of the circus still acts as a wondrous escape and provides entertainment for all.​

Jake Strickland owns one such circus, inherited after an accident ended his career as a rodeo dragon rider. He also inherited the circus’ financial troubles, but since the show became his, he’s slowly managed to turn it into a profitable business once more. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

When a dangerous mobster comes to collect an old debt, Jake resorts to desperate measures to get the money before a strict deadline. With lives and livelihoods at stake, he battles the clock, his responsibilities to the circus, and a longstanding personal grudge that has festered for years. Can he pay back the mob before it’s too late?

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• A mystery set in a fantasy circus.
• All sorts of unique fantasy creatures with different personalities.
• Coworkers coming together to help each other.
• High-stakes manipulation and mystery.

Many thanks to Sanita Street Publishing and TheWriteReads for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Calico Thunder Rides Again is a thrilling mystery set among a fantasy carnival, filled with all sorts of unique creatures and fun characters.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, and it felt a little too short for what it was trying to do. Overall, though, it was a fun read, and I enjoyed the premise and the mythical creatures!

This book came in seventh in the BBNYA competition last year. I didn’t get a chance to read it during BBNYA last year, so I’m thrilled that I had a chance to do so! BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. 

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This story is set in a fantasy circus, filled with unique magical creatures and fun personalities.

I will say right off the bat that I did want a little more world-building, because it was very narrow and focused on the circus. That being said, the circus is a fun place to be, so there’s that, at least! There’s a dragon and griffins and a basilisk and unicorns, and that’s just the animal side of it!

As one might expect, the circus is like a small family, which makes their interactions fun and sometimes fraught.

Which is only exacerbated by the idea that Jake is in just a little (okay, a lot) of trouble and doesn’t want to drag his newfound family into it. I enjoyed the way they came together regardless and had each other’s backs despite all the challenges thrown their way.

Said circus is facing major hardships, and the characters need to band together in order to save it.

I wouldn’t call this a squad, because there really aren’t enough major characters for it. There’s really only three main ones that do most of the heavy lifting in terms of the plot. Still, I absolutely love seeing characters band together to do something crazy for one of their friends, and it’s no different here.

Jake has a complicated relationship with his late father, and I enjoyed the growth and healing his character has to undertake.

Jake’s father really wasn’t much of a father. Take the fact that they had very different views of the world and add in the fact that his father was never there for him, and you can see why their relationship was maybe just a teensy bit fraught. Then add in the fact that his father left him the circus, which was about the one nice thing he did for him … until you realize that it maybe wasn’t as nice as it seemed at first glance.

Jake harbors a lot of resentment and animosity towards his late father, and the events in this book really tear that already raw wound wide open, and he has to decide whether the emotion is going to destroy him or if he can overcome it.

I actually enjoyed Jake’s healing and the process he has to go through to decide that his father’s mistakes can’t control his life. It was a really touching emotional journey!

This is actually the big problem I had with Grace, though, which really affected my ability to like her character. Jake’s father was like a father to Grace, so she always stands up for him and gets mad when Jake says something bad about his father. Except the more the story goes on and the more I learned about Jake and his father, the madder this made me. I don’t care how close she was with the dude, Jake has every right to be mad at his father, and I always felt like telling her to sit down and shut up. Even if his father was nice to her, he was clearly a jerkwad and Jake has legitimate complaints. His feelings aren’t invalid just because she liked the guy. Ugh!

This is a very character-driven plot, and while there’s definitely some action that happens, it’s mostly about the characters’ emotional journey.

I say this because I had a very different expectation going in, and I definitely think that impacted my experience of the book, so I want to sort of set expectations here. This isn’t an action-packed read filled with a bunch of magical creatures in on shenanigans. Yes, magical creatures play a part, but it’s a minor part. Yes, there is also some pretty exciting action, mostly toward the end of the book. The majority of the focus, though, is on the characters and how they interact with each other and handle the struggles that come their way. So if you like characters taking deep emotional journeys and strong friendship vibes, you’ll probably enjoy this!

Other Reviews:

• All Things Gee
• Shelves of Starlight
• Fi’s Bibliophiles

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