That Time I Joined the Circus

by J. J. Howard

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

This book is just adorable. I'm getting all warm and snuggly just thinking about it again. I will say that the cover fits this book PERFECTLY. It's warm, it's bubbly, it's sad at times, it's fun and games and new experiences. There is just something so, completely, and totally awesome about a book that takes place at the circus. I LOVE that!! Even though it is listed as romance, for me this book is more of a self discovery book.

And because Lexi is a Jane Austen fan, there's even a little bit of a typical Jane Austen twist: first impressions are not always what they seem. I loved that because at first I thought some characters were going to be Ice Queen Bitches, but they turned out to be some of my favourite characters instead.

For the most part, Lexi was a fabulous main character! I didn't always get along with her in some of the "flashback" chapters because she could be really self-deprecating, but I adored her in all the current ones. She's sweet, outgoing, and takes initiative. Even though she made a "huge mistake", she really is just a good person.

I only had two real issues with this book. First: it's told in alternating time periods—before the "huge mistake" and afterwards (at the circus). Sometimes I felt like all the jumping back and forth, and skipping ahead in dates made the relationship development lack a little bit, particularly with the romances. And the romances is where my second problem is. I felt like the romance was all over the place and I couldn't quite figure it out. First Lexi is kissing Jamie, then she's flirting with Nick, and one of her old friends is still half in the picture but half out.. There was just no strong, central romance for me. I didn't like how, at first, I thought Nick was going to be the main love interest. Then he ditched her and Lexi went back to Eli. I would have been okay with Lexi going back to Eli if I got the sense that she had feelings for him all along, but I never got that impression. The romance did have sweet moments, but ultimately I did feel a little disconnected from it.

Overall, That Time I Joined the Circus is a fun, cute read. Even though Lexi does have some big problems and there are a few heartfelt moments, I wouldn't really call this a gut-wrenching, emotional novel.. and that's not necessarily a bad thing! As the cover would suggest, That Time I Joined the Circus is all about pretty lights and trapeze artists. This is a book that I just really enjoyed reading. It was on the lighter side and it was certainly entertaining!