Review – Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 347 pages
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: June 1, 2021
ASIN: B08D9DF76Q
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon First Reads
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Abandoned by her family, alone on the wrong side of the color line with little to call her own, Eliza Meeks is coming to terms with what she does have. It’s a gift for communicating with animals. To some, she’s a magical tender. To others, a she-devil. To a talent prospector, she’s a crowd-drawing oddity. And the Bacchanal Carnival is Eliza’s ticket out of the swamp trap of Baton Rouge.
Among fortune-tellers, carnies, barkers, and folks even stranger than herself, Eliza finds a new home. But the Bacchanal is no ordinary carnival. An ancient demon has a home there too. She hides behind an iridescent disguise. She feeds on innocent souls. And she’s met her match in Eliza, who’s only beginning to understand the purpose of her own burgeoning powers.
Only then can Eliza save her friends, find her family, and fight the sway of a primordial demon preying upon the human world. Rolling across a consuming dust bowl landscape, Eliza may have found her destiny.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through Amazon First Reads.
Thoughts: I enjoyed this quite a bit. I really loved the dark carnival atmosphere and enjoyed Liza’s quest to both control her gift with animals and find her sister. The story spends a lot of time meandering from town to town while we gradually learn more about the demonic owner of the carnival and watch Liza grow in her animal powers. For much of the story it doesn’t seem like the story is really heading anywhere, strangely I enjoyed it all the same. I loved unraveling the mysteries of these characters and adventuring through small southern towns and seeing how they react to the appearance of a carnival.
There are definitely some supernatural elements here. It is made very clear from the beginning that the woman who runs the circus is not quite human. Liza’s own powers are also a bit different. Ultimately things get a bit odd with spirit animals and demons involved. I also thought that after all of the meandering things ended kind of abruptly. Most of the loose ends are tied up but you are left feeling a bit empty at the end of it all.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but didn’t love it. The first 2/3rds of the book were my favorite. I loved watching this carnival meander around and getting to know the characters. I also really enjoyed watching Liza grow into her powers. I thought the ending felt kind of abrupt after the pace of the rest of the novel and wished we had learned more background on the demonic owner of the carnival. This was a fun read and I would recommend it to those who enjoy historical fantasies that blend carnival and supernatural elements. This was an excellent debut novel and I look forward to future books by Henry.
