Mim and Alex are part of a travelling carnival show run by Mr Grainger and his wife. Both have been travelling since they were young and as they got older their friendship seems like it could grow to more as they start to notice each other as something more. Then Mr Fox arrives with his Electrickery, philosophy and his inventions and Mim is raised to top billing, leaving Alex behind.
It took me a while to get into this book, it was a bit slow throughout but the prologue adds some suspense which builds to the almost-finale at the end. I found the changing perspectives a little confusing at times and the language made it difficult to picture what was actually happening at first but I got used to it soon enough.

A magical book in which I was totally immersed for the entirety. The notes at the end of the story enhanced the reading experience as I now know that the birth of electricity really was something of a circus show and people took their entertainment where they could. Mim is a great character. A lowly circus entertainer with a cantankerous parrot, she takes her chances when she can. Sparks fly, lessons are learnt but she shows us that real love is something worth fighting for. A great read for young people and those not so young.

Mim, who is being presented as the girl-exotic (she is half black in 18th century England) in the the traveling show she is part of, is struggling with her parrot act. Until she gets the chance to take part in a new act.

Mim has a wonderfully self aware & humorous way of expressing herself. Alex shows how sweet & endearing of a human being he is through his POV. Smile-worthy are the convos and who they have them with in their respective POVs. Also smile-worthy are the thoughts of new, unexpected feelings, between people who have grown up together, now on the cusp of adulthood..

And a 3rd person account, that gives us insight not only on our protagonists, but also the tough life of belonging to a traveling show in that era. Here we enjoy strong, slightly brutal and certainly vivid descriptions. Then with the appearance of Fox, it is as if we'd been holding our breath in anticipation of what he would bring. His electrickery heightening everything. Even though as a character he did not seem to come alive in the story as others.

Honest, the sort of funny that is heartfelt, and full of the melancholy of loneliness, even when you are not alone. Sharing with us the beautiful awkwardness of young love, and weaving its spell to a soul warming delight in its atmosphere. This is a wonderful historical fiction.

I’m not always the biggest fan of historical fiction, however reading the synopsis really pulled me into the story and I am glad I requested this book. A coming of age story for Mim, a teenager who is trying to figure out who she is, The Electrical Venus is a gorgeous read.

The characters throughout this book are really well developed, particularly Mim as she develops into the title character, but also Alex too as the book goes on, leading to a really nice finale. If this book is anything, it’s short and sweet and the characters for the amount of pages really are very good.

The story is okay and I feel like it really does have a nice ending to it with moments in the story that really give this book some drama but I feel like the characters are what steals this story and the fact they are characters you rarely see in fiction, makes this an important (for representation) but also an enjoyable read.

Actual rating 3.5

I'm not quite sure what to say about this one. I liked it but it was nothing particulary amazing and unfortunately it wasn't quite as good for me as the blurb suggests.

I really like Mim, she's a well developed, interesting character and I also enjoyed Alex. They have both had their struggles through life but manage to make the best of them. I loved their relationship and think the romance element of the book was done pretty well.

It was a really quick read too, I didn't find myself getting bored as there was always something happening and I flew through it in 2 sittings- one last night which I forgot to update before going to bed and another this afternoon. I really like books I can get through quickly like this.

The thing that really let this down for me was the writing, it was trying a bit too hard to be edgy YA but came out more like middle grade with a few swear words thrown in. For the record, I'm all for swearing in YA, it makes it far more realistic for me so I actually liked this, it just didn't fit in with the writing style as a whole.

It’s always a bit of an uncomfortable moment when white authors are writing about the experiences of people of colour or people with disabilities, and this story has both. However, having read Mayhew’s acknowledgements I do think this book was well researched and that Mayhew listened to the people she consulted. I’ll be on the lookout for reviews from bloggers with disabilities and bloggers of colour to see what they think, but for my part, I think this was a good way of approaching this story.

The story is told through what I can only describe as ‘streams of consciousness’ from two of the characters, Mim and Alex. Sometimes they are talking to animals, sometimes just to themselves, it would seem. I liked this approach as it gives you a snapshot of their emotions in the moment. It gives the story a sense of immediacy and intimacy, you feel with the characters in that moment, often with them reflecting on quite complex emotions. It helped keep the story interesting and allowed for jumps in time without feeling like you’re missing key information. It also makes it twice as painful when you can see something terrible on the horizon for these characters and they haven’t realised. Dramatic irony, it can be the most wonderful and terrible thing.

The setting for this book ties in nicely with the plot, and it’s really that combination that makes this a great book. Something in it reminded me of The Anatomist’s Dream in that it’s a little bit abstract, there’s something not quite real about the entire thing, even though this isn’t a fantasy novel. It’s not a gritty reality, though it also isn’t sunshine and rainbows. There are a few moments where I felt like the concept was carrying the story as opposed to the writing itself, which isn’t ideal but often happens in books such as these.

This is a great example of a historical fiction novel that not only immerses you in an aspect of another time but also makes characters you would have loved to have met. By the end of this book not only did I want to go out and play with electricity (with parental supervision or something I suppose) but I also wanted to go and find Mim and Alex and give them an enormous hug. The strongest element in this book is most certainly the two main characters and their development from start to finish.

Should you read this? If you like quirky historical fiction with a hefty dose of romance in an interesting setting I think you will enjoy this book. As someone who doesn’t read a huge amount of historical fiction (though my list of books is ever growing), I definitely enjoyed this one.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book as I do love a circus type theme in a book, I thoroughly enjoyed the opening chapter as it really got my attention and gripped me throughout the book. I enjoyed the 'mad scientist' vibe the doctor gave off as he transforms the circus in to the show it became.