I was expecting something a little darker with this, or a little bit more magical.
It had a touch of both, but not quite enough I felt.
At times it was just the domestic life of Maisie.
To be honest if that's how the book was sold in the blurb, it's a decent read. There are plenty of ups and downs to contend with.
Maisie is a character you can really want to succeed.

Oh wow "The Midnight Carousel" by Fiza Saeed McLynn is right up my street. Historical fiction with a magical mystery twist, it is similar to the writings of Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Robert Dinsdale. Set in Paris at the end of the 19th Century, Gilbert is on a deadline to finish off the carousel for the great Paris Exhibition of 1900. Unfortunately illness wipes out his family but he dedicates one of the horses to his son Theo. Skip forward a few years and we are in Canvey Island, England. From there we see how Gilbert, his carousel and Maisie are linked, in England and later in the US. A fabulous book for anyone who is looking for a glimpse of childhood, escapism and a good mystery.