I am incredibly grateful to both NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review The Midnight Carousel. Being selected to explore this captivating story before its official release has been such a treat, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts on it with all of you. A huge thank you to the teams at NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for their generosity and for making this advanced reading experience possible.

Paris, 1900

Celebrated carousel-maker Gilbert works night and day to finish his masterpiece in time for the city's Exposition Universelle. But Gilbert is struggling in the wake of his wife and son's tragic deaths, and as he finalises his creation, a dangerous idea forms in his mind...

Chicago, 1920

Maisie Marlowe has come to America in the search of a new life. When she unearths a beautiful, neglected old carousel, she seizes the opportunity to carve a thrilling new destiny for herself. But Maisie doesn't know that beneath its glittering facade, the carousel is hiding a dark secret. Twenty years ago, it was linked to a number of people inexplicably vanishing into thin air - and now history has begun to repeat itself...

This is THE author to watch! Wow! I do not know how she's going to match let alone top The Midnight Carousel. It gave me all the vibes that The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern did. I was so utterly immersed in the world that Fiza created.

This book just has so many different aspects that I love. The mystery itself was interesting and kept me wanting to know more. In my spare time whilst not actively reading the book I was conjuring up different conclusions to the mystery, it had me hooked.

The characters are everything. There was development all around which was great to see. Even the minor characters had stuff going on. I am quite literally obsessed with Maisie and also Laurent.

I genuinely do not have a bad word to say about this book. The mystery was intriguing, the characters were wonderful and the pace was perfect. Going a little deeper into the pace, it wasn't so slow to the point where you become bored but it's also not too fast so that you speed by everything and it's over before you know it. This book took it's time but not unnecessarily. The descriptiveness was beautiful but absolutely needed to create this universe. Sometimes I find that authors can be descriptive for the sake of it and not because the story calls for it.

This is an absolute work of art. I cannot wait for the rest of the world to find themselves immersed in this story.

Fiza, I hope you are proud of yourself. You have every right to be, this is a beautiful book.

I am still baffled as to how this is someone's debut novel, it is simply amazing.

A wonderful historical fiction read with added mystery and magical, superstition elements. A story of love, life, loss and grief, spanning decades moving from 1900 in Paris to England, then 1920s Chicago with Maisie as our main heroine. Central to the story is a beautiful, enchanting carousel with a mystery. Several people go missing whilst riding the carousel. What is happening to them? I loved the writing, maisie was a wonderful, strong, resourceful character who was a joy to spend time with. Also, some wonderful side characters, too, such as Laurent, Mrs. Papadopolous, Arnold and madame Rose. Some sad and emotional scenes towards the end and some outcomes I didn't expect. I'm so glad I read it, and I will certainly watch out for more of this new authors works in the future.

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.