I like anything circus related, there's just something about them that speaks to me so when I saw the cover for this book my attention was immediately piqued.

I really liked Grover, our main character and narrator he was a little bit of a goody two shoes and very easy to get invested in, but he also came across as a fully realized character as did the other characters even though the story was told entirely from Grover's perspective.

From his sense of humor to his being semi-unaware of his own social competences he was perfect to convey both the charm and magic of the circus and the horrors and embarrassments he faced. Sometimes you just need a character that's easy to root for and that's really what Lastrapes gives us here.

If you like magical realism but would like a less flowery prose this one reads a lot like a magical realism meets urban fantasy with more charm and less grittiness (though there's definitely some of it in there too it's not a fluff piece).

It is an adult title even though there's nothing extremely graphic about it, which I enjoyed a lot since I don't get nearly enough adult titles with that kind of charm. That's another thing I liked about Grover, when he encounters situations that are strange to him he's able to learn more about them, adjust his views and move on without it being a massive ordeal, like adults are supposed to be able to do, in the world we live it it's a refreshing thing to see.

Grover Wilcox is a part time English proffesor. He was working in two different colleges but the colleges did a budget cut on the English departments. He now works only at one college. He goes home to make himself lunch. He decides to warm up his Chinese food leftovers. Since Grover doesn’t have much time, he decides to heat up his lunch fast using high heat. Unfortunately, when he pours some cooking oil in the skillet, some gets on the floor. He decides to clean it up the floor later. He can step around it. When he looks for his spatula, he finally finds the spatula under the dirty dishes in his since. He decides to clean it. While scrubbing it, the smoke alarm goes off. The food in the frying pan is “smoking” from the grease fire. He thinks he can put it out with a towel. The towel catches on fire. Grover decides to put the towel in the sink, only to slip on the oil and the towel puts Grover on fire. He rolls and hurry’s to take his clothes off before he burns up. What happens to Grover? He discovers there are no burns of any kind on him. Is he fireproof? His mom calls him to tell him that his dad is in the hospital. The doctors can’t figure out what is causing his “illness” despite blood test and several other tests. He seems perfectly healthy but doesn’t respond to anyone.
With Grover upset about his dad being in the hospital, he goes for a walk where he sees the sign of a circus. Will his childhood dream about joining the circus come true? His only talent is being fireproof.

The author has written a story of fantasy, humor, and horror. There were times when I couldn’t stop laughing. Grover will discover the greatest show on Earth has become a devil's carnival. There is a darkness — mystery to this story. Grover’s naiveness in this circus makes the story even more compelling. I loved reading this book.

Grover Wilcox is a down-on-his-luck adjunct English professor who's barely making ends meet. After he mistakenly discovering that he is fireproof due to an unfortunate mishap in the kitchen while also learning that his father has fallen into a mysterious coma, he is enticed by the ringmaster to join the circus in exchange for his father's medical bills being paid + a very generous salary. Grover is swept up into the excitement and befriends the other performers, "specials" (with powers different from his own) and other "traditional" performers (e.g. clowns) alike. As his days performing with the circus and traveling all over the country progress though, he finds that there may be something more sinister lurking within the circus.

One of my pipe dreams was to be a Cirque du Soleil performer so this was an thoroughly entertaining read. Although there was more telling than showing in his novel (e.g. don't expect flowery prose), it really worked well for this novel and I enjoyed the main character's conversations with the other characters + the way we got to learn more about each of them through his eyes. Grover is a likeable and fun (often unintentionally comical) narrator and there were parts of this where I laughed out loud.