My Rating ~ Five stars

5-gold-stars

RELEASED: 2 August 2018

Publisher: Scholastic

Format: Paperback

Pages: 400

Blurb

Hoshiko and Ben have been on the run since they burned Silvio Sabatini’s
circus down to the ground at the explosive finale of SHOW
STOPPER. But Ben’s mother will stop at nothing to track him down
and get her revenge: backing him into a corner where he is forced
to sacrifice himself to save Hoshiko. The deadliest show on earth
has been resurrected and if Ben thought he’d seen into its dark
corners as an outsider, the true extent of the horrors that lurk
beneath the Big Top are about to be revealed as he becomes the
circus’ new star attraction…

Review

Note: As this book is a sequel, there will be spoilers for the first book in my review!

Hoshiko, Ben, Greta and Jack have been on the run for a year. Although they’ve left the Cirque behind, they are far from safe. In fact, they are on the top of the most wanted list. By the police and by Ben’s mother, Vivianne Baines.

This book, told in alternating perspectives between Ben and Hoshiko, opens with the capture of the group and Ben sacrificing his freedom to give Hoshiko, Greta and Jack a chance to get away. Ben is promptly returned to his mother, who, together with a terrible accomplice, has built a bigger, more dangerous and more horrifying cirque. In a desperate attempt to get her political career back on track, Ben’s mother tries to force him to publicly apologise. When he refuses, she decides to teach him a lesson and give him a starring part in opening night at the Cirque. Hoshiko doesn’t know who to trust and how far she’ll need to go, but she knows she needs to try and rescue Ben and the others from the horror she knows is inflicted at the deadliest show on earth.

I loved Hayley Barker’s first book, Show Stopper and Show Stealer was a fantastic sequel. There were plenty of heart stopping moments, although a fair few more ‘almost horrific’ scenes than the ‘that did NOT just happen?!’ moments of the first book. I must admit though, after getting to know the characters over two books, I was a little more terrified for them this time around!

I love the fast paced nature of these books and the sense of camaraderie between the circus performers – even in the midst of their despair. If you love circus books, like me, definitely pick up the Show Stopper series!