The Flying Circus by Susan Crandall
Copyright 2015
Gallery Books - Adventure/Romance
357 pp.
Gil is a barnstormer with a death wish, Cora a fearless young lady who doesn't miss the life of privilege she used to have, and Henry is running from the law. When their lives intersect and they become a team with Cora promoting Gil's sky acrobatics and performing stunts, Henry working as the team's mechanic and learning to fly, what will happen?
I bought my copy of The Flying Circus on a whim after hearing an author I follow call it "adventurous". It is definitely an adventurous tale and there are plenty of surprising plot twists, in spite of the fact that the overall plot is predictable. The Flying Circus is, first and foremost, a love story. Henry is besotted by Cora from the first day. But, Gil is also attracted to her. Cora, for her part, is most taken by Gil but Gil has a secret that may change everything. Meanwhile, seeing her obvious preference for Gil, Henry tries to overcome his longing for Cora without much success.
There are plenty of questions that the author drags out in order to keep the pages turning. What is Gil's big secret? Why is he suicidal? Is it just because of his experience in the Great War or is there something more going on? Who will Cora choose? Did Henry really kill a girl or was he set up?
Recommended, particularly to romance readers - Although there's plenty of adventure, because the romance aspect of The Flying Circus is so prominent I think people who bristle at romantic plotlines might find The Flying Circus a little tedious. I can't say whether it was the story or just the fact that I was having a lousy reading month that made it drag on for me, but it was neither a quick nor gripping read for me. At the time, nothing was really clicking, though. I hesitate to say anything negative about the book. I liked the characters, rooted for all of them, found their storylines predictable but still wanted to see them through. However, I do prefer adventure to romance and The Flying Circus was not a personal favorite because of the dominance of the romantic storyline and the predictability factor. Still, it was a pretty good read and definitely one I think romance readers will enjoy.
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Don't you hate when you're not sure if your disappointment in a book was because of the book itself or your mood? I swear this happens to me too much. I could imagine it might be a little disconcerting to go into a book expecting adventure and getting romance. I'm not a big fan of the heavy romance so I think I'll pass on this one.
ReplyDeleteI do hate not knowing for sure whether it was me or the book that was the problem. I suspect it was me, in this case, because it did keep surprising me (in a micro way), even though the larger plot points were predictable. I'm glad I read it, I should say that much. While I prefer action and adventure to romance, I liked the setting and enjoyed being immersed in that short-lived, Roaring Twenties world of barnstorming and Prohibition.
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