Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

If you like vampires, Vikings, Goth Faires, Valkyries, and people who believe that a young girl just might be the reincarnation of Cleopatra, then CIRCUS OF THE DARNED is definitely the book for you (but read GOT FANGS? first!)!

Fran is back, still traveling with her mother and new-found friends throughout Europe with the GothFaire. She's got a kind-of, sort-of boyfriend, Benedikt, who just happens to be a vampire. Oh, he also claims she's his beloved, but since they haven't even been out on one actual date yet, Fran is withholding judgment. Now she's waiting for Ben to show back up at the Faire, since he took off without a word to anyone to who only knows where.

Tibolt, one of the men involved with Circus of the Darned, whose traveling with the Faire, is driving all the ladies on the fairgrounds crazy--maybe due to his charming good looks, but quite possibly with help from a little magic. When he asks Fran to hold on to his valknut pendant, she's happy to oblige. Turns out Tibolt doesn't want to get the pendant's power near the old Viking burial ground during his ritual sacrifice to the gods. The only problem is, he doesn't quite explain this plainly to Fran, who ends up running through said burial ground while wearing the pendant and chasing after a huldra. And all this after a strange man came to the Faire wanting to buy Tesla, Fran's old horse.

Needless to say, the raising from the dead of an army of Viking warrior ghosts doesn't sit well with anyone, since their main form of entertainment is still, well, pillaging. Fran has no idea how to send the Vikings on their way to Valhalla, so she's stuck babysitting corporeal ghosts until someone can get them gone. As Fran recruits help in finding out the best way to do this, all manner of gods and goddesses come into play--not the least of which is a pretty bad one, who has an unhealthy obsession with the horse Tesla.

CIRCUS OF THE DARNED is another laugh-out-loud paranormal delight. Katie Maxwell always does a great job of drawing on myths and legend for her storylines, and this book is no different. I can't wait to read the next installment, which hopefully with have Fran and Ben finally being able to go on that first date!

Pick up a copy of the book today...you won't be disappointed! ( )

I really liked the 1st book,. which of course, made me want to read this book. Five minutes after reading it, I couldn't even remember what it was about! ( )

Circus of the Darned is the follow-up to 2005's Got Fangs?, the first book in the Goth series, and takes place in the same world as Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones series. The name Katie Maxwell is a pseudonym used by Katie MacAlister with her young adult titles.

Francesca "Fran" Ghetti has been traveling across Europe with her mom and the GothFaire for the last several months. Fran is finally beginning to realize that she'll never have a normal life she once craved. The traveling GothFaire and all the strange and mysterious people that work there, her Wiccan High Priestess mother, and Benedikt, a really cute Dark One (aka vampire) who claims she is his Beloved are just the start! She's also got to deal with her psychometry skills—the ability to read a person or object's past, as well as their thoughts and emotions, through touch—and try to integrate that into her life. But at least she's beginning to accept, perhaps even like, her new life.

However, just as things have started to look up, it all begins to fall apart. First, someone steals her horse Tesla, most likely the oddly curious man who had expressed an interest and offered her an amazingly large sum of money for such an old horse. Then, she accidentally manages to raise an entire battlefield of warring, Viking ghosts... who refuse to move on to the afterlife! Buggers! All this just in time to ruin her first "real" date with Benedikt on Saturday.

While this book had a good story to it, there were several things about Fran's character that bugged me. For example, I got tired very fast of all the teen-ish giggly, girly stuff going on. I had to laugh though because even Fran herself would admit she didn't like "going all girly". Too bad she can't listen to her own advice. LOL But it's not just this book really... I have the same problem with most of this author's characters—they're all too ditzy, girly, catty, or just plain stupid for my taste; she's never really written a character that has endeared herself to me. (For proof, just search for "macalister" on my blog to read my past reviews.) ( )

Just as Fran is getting used to life traveling in the Psychic Fair, she suddenly becomes the leader of a group of Viking ghosts and her vampire sort of boyfriend comes back. Oh, and her mom totally freaks over the whole vampire thing. Well, you know how it is.

I think I like this one a snitch more than Got Fangs?. They are both fun and the romance is just enough, not gooey YA romance. ( )

Fran has finally decided that her mother's idea of traveling with GothFair isn't such a bad idea. That could have a lot to do with Benedikt, her vampire boyfriend, especially when he returns after having been MIA for weeks. In addition Tibolt, the Swedish star of the Circus of the Darned which is temporarily traveling with GothFair, is a hottie who makes all the girls, including Fran swoon. However, when Tibolt entrusts Fran with a ancient viking necklace things start to get a little wonky. Soon Fran finds herself acting as Goddess to a clan of warrior ghosts intent on pillaging the local McDonalds and searching for her beloved horse, Tesla, who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Will Fran be able to get everything back to normal before the most monumental event of her young life, her first date with Ben, is supposed to happen?

I really liked Circus of the Darned and thought it was quite a good follow-up to the story Got Fangs? although everyone's over eager preoccupation with Fran's first date, from her mother, to the Gods and Goddesses of viking legend, was a bit perplexing. As always with Katie's stories (whether they be under the surname of Maxwell or MacAlister) I laughed outloud at least once or twice. I'm hoping that in the next book we get to learn a little bit more about the situation that Benedikt seems to be involved in which was briefly alluded to in this story. I would definately recommend both Got Fangs? and this sequel to anyone who enjoys vampires, or just a cute story with a good laugh. ( )