The Curse or the Crown

Dark Circus, Volume 2

In the frost-laden wilds of nineteenth-century Canada, the circus is more than entertainment, it is prophecy in motion. Beneath its striped canvas, where fire bends to a mystic whisper and lions’ pace like kings, crowns are tested, curses awakened, and destinies fulfilled.

Appomatix stands unshaken in his crown, master of the pride whose roar steadies the sawdust ring. At his side, Vaidya weaves fire and shadow, her chants feeding both wonder and fear. And from the forest emerges Lazare, a youth half-feral, half-royal, the living echo of Henrik’s final prophecy, a ringmaster born of blood, music, and myth.

Together they forge a power both enthralling and dangerous: the crown, the fire, and the voice. But the line between spectacle and fate grows thin, and what is born in the ring may yet consume them all.

The Curse or the Crown continues the Dark Circus saga, a tale of inheritance and myth, of loyalty and betrayal, of stories that burn long after the last curtain falls.

©2025 Velma Loftin-Stoneburner (P)2025 Velma Loftin-Stoneburner

Dark YA fantasy

The Curse or the Crown Dark Circles by R. J. Josh Stoneburner is a great YA dark fantasy. Rudy Eisenzopf did a great job with the narration. The story is thrilling, interesting, suspenseful, dark, entertaining, engaging, and more. The Curse or the Crown is the second book in the Dark Cirus series.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. recommended