The Puppeteer (Harrow Faire, #2) by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

The Puppeteer (Harrow Faire, #2) Reviews

• 
  Bex (Beckie Bookworm)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  So was chomping at the bit after that dramatic finale in the previous book and was so excited to jump back on board this crazy train and here we get to see the eventual fallout and got to say
  
  Wow Wow Wow!!!!
  
  
  
  I loved this and I bloody adore Simon just so much he is so sinisterly sneaky.
  A complete enigma whose as certifiably mad as he is at times lucid his lunacy is just as appealing to me as all his other varied quality’s.
  He has one of those vibes where you know you shouldn’t as he’s definitely dangerous and bad for your health but you just can’t help stick your fingers in the fire to feel the heat all the same.
  
  I adored his total disregard for the other members of the Faire and their authority.
  And I frankly couldn't find it within myself to really blame him for his animosity towards them, its totally warranted, their past treatment has hardly been warm and friendly and each has certainly played there own part in who he has now become.
  I especially liked seeing him stick it to them and was cheering him on from the sidelines.
  I even think at times he feels a tiny bit hurt by there open venom deep deep down that is and he’s never going to actually admit to it of course.
  
  So Simon was definitely in total denial regarding his growing connection to Cora.
  Trying to rationalise it away as lust or just a fleeting obsession.
  She makes him vulnerable and he closed that part of himself off years ago as a coping mechanism and also a form of self-preservation.
  This and his previous punishment in the tower has resulted in his totally shattered psyche.
  
  And this is where Simons shadow comes in to play and he does so like to do that, play that is.
  I felt a great deal for that part of Simon it’s like most of the good parts have been separated into this entity that’s him but also not and now it’s taken on a life all of its own.
  And behind this projection of Simon is all that makes him feel, care, yearn and hope and what’s left behind from this is all the darker pieces of Simon like his malice and his selfishness and his utter unpredictable cruel outbursts.
  He’s as changeable as the weather and can flip on a dime, he’s the literal definition of a split personality.
  He’s an unapologetic villain and I can’t help being drawn to this puppeteer in all his eccentricity.
  
  
  
  And Simons shadow I adored just as much as his namesake he was just so mischievous and full-on and at times so bloody hilarious and totally wicked.
  When he was playing with Cora’s shadow inappropriately so amusing.
  He is totally harmless but also desperately lonely and neglected wanting attention and he his is instantly besotted and Charmed with Cora.
  
  
  
  So let’s talk Simon and Cora's banter together, It was brilliant and the outrageous things that come out of Simon’s mouth oh my they made me smile so much the man has absolutely no filter whatsoever.
  So what started here as a way for Simon to keep Cora Close and recover the piece of himself he lost to her well gradually became so much more for him, he really didn’t mean to catch more of those pesky feelings but it was just inevitable really and Cora doesn’t stand a chance.
  This slowly and expertly builds the tension and the chemistry here is off the charts.
  It sizzles off the page and hits its mark totally and this is before we’ve even got to any real spice.
  
  
  
  Cora is definitely fighting a losing battle and she is drawn to Simon despite her valid grievances against him.
  She is attracted to all his devious darkness and she can’t help reluctantly liking and being amused by him despite her many protests otherwise.
  
  
  
  So while in the first book I felt we got to know Cora here I felt it was Simons turn to shine and we now get more of a sense of the who and why of him.
  We get brief glimpses of a more caring side to Simon at least in regards to Cora.
  He is still a total villain but one with some added heart and we do get to see slight cracks in his outward armour.
  
  I’m especially looking forward to the next instalment in this series, the whole concept here is ever so unusual and completely fascinating to me.
  I raced through this in one sitting and this was well written and totally captived me throughout.
  This author has become one of my favourites and is now a definite auto-buy for me.
  She manages to produce such brilliant and striking anti-hero’s that I find myself rooting for 100%.
  The villain in my opinion is way more interesting and enticing than the hero.
  This gets a big thumbs up I totally recommend this series especially If you like something a bit different from the norm it’s fabulous and if I could give this more than 5 stars I would, I was totally in the zone throughout and this ticked every one of my boxes.
  
  
  
  I now need the next instalment like yesterday, I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Puppeteer (Harrow Faire #2)
  
  
  
  Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
  
  https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
  
  www.beckiebookworm.com
• 
  Thirstygirl *semi-hiatus*

  I really enjoyed this second installment in the Harrow Faire series. Kingsley has created a unique and interesting world here and I loved feeling immersed in it, even when it creeped me out. Much of this book is devoted to Cora struggling to accept her situation, adjust to her place in the circus/faire, and reconcile the attraction she has to Simon, despite everything.

  “I’m losing my mind…” It was the only explanation. She was going insane. This was all a psychotic break.
  
  “No, Cora. You’re not. That really happened.” Jack reached out and placed his hand on her arm, rubbing it gently. “He shot you. You died. But you just…came back.”

  While Cora tries to adapt, Simon is battling with himself over his feelings toward her. Having any kind of softness towards someone is a foreign feeling to him and not entirely welcome. Despite this, Simon constantly inserts himself into Cora’s space, like a dog marking his territory. He’s obsessed, even if he doesn’t want to be.
  
  Simon is a villain with charm, who you can’t help but like even when you’re hating him. He’s temperamental, darkly humorous, and not entirely sane. He has an amusingly antagonistic relationship with his own shadow—a shadow who represents a part of him and behaves like a separate, sentient being.
  
  
  
  Simon is very JP, with overt “touch her and die” vibes, and his jealously even extends to his own shadow:

  “I never thought I’d be jealous of my own fractured psyche, but here we are. Oh, how the world seeks to debase me at every turn. Ah, well.”

  I liked that Cora has no problem speaking up for herself. Despite seeing the horrors Simon is capable of, she’s not afraid to stand up to him or dish out some violence of her own, which Simon finds he does not dislike:

  “I’m proud of you, cupcake. Standing up to me like that…If they see you unafraid to face me down, no one will mess with you. I’m not upset. Dress me down all you want in public, because someday soon you’ll let me dress you down in private.”

  This book was still slow-burn as far as the romance went but I liked the journey so much I didn’t even mind, and the banter between Cora and Simon was entertaining.

  “When I wanted you in my lap, I wasn’t expecting this was how you’d wind up there.”
  
  “Go fuck yourself with a corn dog.”
  
  “Sounds squishy. But I suppose if you’re into that, I’m willing to try anything once.” He snickered as she slapped his chest. His arms tightened around her just a little.

  I can’t wait to see where things go from here!
  
  
• 
  Rachel Oates

  I’m having really conflicting feelings about this series so far… on the one hand, I love the circus / fair ground setting - that’s why I picked it up in the first place despite knowing nothing else about the story. It’s magical and dark and intriguing and I want to see more of it and the characters which is why I keep reading. I want to learn so so so much more about the other members of the Family!
  
  The Puppeteer as a villain is terrifying but as a love interest I just feel incredibly uncomfortable. He’s a typical narcissistic abuser and reminds me a little too much of what I’ve experienced myself. Yes, he’s charming and attractive and you feel like you have amazing chemistry but he’s also violent, aggressive, jealous, possessive, makes threats, has delusions of grandiosity and doesn’t understand boundaries or how to respect people. He terrifies me but not for the reasons I think the author intended.
  
  The only way I think I’d be ok with this series ending are if a) Cora doesn’t end up with Simon at all or b) Simon goes through some magical transformation (joining back with his shadow perhaps? Although his shadow also has issues and blatantly doesn’t understand consent either) and losing all his abusive traits and expresses genuine remorse for his behaviour. Otherwise, it just feels like it’s glamorising abuse and makes for a very, very difficult read as a survivor of abuse and domestic violence myself.
• 
  Tana 🌻 Cozyreadings

  
  
  Book 49/52
  
  Hate your cage. Find another. Build it with your own bare hands if you must- but understand that it is a cage all the same.
  
  genre: fantasy horror
  
  age: adult
  
  Review: To start this off: this is a book with a dark romance, if you don't like those, don't read this.
  
  I'm obsessed with these books!! Simon is such a problematic character, and the relationship is honestly horrifying if it would be a real-life relationship, but I can't help but love him. He is everything I would hate in real life: he is creepy, possessive and obsessive to the point that I don't understand why Cora isn't more afraid of him, yet here I am swooning over all the scenes that he is actually cute and nice with her and trying to make her feel better. He is such a complex and interesting character, and I'm hoping that his background and earlier life get's explained more. So, SO good.
  
  Trigger warnings: rape by a boyfriend and not being believed, mention of torture, being shot, gore
• 
  Paula

  Perfect as always. I was smiling throughout the book. Can't wait for the next book. And I LOVED his shadow, I wanted to hug him.
• 
  Christy Hall

  The Puppeteer is a pretty good next installment of The Harrow Faire series. The second book finds Cora as a part of the faire. She’s the new contortionist and family member. Simon spends most of the book introducing her to how the magical faire works. They cannot die, age, or escape. Might as well perform and enjoy the free food. Cora isn’t so sure. It takes her a very long time to come to terms with this new development. Pretty much the whole book. She tries to talk with Mr. Harrow, pleading with him to let her go. He writes cryptic notes back to her, something he doesn’t do for everyone. A mystery for another book.
  
  Cora has been a broken soul for many reasons, which allows her the ability to find a great deal of empathy for others who have broken souls: Simon, Shadow(who I utterly adore), the clown. We get a glimpse of Simon’s life before the faire. Oh, what he could have been! I think that’s the best part of this book - the feelings of empathy and understanding between the characters. There really isn’t any action. Nothing much happens until the end, but that’s not what keeps a reader’s attention when the characters jump off the page and into your imagination.
  
  Kingsley creates such interesting fantasy worlds. While there may be amazing or even beautiful elements to her worlds, there are always deep, dark undercurrents and sometimes overtones. She weaves a tale that will keep me coming back for more. I’m worried about where she’s going but I guess I’ll keep walking down the unlit path through the dark forest. Let’s see where this goes...
• 
  Claudie ☾

  I’m having a blast with this series!! 💃 Simon is a perfect villain, so completely smitten with Cora (who’s a total badass) that it’s simultaneously disturbing and adorable. 😍 I love them, both as individual characters and as a couple — such incendiary attraction! 🔥 The slow burn is killing me, but I’m enjoying it too much to care.
• 
  Red

  The gaslighting really grated me and I cannot stand Simon the abuser being the love interest. He's a being to be defeated. It doesn't matter if he's "attractive", he's abusive and abusing her. But damn if this boy doesn't gaslight so much I lost interest in pushing through.
  
  Why couldn't we focus on the carnival more?
• 
  AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔민윤기's fiancé

  Ratings for this one among my friends are AWESOMETACULAR, it must be really good.
• 
  skye

  Reread Sept 2022: 4.5 stars
  
  Just as crazy and entertaining as I remembered. Taking off half a star cuz I got tired of how many times the author said the H smelled like an antique store and old fashioned cologne. Does that mean he's musty...? Cuz right now they're making him sound like he's musty
  
  
  —————————————————————
  
  Nov 2021: 5 Stars
  
  I swear I'm not a violent person, but something about heroines smacking the absolute shit out of asshole heroes makes my heart ✨ sing ✨
  
  Example #1, after Simon tells Cora she's a broken thing and a burden:

  She stood, cracked her neck, then turned to face him. She slapped him. Hard. Right across the face.

  
  
  His first mistake was being an absolute dick when she was having a life crisis, his second was not running as soon as shorty started cracking her neck. He had all the warning signs and still didn't see it coming.
  
  
  Example #2 (with spoilers for book 1!!), after Simon deadass KILLS Cora to show her she will come back to life:
  

  “What’re you doing?”
  She didn’t answer him. Reaching into the cabinet when she finally found her goal, she pulled out a cast-iron skillet. She spun it in her hand, twirling the handle around as she turned it over to get a feel for it. Good. It was nice and heavy.
  Simon smiled. “Finally, you’re grateful! Making me something to thank me? Glorious. Oh! How about an eggy in a basket? I haven’t had one of those in years, and I—”
  Cora pulled back with the skillet and, with everything she had in her, she swung for the fences. She cracked Simon clean across the face with it.

  
  
  Mhm you go girl. Swing👏🏼that👏🏼pan👏🏼.
  
  
  But Simon is equal parts asshole and sweetheart because he respects her violent methods. Just look at how he apologizes for accidentally triggering one of her past traumas:
  
  

  When she heard a cabinet door open and shut, she finally looked over to him. Simon was standing a few feet away from her, holding a cast iron skillet out to her by the lip, offering her the handle.

  
  
  Is...is this love? Because it's starting to seem a lot like love.
  
  
  Y'all don't believe me?
  
  

  Shutting her eyes, the last of her tears flowed down her cheeks. He pulled her into him, and she didn’t have the strength left to fight. She let him pull her against him in a hug. He cradled the back of her head in his hand and tucked her under his chin. Shushing her, he held her. “It’s all right, Cora…it’s going to be all right.”

  
  
  I can't believe I'm rly rooting for Cora to fall in love with a murdering psychopath🥳
• 
  Joyffree

  "That's the look of someone staring at the empty void and wondering if they should just jump into it."
  
  This series just keeps getting better - more intense - darker
  A must-read!
  
  This is the second book in the series and it is not standalone.
  
  Cora is grasping for anything that will grant her freedom from the nightmare she finds herself trapped in.
  Innocently she decides to appeal directly to Mr. Harrow, he has to understand she doesn't belong here -
  His reply?
  Far from understanding
  He offers an ironically undecidable ultimatum
  Cora finds herself torn between her sense of self, her desire for freedom (as false as it was), and her new "family"
  Now add to that the confusion her newly ascertained understanding of the Puppeteer and his many parts (This is one of my favorite subtly not so subtle characters) has wrought on her nonexistent libido and she finds the results leave her at times practically catatonic at times or crying a river or worse running to nowhere ( that is a bit irritating)
  Possibly she is just insane?
  (that was a bit of a mindbending mouthful)
  
  Amidst all this insanity she has found a lifeline (of sorts)
  Strings if you will
  Tethering her to the here and now
  Almost comforting -
  If she looks past its origins -
  Past the obsessive-compulsive actions of the man who wields them
  Past his lack of earthly morals
  Oh and his murderous ways
  
  If you enjoy dark fantasy - twisted storylines - vivid characters- Don't miss this series
  As always Kingsley has delivered another twisted series that checks all the boxes
• 
  Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm)

  The Harrow Faire... Wow! Intense and twisted. I feel for Cora so much, Simon is such a lunatic and Shadow is heartbreaking. The "Family" of the Faire have so much still to tell us and Harrow has secrets. I am looking forward to the next book.
  
  Playlists...
  
  The Contortionist and The Puppeteer
  For Cora and Simon
  
  
  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0iN...
  
  Very thematic and great background for the series.
  
  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zk...
• 
  ✧･ﾟ*✧･ﾟ*desiree*･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ✧

  4☆ Review:
  
  “𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒈𝒐. 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒈𝒐.”
  “𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕.”
  “𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐, 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔.”
  
  My whole review of this could just be quotes and I’d be happy with it. The banter in this series is top notch.
  
  “𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓.”
  “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒆!”
  
  Cora is now part of the Faire and is struggling to accept it. Her only goal is to find a way to be free. But what if freedom has a cost?
  
  Her character is relatable, but her inner monologues did become repetitive. I now have Simon’s scent memorized from how many times it’s been said.
  
  “𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒌.”
  “𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒚. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.”
  “𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘! 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕.”
  
  I’m still unashamedly obsessed with Simon. I know he’s crazy. I know he’s tried to “kill” her multiple times now, but I just can’t help loving him. Now Cora just needs to follow my lead.
  
  𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔-𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆. “𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒑.”
  
  This series is such a tease. Simon and Cora have undeniable chemistry and they both know it, but something always gets in the way of them admitting it or moving further. Every moment they were alone together it had me crossing my fingers and hoping for them to make progress. Did they make progress? Some. And I loved it.
  
  Now onto book three!
  
  And for some entertainment, here are two more quotes:
  
  “𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔, 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏.”
  “𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑵𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒅.”
  
  “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒑, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”
  “𝑮𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒈.”
  “𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝑰’𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆.”
• 
  Rhiannon Chillingworth

  This was really excellent.
  
  Kathryn has become one of my automatic but authors. Her books are inventive, complex and challenging in their content. She writes her genre - villain romance - very well.
  
  I adored her Masks of Under series, but this one might well eclipse it in my affections.
  
  Simon is rather loveable, for a manic, and I like Cora a lot. The backdrop of a semei sentient faire that feeds on people is a brilliant concept and I pretty much love everything about this series.
  
  Highly recommend!
• 
  Zenda

  Joining the family
  
  I didn't know if I could love this book as much as the first, but I should have had faith. These characters are every dark wonderful thing I could ask for.
• 
  Ange | angethology

  I'm pretty conflicted on how I feel about this - Simon the Puppeteer is still a shitty person and he's worse in this book since he violates her boundaries in multiple ways and has further shown his abusive/manipulative tendencies, both mentally and physically - and he's supposed to come across as an enigmatic yet charming villainous love interest, but I fail to see that.
  
  I also dislike the fact that there's quite an attempt at the justification of his behavior (particularly his understanding of consent), it comes off as glorifying his and Cora's "relationship" .
  
  On top of that, the author spent too much time on Cora "settling in" the Faire & the Family, although overall the worldbuilding is becoming more intriguing, especially at the end. I'd be interested to find out more of the other characters' backstories.
• 
  Naia Pard

  I can`t say that this one did much to save the first one,
  The Contortionist (Harrow Faire, #1).

  “He cradled her cheek in his hand, and for a moment she hoped he might lean in and—no, bad Cora! He shot you today. He tried to eat you yesterday. ”

  --it's not sexy, just disturbing.

  

  
  Instagram\\
  my Blog\\
• 
  Marina Simcoe

  I had so many things to do last night, and what did I do instead? I read. Way past midnight (like way, way past it. 🙂 ) I thought I'd just finish book 2 in the series and will go to bed.
  Ha! I started book 3 right away and read until the ipad fell on my face because my hands got too tired to hold it. 😂
  Every now and then a book would grab you keep you, and there's no better feeling than that.
  I love this series!
• 
  Paranormal Books R Us

  The Puppeteer Review
  
  Absolutely fantastic story! The more we learn about the Family and especially Simon the more I fall in love with the twisted Harrow Faire. As usual I am blown away by the depth of the world and characters Kingsley has created and for me the next book can't come soon enough. I highly recommend The Puppeteer.
• 
  Darci

  I think I’m numb to the creepiness of this series now but damn did the author crank up the sexiness 😩 I am FAR too invested in Simon and Cora now (if you’re looking for a wholly healthy relationship here... look away). I love the slow burn, but I hope I don’t get bored with them once they finally get together. I can’t wait to see Simon become even more of a giant softie, and Cora fully accept her new place!
• 
  Mar

  This was amazing. The romance & sexual tension, the plot!!, the darkness, the is he good or is he evil? was incredible. Loved it.
• 
  a !

  this series has a chokehold on me…or maybe a puppet string?????????
• 
  Lauren

  By far one of my favorites!
  
  This series has been amazing so far and definitely one of my favorites. The way the author has managed to tell this story has me completely enthralled with the world and the characters. Simon is easily my favorite character with his dark and demented humor and his insanity. He has his vulnerable moments which makes him more endearing and relatable to the reader. His sentient shadow provides some comedic relief at times.
  
  The setting of the series also provides a major element to the overall plot. The Faire is a complex and creative concept the author has managed to concoct which has kept me on the edge of my seat. The elusive and enigmatic Mr. Harrow still hasn’t made an appearance so I’m eager to see him at some point in the series to find out more about him and how the faire came to be.
  
  I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy darker reads with some characters that have questionable morales and is typically seen as the antagonist by most people. It is creative, thrilling, sensual, intriguing, and mysterious. I will definitely be continuing this series and re-reading it over and over again.
• 
  Sammie Endicott

  As the second book in the Harrow Faire series, it does not disappoint. It delivers on expanding the universe that our characters are in and giving a greater understanding to the mechanics of that world while creating more questions. The outline of the characters is filled in during this second book allowing us to take a deeper look into their history and understand the why behind our supporting cast.
  Simon is a very interesting read as puzzle pieces come together and scatter each time something new arrives. He is twisted with his own set of morales and guidelines that don't exactly point due north.
  Cora is a very real character as she teeters on the edge of disbelieve and railing against the new circumstances of her life.
  As the two leads come together in a constant battle against mutual attraction, we watch as their relationship builds and changes. Their wits and the Faire itself adds an interesting mix to the story.
  I cannot wait for the third installment of this series.
• 
  Sarina R.

  Hands down one of the best romance novels that I’ve read in a while. I recommend this to those who are looking for a dark, fantasy/paranormal romance series. I can’t believe it… it’s so underrated!
  
  The story got me hooked from the start to the end.
• 
  Cee

  I liked this one much more than the first.
• 
  Deanna

  4.25 stars!
  

  "You need to understand your cage before you can try to pick the lock."
• 
  Witless Witch

  Can I be best friend's with your shadow? Pretty please?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Dovlyn

  DNF. Idk why, I liked the first book well enough. But just struggled to get through this one. Got to about 60% before DNF.