My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Genres: Adult; Historical Fiction; Fantasy
Pages: 387
I really couldn't do the book justice with a description of my own, so....
Goodreads Description:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
My review:
Okay. Wow.
This was...so unlike anything I've ever read. I'm enthralled by this book. Let me tell you why.
At first, seemingly, there is no plot.... Our story jumps back and forth in time and to different characters. To where the circus is up and running and back before it existed. And even after that. Once the book is finished you may not realize it, but you just read through years of the circus's history. It's kind of hard to keep up with, but I'm telling you it's worth it. (Just a tip: Take note of the date when each chapter takes place).
With several characters and times to work with, Morgenstern expertly weaves together a complex, magical story with an entirely unique concept. And yes, there is a plot. (And it doesn't largely have to do with romance, even though the description makes it seem that way. :P Though the romance is still important.)
I know it took many people awhile to get into, but I was captured from the start. Curiosity spurred me on, even if the plot was slow-moving. And the writing.
The Night Circus was so cleverly written, even lyrical at times. It's written in Third Person Present Tense with small snippets of Second Person narrative at the beginning of each part, and I was blown away by the author's ability to write so expertly in both tenses. It's true. Erin Morgenstern is a master wordsmith.
This book is magic. A Top Favorite of 2015.
Content: I don't remember exactly, but there might have been some mild language; one kind of intimate scene, can easily be skipped over; Recommended for everyone 15+.
Look at me, reviewing Adult Fiction! And yesterday I talked about not reading enough variety.
So tell me. What's one of the most recent books you've read that completely swept you off your feet?
This sounds amazing! I'm scrambling over to Goodreads now to add it to my enormous to-read list. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for books that swept me off my feet: Allegiant (Veronica Roth) completely blew me away. I couldn't even form my thoughts into a coherent review. Another recent one was Lands of Ash -- I've enjoyed all of H.L. Burke's other books (that I've read, which is most of them), but this was beyond anything she's published before (except maybe Beggar Magic...).
Trust me when I tell you you should bump it up to the top of that enormous to-read list ;)
DeleteI'm going to have to check out H.L. Burke's books!
Sounds awesome! I'm not a big fan of present tense myself, but I am still willing to read it every now and then. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
ReplyDeleteThe Eighth Day by Diane K. Salerni is probably the most recent book I've read that swept me off my feet. I also think that the last book in the Beyonders series by Brandon Mull is five star worthy (although I still haven't recovered from the ending). :P
-Bailey
I haven't read either book, but I'm definitely checking them out!
DeleteEvery review I've read of the Night Circus so far has praised Erin Morgenstern's gorgeous writing, and that's the main reason I want to read this book. I can't get enough of lyrical writing and often books become favorites of mine due to the author's knack of weaving words together beautifully. The only thing I'm a little hesitant about in this book is how magic is dealt with since I'm wary of some books involving magic. What was it like?
ReplyDeleteIt is worthy of the praise. About the magic...I'm not really sure what to tell you. It's not magic in the wands and witches sense of the word. Both Celia and Marco have these supernatural abilities. Because of their "magic" both of their overseers bind them to a challenge that pits them against each other. But it's never used to actively hurt each other. Really, throughout the book the magic is always used to build things. But there are always...consequences... I don't know if that helps at all.
DeleteAlright, thanks. I might end up reading it. It still sounds like a really great book.
DeleteI wanted to read this, since I saw the cover. Thanks for confirming my suspicions that it was going to be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnytime :) It's an interesting cover, isn't it?
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