Good Morning Lovelies,
Today I am reviewing Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This book has been on my Want to Read shelf for a very long time so I am excited to finally be getting to it! It is an Adult Fantasy/Historical Fiction novel about magic and star-crossed lovers so naturally I was excited to read it! Hope you enjoy the review!
Synopsis
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 Rêves, 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 the 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.
Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
Plot
The basic plot of the book is that there is a competition between two magic students taking place in a circus that only opens at
night. I found this plot interesting and unique so I was excited to finally buy the book and read it.
The first thing I noticed was the actual prose of the book. Morgenstern’s writing is almost lyrical in its construction. Every word flows seamlessly into the next. I feel it is important for me to stress that this is an Adult Fantasy book making it a little more difficult to read than other Fantasy books would be, but it is worth it.
I found myself constantly taking notes and really thinking about the book which hasn’t happened in a really long time. The book was a bit slow moving but ultimately I like how Morgenstern took time to explain and set up every single detail
Characters
While I did love the story of Celia and Marco, the two magicians, I felt like the real main character of this novel was the Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams. Through the book, we learn that the actual competition is the circus. Celia and Marco keep imbuing magic into the circus until it is its own entity.
The different tents described throughout the book make you feel like you are experiencing them firsthand. Everything about it is magical and that is extremely evident when you read it.
Final Thoughts
There were so many good things about this book and it really was an enjoyable read. It was a little hard to keep track of all the different characters and time periods within the book, but I don’t think the book would have been as good without all the people and history.
I didn’t love how slow moving it was and how long it took me to complete it but I am happy I did!
Rating
I give this book
Have you read Night Circus? What are your thoughts?
XOX Shelby Grace
