Rating: ★★★★★
Recommend: Yes
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Add it to your TBR: Goodreads, Skoob
I’ve been postponing writing the review for this book, for one simple reason: I cannot find anything to write about it that I didn’t like. I normally spend some time before writing reviews contemplating all the aspects of the book I’ve just finished, and try to find the merits on the ones I didn’t like, and the bad aspects of the ones I loved. But for this one, I just couldn’t! So do get ready – this is going to be a rave-iew (I am sorry, I could not resist).
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
Within these nocturnal black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stare in wonderment as the tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air.
Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves.
Review:
The Night Circus tells the story of Celia and Marco, both trained by their mentors since childhood to a competition they know little about. This story spams over many years, following their lives and their studies of enchantments, while they are unaware of the actual rules of the game. What they do know is this: they are bound by magic to play the game, and there can only be one winner.
The story is so original and the writing is so beautiful that reading The Night Circus feels outright magical. You get sucked right into the world, which is so wonderfully crafted you can almost see it and touch it. I am in love with this book beyond words. The representation of magic left me wondering throughout the whole book if I was reading fantasy or magic realism, and it took me finishing the book and pondering about it to conclude it’s more fantasy.
Once I realized it was a love story, I had my reservations. It simply caught me off guard, as I had imagined it would be mostly about trickery and fighting with magic. Surely there is some of that, but the romance is on the foreground. It’s one of the best romances I’ve read: there is passion, magic, destiny, sacrifice. The characters are very well constructed, and I had such a hard time putting this book down.
The circus itself was a wonder, and I loved the descriptions of the tents, and each glimpse I could get of that place was breathtaking. The imagery provided by Morgenstern was so lush and vivid I can’t help but wish they made a movie out of this book. I need to read it again to best capture the details I certainly missed the first time.
I can imagine people not liking this book for the same reasons I processed my love. It relies a lot on imagery, which means there aren’t magic battles with blood and heavy trickery, it is essentially a love story. So if you expect action, you will be disappointed.
It’s a beautiful, captivating story about enchantments, love and loneliness.
Verdict: I highly recommend this book, it’s a beautifully written love story filled with magic, mystery and loneliness. The world building is very well done as well as the crafting of characters. However, if you are looking for lots of action, this book may not be for you. It relies heavily on imagery, which means there is a lot of descriptions. If it’s not something you like, you won’t enjoy it at all. There is some emotional & physical abuse on this book, especially its first third, although it wasn’t too much, it could still be a trigger for some people.
Great review!! I really enjoyed this book- it was so beautifully written!
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Thank you! Yes, it was one of the best I’ve read this year! I’m glad you liked it too!
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You’re welcome!!
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I absolutely love this one!! It was so well written that I felt like I was in the circus!
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Same!! So beautiful and well done, and all the more impressive for being a debut!
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Agreed! I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
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I read this book s few years back. I enjoyed it. Still I’m curious as to why a few bloggers are just reviewing now. Thoughts ?
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No idea about other bloggers, but personally I only heard about Night Circus after I started following some book blogs, so maybe bloggers new like me only hear about it now as well?
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thanks for getting back to me.
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I really need to get around to reading this one which yours is yet another review that makes me wonder why I haven’t already done so.
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Wonderful review, Naty! I have this book on my shelf, I’ll definitely read this by the end of this year!!
I love the way you write. It flows so beautifully ❤
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Thank you so much, Noriko, that is so sweet of you to say! I hope you like Night Circus! 😀
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Sounds like perfection!
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It is 😍
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I absolutely loved this! It was so magical. I’m hoping they make it into a movie – or are they already.. can’t remember.
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I don’t know if they’re turning it into a movie, but they definitely should! Such a good one!
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Aaaaah I’m reading this currently! I haven’t read your review, I just fished straight for the comment lol. Because I will read it once I’ve finished the book so I can give my own opinion and have a tad bit of discussion on it lol
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Awesome!! I loved it – I hope you’re enjoying it 😀😀
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Yupppp! It’s SO good! Have you read Caraval?
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I haven’t! Is it good?
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omgggg you neeed to! It’s amazing. Check out my review here if you really want to know my opinion: https://thereadersbay.wordpress.com/2017/08/04/caraval-by-stephanie-garber/
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Will do, thanks for the link!!
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