Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Doubleday
Pub Date: September 13, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Source: Purchased
Genre(s): Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance
Rating: ★★★★★
[Goodreads] ● [Amazon] ● [Book Depository]
Synopsis from Goodreads:
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 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.
My review:
“You’re in the right place at the right time, and you care enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that’s enough.”
There’s truly no better feeling than starting a new book and knowing right away that it’s going to be one of your new favourites.
I am at a loss for words. Technically I am still writing this review, but I don’t know how to articulate all the things I am feeling. Perhaps I had an inkling that I would enjoy this book, but never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that I’d be this enthralled with a story about a circus. Maybe that’s because the story is about so much more than Le Cirque des Rêves… it’s about the dreamers, the magicians, the lovers, the friends, the journey to where we are meant to be (or who we are supposed to be), and the people we meet along the way. I have goosebumps.
I feel like this is a 5-star book for a particular type of reader. If, like me, you enjoy slow-paced storytelling, atmospheric descriptions, and plots that focus on characters, this book is for you.
“And there are never really endings, happy or otherwise. Things keep going on, they overlap and blur, your story is part of your sister’s story is part of many other stories, and there is no telling where any of them may lead.”
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