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 both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.
Well here’s the review I’ve been promising for a while! Written by Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus was a curious book. I can’t say whether I enjoyed it or not as it was a bit of a seesaw of emotions.
I took a long time to get into this book. After posting Ideas… I was pointed in the direction of The Girl Gang’s Book Club and their book for the month was this one.
It took a while for me to get into the story. I couldn’t decide whether I was enjoying it or whether I wanted to continue, you know what I mean? It was incredibly well written, a lot of description, and the concept was intriguing enough to keep me from putting it down. However, it frequently jumped from one character to another, from one year to another, and I found it hard to get into due to this lack of continuity. Whilst this is a personal opinion, I know a lot of people enjoy this sort of a book. To be honest, I was just waiting for it to end.
And yet, given my lack of attachment to the characters or the storyline, I was disappointed when it ended. Not disappointed with the ending! Disappointed it was over. It felt a tad rushed. Like a roller coaster that you’re finally beginning to enjoy (after the initial “oh god why am I on this”) and then suddenly you’re back at the start and being told to get off. Did anyone else feel the same way?
So overall I would probably rate this about 6/10. Would I read it again? Probably not. However I would recommend it to other readers so who knows!
Have a read and let me know what you think!
Ktkinnes xx