REVIEW: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

*Cover and Summary from Goodreads

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Doubleday
Published Date: 13 September 2011
Edition: 1st; Hardcover: 387 pages

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.*


My Review: (also posted on my Goodreads page) 

I am very fond of this book and I sincerely loved this book, dislikes and all.

The book starts out agonizingly slow, but if you get through it you will not regret pushing on.

What I loved most was the descriptions. The descriptions in this book are so vivid and so colorful. I thought I could actually see the lights of circus when I close my eyes, or smell the familiar scent of caramel popcorn, or hear the people's amazement. I thought I could see the stars from the Stargazer and feel the coolness from the Ice Garden. I have never been to a circus in my life, but in this book it's like I have. That's how good Morgenstern's writing is. The way she describes The Night Circus, I thought I was living it. I longed to live in it. I wanted to be where The Night Circus was. She took my usual description of a circus and made it better. She made the circus sophisticated and daring, dazzling and dark all at once.

Although the romance in this book is a little downplayed and not really the main center of the book until a certain turning point, Marco and Celia's moments were intense. They're love felt strong and believable. I was so invested in their love. I wanted more scenes with the them. They are truly a perfect match for each other. It broke my heart how much they longed to be together. I felt their pain and sorrow. I just wanted them to be together so much I thought I was going to cry. I thought my heart would burst from the love they have for each other.

"It is destroying me that I cannot ask you to dance," Marco whispers as she passes by him in the ballroom, the deep green of his suit seeping across her gown like moss.

I love the different characters in the book. Of course, my favorite is Marco and Celia. But I enjoyed the scenes with Poppet, Widget and Bailey. I love their interactions. I loved reading about them going through different tents in the circus. I love how many of the people involved within the circus became very close friends. However, because there was so much description of the circus and tents, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. The only character I was remotely connected with was Celia, especially in the beginning. Although I couldn't form much of a connection toward the characters, it doesn't mean they are not likable because they are. I thought every character had a part to play and I enjoyed that.

The book constantly shifts perspectives from different characters, some dealing with the circus, some who are not directly dealing with the circus. There is also a change in time or more precisely, year; back and forth. At first, this made it very difficult for me. It made it hard for me to distinguish between characters and I constantly had to go back to check what year it was or where the circus was at and who the heck perspective it is. Eventually, I got used to it and everything started to flow easily for me. The air of mystery in this book is so lovely that I didn't mind being confused some of the time. I wanted to get sucked into Marco and Celia's game, it was hard not to. Half way through the book I was turning the pages faster than I could read. The intensity of this book is amazing. The last half of the book really draws you in.

The best part is probably the lack of predictability. I never knew what would happen next. I never guess how Marco and Celia's game would play out. I was so shocked when something happened because I never ever expected for something like that to occur. I think this is what makes this book so interesting. The mystery of the circus and the game mixed in with the unexpectedness in every turn of the page. By the end of the book, I didn't know whether I should laugh with joy, cry with sadness or throw the book across the room in a fit of anger. My emotions were all tied up after reading the last page that I am still recovering from the aftermath of it all.

Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl.

Nevertheless, Erin Morgenstern was able to suck me into this fantasy world I thought I could never love. The Night Circus is everything I thought it should be. It is purely magical with its own sense of beauty all wrapped in one intense love story that captures your heart and never ever lets you go. I loved it.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.