The Night Circus

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 in an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Reves, 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. Amidst 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.

Loved

•  The Night Circus itself. Wow. Besides Hogwarts, the Le Cirques des Reves is definitely the most magical place I've ever visited. In this story, we don't read about Le Cirques des Reves- we experience it. We are there smelling the caramel apples and cider, seeing the black and white with splashes of red, feeling the chill as we pull our jackets a little tighter, and marveling at the tangible magic tingling around us. Just thinking about the circus makes me homesick for its comfort and enchantment.

• The writing. This is one of those stories where you are completely enchanted with the story from the first few lines. This writing is lyrical, mesmerizing, and engaging. Erin Morgenstern's prose drips with gorgeous imagery and such vivid descriptions that we are right there in the circus experiencing everything with the characters. This masterful storytelling is the silver thread with which all the magic of this story is woven.

• The magic. Unlike many fantasy stories, this world doesn't have a specific magic system. We don't know how the magic works except through talent, practice, and spells. Normally I like to have specifics on the magic system, but in this story I loved that the magic is subtle and mysterious. We never quite know if it's real magic or an illusion- but not knowing adds to that sense of wonder and awe we experience every time we visit Le Cirques des Reves.

• The mystery. This story is one where we never quite know exactly what's going on- and we're not supposed to know. The story is told through lots- I mean at least 10 or more- different perspectives, all happening in different years and different countries. This makes the story hard to follow, but in the end we see how all the pieces of the story were small threads being slowly woven into a gorgeous tapestry. As with the mystery of the magic, the mystery of the plot, time jumps, and different perspectives of the characters all added to create a sense of wonder that made the story even more enchanting and mesmerizing.

• The romance. As a disclaimer, this story is described as a romance taking place within a circus. This is true, but I would say the novel is not about the romance- it's about the circus itself. However, this romance is enchanting and powerful- high stakes, forbidden love, and pitched against each other in an ancient and violent competition. I didn't particularly like Marco, but I did love his adoration for Celia. The resolution to their story was just as mysterious, awe-inpsiring, and beautiful as the rest of Le Cirque des Reves' story.

• The narration. Jim Dale narrates the audiobook for this story, and of course he did a fabulous job. His different inflections and his melodic voice greatly added to the magic of this story and made it even more spellbinding. I highly recommend listening to this, even if you've already physically read it!

Didn't Love

• I have so many thoughts about this book. First of all, I give it five stars- 100%. It blew me away. But, not in the way I expected. I had read on Goodreads so many reviews about this book "blowing your mind" and to prepare yourself to be completely blown away at the ending when everything comes together- so I had very high expectations. I was expecting Code Name Verity status where the author has completely outsmarted you the whole book. The ending of this book was good, but I wouldn't say it was mind-blowing. The mysteries do come together and there are clever threads of clues and hints woven throughout the book, but there weren't as many huge revelations as I hoped. I wouldn't change the ending or anything about the book, but I would like to have changed my expectations. Readers fall in love with this book because of its whimsical writing and magical setting, but not necessarily because of the plot. Again, I give this book five stars easily- but I would say to go into this story expecting to be swept away in a magical setting, but not blown away by a completely earth-shattering plot and ending.

Content

• Language:
• One use of "f***" found in the first chapter. Otherwise, occasional uses of "damn," and "hell."

• Sexual content:
• Some mellow kisses.
• One sex scene- describes taking off each other's clothes, kissing all over, touching each other's skin, and waking up next to each other. No graphic details.
• Some innuendo- jokes about corsets coming undone, etc.
• A female character references having affairs with many different "princesses and peasants" throughout the time of the circus.

• Violence:
• A character is killed by a train and there is debate whether it was suicide or an accident.
• A character is killed by a knife landing in his chest from a throw.

• Other themes:
• We have some LGBTQ+ representation: a secondary character talks about her romance with a woman she loved more than anything. 

Overall Thoughts

After reading this story, I didn't feel like I had just read a novel. I felt like I had just returned from traveling to Le Cirque des Reves, and I missed it after returning home. I fell in love with this circus from the first lines and my wonder and adoration of its performers, smells, sights, and mystery only grew throughout the story. I fell head over heels into the mystery of this story and the jumping plot lines- desperate to find out how everything came together, but dreading having to leave the circus and its story. I would say to go into this story expecting to be completely swept away by the whimsical writing, vivid characters, and enchanting atmosphere, but don't expect to be completely blown away by the plot or its resolution. The threads do come together and the ending is very clever, but don't set your expectations too high. Just let yourself enjoy the sights, smells, wonder, mystery, and dreaminess of this stunning story and let yourself be swept away into a world where magic is just real enough to leave us tingling, spell bound, and aching for more.