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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Narrator: Jim Dale
Published by Random House Audio on 13th September 2011
Genres: Magic, Romance, Supernatural, YA Fantasy, Young Adult
Length: 13 hours and 39 minutes
Format: Audible
Source: I bought it
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
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.
I have heard about this book a lot on Instagram and I’ve seen it compared to Caraval which I really enjoyed. I had an audible credit so I thought I would use it. I enjoyed this book. It was unlike anything I have read before. I see why it is compared to Caraval but equally, it is not the same.
The whole thing was fascinating. The characters, the circus, the whole world but the reason I can’t give it 5 stars is the ending. For me, it was so anti-climatic. I was waiting for something big and dramatic and it just fell short of the rest of the book.
I loved the two main characters, Celia and Marco. I loved seeing their creations. It was always exciting to see what would come up next. My favourite characters though were the Murray twins. There was something about them that just had me so excited when they were in the spotlight.
The Circus itself is so integral to the story that it should really count as a character. The descriptions are very detailed and it’s very easy to visualise. It sounds magical and I can see why people would visit in droves and return time and time again.
The circus might be magical but there was also an element of danger to it. If those involved asked too many questions or didn’t do what they were supposed to then things got dicey for them. There were a few tragedies in this book that were just heartbreaking.
Erin can definitely do world-building. Erin creates a world that is enticing and dangerous. You just need to be a part of it. The rest of the story outweighs the ending for me and for the sheer uniqueness of this book I would still recommend it. For the descriptions and the magic, I think this book is worth the read despite the ending.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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