Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
0 pages, audiobook
Finished on 11/6/2012
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance
Synopsis via 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.

Motivation to Read It: The title was appealing, and when I read the synopsis I was really interested in reading it.

Review: This wasn't anything I thought it was going to be. I mean, really. Like, I thought it was gonna be one of those kid-finds-out-they-can-do-magic-and-must-save-the-world type things, only with the twists the author put on it, but it was SO far from that. I think I'm done being cliche when it comes to paranormal books. Beyond amazing.

Celia Bowen grew up learning how to do magic through hands-on exercises, her father pushing her to and beyond limits to make sure she was everything he believed it took to be the best. Marco Alisdair was pulled out of an orphanage by his instuctor, being taught magic through constant studying. They are bound together by a challenge, a game.  But only one can win; how, neither of the opponents has a clue.

I loved the characters a lot, especially the Murray twins and Bailey. They were spectacular. The Murray twins have lived at the circus their whole lives and eventually have their own show there. Their gifts, aka magic powers, were really unique, and I wish we could have seen more of their use. Bailey is a good ole' country boy. His family has different views as for what they want him to do, but Bailey is not sure what he wants to do with his life. He struck me as a person that lives solely in the moment and doesn't stress too much about how the rest of his life is going to play out.

To explain the circus a little bit better, the circus is basically the playing field for the opponents -- Celia and Marco. It is built for that purpose, yet the general public love it even though they aren't aware of this fact. I think it adds a really good twist on the novel. Another weird thing about Cirque des Rêves is that it is only open at night. I think this is also why the circus was a huge success with the general public, because of the complete uniqueness of it before you weven walked into it to devour everything else.

Overall, I really loved The Night Circus! I wish it had a sequel, or even a companion novel. I'd really love to see where Poppet, Widget, and Bailey end up later on in the future.

Shelf-Worthy