Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

112 reviews

oceanbluetay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

boring.
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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is really lovely. I was confused at the time switches, so I would've had a hard time reading an ebook or audiobook version. 
The imagery is so vivid that I could for real add each element to a mental picture that I could easily construct. Your images will look different, even given the same description, and I think that's what the circus is all about. 
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elladee's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

it's a great story, but I don't think it's for me. 

writing, worldbuilding, atmosphere - all of it was extremely well done, but sometimes it felt like the story was lacking the beating heart it needed. I didn't root for the main love story as much as I wanted to, possibly because the characters took a backseat to the setting. that isn't quite what I want in a book, so although I recognize that it's beautifully and wonderfully well written, it didn't land well with me.
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mysteryharvey's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

This book is gorgeous and an absolutely breathtaking twist on the circus. It follows two young people being brought up and raised for a challenge neither can comprehend. This book 100% has a plot but it is a bit tricky in the beginning. The book is not linear nor does it stick to one perspective but the characters and the premise and the beautiful descriptions keep you so hooked that you can figure out the book fairly easily. Also if you are looking for an audiobook, it is read by Jim Dale (reader of the Harry Potter books and narrator of pushing daises) and he does an excellent job of keeping this huge cast of characters clear.
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mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Le Cirque des Rêves arrives without warning and is only open from sunset to sunrise. The circus, and this book, is filled with magic, drama, art, love and mysticism. This is the story of the circus, why it was started and the people that keep it running, it is a truly beautiful book and I would do anything to be one of the dreamers for a night.
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bexi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I loved the experience of reading this. It was so atmospheric and relaxing. However, I often found it hard to folllow because of the back and forth POVs and timelines. I also did myself the disservice of switching between the audio and digital versions willy nilly, which didn't help the matter. But in my defense I've been struggling to physically read this year (not in a good head space), so the audiobook was very helpful in actually finishing the book. Plus it's narrated by Jim Dale, my favorite audiobook narrator, so how could I resist?

My point is that I'm not entirely sure what I read and I definitely missed some things, but the experience was lovely despite any confusion. 😅 I'd like to reread this, in just one format, when my mind isn't gobbledygook. 🙈
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lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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meant2breading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I listened to this audiobook and it had a spectacular narration by Jim Dale! He had a wonderful tone and pacing to his voice as well as narrated the very descriptive writing beautifully. I don’t think I could recommend this book to everyone as I can understand why some folks perceive the plot to be lacking or progress too slowly. I also didn’t connect as deeply with the characters, more so Celia than Marco. The frequent time hops also were a bit difficult to keep track of in the audio version. However, the Night Circus 🎪 for me felt whimsical, dark and twisty, and very immersive into the magic that ties everyone and the circus together. These aspects and the high quality writing and narration is why I overall had a very pleasant read.  
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kristicakes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A loving and alluring pastiche of present, past and future, the Night Circus is a great book for lovers of mystery and magic. The plot centres around le Cirque des rêves, a circus that appears suddenly and is only open at night. The circus is a battleground between two magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been forced into a competition that neither participant quite understands. As the magic of the circus deepens, the two get entangled more and more, and the performers begin to suspect something is afoot...

My most adored parts of the book are the descriptions of the circus venues, from the enigmatic Labyrinth to the Wishing Tree and the Ice Garden. The symbolism of a circus that is adorned in black and white, and it is the visitors who bring colour to it, shows immaculate sense of the book's themes. I was immediately drawn to the character of Bailey and loved how the narrative slowly incorporates him and the rêveurs. A delightful tale with a bittersweet ending that I look forward to reading next time the circus rolls into town!
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