Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Night Circus

Wow was this book crazy. This book definatley fit the storybook vibe, and it made me feel like I was reading the story of Celia and Marco's lives. I really enjoyed this book and the characters; however I did find a few issues.

Number 1: THIS BOOK WAS SO SLOW!! When I tell you there are parts of the summary that don't even become a part of the story until the second half of the book, you know it's slow. Some people could probably get past the pacing, but ocassionally having a semi-interesting bit of info every 30 pages or so doesn't cut it for me.

Number 2: I wish we learned more of some of the side characters' stories. I was left wanting to know more about Isobel and Tsukiko and their lives outside of the circus. I understand that the author wanted to focus on Celia and Marco more because of a desired effect (not knowing everyone's story and life outside of your experiences with them), but come on! I want more Kiko!

Number 3: I did not enjoy the subtle time jumps that happened almost every chapter. It made it hard for me to get very into the story becuase the time line was all over the place. i.e. going from like 1886 to 1902 in the most causual manner and then in the next chapter going back to like 1889.

Overall I think this would be a book that is better to be an assigned reading at school rather than on your own because there is a lot of symbolism and it involved quite a bit of Googling for me because I don't know tarot meanings or things of that nature.

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matonnhermann's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I liked this book, but the time jumps and there being so many characters threw me off a lot. (It was hard to keep track of sometimes).

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mdwsn27's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious slow-paced

3.5

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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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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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kirjakimalainen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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bookbrenna's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I listened to the audiobook for The Night Circus and I enjoyed it. I loved listening to Jim Dale give each character a voice and life. Erin Morgenstern's writing is beautiful and detailed and fun. The Night Circus bounces between the past and the present and that form of storytelling had me excited for every new chapter. However, no matter how much I loved listening to it when I was done I was a little disappointed. The writing is beautiful for the first three quarters of the novel but becomes less so in the last quarter of the book. It felt rushed, as though the author saw the finish line and was beginning to hurry to get to the end. I didn't have a problem with how Ms. Morgenstern ended her novel, I just didn't like how rushed it felt when we got there.

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