Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

60 reviews

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Classism, and Cursing

One of the side characters get hit by a train

and dies, and people try to make it out that she killed herself (but the reader will know it's not true).

kattila's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content

bookbrenna's review

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

3.5

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Child abuse

craftysnailtail's review

lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

So initially, I thought this book would be about 3⭐ for me. It was very difficult to follow as an audiobook, with it jumping back and forth in time and character focus. It was also painstakingly slow and long-winded. I started it in Sept and let the rental lapse twice over the course of 5 months before I finally finished it. 

But I think if I had read this rather than listened, I would've liked it a lot more. And even more confusingly, I keep thinking about this freaking book! I've read several very good books since this one, but whenever I space out throughout the week, this book is what pops into my head. The fanciful descriptions of the circus have burrowed under my skin. And that ending! Unlike any other book I've read. I think I would have been missing out if I hadn't gotten to that ending. 

This novel really felt like a meandering dream in the most frustrating yet fascinating way... So I have to bump up my rating. I think maybe the author achieved exactly what they meant to. It was just very difficult to stick with it in audiobook form. And you have to be in the mood for a book this unique. Do you want to feel like you're tripping through a magical circus where time moves incredibly slowly? Then this is the book for you!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Mental illness

megj23's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Murder, and Suicide

zophronia's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death

ninahuynh's review

adventurous slow-paced

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

5.0

If you enjoy multiple storylines and interconnected plots, this is the book for you. Every character has their own breath and life. The jumping in timeline is a bit confusing, moreso since I listened to it. That ending was not how I expected it to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content

adyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Beautiful book, the imagery and magic of it all was stellar. I wanted to read it during a blizzard while listening to haunting classical music. It’s not 5 stars for me because the characters weren’t particularly compelling, and that’s what I value most in a book. 

But I don’t think this book was meant to have super deep character development. I think it was meant to sweep you off your feet with magic, to parallel the experience of visiting Le Cirques de Rêves. And it does that excellently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Addiction

tays_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, and Self harm

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Death of parent

kathrynok's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief