Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

55 reviews

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicide

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. His punishment? And his reward." —Oscar Wilde, The Critical as Artist

Undeniably beautiful writing in a turn of the century fairytale that is groundedly gritty and soaringly ethereal. I don't care for circuses, but it was the exact right venue for this story. This one didn't knock me off my feet quite as much as The Starless Sea, which I read first and with no expectations. Partly, I think, because I wasn't as enamored with Marco as I maybe was supposed to be and I wasn't as satisfied with the ending here, but mostly because:
"The finest of pleasure are always the unexpected ones." 

Definitely recommend for fans of The Starless Sea and Alix Harrow's Ten Thousand Doors of January.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol and Abandonment

Abuse of magic/violation of personal agency: stealing memories, advancing by magically enhanced charm and looks

tomoonarmy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Death

annasbooks00's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

10/10 reading experience

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Grief

nagoatsis's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Sexual content

laneys_library's review against another edition

challenging inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

So so beautiful! I can’t even describe how this book makes me feel. I have the extreme desire to experience the circus for myself. Usually I don’t prefer slow paced books but I loved every second of this! The authors writing is so gorgeous I feel as if I’m there, at the magical night circus. This book is so mysterious, mystical, and surreal. I beg you to read it if you haven’t already! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy

zoeelora's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Infertility, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

What a magical story! I will never be able to wrap my head around how talented Erin is and how she can interweave stories and timelines and make the most beautiful story of them all. The writing itself is beautiful but so was the plot. I fell in love with the circus and wished I was there, finding new tents every night, as two magicians played a dangerous game and tested the limits and the rules. There was the perfect amount of sacrifice and loss and love and happiness to make the most bittersweet ending and this will definitely be a book I recommend to friends in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Blood, and Child abuse

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

samchase112's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

A magical, immersive reading experience — I can 100% understand why everyone was hyping this book up for so long! The main characters, and by extension the romance, were definitely the least interesting and least fleshed out part of the book, but the dazzling world and secondary cast more than made up for the dimmer leads. I truly enjoyed my time with The Night Circus, and am so glad I finally stepped into its gorgeous pages.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Stalking and Suicide