Reviews

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

seemeletgo's review against another edition

5.0

Fantastic!
I never thought I'd find a book as magical as the Harry Potter series.

iapark's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-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

4.5

frameturtle's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I have never found another book that gives me the same sense of whimsy and wonder like this one.

daphelba's review against another edition

5.0

I thought it impossible to publish a five-star book in 2011, where the world has seen every story that could exist, and the mind has been bent and shaped to expect magic in day to day life. Morgenstern goes above and beyond expectation, even for a spoiled and disenchanted audience. It is refreshing and nothing short of astounding!

kdailey86's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

the_nerd_huntress's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This is a very strong and impressive debut!

The prose is absolutely beautiful and the story original, captivating.

I did enjoy myself though I find it could have been 70/100 pages shorter. 

Still a brilliant book I would recommend to others.

gracefulhope's review against another edition

4.0

What a lovely book. It was wonderful to hear Jim Dale's voice describing the imaginative people, magic, and circus tents. I enjoyed sinking into this world for a brief visit to hear the story of Celia and Marco, Poppet and Widget and Bailey, and all the other characters that built, work at, and come to the circus.

ale_irigoyen's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

Celia and Marco are star-crossed lovers; they were both raised to compete against each other in a duel of endurance. They don't understand the rules, they don't even understand how to win. The only thing that they know is that the circus is their arena, and that everyone involved is somehow tied to it.
I rue the day I decided I would read this; I probably should've DNF'ed this, but at least now I know what everyone was talking about a decade ago. I wish I were the type of reader that didn't need a plot, alas I'm not.
My main issue is that there is no explanation to anything, and it made me feel dumb because I wanted to understand what the competition was about. I can't catalogue this as a romance because there was no build-up to it; after one conversation they're suddenly dying for each other, I'm sorry that is not romance, that is insta-lust. There are so many things left unexplained, specially the climax.
I can understand why this would work for most people, but it just didn't for me. 

lauraconilogue's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

10stormlight's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25