Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - The Night Circus

The Night Circus intrigued me with its iconic opening line, and the rest of the story kept me going. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and completely understand why so many people love it.

The Night Circus flips back and forth between two main timelines and progresses through about 30 years of time. Erin Morgenstern is such a smart writer, she structured this novel so well and crafted so many lovely point-of-view characters. The book was very atmospheric, which was definitely its strong suit. I sometimes found myself wishing that I understood how the magic worked a little bit more, but I also felt like that air of mystery was intentional so I didn't mind that too much.

I think the biggest weak point was the relationship between Marco and Celia. I didn't find myself believing their feelings for each other amounted to love. When other people talked about them I could see it, but where they were together I didn't buy the romance. That didn't detract too much from the book, but I think that's what kept it from being a 5 star read for me.

All in all, this was a lovely book that I would definitely reread. 4 stars.

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fallandfox's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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sarah_ann_roth's review

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emotional 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

4.5

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manicpixl's review

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hopeful inspiring slow-paced

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

5.0

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lorendelponte's review

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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? It's complicated

5.0

A lovely way to end my Sunday afternoon. After five years, I finally finished an exquisite book called The Night Circus.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

I would suggest going into this book with no idea what it is about as I did.

A person, let's call them The Moon. The Moon said this book had saved their life. The moon knew the Sun was experiencing hardships and so, The Moon parted with this book and gave it to the Sun.

The Sun gave me this book, a dear gift from a dear friend, and I didn't quite understand how words could have so much power. I didn't understand the need for magic because I couldn't yet see how dark the world was.

The darkness comes, as darkness tends to do (fleeting though it was) and I picked up this book again, five years later. The Sun, being so bright and special, had told me it was time. The Night Circus came to me when I needed it most; when I couldn't feel the magic in the world anymore.

"The Night Circus arrives without warning" and I am a happier person for it. Thank you to Erin Morgenstern for making me fall in love with books, with magic again. I didn't understand before but I do now.

This is a reminder that there is darkness in the world, but it is fleeting and that magic still exists. Thank you to the Sun, who was kind when they did not have to be, to the Moon for their strength and to the part of myself I rediscovered again while experiencing this book.

Perhaps I am projecting or being sentimental and romantic. Perhaps this review is more about my self-reflection while reading than it is about the novel itself. That's okay, I think. We are all chained to subjectivity. And that's what makes reading so beautiful.

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