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folkofthebook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
“The circus arrives without warning.”
if you thought caraval was trippy, give this a whirl 🖤
slow-paced, but vivid and fantastical. i admittedly felt a bit bogged down sometimes with the time jump POV changes and would have liked a little more of the romance, but overall erin morgenstern delivers a vividly crafted tale of magic, time, and mystery. she cuts no corners on her lush scenery and revelry, the imagery so vibrant and detailed you can almost taste the caramel popcorn.
“When all of this is over, no matter which one of us wins, I will not let you go so easily. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
flowersindecember's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Suicide, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Violence
megj23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Murder, and Suicide
koyali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I think for the past half hour after finishing this book, I've been floating. Even now I'm very disoriented typing on my computer, and that means that it is the perfect headspace to write a review.
First of all, I am left absolutely stunned and breathless by the writing style. I've always loved this type of prose, and the way the circus is set up is incredible. The best I can describe it is that I'm very surprised that this story is a book sitting on my desk and not a portal to another world. It's whimsical, fantastical and feels as if a master spun the dreams of a child and made it into reality. If I were to judge this book on worldbuilding alone, it would be easily a 5/5. However, though I remember many details of the circus, I can barely remember what Marco looks like. Perhaps that's an oversight on my part?
Speaking of Marco, I liked his romance with Celia. It wasn't as grand or passionate as I had hoped, and frankly I didn't really care whether they had a happy ending or not. To me, they were more like windows into this insanely intricate world. Can't you tell that I really liked the worldbuilding?
The other characters were far more interesting to me. Bailey, Herr Thiessen, Isobel, and Tara were some of my favorites. All likeable to some extent(unless you don't like Isobel, which is fair) and felt the most human out of all the cast. Which makes sense as most lived their lives outside of the circus, or were more connected to the outside world than others. The characters inside, like the Marray Twins or Celia, felt unreal. Just like the circus I suppose, which I can describe the best as dreamy and foggy.
Also, I am very unashamed to say that Bailey's POV was my favorite. I was very happy whenever I turned the page and saw the date October 1902 (and I think I liked his romance more than the main one, honestly).
I would love to own a copy of this book, just to dissect it and relive it. Not because it was a 5 star read, but because I feel like I would appreciate it much more if I reread it knowing the ending.
Overall, 4.5/5 stars, almost entirely because of the stellar prose. I need to reread this.
Moderate: Blood
eddiroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Minor: Suicide, Death, Murder, and Blood
takarakei's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
tays_books's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Alcohol, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Death of parent
filipacmiranda's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Moderate: Blood and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent
eliasaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Reading this was a slog from start to finish. The first 2/3 of the book is purely aesthetic, describing the magic (but not well... what actually are the rules of the system?), describing the characters (of which there are rather a lot), and describing the circus in addition to various other settings. Also, I'm aware I'm in the minority here, but I actually didn't care that much for the writing. Pretty, yes, but I felt the dreamlike style the author adopted sacrificed important details.
Things start to pick up around the final quarter, but it's too little too late. As others have mentioned, the love story between the two main characters felt rushed and shoehorned in. The competition, too, was so vague it seemed almost comical because it could have entailed nearly anything, and it seemed like the author just filled parts in when she needed a constraint to move some other aspect along. I wasn't attached to the main characters at all, and I actively disliked Marco. I really only finished this because I read it for Storygraph's first official readalong. On my own, I wouldn't have bothered.
This book was not for me, and I won't be picking up anything else from this author.
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Suicide and Alcohol
merenguita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved the worldbuilding and the mystical ambiance (the narration is absolutley beautiful all the way through), that kept me hooked but I don't think it was enough to make me enjoy the whole story.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Suicide