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floralfae's review against another edition
5.0
5 ✧ ༉‧₊˚.
“the circus arrives without warning. no announcements precede it. it is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”
if anyone was to ask me if i’ve ever experienced magic, i would tell them about the circus of dreams, and how the pages of this little book seemed to be weaved with it themselves.
“the circus arrives without warning. no announcements precede it. it is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”
if anyone was to ask me if i’ve ever experienced magic, i would tell them about the circus of dreams, and how the pages of this little book seemed to be weaved with it themselves.
bummelz's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
5.0
cdrescher's review against another edition
4.0
This book is definitely not for everyone; if you love thrilling, romantic, sweeping novels I think you should run away.
That being said, this book is BEAUTIFUL. The writing, the scenery, the circus itself, I just want to go to Le Cirque des Reves.
There needed to be an extra oopmh for this to be 5 stars--and the back page synopsis is almost a straight-up lie.
That being said, this book is BEAUTIFUL. The writing, the scenery, the circus itself, I just want to go to Le Cirque des Reves.
There needed to be an extra oopmh for this to be 5 stars--and the back page synopsis is almost a straight-up lie.
lisakerd's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely gorgeous. Everything (the plot, setting, characters, writing style) is expertly executed in this magical and truly imaginative tale. Getting swept up in this beautiful story was exactly what I needed right now—an oasis in the desert that is the ongoing pandemic.
emrodav's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted so much to love this novel. And I did love parts of it, but it wasn't everything I hoped for.
First and foremost, as it has been mentioned by other reviewers, the writing is beautiful. It's lyrical and interesting, and I enjoyed the descriptions. However, they lasted too long. there was little development of any of the characters except for the circus. That is the emphasis, and the descriptions are amazing, but you can't build a novel (at least not one that I enjoy) based solely on that.
The plot was sluggish. It seemed to take forever for anything to happen besides beautiful descriptions. The so-called 'competition' between Celia and Marco was uninteresting, and their relationship is hardly touched on. They speak to each other for the first real time, and the next chapter they are in love, with no explanations given, no reason why these young people should or do love each other.
To sum it all up, I guess, the writing is beautiful. It's magical, but the novel as a whole isn't. It took much too long for anything to truly happen. I have to look past this and give it 3 stars for the beauty of the writing. There was so much promise, and I had such high hopes, that the actual story didn't live up to.
If you are a very patient reader, one who is willing to stick with a book just for the author's gift with description, then I bet you would enjoy this. If you want the fierce plot, the completion, and the beautiful language, then you should search elsewhere.
First and foremost, as it has been mentioned by other reviewers, the writing is beautiful. It's lyrical and interesting, and I enjoyed the descriptions. However, they lasted too long. there was little development of any of the characters except for the circus. That is the emphasis, and the descriptions are amazing, but you can't build a novel (at least not one that I enjoy) based solely on that.
The plot was sluggish. It seemed to take forever for anything to happen besides beautiful descriptions. The so-called 'competition' between Celia and Marco was uninteresting, and their relationship is hardly touched on. They speak to each other for the first real time, and the next chapter they are in love, with no explanations given, no reason why these young people should or do love each other.
To sum it all up, I guess, the writing is beautiful. It's magical, but the novel as a whole isn't. It took much too long for anything to truly happen. I have to look past this and give it 3 stars for the beauty of the writing. There was so much promise, and I had such high hopes, that the actual story didn't live up to.
If you are a very patient reader, one who is willing to stick with a book just for the author's gift with description, then I bet you would enjoy this. If you want the fierce plot, the completion, and the beautiful language, then you should search elsewhere.
issianne's review against another edition
5.0
4.5. Honestly I had no idea I’d be rating this so high while I was reading most of this. But there’s something so alluring by the writing, the way in which the plot unfurled, the boundary-less illusions, and the ambiguity.
lexreading1997's review against another edition
4.5
I was so surprised by how much I liked this, felt like a good mix of fantasy with some really substantial stuff in
smileygb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0