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A review by coralinejones
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
4.75
I SO, SO, SO, SOOOO BADLY wanted to give this a full 5 stars. It was on the very tips of my fingers and I couldn't fathom giving this novel anything but. The prose is absolutely stunning. Magical, otherworldly, atmospheric, cinematic, creative; everything I could ever want from a fantasy book. I adore high/epic fantasy, but there's something so comforting about magic and the (for lack of better word) stereotypical elements of the genre. Just knowing that there aren't any high stakes and the characters can exist, whilst having an intriguing upcoming conflict, made this the perfect cocktail for me. I could easily see this piece becoming a movie if it already isn't in the works somewhere.
Then the latter half of the book fell open and well... Close to five stars, instead! I'd like to say that it was a pleasure to experience this book before I explain why it kind of fell apart for me after a while.
The start of "The Night Circus" was incredibly magical and sophisticated, as I stated above. I felt like I had stepped into a well thought-out fairy-tale, like I had drifted off to sleep while someone was reading me a bedtime story and the rest of the narrative manifested into my dreams. But, even with that in mind, so much of it is just boring? I found myself dazing in and out of the story at certain points wishing I was back in Bailey's POV, for example, or that the narrative would go back to feeling as fantastical as it had when the book began.
There was an air of mystery and intrigue when you start "The Night Circus", unsure of how the magic will manifest, curious about the "games" constantly being brought up, wanting to see how Celia grows up with her overbearing father, how the tournament between Celia and Marco will manifest... And, spoiler I suppose, I always knew they would end up together, or at the very least fall for each other despite their circumstances, but the way it actually happened bothered me a bit? Also the "game" in question really dragged a bit and I, personally, didn't appreciate the explanation of why they were competing in the first place alllll the way at the end of the novel. Especially since there was barely a "games" or anything of the sort to begin with because Celia and Marco had fallen in love... Am I making sense.
In fact, I liked Bailey's relationship with Poppet more than Celia and Marco.
In fact x2, Celia and Marco weren't really /that/ interesting to begin with... Celia was more interesting when she was younger. But, truly, as they both aged throughout the story they become less and less interesting to me.
Again, this isn't to take away from the rest of the novel. I could literally taste the food as described on the page. I was sneaking into that damn circus with Bailey, I was. But, yeah, I wish it all could've came together a bit tighter in the end.
Then the latter half of the book fell open and well... Close to five stars, instead! I'd like to say that it was a pleasure to experience this book before I explain why it kind of fell apart for me after a while.
The start of "The Night Circus" was incredibly magical and sophisticated, as I stated above. I felt like I had stepped into a well thought-out fairy-tale, like I had drifted off to sleep while someone was reading me a bedtime story and the rest of the narrative manifested into my dreams. But, even with that in mind, so much of it is just boring? I found myself dazing in and out of the story at certain points wishing I was back in Bailey's POV, for example, or that the narrative would go back to feeling as fantastical as it had when the book began.
There was an air of mystery and intrigue when you start "The Night Circus", unsure of how the magic will manifest, curious about the "games" constantly being brought up, wanting to see how Celia grows up with her overbearing father, how the tournament between Celia and Marco will manifest... And, spoiler I suppose, I always knew they would end up together, or at the very least fall for each other despite their circumstances, but the way it actually happened bothered me a bit? Also the "game" in question really dragged a bit and I, personally, didn't appreciate the explanation of why they were competing in the first place alllll the way at the end of the novel. Especially since there was barely a "games" or anything of the sort to begin with because Celia and Marco had fallen in love... Am I making sense.
In fact, I liked Bailey's relationship with Poppet more than Celia and Marco.
In fact x2, Celia and Marco weren't really /that/ interesting to begin with... Celia was more interesting when she was younger. But, truly, as they both aged throughout the story they become less and less interesting to me.
Again, this isn't to take away from the rest of the novel. I could literally taste the food as described on the page. I was sneaking into that damn circus with Bailey, I was. But, yeah, I wish it all could've came together a bit tighter in the end.