A review by laurareads87
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

After having The Night Circus sitting on my e-reader for an embarassingly long time, I'm so glad I finally got to reading it.  It is a bit of a hard book to discuss without giving plot spoilers, so I won't discuss the plot at all except to say -- as other reviewers have mentioned -- the blurb for this book doesn't really capture what the book is actually about: the description of duelling magicians brings something like The Prestige to mind, but this is really not that kind of book.  I would argue that the main character in this book is actually the setting, Le Cirque des Rêves.  Some readers won't be into this, but I love it -- as a lover of circuses, divination, and magic, I was totally swept away by how Morgenstern has brought Le Cirque to life, conjuring up its sights, sounds, and smells in great detail.  This is very much a setting-focused book.  I also appreciated the effective inclusion of multiple POVs and the slow revealing of layers of the mystery at the heart of the circus.  What I didn't love was the inclusion of an 'insta-love' kind of a romance that frankly, I thought the book would've been better without.  Overall, though, I enjoyed The Night Circus and will look forward to reading more of Morgenstern's work on this basis.
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