The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, reviewed by Eleanor

Author: Goodreads/Twitter/Website
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Pages: 387
Buy this book: Amazon uk/Amazon com
Rating: 3.5 stars

What is this book about? In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love... GOODREADS

Who should read this book? I don't think this would appeal to anyone over 14/15.

Would you have tea with the protagonist? Yes, although she was a little boring, her magic is pretty cool.

Would you fall for the main love interest? No.

Would you want to 'strain' the main antagonist? There wasn't really one antagonist but instead various conflicts between characters. I wouldn't strain any of these though.

Were the characters three dimensional? Definitely.

Would you like to have tea in a cafe at Le Cirque des Rêves? Yeeeah, and one of those cinnamon things they sell.

Do you like the authors flavour of writing? Yes.

Was the writing strong or weak? Very strong.

Was the ending to your taste? A very tasteful ending, although I was left a little confused (in a good way)

If this cover were tea, would you drink it? I think that this cover is pretty and goes with the story well, so yeah I guess.

Favourite Quote?
"Now the circus is open. Now you may enter"

Overview: When you start reading this book you have no idea what is going on, and you feel this way for just about.. the whole way through. Yet this is what makes this book so special. The characters are interesting and alive and I found myself enjoying all of their little stories until they eventually all intertwined into this magical ending. Another thing I loved about this book was that it goes into second tense for a couple of scattered chapters, a tense which is very rare in fiction at the moment but that really did work! This is a great fantasy read and it's set in a wonderful world.

Have you read this book? What did you think?