Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: September 13, 2011

Synopsis: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Verdict: This book is so amazing that I can't even construct a proper, articulate review and instead am reduced to writing phrases that I hope can convey at least a fraction of this book's radiance.

The Night Circus is an enchanting, fantastical, spellbinding story. Erin Morgenstern is a literary genius. This book was a warm fire on a cold, winter night; a blooming rose in a bushel of weeds; and a gleaming diamond in a pile of coal. It read like a dream that I never wanted to end. Everything about this book was perfect- from the gleaming black cover to the very last sentence. It's strange how much I really wish I were able to visit the Le Cirque des Rêves. I can almost imagine that it really exists, that this beautiful circus filled with the most unique people is really out there. That it's visiting different cities as I write this review. That if I'm very patient and if I wish hard enough, it will appear out of nowhere in my own hometown. But until then, I will satisfy myself with opening this book and re-reading the adventure and falling in love all over again.....

In conclusion, I hope my review (if you can actually call it that) will convey two very important things: the first, how much I loved this book and second, that I hope I have convinced you to read it, or the at the very least add it to your to-read pile. If I have, then I have succeeded in what I set out to do and my work here is done.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

-Kristen ♥