The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Summary: 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.
Summary and Cover Image from indiebound.org

My Review: Erin Morgenstern has created a unique tale of a peculiar circus, one only open at night in which the most curious illusions are performed. It’s more than a circus though. This is the venue for a deadly competition. Two magicians chosen and trained during childhood will dual without rules and with no end in sight. The magic rolls off these pages. And interlaced throughout is a tale of forbidden love. It’s most difficult to say much more without giving away the story.

The detailed writing style will take the reader directly into the circus.The reader will be introduced to multiple interesting characters, each unique in his/her own way. The story jumps around the timeline so attention must be paid to dates. There are several storylines that merge into one and bits of a poem that appear occasionally and only make true sense in the end.

The author toes the line of excessive detail, yet her descriptions manage to blend perfectly to create a story rich in detail without being weighed down by excessive verbiage. The cover and overall design of the novel are beautiful. It is masterfully designed both inside and out to entertain a tale where magic, love, and a dangerous game unite.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

To Sum it up: A beautifully mysterious spellbinding tale.