The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The story is about two magicians put into a contest against each other that they do not fully understand. They both can use real magic but pass off their skills as mere illusions to the rest of the world. The playing field is a mysterious circus that appears without warning and is open only at night. Within the walls of this circus the magicians create amazing things for the circus patrons as part of the competition.

The imagery in this book is wonderful. The characters are interesting and well developed and the mysterious magic and ever evolving circus is very creative. The story does drag a little at certain points and some of the relationships are not as layered and interesting as I thought they could be and so I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. However, this is one of several great books I've read this year.

My only hope is that Morgenstern doesn't allow herself to be talked into a series for this book. I felt that this story was completely told in this book and don't feel the meager loose ends lend themselves to another book. I know that there is pressure to find the next money-making series now that Hunger Games is over and Twilight is ending but this isn't it. I would rather see her put her creativity to work is an entirely different set of characters. She is talented and should move herself beyond this one book.

View all my reviews