The Night Circus

I wanted to like this. The setup of the two old magicians getting two proteges to compete to the death, all to prove their particular philosophy of magic had such promise. The descriptions of the circus itself were fantastic. I loved the parts with the three kids, the twins and their friend Bailey.

Unfortunately, I wound up disappointed with the execution of the contest and the story. As much as I appreciated the idea of the circus, having the two young competitors, Marco and Celia passively challenging each other with their creations from afar does not make for great conflict. Their romance feels forced and lacks chemistry.
In the end, despite their love story, Celia and Marco should have been compelled to fight to the death. These were the guidelines set up by the writer, but she doesn't follow through. The contest is settled by a third party who intervenes and Celia and Marco never have to make a real decision to either fight for their own life or to spare the other. They just drift off into a spirit world, happily ever after.

I was hoping for some tension and emotional/psychological stakes from this story. Certainly, the two older magicians, A.H. and Prospero could have faced some real consequences for putting these two young people in this position. There was a such a big build up that amounted to very little.