The Night Circus

This is by far the slowest burn I have ever read. I didn't fully enjoy the book until about 80% in. I was confused a lot and got lost in the time jump shuffles. The ending was the best part!

I really enjoyed this book, mostly for the vibes. I liked the writing style a lot, the book really takes you into the circus and all its weird nooks and crannies. It has some interesting worldbuilding and characters, and the story is intriguing, but does not really come together in a satisfying way. I read a review halfway throughout the book that mentioned something about the vibes being more important to the story than the plot and that really helped frame the reading experience and made me enjoy it a lot more, so that's something to keep in mind for this book. I am planning to read more from this author, I hope their other books have the same vibes and maybe a slightly more satisfying plot.

Before I read it, I had heard that this book was mostly vibes and that almost nothing happens — which is both not quite true and also pretty accurate.

I loved it. The moody, immersive atmosphere and slow burn was perfect for me and I was invested in the mystery of the game. I think with a little bit of critical thinking it was obvious what was happening after a while, but it was still opaque enough to keep things fun.

I went into this book without knowing basically anything about it (including the back cover) and I think that really enhanced the experience and atmosphere. I don't know if it should have been marketed as a romance, but that's not really the book's fault. I do think that if I had been expecting a romantasy, I would have been disappointed — but I wasn't, so I was dazzled.

Well this was a reread for me. I am not sure if I liked it as much this time as I did the last but let me try to word it a little together as to why.
I mean dont get me wrong it is a good book. I really enjoy the whole consept of a cirus that operates at night. Where the entire consept is LITTARY magic and they are somehwat trying to hide it a little to seem like mechanics and trick to make it more belivinble for the general audience. I like the entire idea and consept of the competition.I was still a little bummed when they said and relaved that somone had to die in order for there to be a winner of the contest I mean it just made me kinda sad and ye I dont know.

In terms of the romece of the book I liked how little space it takes. The main storyline was never their love. It is really about the challange that Marco and Celia have between each other, it is about the circus and stuff happening there. It is about how it growns and changes and just how amazig it is.

In terms of writing I find it both straight forward and enchanting. It is really straight forward in the style without just telling you stuff. It allows you to imgaian properly how things look or came to be without it being too complicated and long. This also may be due to the fact that many of us are fammiliar with what a circus is and the general things that are being disribed is mainly a extended and more magical version of what we already know.

I can not comment anything about the historical aspect of it all. I am not an historian and honestly kow nothing about what or how it is supose to be. So just..... Neutral?

I know I have  not mentioned anything bad about it yet. Caus in some ways there was not? I just was not super exited to read it?

I find it incredibly difficult to find meaningful things to say about books I really love. I have all these thoughts that are too intense to put into words. I want to say so much more than “omg it was so good,” but that's all that comes out. Idk, maybe I just need a thesaurus. But, I mean, OMG IT WAS SO GOOD. 

Of course I enjoyed the entire book but the last half is what really did me in. For a good chunk of the last part of The Night Circus, I was overcome with so many different feelings, it was overwhelming. As I got closer to the end I dreaded it, feeling as though I might not be able to take it. My eyes were forever teary and I was on the verge of crying for so long that when I finally finished, when I finally closed the book, I erupted into intense ugly sobs, causing my boyfriend to rush to my side, concerned I was in pain or dying or something. 

If this book doesn't give me a hangover, then I am immune to them. 

UPDATE: It is days later and I still cry when I think of The Night Circus. I've been reading discussions about the book and people keep saying they feel that the relationship between Celia and Marco was rushed and that it was told but not shown. I usually don't care what other people think about the stuff I like but I found myself stewing over that comment, wondering how they could possibly be so blind to something that was shown, it was shown! And so beautifully, too! Ugh.

I've never had such an intense emotional reaction to a book that latched on and refused to let go. I think I can safely say The Night Circus is my favorite book ever.

2.5/5 stars

It's not made for me ¯_(ツ)_/¯ . I'm sure there are tons of people who read this book and have a completely different opinion on what I have to say. Check their reviews, read it, & come to your own conclusions. This a book that I was excited to read only to be disappointed. I was so close to DNFing this many times but l powered through. I was holding onto hope until the last 100 pages and that is when I accepted that this was going to have a low rating.

I am aware that a lot of people hold a lot of love for this book because of its prose and fantasy elements. These two aspects of the book made it feel so much longer than it was. For the first couple of chapters, I was fine with it but after getting halfway through the book I was tired of it. To me, it felt as if this prevented me from actually connecting to the characters which then affected how I viewed the romance aspect of the book. It felt like instant love to me. It felt as if they were interested in each other for the sole reason that they both were magicians. This can also be because there were so many characters that were explored. Some of which we have to go back in time to explore. It all ends up being too much to keep track of because in the end some of them aren't relevant at all later on in the book. Although I will say that some of these side characters were the reason I continued reading this book. (Some were more interesting than others.)

There is also a lot of exaggeration in how the book is marketed/described by other readers. There was no fierce competition or a duel. They are raised separately and told little about when the competition will happen and what it will consist of. This was rather frustrating especially when they kept hinting that it would be brutal only for it to turn out to be rather mundane. They literally build circus attractions. Sometimes it's not even competing because they help each other out when building them. In the end there are no high stakes in the book.

I would recommend this too people love overly detailed writing with very little plot. I can't say that I hate this book or regret reading it I just wish that I had grown to connect with the book.

speechless...

there was not a single moment throughout this entire book where I found myself thinking, “I know exactly what is going on right now.”

Can't stand the writing. Can't finish

very underwhelming :')

I understood the ending, why the pacing is so slow, and why it feels so open-ended. Yet I don't think that this is the type of book and story I like that much. The world building is truly spectacular, but the pacing is too slow for my liking, we never get to know the characters and feel “connected” to them, and the plot never develops much. There are just some revelations on top of other revelations about the world of the story, yet the whole plot and central “why this is happening” is very vague and, at the end simple.

I have to admit that this book got to me for the first 200 pages, the last 200 reeled me in though. I can safely say that this has brought my rating up to a 3.5 stars.

I loved Celia and Marco's relationship, after knowing each other for 16 years they were both willing to die for one another. Their ending was a little disappointing though, as wholesome as it was for them to end up together roaming the circus without being seen by anyone else ever again, I would have hoped to know they were dead instead. A little mean, I know, I can't help it though.

Aside from the many POVs I found pointless and the pain of not being able to give up, this book did interest me and I couldn't wait to get it over with (again, it sounds mean but I'm not embellishing the god honest truth). I wanted to know what was happening but I also wanted it to end so I'm glad that happened today. I don't think I would've lasted tomorrow.

All that glitters is not gold. Which is to say, I found it boring.

I have no words but reading this book felt so, so right.
To watch the story get untangled one step at a time and asking yourself how a place so rich in bliss, beauty and magic and in many ways deeply captivating originated in the years-long disagreement of two by now very old and uninspired men.

There's no consideration for any of the people who forcibly get involved in their feud and might not even know it.
And yet, every involved party contributes to the circus with their unique skills, smarts and sometimes even timing alone, making it alive and stepping out of their ascribed pawn-role, unlike intended.
It's no surprise that the events around the competition and the circus get out of control, in control, out of control....

I'm just glad that reading this book feels very much like being a part of the story, so I don't long for a place that doesn't exist.

DNF 28%. Book is awful. Nothing is explained and author forgot to write in a plot. Yet we get verbose descriptions about tents, arrows, clocks, and other random bullshit that is meaningless without a plot.

(will review later)

For now this is a dnf
Expected this book to grip me but there are too many words and too little action

3.75. Uczta dla wyobraźni i miłośników pięknego, kwiecistego języka. Koszmar dla osób pragnących szybkiego rozwoju wydarzeń i zwrotów akcji

yeah now that i think about it, this was not worth 4 stars. amazing prose can't make up for the fact that i can't remember a single piece of plot development that happened in this entire book

The atmosphere this book created was so magical I didn't even care what happened to any of the story. In fact, my favourite part was the chapters with Bailey and Her Tiessen. Which is also why this book broke my fucking heart. The way the author created the visuals in your head is just amazing. 

The way the two challengers are introduced is so cool. The juxtaposition between each other but also their tutors and their teaching style. Every detail was just beautifully done. It really shapes the narrative already just by the characters. 

Really the only thing I had some trouble with was the romance. I don't know exactly why but I didn't care that much for the main couple. Obviously, you know from the very beginning that they are going to fall in love, I mean it's some classic starcrossed lovers shit. But it just didn't do it for me. Perhaps because they were straight. That could have honestly been it, I don't know. All of the side characters were just better to me. 

All though I am noticing after a few days that it really didn't leave a last impression.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The prose is beautiful and the scenery is woven in such a way that it seems entirely organic and normal even though it presents a universe filled with magic. There is an immense tenderness about the whole book that I found particularly refreshing. If you enjoy the circus and the scenery sometimes speaks to you more than the actions you will enjoy this one.

for me, this book has all the ingredients for DNF-ing. Magical fantasy, multiple POVs, a long timeline, and a star-crossed love story at the centre of it all. But what a fantastical journey these 11 hours were. Erin Morgenstern's writing made me grin ear to ear while chopping veggies. It made me push for one more kilometre while running. I slipped into the dreamy land of Night Circus as I fell asleep.
This book at the innocence and spirit of a childhood bedtime story, but this one heals adult hearts. <3 Some health insurance these circus workers had, man.

2.5 stars. I'm so disappointed! I wanted to like this book. It was so boring! I have a lot of books on my TBR and I need to DNF books more often than I do. I admit, I thought it would get better...but I was wrong. The romance was so unbelievable. I had to skim through the last 50 pages because I just stopped caring. Not sure if I will pick up “The Starless Sea”. Only time will tell...

You know those movies that win all kinds of academy awards but you fell asleep while watching? That's this book. While the world building is slow paced and beautifully written, absolutely nothing of interest happens in this book. The love story fell short for me as well. Their entire relationship is based on their magic abilities, and nothing more. They easily could have been friends or coworkers with something in common, but lovers just doesn't feel like the right fit. Also, they fell in deep, sacrificial love after a few interactions? No. Just no.

I was confident in the first quarter of this book that I would absolutely love this, but somewhere around halfway, I realized it wasn't what I thought. The characters are incredibly flat despite having plenty of time to build them up.

I found myself about 3/4 of the way through the book wondering when we would get to the actual plot. I love magical realism and slow burns but this one just didn't do it for me.

An incredible world building that I loved so much in the first quarter, became incredibly repetitive. You don't get points for building up the circus when you describe it the same way six times.

I debated on two or three stars for this. But I ended up going with two, partially because I feel genuine anger that a writer who has the ability to build such a absolutely incredible world would write such an absolute shit love story. Not to mention the magic was... Stupid? There were no rules or even a basic understanding of the magic used ever established. From what I could tell, anybody can learn to use magic, it has literally no bounds, and you can easily keep yourself from aging. It also, incredibly, doesn't have a purpose except for making pretty things and keeping you dry in a rainstorm.

Anyways, I would not recommend this unless you go in with the full expectation that you're essentially reading for the world building. But even then, I thought this was incredible waste of time. In fact now that I'm writing this review I'm seriously considering giving it one star. If I didn't enjoy the book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone does it really deserve any stars? I may change it later but for now let's call it a 1.5 and I'll round up.

Я не фанат книг с медленным повествованием, где большую часть времени ничего не происходит. Но чарующий слог и атмосфера спасли для меня эту книгу.

“Ночной цирк” - это просто приятная история, которая хочет, чтобы вы поверили в волшебство и вспомнили все приятное о цирке. Автор легкими мазками очертила персонажей и сюжетно поставила им препятствия в виде непростого воспитания - тиранов и ради единой цели - и испытания. И то, во что это вылилось - в удивительный цирк, который потряс весь мир, - стоило того. Я не сильна прониклась идейными создателями цирка, автор оставила их в стороне, как по сути и само испытание. Читателям едва ли показали суть магии, не чувствовалось ее веса и значимости. Чудеса цирка, сделанные с помощью магии, оставались также на заднем фоне, не видном для читателей, кроме, наверное, огненного факела, являющимся началом цирка.

С другой стороны я чувствую, что в другом настроении книга была бы для меня полным разочарованием. Любовная линия пресная, какие бы высокопарные речи персонажи не говорили. Потому что не верится в инсталав после двух встреч. Потому что Марко плохой человек, который дурил Изобель голову, никогда не любил, но держал при себе.

Не сказала бы, что хоть один персонаж должным образом раскрылся или имел глубину. Я чувствовала, что персонажи работают на свои “ярлыки” и единственная линия, которая оставила мне приятные чувства - это линия Тсукико. Жаль, что она полностью из ее прошлого. Еще мне была интересна Изобель, но ее судьба - остаться за бортом - была предрешена с самого первого появления.

Самыми яркими персонажами я бы назвала Виджет и Поппет, ярко-рыжие близнецы, которые подружились с мальчиком Бейли и каким-то чудесным образом он стал спасением цирка из-за своей любви к нему, которую я, честно, не увидела. Он буквально был левым персонажем, на которого свалили всё. И вот его характер уж точно мне сложно описать.

Также автор не может передать чувства времени. Повествование идет нелинейно и единственное, где это отмечено - в названии глав, с помощью дат. Но читатель ни капли не потеряет, если не будет следить за ними. Проиграла ли книга от линейного повествования? Возможно. Часть сказочности все же передается от этого. Но все-таки в книге было мало “предзнаменований” из прошлого в будущее, по крайней мере я их почти не заметила.

В конце концов, “Ночной цирк” может вам понравится, если вы ищите неглубокую книгу на отдохнуть, возможно в путешествии, чтобы ощутить такое же восхищение от цирка, как от достопримечательности или интересного мероприятия. Книга прямо-таки сыпет персонажами, дает почву для многих конфликтов, но не доводит их до конца, да даже до кульминации. Потому что эмоциональная связь со всем этим крайне мала. И после стольких лет единственное, что останется в памяти от этого произведения - это атмосфера сказочного цирка.