One of the best books I have ever read

At one point, Herr Thiessen says that finding the circus is <i>"like stepping into a fairy tale under a curtain of stars"</i>, and that's what reading this book felt like. Erin Morgenstern writes some of the most fantastic, cinematic pieces of literature I've ever read. I don't know how she does it. I hope her books never get adapted onscreen, because I have such a clear vision of what everything looks like in my head, that nothing else could ever come close to it. This was really good. However, there are a few things that I either didn't like, or that I found disappointing. <spoiler> - Hector and Alexander using, abusing, and manipulating Celia and Marco. I get it, but I just hated it. - The way Marco treated Isobel. Unnecessary! - The way Marco treated Chandresh. I understand that he pretty much had no choice, but using his abilities to manipulate and gaslight him like that was kinda icky. - The time jumps. WAY too many of them. Sometimes they're pointless and only make it harder to keep up with the overall timeline. - The romance???? Underdeveloped and dissapointing af. Celia and Marco barely interact in the first half of the book: they have the umbrella meeting when she realizes who he is, and the Midnight Dinner when he gives her the house tour. Then THREE YEARS LATER, and it is explicitly said that they barely interacted during that time, he says he's in love with her???? They don't even know each other. Of course, this is set in the late 1800s, but I still struggled to buy it.</spoiler> I really thought this was gonna be a 5-star read for me, but it's a 3.5⭐ I still enjoyed the book and found it entertaining; I just had really high expectations that weren't met. Read it for the beautiful writing, the vivid imagery, and the vibes.

3.5 stars!

When I picked up this book at a book sale, I thought I had found a real gem. The summary was intriguing and so was the beginning of the plot: The book is set in the mid 1800s up to the early 1900s and is focused on Le Cirque de Rêves (french for „The Night Circus“), as well as it‘s main attractions. And with attractions I do not simply mean people, I mean magicians. Celia and Marco were raised with only one goal in mind: Winning the game that each of them are being trained to win. Only that love (as always, even in life) makes things a little bit more difficult. I tried liking this book, I really did. The plot was promising - but in the end it suffered from severe wasted potential. The possibilities this book had make me want to scream: The love story that popped up out of the middle of nowhere and should have been introduced more delicately could have had the perfect enemies to lovers story that would have had us all SCREAMING! But instead it happened all very cliché-like and too quickly. The typical love at first sight without even knowing each other? Them both being literal Mary Sues with their only personality being that they have magical powers? Please. When they both were at the verge of dying, I didn‘t even care! And that right there is a bad sign because I am normally the first one in line bawling out my eyes and praying for the happy end!!! Another aspect is the circus. It was a nice idea. It really was. And the author really tried to give it that mystical flair that would make us want to go there, be in it, be a part of it - but I think she sometimes took it a little bit too far. The parts in the book that are supposed to be written in „our“ perspective only made me wish they did not exist at all, since they distracted me from the actual plot and distanced me from the timeline that was already pretty confusing, especially in the beginning. And we have so many different views on the circus but it somehow still did not lure me in enough. But the thing that bothers me the most, especially when looking back, is the lack of answers we get regarding all the 10000 questions that pop up in our heads while reading and that are OPENLY ASKED by Celia and Marco: What are the rules of this weird duel? How to Alexander and Prospero know each other and what made them go against one another? Oh, SO MUCH POTENTIAL! We could have had a great and dramatic background-story!!! We could have had meaning, betrayal, eyes-tearing and dramatic-sobbing love. But nothing. Or Marco‘s backstory. Who was he? Where did all that talent come from??? Is everyone just simply born with magic?! Well, that makes it a basic-bitch kind of thing. And the magic used in this book is never really explained. It‘s linked to the circus. All right, I‘ll grant you that argument. But where do the magicians draw their powers from? From themselves? From spells? From nature? Does a „magical bloodline“ enhance your powers (see Celia and her father)??? I NEED ANSWERS!!! Soooo to conclude: All in all I was just very disappointed. There was a promising start - but the plot I could have come up within just a couple minutes of daydreaming would be more exciting. I am so, so sorry, but it‘s the brutal truth.

mystical, enchanting, full of secrets even after the end page.