The Night Circus

The Night Circus
By Erin Morgenstern
Doubleday, 2011. 387 pgs. Adult fiction/audiobook

Prospero the Entertainer, a magician, enters into a contest with a rival magician. Prospero will train his daughter, Celia, and his rival will train a child of his choosing, and someday, the two will face off in a magical rivalry of their own. When the time comes, Celia and Marco become involved in the Cirque de Reves, a circus that performs only at night and has multiple tents, filled with enchanting acts. Celia and Marco each have to contribute what they can to the circus, trying to top the other and win the magical battle. However, as time stretches on, their rivalry gives way to love, and tired of being trapped in a duel not of their choosing, they seek to end the contest.

The details in this book are fabulous; the circus and the world is so well developed. However, the book jumps around chronologically and from character to character, which sometimes made it a little hard to follow. (Perhaps this is only true of the audiobook, since I listened to it, but it was hard to keep track of what was happening when and if we'd gone forward or back in time.) I think the book was interesting and I liked the world and the plot well enough, and I liked Marco and Celia...but something was missing from this one to make it a truly great book. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it didn't have that extra bit of magic that makes a book truly outstanding.

3.5 stars. Some language, and a not very detailed intimate scene.