"The circus arrives without warning" Five little words and I was intrigued...a few paragraphs later I was hooked. I had to read this book. After waiting six weeks, the copies I ordered for my library came in, and I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of this book! Night Circus is absolutely charming and pure magic. The imagery is so vivid I felt I could easily set foot in the black and white world of Le Cirque des Rêves, and on more than one occasion I found myself wishing the circus was real. The story is about Celia and Marco, two magicians (and I’m talking real honest magic here, not the kind of magic that makes use of misdirection and sleight of hand, but kind of magic we, or at least I, wish was real) who are bound at a young age to compete against one another in a magical competition. The circus is the stage for this battle of imagination. As they each begin using their magic to make additions to the mysterious circus they begin to fall in love and start look at the competition as more of collaboration instead of a competition. The rules are vague at best and neither Celia nor Marco knows what is truly at stake. Yes, the book has several different points of view and the book switch back and forth between two distinct time lines, and I understand that could make it difficult to read, but I promise it all comes together in the end and I promise you it’s worth it. I myself didn’t find the multiple points of view distracting, but maybe I just read a lot of fiction written from multiple points of view. As for the timelines each chapter is clearly marked at the beginning stating where and when it is taking place so as long as you pay attention to that detail jumping back and forth between the two timelines shouldn’t be too distracting. Night Circus is a captivating read, it one of those books (for me, at least) that grabs you and takes you on a wonderful journey and leaves a lasting impression. I’ve found myself thinking about this book constantly since I put it down a and I’m sure I’ll continue to ponder the story and reread the book once I get a copy to add to my personal library. I cannot stop gushing about how much I enjoyed this book and it has rightfully earned its place in my top 5 favorite books! fin
