[Book Review]: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday)

So this is not a new or even very recent book, but considering is it absolutely my favorite book ever, I had to toss up a review for it, since I just finished rereading it.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

Blurb: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Here's my review:

This book came out in September 2011, and I have reread it every summer since its release, so this makes my fifth reading. It gets more enchanting with each read. Between the fantastic world Ms Morgenstern has created, as well as the lyric, beautiful writing, and the (literally) enchanting characters, there is nothing about this book I dislike. I have recommended it to dozens of people over the years, and rare is it that someone I recced it to doesn't see the magic in it that I do.

The circus withing feels like a living breathing creature, one that stays with you past the last past, and makes you yearn for it to be a real place. Each time I close the book  I am just a little sadder that it's over, a little sadder that the circus isn't someplace I can actually visit. But then I can always pick it up and reread and feel that magic all over again.

If you haven't read this book, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Ignore the comparisons to Harry Potter, to Twilight, to any other popular series or book out there and just read. It stands on its own and is a beautiful, wonderful story.

Five huge, immensely overflowing glasses of wine!

Buy THE NIGHT CIRCUS from the retailer of your choice, all listed at Goodreads here.

Upcoming reviews: The rest of Rachel Aaron's Paradox series, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, Shadowshaper, and more.