So imaginative and the author made me want to be there. There are numerous tents, each with its own theme – an ice garden, a labyrinth, a carousel whose wooden animals appear to breathe. The descriptions of the circus are particularly amazing. The author uses colors, textures, and lighting to bring each scene to life. The settings are described in sumptuous detail. There’s so much to like about The Night Circus. Now they just need to figure out how to overcome this competition to the death.

And, surrounded by each other’s magical creations, they eventually fall in love. But instead of a game of one-upmanship, Celia and Marco delight in each other’s work and build upon it. Celia and Marco incrementally add magical features to the circus. The competition isn’t typical – it isn’t head-to-head and it lasts several years. Every sight, smell, taste, and sound has been carefully crafted to delight the circus’s visitors. The circus is a glorious place designed to appeal to all the senses. To add to the mystery, it’s only open at night. The venue for the competition is Le Cirque de Reves (The Circus of Dreams), which always mysteriously appears and then disappears from various locations around the world. Marco doesn’t have natural talent like Celia’s, so he has to study for 12 years, learning charms and spells, before he’s ready to compete. H plucks young Marco out of an orphanage to train to be Celia’s rival.

Unfortunately, her father, an aging illusionist, is an opportunist who binds 6-year-old Celia to a magic death match against whoever the mysterious man in gray (identified only as Alexander H.) chooses as her opponent. In an early scene, she breaks and reassembles a teacup with her magical mind. (This in no way affects the honesty of my reviews!) All commissions will be donated to the ALS Association.Ĭelia’s magical talents are apparent from a young age. As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, from qualifying purchases. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. Lush and imaginative, I found myself thinking several times that this is the type of novel I would like to write. The Night Circus is a terrific fantasy novel about a beautiful and mysterious circus and two star-crossed magicians who are locked in a battle of illusions that can only end when one of them dies.

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