From the Bookshelf of Challenge Corner…

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

Start date: January 1, 2020

Finish date: January 31, 2020

Discussion: Book of the Month

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 7 topics — 757 comments total

Book of the Month

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Previous BOTMs
By Felicia · 11 posts · 732 views

last updated Dec 27, 2024 06:25AM

* BOTM Polls!
By Alaina · 24 posts · 220 views

last updated Sep 19, 2025 07:58AM

showing 10 of 69 topics view all »

What Members Thought

May 31, 2020 Jenn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2020, 4-star-reads, books-i-own, cover-love, new-author-to-me, adult-fiction, do-you-believe-in-magic, historical-fiction

This book was, in no other words, magical! A contest of wills placed on two children that spans years as we watch them grow into their magic and ultimately come to head and the Night Circus. But it's also not as simple as that.

I will admit, when I first started the book it was a little hard to keep track of the timeline. It jumps around a lot and with multiple different characters. So the good news is, you get to see pretty much everything that is going on. The bad news is, it can leave you jum This book was, in no other words, magical! A contest of wills placed on two children that spans years as we watch them grow into their magic and ultimately come to head and the Night Circus. But it's also not as simple as that.

I will admit, when I first started the book it was a little hard to keep track of the timeline. It jumps around a lot and with multiple different characters. So the good news is, you get to see pretty much everything that is going on. The bad news is, it can leave you jumbled and not sure how they all fit. And therein lies the genius of the book. Because while you're still trying to figure out how everything fits together, Morgenstern is weaving all the loose threads together into this beautiful story where everything fits perfectly and you understand everything - but not until the end.

Can we just talk imagery for a moment? The biggest thing is fantasy writing is having a believable world. While this borders more on magical realism than full on high fantasy, there still needs to be a world that makes sense. One that you can feel and walk through as the characters do. And that's all here. From the little parts that are written as if you yourself are walking through the circus, to the awe of characters experiencing the circus for the first time, you believe and see everything that is being explained to you. And it was all beautiful.

Then there's the characters themselves. There's something like 12+characters in this book that we follow. It's a lot. But they are all so interconnected that it makes sense they are all there. Of course I have my favorites - Bailey being pretty much at the top, and I adored the twins as well. And I found that I came to love all of them individually - well, with the exception of two controlling fools, but we call can't be perfect.

And who could forget Celia and Marco? The circus was designed to be their stage. These two, who have been pitted against each other since they were kids, must learn how to navigate the circus and also find out exactly what the challenge means for both of them.

So why not 5 stars? The book did take a bit to get off, and maybe that was just me not being able to follow the time jumps as well, who knows. Also, the love story between Celia and Marco, while I loved the two of them together and ship them completely, I felt their love came rather fast. I know that they have this crazy connection because of the challenge and how they are bound together, but I wanted a little more buildup besides just relying on the fact that they are bound to each other.

So happy I finally read it and I look forward to reading more from Morgenstern in the future. ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2021 Kylara Jensen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: why-the-bleep-is-this-so-popular, non-linear-storytelling, enjoyable-audios

3.5 Stars

Wow it took me a long time to read this book. I listened to the audio and without a commute I was really bad about finishing it. It was constantly getting returned to the library and I would have to wait to check it out again until it was available.

I was on the fence about reading this for a long time. I decided to go the audiobook route, especially because I love Jim Dale as a narrator. It was very enjoyable as an audio book, although I sometimes have issues processing audio informati ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Tanya Patrice rated it really liked it

I really liked this book - only reason it's not 5 stars is because it was a little slow in developing some parts, and partly because I didn't like how the story jumps back & forth - past & present - at first I didn't even realize the importance of this. Like Fight Club, this is one story I'll have to go through again to catch all the subtle (and probably not so subtle) nuances I missed the 1st time around. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2014 Marie (UK) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-reading-challenge, 2016-reading-challenge

What a fabulously conceived book. The detail in the setting and story line were magnificent. Some say characters were poorly defined but i felt i knew them well enough. There is lots of imagery to do with books, writing, writing on top of writing . ink patterns etc. It seemed like the author is saying the interpretation is yours. I think she purposely does not fully illuminate the characters

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2012 Elle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

A fantastic read! If you liked Water for Elephants and you like books like Harry Potter then you will love this book. It has a childish charm, but still holds you captive from beginning to end. For the full review: http://erraticprojectjunkie.blogspot.... ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Mandi rated it it was amazing

In the beginning, I wasn't exactly sure how to feel about switching characters every chapter. But, as the story progressed, it worked out very well. You get to see what is going on with everyone and how they actually relate to the Circus. It was really enjoyable. All of the characters were great. It is also a very detailed, and can be a slow story, so be prepared. It didn't bother me at all though. The ending was unexpected, but it was a good ending. Although I was confused about what happened t ...more

Like · see review

Feb 10, 2012 Shelley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed the complexity of this book. Nothing is what it seems in the night circus. It becomes a playing field for two contestants who are bound to compete long before they ever know who the other competitor is. The world they build is amazing and the characters are loud and vibrant of their own individual nature.

A must read!

Like · see review