The Night Circus in read with Marines

Dec 31, 2015 Samantha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Still 5 stars the second time around.

101 likes · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2014 Kayla (Heroic Pages) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-shelf, books-read-in-2015, audiobook, books-read-in-2018

I love this book...such great storytelling and characters. Read it on audio the second time around.

10 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2016 Zezee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, re-read

As posted on Zezee with Books.

Ahh…where to begin? I have so many thoughts about this book.

Quick summary:

“The circus arrives without warning.”

The Night Circus is a wonderful story about two magicians pitted against each other in a test of skills and ingenuity. Prospero, a famous magician, offers his daughter to this fateful competition believing that her natural abilities will make her a winner. But Mr. A.H—, a fellow magician, believes that anyone can be great at magic if they are dedicated to i ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2015 Kristin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015-reads

4.5/5 stars for me....
Not sure what was missing but I felt just slightly disjointed from this book. Maybe it was the fact that I periodically got confused about things or that it felt like certain aspects of the circus weren't explained enough. Maybe it was that I listened to it on audiobook and it was spaced out a bit, but I found myself struggling when I was listening to it. Overall, this story is fantastic and very fun to read! I love the world and the characters, especially puppet!
...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 17, 2020 decklededgess rated it liked it

Shelves: adult, historical, romance, angsty, books-i-own, 2020-reads, fabulism, na-fantasy, fantasy, slow-burn

yo what the fuck.

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2016 Di rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, borrowed-from-library, kindle-book, scribd

I'm going to say that this is probably more of a 3.5 for me than a 4.

For a good portion of this book, I felt disconnected from the story and the characters. I didn't form any kind of emotional connection to anything or anyone. My hatred of Prospero and his teaching method was the only kind of emotion I felt for a long time, and that only lasted when he was prominent in the story. Other than that, I was pretty much reading just to get to the end for a majority of the book.

The way the story was to ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2015 Leslie rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book. The imagery that the author shows us is beautiful. I loved all the details of the circus. The plot isn't very fast paced but I was still hooked from the beginning. It's more of a cooking in an oven than a microwave reading. I fell in love with the characters, especially Bailey with the twins. The fact that Erin put so many different stories intertwined, including the reader's own, was so interesting, even if it did take me a bit to figure out all who was who. Definite ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 02, 2015 Bekah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-borrowed-2015, read-do-not-own, audiobook-additional

What an adventure! I loved all the characters, the jumps in time, the intertwining stories. I will admit, I was left frustrated a few times, by the lack of clear communication between certain characters. The story definitely threw me for a loop a few times, but that only made me want to read faster! More than anything, I would love to actually see and experience the circus, but who wouldn't!? ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2015 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: international, owned

4.5, I think!

Update: I think 4.5 is still an accurate rating for the first time I read this but my re-read is more of a 4. I think most of my enjoyment of this book comes from encountering the circus and that experience is best the first time around.

2 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2016 Beck rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: female-scifi-fantasy, borrowbox-audio

2nd read

Yep, still good!

1st read

I was so ready to give this book 5 stars until about 3/4 of the way through- it was definitely a 5 star read up until that point, the different perspectives and changing time periods added to the suspense and throughout the book I was just expecting the ending to wrap everything up in a satisfying way, but the ending was just ok for me, and it dragged the book down to a 4-4.5. I still really enjoyed the reading experience, and the descriptions of things were amaz ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 22, 2016 Leslie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

This is my second read of this book. My first one was in ebook format and this time is was an audio book. I loved listening to the book and diving back into the world of Marco and Cecilia and this circus. The tents were beautiful as always, the characters were easy to fall back in love with and I was able to pick up different foreshadowing and clues that I had missed in my first reading of this book. I really need to buy it and add it to my library!!

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2014 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, adult

A little slow at times, but I really enjoyed this one!

1 like · Like · see review

May 15, 2016 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-reads, favorites, fantasy, 5-star, audio, the-more-i-think-about-it, 2016, library, owned-hard-copy, comfort-reads

11 November 2023. Everything I said below stands. I absolutely love this book, and it's still Bailey's story for me. It's a true comfort read for me, despite quite a bit of darkness in it, especially when Celia's training is detailed. This may be in my top ten favorites, and it's definitely in the top twenty. It's a stunning work.

I think this is going to be a book I re-read every few years as a comfort book because I love it more every time I read it. I love the puzzle box structure, the charact 11 November 2023. Everything I said below stands. I absolutely love this book, and it's still Bailey's story for me. It's a true comfort read for me, despite quite a bit of darkness in it, especially when Celia's training is detailed. This may be in my top ten favorites, and it's definitely in the top twenty. It's a stunning work.

I think this is going to be a book I re-read every few years as a comfort book because I love it more every time I read it. I love the puzzle box structure, the characters, the world. Everything I say below stands. And Jim Dale as the narrator for the audiobook is sublime.

On re-read, I'm upping this to five stars because it is so lovely and magical and lyrical.

The story begins magically: The circus arrives without warning. No announcement, it is simply there when the day before it was not. It draws you into black and white tents where you watch performers so amazing they defy description while the smell of caramel and popcorn lingers in the air. But behind the scenes, there is a competition being waged by two young magicians who are trying to hold everything together, not knowing the end of the contest is more ominous than simply declaring a winner.

This is such a vivid book. The Circus is the most important character, and it's truly magical. In some of the chapters, you are led around the tents like you are a patron of the circus, watching the acrobats or sipping warm apple cider. All of the senses are engaged: there's a crispness of fall in the writing, a bit of nip in the air as you smell the caramel coating the apples and try to decide which tent to go into. You hear the shuffle of the fortune-teller's cards and feel the warmth of the bonfire. You can taste the popcorn and hot chocolate. It's a brilliant way to draw the reader into this world

Aside from the setting, the way the plot weaves itself together is wonderful. This is a book that is especially rewarding upon reread, when you can pick up hints of what happens. The non-linear timeline is also great in this respect. And I adore non-linear timelines in stories, partially because I am a sucker for that "A-ha!" moment when everything comes together (Hello, Fifth Season). You have an excellent sense of all the characters, even the ones that only get a line or two written about them. The details of every piece are just wonderful.

But what I like most about this book is that every reader seems to find what they need, much like the patrons of the circus find the things that speak most to them. Some readers get the star-crossed love story, some find a wonderful commentary of what it means to be a fan. For me, it's a story about finding where you belong, and choosing to be there. It wasn't until I was discussing it with a group for a buddy read I realized that while for me it's completely Bailey's story, I was the only one who felt that way. And that's a wonderful thing in a book. For every reader to be able to take away a piece that's meaningful in a way that's unique to them is a rare feat for a writer to accomplish. What a beautiful and magical world. ...more

Like · see review