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.

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Nov 30, 2016 Books on Stereo rated it really liked it

Check out my review:
https://youtu.be/pVyKCLPxLHQ ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Raul rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I had to give this book a day before writing my review. The last time I had this much of a book hangover was when I read Ready Player One.

So this book to me was almost perfection. I went in not knowing much and was so surprised to see how much I fell in love with it. Celia and Marco are my absolute favorite fictional couple. It's not in your face, animalistic like some other books with romance tend to be. It took its time and slowly made you fall in love with it. The way it should be.

Every sid ...more

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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

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Oct 17, 2020 decklededgess rated it liked it

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

yo what the fuck.

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Nov 01, 2017 Eugenia rated it it was ok

This is the biggest let down that I’ve read so far this year. I’m so disappointed. Although the writing was beautiful and the atmosphere indeed magical, the storyline was not great, the pacing was really slow which made it hard to get through most of the time, and the “love story” seemed lacking to me.

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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

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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

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