The Night Circus in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jul 17, 2019 Carrie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mgr, magicians, fantasy, favorite-authors, historical-fiction, multiple-points-of-view, magical-realism

Enchanting
Magical
Wonderful

Welcome to the Night Circus where nothing is what it seems and it all that you that can ever imagine wanting.

A test
A challenge
A love story.

Two people pitied against the other in a game, a challenge endure.
Lives forever changed.
Within and outside of black and white tents of the Le Cirque de Rêves

12 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2014 Krissy rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook, cover-color-black, pgs-300-399, read-before-2015

First of all the narrator they chose for the audiobook version was all wrong. Most of the characters were young but yet the narrator sounded like a 60 year old man. He didn't do female voices very well and listening to him try and talk like a 6 year old girl was almost laughable. Plus all his female characters sounded the same. I just did not like him at all.

Now for the story itself. It took a very long time to actually get interesting. First you had all these characters thrown at you all at on ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 21, 2012 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, sfe, book-club, 19th-century, concierge, strong-women, library, romance, magic

Audio book performed by Jim Dale

The circus arrives without notice. Clad entirely in black and white, the tents materialize overnight. While it is in the vicinity patrons flock to its gates, open only from nightfall to dawn. Yet this strange colorless world within the iron fence is vibrant and alive. The public is enchanted and awed by the spectacle of acrobats, fortune tellers, an ice garden and the beautiful illusionist. What the public doesn’t know is that the circus is but a venue for a deca Audio book performed by Jim Dale

The circus arrives without notice. Clad entirely in black and white, the tents materialize overnight. While it is in the vicinity patrons flock to its gates, open only from nightfall to dawn. Yet this strange colorless world within the iron fence is vibrant and alive. The public is enchanted and awed by the spectacle of acrobats, fortune tellers, an ice garden and the beautiful illusionist. What the public doesn’t know is that the circus is but a venue for a decades-long competition pitting two fledgling magicians against one another. And the competitors, Celia and Marco, are themselves the puppets of two senior magicians, Hector and Alexander.

Morgenstern has created a unique world, and a love story that is infused with magic. To her credit she doesn’t overly explain the wonder, but allows the reader to experience the spectacle and fantasy on her own. It is a product of her imagination that fuels the reader’s own imagination. I didn’t think she really explored the love story very well; Celia and Marco have few scenes together and there is a palpable magnetism between them, but not very much basis for love. But this is a fantasy, a dream, a wish, an illusion. And while I agree with the character who warns “dreams can become nightmares,” I sure enjoyed living in this dream for a while.

Jim Dale is spectacular performing the audio book. My only complaint is that virtually everyone has a British accent (except for the Scottish twins and the German Mr Thiessen). Celia was raised in New York, and Bailey in Massachusetts, so their voices should have been more “American.” But that’s really a small complaint. I was skeptical going into the book. It’s not the genre I usually gravitate to and I was expecting that it would not live up to the hype. But Dale’s performance captured me at the outset and I happily followed his voice through this magical novel.

Oh, and while it has nothing at all to do with what is inside the covers, I just have to say that the publisher did a wonderful job of packaging this novel. The cover art is wonderful, the end papers and section separators add to the feeling that the reader has fallen into this world.
...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2013 Nancy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really loved this book, despite it taking me an inordinately long amount of time to read. There was so much detail to it though - it actually deserves a second read. I adored Celia, who is one of my favourite characters in recent books. The magic and the whole idea was fantastic - I can only admire the author's imagination. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2017 Avigail rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, 2017, physical-book, audible, own

This book an interesting one, even though when I read a couple of years ago I didn't pass the 20-page mark. This time I was interested to read before reading "Caraval", that I got on an "Owlcrate" subscription book box. Because I was afraid I wouldn't pass again the 20-page mark, I decided to listen to the audiobook and following it with my paperback copy. Jim Dale was the narrator and I absolutely loved his voice and the voices and accents he did for all the characters.
While reading and listeni ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2013 Rachel N. rated it it was amazing

Celia and Marco are attached to each other in a game when they are children. Once they become adults they must play out the game in a special circus, the circus of dreams. It took me awhile to get into this book but by the end I was totally in love with it. I want to become a memebr of Le Cirque des Reves. A great love story and a magical book.

Like · see review

Feb 25, 2016 Meredith rated it it was amazing

I really, really enjoyed this book. Reading in present tense was a little weird at first but I got over that quickly. This book was so very magical.

Like · see review

Aug 07, 2018 Kristin rated it liked it

Shelves: stand-alones, fantasy, read-in-2018

I purchased this book in London while studying abroad this summer and boy did I pick a good one. I've never read a book quite like it before. Highly recommend. ...more

Like · see review