I’ll never forget the feeling I had when my dad read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me for the first time. I was five years old, and there I sat, nestled up inside a blanket nearly three times my size, completely spellbound. My little heart sparked with a sense of wanderlust, and I checked every closet in the house for my chance to be whisked away into some enchanted world of fantasy and wonder.
Four years later, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and I’ve never been the same since. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. I devoured the entire series with complete captivation and dove deeper into my imagination with the turn of every page.
It was truly and utterly magical.
For years, I mourned the possibility of never getting to embrace that feeling again. With each passing day, it felt like the sense of wonder and fantasy I experienced so vividly slipped further and further away, a foggy ghost of memories past.
Then there was Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. The first page of this literary masterpiece swept me off my feet and into the arms of a breathtaking fictional world once more. For the first time in years, I was finally home.
The Night Circus is a delightful blend of fantasy, mystery and romance, all wrapped up with a perfect little bow. In this transfixing story of two star-crossed lovers pitted against each other in a lifelong magical dual, Celia and Marco face off with Le Cirque des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams), an enchanted traveling circus, disguised as their playing field.
The Night Circus is the most magical book you will ever read, and here are five reasons why:
- You’ll Adore the Characters
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The Night Circus is told from multiple perspectives, each uniquely developed. Celia and Marco are charming and deeply complex individuals, and you can’t help but admire their strength. However, Erin Morgenstern’s in-depth characterization extends far beyond the main protagonists. You’ll find yourself gloriously attached to all the members of the circus — the loveable clockmaker Friedrick, the endearing twins Poppet and Widget and so many more.
- The Worldbuilding is Immaculate
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The Circus of Dreams is an entire world of acts and attractions. Each event is given its own special place in the circus and written in such detail that you could swear you knew the layout of the place like the back of your own hand. From the iconic black and white stripes on the tents and the splash of red adorning the avid following of circus devotees known as the rêveurs to the thrilling anticipation and experience of the venue’s opening night, Le Cirque des Rêves is presented with a familiarity that leaves you with an impression you won’t soon forget.
- You’ll Have an All-Sensory Experience
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Erin Morgenstern’s lyrical prose is written with such eloquence and immersion that you feel more as though you are dreaming than you are reading. You’ll taste the tartness in the mulled cider, smell the sweet and salty aroma of freshly popped popcorn and crave the cinnamon whatnots. You’ll feel the ethereal chill of the ice garden, sense the luminous ambiance of the bustling nightlife.
- It’s a Timeless Love Story
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Even with all its stunning grandeur, at its heart, The Night Circus is about love — and not just the romantic kind. For the Circus of Dreams, love is an unstoppable force more powerful than any adversary, whether it be hate or greed or even magic itself. The place is a beauty to behold, but it’s the bonds the characters share that resonate so strongly.
- You’ll Fall in Love With Your Imagination All Over Again
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Maybe you spent your childhood searching closets for a snow-covered path to a lampost in the center of an enchanted forest, or maybe you spent days on your front porch wishing for a Hogwarts letter to arrive in your mailbox. Regardless, The Circus of Dreams really is a perfect name because The Night Circus will leave you gazing across the horizon as the sun sets, patiently waiting for the black and white striped tents of an imaginary circus to arrive.
The Night Circus is a true masterpiece. If you’re looking for an immersive, fantastical read, look no further.