Since Caroline asked for this, I’m back reviewing another book from BookTok. Here’s my spiel: I watch TikToks and put the book recs on my “To Be Read” list, and I review whether it deserves the hype or not. This week’s review will be Erin Morgenstern’s book “The Night Circus.” 

I really enjoyed this book. She was cute and an easy read to fall into. I would highly recommend this book to people trying to get out of a reading slump because it is magical and captivating and extremely well written. The best way to describe “The Night Circus” is “Alice In Wonderland” meets “Romeo and Juliet.” Morgenstern blends the genres of fantasy, mystery and romance to spin this tale about two magicians—Celia and Marco—who are destined to be the others’ undoing. 

Barnum and Bailey ain’t got nothing on Morgenstern. We start the book off by being told that, “The Circus arrives without warning”—chills. Instant hook, love it, 10/10. We then meet one of our protagonists, Celia. Celia is the daughter of an illusionist, Prospero the Enchanter, also known as Hector Bowen. Hector is no Harry Houdini though. His illusions are not a trick to the eye; they’re legit, like Harry Potter-type magic. Hector makes a bet with his nemesis and rival, Alexander, where both enter a student into a duel to see whose methods of magic-ing (I am making that a verb) are superior. The winner is determined when only one is left standing. And of course, who does Hector enter? That’s right: his own daughter. Father of the year award goes to Hector. Alexander finds his student, Marco, in an orphanage and enrolls him to go up against Celia. 

Mind you, Celia and Marco are entered into this competition as literal children, like, eight years old. They are raised, aware of the competition but unaware of who their opponent is. We get a little montage over the years as Celia and Marco are raised separately and learning magic from their mentors. Hector is just winning the father of the year award year after year, as he literally breaks his daughter’s fingers and forces her to use magic to heal herself. 

The competition place is chosen as the Night Circus, and it opens when Celia and Marco are 18 and 21 respectively. Upon first meeting her, Marco is aware that Celia is his opponent, though she remains unaware. Though Celia and Marco don’t know it at first, the point of the competition is to determine who has better control of their magic and the visitors of the Night Circus. Celia and Marco both construct these elaborate displays using their magic to entertain the people who visit the circus. 

In a classic tale of star-crossed lovers, Celia and Marco fall in love with each other, despite having to compete against each other. This is a little funny because Marco admits to his mentor, Alexander, that he loves Celia after having exactly one conversation with her. 

I have to admit I’m a bit of a romantic and love that Celia and Marco fall for each other in spite of themselves. It’s really beautiful to watch their relationship evolve from not knowing who the other is to enemies to lovers. Love is a rebellion in this story, and it shows that love isn’t something we choose to have happen to us. 

Admittedly, the love story is a bit “meh” in comparison to the whole plot. I love that Celia and Marco are paired together by Morgenstern, though I do think they fell in love pretty quickly. Also, Marco is technically seeing someone else the whole time—Isobel, the fortune teller. Isobel really does get screwed over which sucks, and Marco did not deserve her. 

The ending is nice though, I would highly recommend it if you want an uplifting ending that won’t completely crush your soul (like “All the Light We Cannot See,” which I just finished and may or may not be my next review). 

My overall review is that, though it is not my favorite book, it is definitely enjoyable and light-hearted. It’s not a dense or difficult plot to follow though you do jump through different points in time and different character points of view. 

Since Caroline asked for this, I’m back reviewing another book from BookTok. Here’s my spiel: I watch TikToks and put the book recs on my “To Be Read” list, and I review whether it deserves the hype or not. This week’s review will be Erin Morgenstern’s book “The Night Circus.” 

I really enjoyed this book. She was cute and an easy read to fall into. I would highly recommend this book to people trying to get out of a reading slump because it is magical and captivating and extremely well written. The best way to describe “The Night Circus” is “Alice In Wonderland” meets “Romeo and Juliet.” Morgenstern blends the genres of fantasy, mystery and romance to spin this tale about two magicians—Celia and Marco—who are destined to be the others’ undoing. 

Barnum and Bailey ain’t got nothing on Morgenstern. We start the book off by being told that, “The Circus arrives without warning”—chills. Instant hook, love it, 10/10. We then meet one of our protagonists, Celia. Celia is the daughter of an illusionist, Prospero the Enchanter, also known as Hector Bowen. Hector is no Harry Houdini though. His illusions are not a trick to the eye; they’re legit, like Harry Potter-type magic. Hector makes a bet with his nemesis and rival, Alexander, where both enter a student into a duel to see whose methods of magic-ing (I am making that a verb) are superior. The winner is determined when only one is left standing. And of course, who does Hector enter? That’s right: his own daughter. Father of the year award goes to Hector. Alexander finds his student, Marco, in an orphanage and enrolls him to go up against Celia. 

Mind you, Celia and Marco are entered into this competition as literal children, like, eight years old. They are raised, aware of the competition but unaware of who their opponent is. We get a little montage over the years as Celia and Marco are raised separately and learning magic from their mentors. Hector is just winning the father of the year award year after year, as he literally breaks his daughter’s fingers and forces her to use magic to heal herself. 

The competition place is chosen as the Night Circus, and it opens when Celia and Marco are 18 and 21 respectively. Upon first meeting her, Marco is aware that Celia is his opponent, though she remains unaware. Though Celia and Marco don’t know it at first, the point of the competition is to determine who has better control of their magic and the visitors of the Night Circus. Celia and Marco both construct these elaborate displays using their magic to entertain the people who visit the circus. 

In a classic tale of star-crossed lovers, Celia and Marco fall in love with each other, despite having to compete against each other. This is a little funny because Marco admits to his mentor, Alexander, that he loves Celia after having exactly one conversation with her. 

I have to admit I’m a bit of a romantic and love that Celia and Marco fall for each other in spite of themselves. It’s really beautiful to watch their relationship evolve from not knowing who the other is to enemies to lovers. Love is a rebellion in this story, and it shows that love isn’t something we choose to have happen to us. 

Admittedly, the love story is a bit “meh” in comparison to the whole plot. I love that Celia and Marco are paired together by Morgenstern, though I do think they fell in love pretty quickly. Also, Marco is technically seeing someone else the whole time—Isobel, the fortune teller. Isobel really does get screwed over which sucks, and Marco did not deserve her. 

The ending is nice though, I would highly recommend it if you want an uplifting ending that won’t completely crush your soul (like “All the Light We Cannot See,” which I just finished and may or may not be my next review). 

My overall review is that, though it is not my favorite book, it is definitely enjoyable and light-hearted. It’s not a dense or difficult plot to follow though you do jump through different points in time and different character points of view.