The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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About
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway--a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per-formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.


My Reaction
 While I really liked it, I just found it to be kind of good. Kinda meh. Nothing too special. Which disappoints me since I was excited about reading it after all the rave reviews it had from Tumblr peoples. I think the atmosphere of the circus portrayed is very spot on and its magnificence and wonder is very accurate. The descriptions that Morgenstern was able to describe for the reader are so amazing that you feel like you are in one of the tents at the circus or watching the performers yourself. Her imagery is something of greatness. 
The plot is weird. The essence of it is that there are 2 players and they use the circus as the backdrop for their game. Much like chess, but not really. Every move is met with a better move, until one or both cannot continue. I found myself wishing the parts about the 'game' to hurry up and end. I really enjoyed the parts with Bailey and the Twins. Poppet was probably my favorite character. I was sad a lot of the time reading it especially when the older circus members appeared throughout and you heard about their lives and how they live now. 
The person I hated the most was Celia's father. That man. It's good that he ghosted himself into another plane because geeez, he's awful. It felt so good when Celia finally told him she hates him. Which you can't blame her, he treated her horribly all her life and the added fact he trapped her into a game for her whole life, knowing if she lost she would die. Father of the year there, right? *shakes head*
My favorite room was the room where you walk in with a stone and all the sadness and bad things in your life are tearfully collected by the rock for you to throw in the river. You cry and cry until the rock has all your grief. And then the wait you've been carrying around, disappears. I think people in this world could really use a room like that. Cry into a rock and let it all go. Perfect.

Overall, it's a good read. It wasn't one that I just couldn't put down but I did read it when I had time. Took me about 3 days total. 

3 out of 5 stars.