THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

From Goodreads:
"Opens at Nightfall; Closes at Dawn." The Le Cirque des Rêves is a circus unlike any other, just as this magical debut novel is equally unique. At the center of The Night Circus spectacle are two specially gifted young magicians, Celia and Marco, pitted against each other in professional competition, drawn towards one another in love. Erin Morgenstern's literary fantasy has already drawn raves for its captivating evocativeness: "A world of almost unbearable beauty.... A love story on a grand scale: it creates, it destroys, it ultimately transcends." "A novel so magical that there is no escaping its spell... If you choose to read just one novel this year, this is it."

Well.... huh. I'm slightly conflicted about this one. I'd heard so many good things about The Night Circus, and I was SOOOO excited to buy it when it was released. However, I'm just not sure it lived up to the hype.

In some ways, I really enjoyed it. In other ways, I felt like I was forcing myself to finish. I found the endless, long descriptions of circus tents less enjoyable, but I very much liked the parts where the characters were interacting. The storyline and the characters themselves were intriguing and entertaining, and I especially enjoyed the chapters about Poppet and Widget (twins born to circus employees on the opening night of the circus - secondary characters, for sure, but there's just "something" about them).

However, the "battle" between Celia and Marco was severely lacking in substance. There wasn't actually any competition to speak of! It was more a series of "I can do better than you" that eventually turned into a talent competition wherein the characters attempt to impress each other.

I found the jumping timeline to be slightly confusing, which was likely exacerbated by the fact that I read it on my Kobo - so while the chapter title said "1902" I sometimes forgot by 1/2 way through the chapter where we were in time. And, really, for a "period" novel, there was little-to-no description regarding the period! If it weren't for the occasional mention of long dresses, corsets and bowler hats, the novel could have been set in 2011.

I was also slightly thrown off that the narrative was written in third-person present tense. It detracted from my connection to the characters.

I think that people who enjoy books that are flowery and descriptive will be fans of this book. However, I also think that I need a bit more action, and less scenery.

But, I didn't DISLIKE the book. I just wouldn't necessarily recommend it, and I was quite disappointed that it wasn't anywhere near as good as I hoped it would be. I did TRY to love the book, I just didn't succeed.

All in all, I'm sad to say.... my rating of The Night Circus is 2/5 stars.