The Night Circus

I just finished reading The Night Circus and am sad that my journey with Le Cirque de Reves is over. This book was a magical, enchanting read. Usually, I like books with complex character development, which unfortunately this book failed to have. The two protagonists are both completely one-dimensional - the side characters are all more fully developed than the two main characters. But what I loved about this book was the circus itself - the magical circus that appears one day and is gone the next, and is only open between sunset and sunrise. I could almost smell the caramel apples and popcorn and cider. I could imagine myself stepping into a tent and being transported to a magical ice garden where everything is made of snow, or watching the illusionist turn silk into a flying raven.

And I don't even like circuses normally. What I love are books that transport me to somewhere different, a world completely different from mine (whether because that place is in a different country, a different time, or pure fantasy), yet make it seem so real that I can almost smell and touch it.

The ending was quite mediocre, as if the author had a deadline that she had to meet and hurriedly came up with a way to end the story. But for the first 90% of the book, I was mesmerized by her descriptions of the circus and its cast of characters.