3/5 stars. It was great! But not fantastic. Do I understand the hype? Honestly? I’m not sure.
I’m not really sure what to say about this book. It was VERY slow at the start… and I mean very. I struggled to keep with it.
I made a mental note of when it picked up: 53% (kindle).
I think that’s when Marco and Celia had their first confrontation and their romance really began, which I think is what I was searching for the whole time. The second-half of the book was definitely my favourite; and the twist at the end did have me surprised. Although the finale did leave me feeling a little bit deflated. A bit like, is that it?
Something which I admired about the book and it delivered extremely well: the world building. I loved the whole facade and adventure of The Night Circus. The tents and ‘worlds’ invented within them were incredible. The descriptive writing; beautiful. I also really enjoyed the turbulent romance between Marco and Celia. I was happy with their ending though, and found myself really feeling like they deserved to be together. Saying that, Marco was a bit pining, wasn’t he? Let Celia be the independent powerhouse that she is(!)
Something which I think the book could have done better: I enjoyed the different perspectives offered through the time-hopping, however it was a bit confusing. At times I was struggling to follow who I was reading about and where they were, and in what time. And I may have been missing the point entirely but Bailey… I found his story-line the most dull?! Anyone else or am I just being very pessimistic?
My favourite quote of the entire book: “I would have written you, myself, if I could put down in words everything I want to say to you. A sea of ink would not be enough.” The sentiment behind this is stunning and totally soppy and just what every romantic wants to read/hear/experience.
I wanted to love this but I struggled to. I would give it a solid 3/5 stars. It was good, borderline great, but the only reason I persisted with it was because of the following it has gained in recent years and its popularity with other readers. If it was a lesser known novel, I think I would have struggled to finish it.
What I will say is this – I would try it again. I have not completely given up on it, I feel like maybe it deserves a bit more of my time and possibly a different reading environment? I did try to squeeze a lot of this in on my 30mins lunch breaks with my tuna mayo sandwich!
belle in pages 