Audiobook Review: The Night Circus

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Source: My own audio copy 
Narrated by: Jim Dale










Blurb:
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 Rêves, 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 per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Review:
I did not intent to read this book.  I have had some bad experiences when it comes to books that has loads of hype surrounding it.  I must have a different taste in books than the average person, so I find myself dissappointed in most of the very popular books.

But one morning before work, I found myself loading the audio copy of The Night Circus onto my mp3 player.  And I am so glad that I did.   I find that audio books open a whole other reading world to me.  I enjoy books in audio form that I am sure I would have hated (or given up on) in book form.

The story begins with this . . . 

The circus arrives without warning.

A fantasy world is brought to life when the night circus arrives in town.  The circus consists of different tents that allows you to wander from one breath taking sight to the next after dusk has fallen.
  
This circus is home to a host of characters, all intriguing and extremely talented in their own right but our two main characters are Celia and Marco.  Both are brought up (without warmth or love) by grand illusionists from a very young age.  
As they grow up, they are taught the secrets of magic.  They understand that their sad lives will forever be enveloped in a competition that will only end when their last breath is taken.

This is a beautiful book that moves through the lives of the characters for many, many years.  The words are woven together so easily that you can feel yourself in that magical place that is the circus.

The action only fills the last few chapters of the book but the journey to it was wonderful.