An enchanting, richly-woven, and immersive tale 
 While reading The Night Circus, it was impossible for me to not be reminded of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, another book about a mysterious circus/carnival that moves from place to place, features secretly-immortal people, and has a darker veneer underneath its trouble-free exterior. It is to Erin Morgenstern's immense credit, then, that The Night Circus was nonetheless able to establish itself as its own distinct, separate entity for me. 
 The Night Circus's greatest strengths are, by far and away, its prose and atmosphere. Morgenstern does a truly magical job in describing just enough of the titular circus to create a marvelously detailed and sensual experience of actually being there and leaving just enough of its workings up to the imagination to enhance its allure. If you don't find yourself craving the taste of chocolate mice or longing to tour the Ice Garden or make an addition to the Wishing Tree, then you are a far less eager and curious individual than I. 
 It's not just all style, however; the book's characters and plot add genuine substance and intrigue to the mix too. Marco and Celia, the ever-omnipresent star-crossed lovers, are arguably more archetypes than characters, but their far-from-glamorous upbringings and the casual cruelty of their fathers entangling them in a competition they are left in the dark of the true extent of act as a powerful thematic contrast to the nobler intentions and cooperative spirit behind the circus's creation. The circus is also populated with a cast of colorful and diverse characters, from the Japanese contortionist Tsukiko to the refreshingly open-minded engineer Barris to the twin children Poppet and Widget who can see things to come that others can't, who get to add their voices and perspectives to the story and overall rich tapestry of the circus. 
 If I had a criticism to make of The Night Circus, it would be that the parts with Bailey - the boy who sneaks into the circus on a dare and eventually becomes crucial to the circus's fate - feel a tad contrived with his role essentially running on the "he's important because destiny says so" trope that's even more well-worn than the "star-crossed lovers" one. Additionally, The Night Circus has to walk a tightrope in its third act between maintaining the enchantment and wonder of its circus and acknowledging that not everything about it is quite so delightful, and it ends up arguably not exploring the darker elements of the circus -- and the tragedies that eventually occur within it -- as much as it could have as a result. 
 Overall, however, The Night Circus immersed me into its world and plot thoroughly and I walked away from it feeling satisfied and not a little melancholy that I had to leave the circus and its not-as-perfect-as-it-seems but ultimately hope-filled world. It gets a hearty recommendation from me for those who enjoy getting lost in atmospheric, dreamlike worlds too.