Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Adult, Magical
ParaElement: Magic
Order Online:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter
Copy provided for review by the Amazon Vine program

 

PJ's QUICKIE POV:
The Night Circus captured me from the first few sentences:

The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it, not paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

REVIEW:
There is no way to convey this book in the small little words that I can use. The Night Circus is just too robust. The world too broad. Erin Morgenstern did more than create a world and tell me about it...she transported me there. I was thunderstruck by the pure imagination of this novel, the depth in which it was thought out and the portrayal of all the many elements. It was a true gem and I'm stoked that I was able to have the pleasure of reading it.

A battle of magic, or enchantments, they would say. Two men, a part from the world because of their power, entertain themselves by challenging each other. Their combatants: their young students. Their venue: Le Cirque de Reves. The public will see the Night Circus, the black-and-white striped tents, the acrobats, contortionists and displays that defy the laws of nature but, they believe it is just tricks, mirrors – wondrous, awe-inspiring – but tricks, not what it really is, magic. They could never guess what really lies behind the black-and-white stripes of the circus. Two magicians, on a quest to create the most magical displays, their battle going on and on...until it can not be sustained any longer and a winner is chosen.

I can only say that you have to experience this book for yourself. It is a crazy ride of the senses. Morgenstern paints a picture that only a few authors can accomplish. Her unique voice and creativity will lead you to another world, something that is rarely experienced but when it does, it stays with you for a really long time.

My only disappoint, or really confusion lay within the novel structure. It was not written within a consecutive time-line. It jumped from past to present or present to future, back and forth and back and forth. I wasn't sure what was the present, it was rather disconcerting at times. I believe this was some sort of perfect tense that the author employed rather ingeniously to reveal the story in a timeline as it was revealed to each character - but while genius - it was sometimes hard to follow.  Let me try to explain, the two main old magicians knew all the information so they were rarely covered by POV except in the beginning of the book when the bet has been made so this begins the story. Yet, there is a character that does not come into play until the very end of the timeline but is integral to the plot so he is discussed throughout the book in fits and starts as the plot is revealed to him. Intense and confusing at times, but very interesting. It did lead to a more abstract feeling within the book, but sometimes I really didn't know where I was within the construct of the timeline and plot. I just wasn't used to anything like this. Call this a failure of my brain not the story.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Recommended for a more mature teen readership, but there is nothing explicit for parents to be wary of. While there are paranormal themes, this book would cross over into general fiction very easily. Think JK Rowling teaming up with Tim Burton to devise a more adult themed Harry Potter... I can not wait for this movie.

411 on the Series

• The rights of The Night Circus has already sold in 22 countries
• There is a confirmed film deal with SUMMIT already
• First print run will be 175,000

Like this Like That

This series was not that similar but reminiscent of a lot of YA fantasy novels like:

1. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
2. Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman
Review copy provided by NetGalley.com

Publisher: Luna (May 1, 2010)
Genre: Urban Fantasy

PJVs QUICKIE POV: An understated, investigative Urban Fantasy, with not as much bite as I would have liked, but with enough interesting tid-bits to keep me wanting more. Hard Magic is an original little gem in the Urban Fantasy genre. Set in the same world as Gilman's Retriever novels, it is a world rich with magic, paranormal creatures and political intrigue. If you are a fan of the genre you won't be disappointed in Gilman's books, whether it is this one or the Retriever series.

REVIEW: Bonita "Bonnie" Torres is a recent college graduate with no future from what she can tell. A million interviews and no job to show for it, she is at the end of her rope when an anonymous call summons her to a nondescript office building, a shabby waiting room and an office with a dead body on the floor.  So begins Bonnie's career with PUPI - Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigations.

Intense training and long hours follows, until finally the team land their first case - and it is a doozy. An elderly couple, deeply involved with Council and very well-off are found dead from carbon-monoxide poisoning. The police and Council have written it off as suicide, but the deceased daughter is not convinced, so she hires PUPI.

The novel follows the investigation and goes into the finer details of how the team pairs their magical ability and CSI techniques. Dry at times, it does at points read like a technical manual, but the step by step processes of the investigation are very logical and it is hard imagining that this isn't possible.

The heroine is spunky and smart, but she doesn't have a death wish like a lot of UF heroines seem to have, and her sarcasm and wit aren't overpowering. She, like the novel are understated and a bit refined. Even the romantic entanglements were a bit understated, Bonnie seemed to lust after both the male and female cast of the novel, but nothing was really cinched down.  Once I thought it was going to lead romantically in one way, a new character stepped in and threw my romantic meter off completely.  But, this is how Gilaman's retriever novels are also.  If I remember correctly in those, the heroine doesn't "hook up" until almost 3 or 4 books into the series.

In essence a good novel, not the best I've read, but worth picking up. Especially if you like your UF with no romance and a lot of world building.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Adult fiction, but there is really nothing within the pages that would be something teens couldn't handle. Urban Fantasy fans will enjoy.  Fans of C.E. Murphy, Harry Dresden series, Rachel Morgan series, etc. should like this novel.

Spider's Bite Blog Tour

Spider's Bite: An Elemental Assassin Book by Jennifer Estep
Review copy provided by Pocket Books

Author's Website

PJVs Quickie POV:  A frenzied riot of violence, revenge and raunch all wrapped up in a fancy Urban Fantasy bow, Spider’s Bite, has it all.  First there is the tough as nails heroine who would rather kill first and ask questions later.  Then there is the boy-scout detective who sees everything in perfect black and white.  Next, you add a few vamps, and a whole lot of magic.  Spice it up with a bit of sexual tension, a great supporting character cast, and a plot that races by faster than you can turn pages. Spider’s Bite is a must read for Urban Fantasy fans, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Review:  Gin is an assassin, known to the darker side of society as The Spider. Cold as ice, Gin kills without guilt or remorse. She does her job, takes the money and never looks back.

Fletcher, her handler, and the man she treats like her father, has a last minute job for her.  The client is willing to pay her double her usual fee. This is a job she can’t pass up.  But, nothing comes without a price, and Gin quickly finds out that there is more to her assassination attempt than what she was led to believe. By the end of the night, Gin has been set-up and people close to her are killed. The police also have a composite sketch of her, something that has never happened before.  In order to clear her name, get the monkey off her back that is trying to kill her and take revenge for her loved-ones, Gin must find out who is pulling the strings behind the conspiracy.

Teaming up with Finnegan Lane, her handler’s son, and Detective Caine, a man who would like to see her dead, Gin tears through the city, searching for the “bad guy.”  Like all good intrigue novels, problems arise as Gin discovers more and more about the plot that she fell face first into.  Not to mention she now is getting all warm and tingly every time she gets close to the Detective. The Detective who can’t stand her, thinks she’s the scum of the Earth and just found out that, yes, she was the assassin that took out his partner. Fun times for Gin and the makings of a great novel.

An exciting, blood-bath of a book.  Gin is a no-nonsense killer that probably took down half the city within the pages of this book.  Not for the squeamish reader.  If you like butterflies and love stories, this is not the novel for you. 

The only things I found wrong with the book were few tiny plot-holes that aren’t that evident.  I also thought the “mole” reveal was a little too convenient, even though it was apparent to everyone but Caine who the dirty cop was.  But, then coincidental and happenstance findings are usually how investigations work.  A lot is luck.  That is all in the way of problems.  Nothing much at all.  The book was great, fast-paced, full of wonderful characters, even the big baddies were rich and laid-out well.  The back stories were excellently done and the world Estep created was very believable.  I liked her unique perceptive regarding the elemental magic. The gritty city of Ashland she also created, made my teeth hurt as she describe the crooked cops, the scummy streets and the opulence of the rich. I couldn’t set this book down.  I read this for Mardi Gras...and you know it was good if my fingers itched to pick up the book while the party was going on around me.

I will be reading Web of Lies, the second book in the series.

 Recommendations: Fans of Urban Fantasy - read this!  Not for younger readers, though.  You name it, this book has it, sex, violence, cursing, prostitution... and best of all a bit of murder and mayhem.

Poison Study by Maria V. Synder

Poison Study by Maria V. Syneder
PJV Series You Should Be Reading Feature

Bought with my own money.

PJV Quickie POV: One of my favorite authors and series. Poison Study is a fantasy novel unlike any I have ever read before. A usual fantasy novel drips with strange names, bizarre creatures, and bloated writing, where you have to sift through chapters of back story, world set-ups, and inflated descriptions. Not to say there is anything wrong with that - don't get me wrong, I was raised on fantasy and scifi as my aunt read aloud Lord of the Rings and handed me my first cherished fantasy series book...a Dragonlance novel. But sometimes change is good.

Review: Yelena is given a choice. Execution or Food Taster. Quick death, or the threat of a slow, agonizing death by poison. The choice for Yelena was simple, she took the helm of the food taster, even though she knew it was dangerous, anything was better than being executed, and hung she will be. Her crime is certain, the punishment, death.  She has killed a nobel's son and for that she must pay the price. The tale is told through Yelena's POV and her story is slowly revealed throughout the pages.  As the story goes on, the depth of the plot gets deeper and deeper as we are introduced to Valek, the Commander's assassin, whom seems to be able to wrap himself in darkness itself to sneak upon his quarry.

Valek trains Yelena in the subtle art of food tasting and the ability to detect poison.  If not to save herself, but at least with her dying breath to be able to call at which poison is killing her so the murderer can be detected.  As Yelena is sucked deeper and deeper into her new world, she begins to discover that not everything is how it seems, and enemies might need to be kept a little closer.

Poison Study is a great introduction to the fantasy genre if you are looking to cross the genre barriers.  The world Synder created is rich in its depth, but not over-whelming or bloated. It is a unique world, a world of magic, military might and medieval noble sensibilities.  Poison Study is a study in character development, the characters of Yelena and Valek are larger than life, entirely relatable and fall in love with material. As Yelena made choices and faced problems and tasks I was drawn in and didn't want to leave.  Moving on Magic Study & Fire Study are almost as good as the first!

Recommendations: There are some adult scenes, nothing blatant, so I'm recommending this for older teens and adults.  You don't necessarily have to be a fantasy genre fan.  This has a lot of paranormal aspects, so fans of paranormal might really enjoy this.

Coverology...

Which do you prefer? If I'm not mistaken there are THREE US version & the Other three are UK & Aussie versions. If I'm wrong please correct me, but every time I looked I would find a different cover.