I recently finished reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern over the weekend and days later I am still thinking about it. Every now and then a book comes along that is so perfect, it kind of ruins all other books for you once you’ve finished it and you find you can’t get it out of your head or stop comparing the other books you try to read afterwards to it. The Night Circus is definitely one of those books for me.

I think the description of the book alone will sell you on it, if my incoherent babblings of adoration aren’t enough:

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.

I thoroughly adored this book, lingering over the beautiful writing and falling in love with the story and characters. I didn’t want it to end. I cannot say enough good things about it – masterfully written, with every detail carefully attended to – this book is perfection and one you’ll have a hard time putting down once you start it. It has quickly worked it’s way onto my list of All Time Favorites – I highly recommend it to any lovers of amazing books.

What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?