Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Jacob Jankowski had a good life ahead. He was going to become a vet at Cornell University and live a happy life. Then, his parents die in a car crash and Jacob finds out that they had no money because they were paying for his schooling. Now Jacob is homeless and sees his future as bleak. He finds himself getting a job in the Benzini Brother's Circus where he begins to realize that like the circus, life is an illusion.

After seeing the movie twice, I decided to read the novel that inspired it. It was surprisingly similar to the movie and I did enjoy it overall.

I really liked Jacob's character, but I didn't care too much for Marlena. I also was a little confused about how Jacob turned from being such an innocent, optimistic guy into his older self. I think the rest of the characters were portrayed relatively well.

The plot was really interesting, and I liked how in the author's note at the end I realized that I'd gotten a glimpse of actual stories, such as the elephant stealing the lemonade and the jake leg. I like circus', or at least the idea of them and the setting was magical and wonderful.

I wanted to enjoy this book more, but with seeing the movie before-hand, I just don't think that they can be compared. In all honestly, I probably preferred the movie better. I also think that the book had some descriptive sexual scenes and thoughts that weren't necessary to the aspects of the story at all.

All in all, Water for Elephants was an enjoyable story that I would recommend if you're interested in circuses. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Le Cirque des Rêves is a very special circus. It appears one day when it was not there the day before, promising to open at nightfall. Inside there are a number of enchanting performances to thrill the audiences. What the visitors do not know is that the circus is the venue for a much more dangerous "game". It is between Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair, both have been trained since they were young for the game. They fall in love, and begin to realize that the "game" they are involved in is much more dangerous than they thought, and that there is a lot more at risk.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There were definitely some things I liked, and a few others that bothered me. So I will list them here.

Things I liked:

• The writing. The author has a magical way of drawing the reader into the story and enchanting you, just like the circus would have done. The imagery is amazing, and there is so much detail in the book you can clearly imagine what it would have been like in this magical venue.
• The plot. A circus that opens at night and is much more than it seems? A mysterious vibe and contest between two illusionists? I'm game.
• The imagination. There are so many dream-like qualities about the contents of the circus tents. I wish they were real.
• The romance. There basically was no romance, which was a nice touch that made the book seem more special.

Things I Disliked:

• The writing. Some times it was wonderful, but at others it seemed choppy and didn't seem to flow.
• The timeline. The story jumps from the present to the future and I became very confused at some times trying to follow it. I had to pay very close attention to when things were happening.
• The romance. The book jacket describes it as "a deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands". Let me just say that I have read plenty of romance books in my life, and this was not a romance. They were basically thrown at each other and then were like "Hey, I'm in love with you". And then a few chapters later Marco is like, "I can't live without you." And then I think, "WTF you don't even know each other..." I get that there can be love at first sight romances, but this didn't feel like one. It didn't feel authentic, and the book jacket lied to me.
• The slow plot. It was.... slow. I felt that there could have been more action and excitement, but that's just me.
• The characters. It was a little bit difficult to keep track of the characters because of their names. There was one time when I realized that I had blended two guys together and apparently they were different people. But that's just a mistake on my part for not careful reading.... lol

Overall, this was a pretty good story. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy Maggie Stiefvater, because she has a similar way of drawing out the plot and taking the time to describe everything. I also have a feeling that it would make a very, very good movie. I think this is one of those books where you either love it or you don't. I loved it more than I disliked it. If the idea of the black and white circus intrigues you, give the Night Circus a try. 4 out of 5 stars.