Bibliophile [the night circus]

OMG love.

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

Here is the blurb of magical goodness:

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 didn't even want to put in the blurb, because it sounds like the dumb, trashy kind of teen lit. But it's not. It's intelligent, elaborate, fun, a complete showstopper. It has the mystic and magical qualities of Shadow of the Wind and all the sexy, circus-y goodness of Water for Elephants. I couldn't put this down, honestly- I can't say it was the deepest story, and I can't say it changed my life, but oh baby it was a fun read.