The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern

This book is totally enchanting in a way that no book has ever enchanted me before. Forget Harry Potter, forget Eragon, forget all magic based books you have read in the past because The Night Circus takes magic to a whole new, completely captivating, level. Morgenstern brings both the mystical circus, as well as the characters, alive with fantastic imagery and writing that teamed with such a well crafted and woven story engulfs the reader in a world that you can't help but fall in love with. The whole book is beautiful and elegant, if not a little confusing to get to grips with in the beginning, however I struggle to think of such wonderful story telling by an author in any such similar book. As I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for a mystery and although this is not sold as your traditional mystery, it slips into the bracket perfectly and is so full of twists and turns it is impossible to put down; terribly cliche I know but its true none the less. If you enjoy a mystery but are looking for something a bit unusual then this could be perfect for you. I am one of those people that becomes far too attached to characters in books and films (enter Sherlock, the Doctor, Akkarin) and I was pleasantly surprised to find another character to add to my ever growing list; Marco. I don't want to go into too much detail as this could give away some of the story but I love this character dearly and although he is a little cliche (think classic tragic hero), the way the story is portrayed allows him to develop as well as having many more interesting elements than just what he would seem on the surface. This is such a beautiful book and I urge everyone to read it as it truly is both unusual and dazzling.

We were liars - E.Lockhart

This book is not entirely what I was expecting, but then again, I am not certain as to what exactly it was that I was expecting. None the less, it is an excellent book.

I was initially intrigued by a curious review I saw on youtube (by the excellent booksandquills) where she insisted upon the books greatness. Interested, I next went to amazon to read reviews and alas I did not even get that far but shortly bought the book after seeing the description.

"Lockhart has created a mystery with an ending most readers won't see coming, one so horrific it will prompt some to return immediately to page one to figure out how they missed it." 

I am a sucker for a tragic mystery. 

This description lived up to its claims brilliantly, and after I had read the last few words it was hard to believe I had not seen this mysterious ending coming; it had indeed been so clear the whole way through. It was so hooking that I read the entire thing in a day, granted it is only 225 pages, but it really did grip me. 

The writing style employed by Lockhart is initially a different, somewhat strange, style but one that is in my opinion perfectly fitting for the story and the narration of 'Cadence' (a teenage girl), and I would be interested to read some of her other books to see if they are written in a similar way. 

I was reminded a lot of King Lear throughout the book, and really enjoyed the touches of modern approach to all sorts of issues from family life to money and racism, which were addressed in a context that I had not experienced from a book before, all be a context that I imagine is not all together that uncommon. 

If you enjoy mystery this is an excellent read but do not expect too much action as I feel that, within the context of the story, action and to some extent too much detail is not what this story has or needed.