Published by Doubleday in September 2011
"Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves.
Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way--a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a "game" to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, 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.
As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. The game is well under way and the lives of all those involved--the eccentric circus owner, the elusive contortionist, the mystical fortune-teller, and a pair of red-headed twins born backstage among them--are swept up in a wake of spells and charms.
But when Celia discovers that Marco is her adversary, they begin to think of the game not as a competition but as a wonderful collaboration. With no knowledge of how the game must end, they innocently tumble headfirst into love. A deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
Their masters still pull the strings, however, and this unforeseen occurrence forces them to intervene with dangerous consequences, leaving the lives of everyone from the performers to the patrons hanging in the balance. "
Will you like it?
I picked this book up because I had to read it for book club. I listened to it in audio, and I'm really glad that I did. Jim Dale (the Harry Potter narrator) read it, and made the characters come to life. I don't think I would have picked this book up on my own, without the pressure of book club.
The story is very twisty, and hard to follow. We jump back and forth in time and place, with many of the same characters appearing in both places. The ending though to me was the most confusing part. I'm still not entirely sure what happened.
However, the writing is beautiful, and I do love how the stories finally interweave in the last 1/4 of the book. Even though Jim Dale is amazing, this would be one of those books to read in print so that you can flip back and forth when the stories get too confusing.
Disclosure: I borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.
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