Before Celia was even old enough to protest, her father roped her into being a player in a game, confident that Celia’s magic skills would be strong enough to beat her opponent. Even as she studied magic for years, Celia’s father wouldn’t say who her opponent was or tell her how the game could be won. So she left her father to work for a circus with barely any instructions for the game, confused about how it could possibly end. She quickly discovered that Le Cirque de Reves was not an ordinary circus, operating on real magic instead of the usual well-rehearsed tricks. As she spends more time at the circus she notices Marco, the personal assistant of the circus owner. Even though he is only supposed to file paperwork, he is always trying to one-up Celia’s displays of magic, constantly making his efforts more and more complex. This causes her to start wondering if she has finally found her opponent, or just found someone she is slowly falling in love with. Or maybe she has found both.

I love this author’s writing so much! She has a great way of presenting a story from many different perspectives, and allowing all of them to slowly blend into each other. I love the beginning of this book, because at first it feels like there couldn’t be a reason for many of the characters to be in it, but as the book goes on it becomes obvious that they are a crucial part of the story. The characters in this book are quirky outcasts; they are people who couldn’t belong anywhere as much as they belong at Le Cirque de Reves. They are all written in such beautifully complex ways, appearing magical and mysterious as well as determined and strong. Both the well-written characters and insanely immersive setting made this book a 5 star rating. The reader gets introduced to the circus bit by bit, in such interesting ways. This book has the occasional chapter written in second person perspective, which I found was a great way to make the reader feel like they were actually at the circus. This book also had such an amazingly dramatic and unforgettable ending that had me thinking about it long after I finished it. 

From beginning to end the magic, characters and places in this book were so captivating that I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend this book to any teen or adult who enjoys magic and romance. Some similarly quirky books are When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore and The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune.