
The Caraval series by Stephanie Garber is one of my all-time favourite reads; I love how it mixes the fantastical and theatrical with a gripping tale of good vs evil (with a nice dash of romance thrown in too). For that reason I thought I'd also adore the much hyped The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten, but that one wasn't for me at all. Thankfully this didn't turn me off reading circus-themed books completely, as I hate to have missed out on The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson. It is a more adult and complex story than Caraval, but it also has the same feeling of whimsy and endless possibilities that makes these books so absolutely magical.