1 book

@nokhushionlygham

So essentially it's these 2 magicians who enter their protige's into a battle with each other, but the details of what the battle even is isn't disclosed even to the protige's. The plot mainly follows them but it jumps a lot to different characters and it's centered around this travelling circus called the Night Circus. This circus has a color theme of black and white with little red. The circus has giant mirrors, magic gates and supernatural displays that are mainly fueled by the two competing magicians.

I won't spoil reveal more of the plot (mostly cause I fear I'm not doing it justice) but what makes the book so amazing is how it's written. It's the type of book where you become nostalgic for a place you've only ever visited in your head, y'know?

This might make the post quite long but just to give you an idea of what I mean here's a description of the clock that's in front of the circus from the book:

"The finished clock is resplendent. At first glance it is simply a clock, a rather large black clock with a white face and a silver pendulum. Well crafted, obviously, with intricately carved woodwork edges and a perfectly painted face, but just a clock.
But that is before it is wound. Before it begins to tick, the pendulum swinging steadily and evenly. Then, then it becomes something else.
The changes are slow. First, the color changes in the face, shifts from white to grey, and then there are clouds that float across it, disappearing when they reach the opposite side.
Meanwhile, bits of the body of the clock expand and contract, like pieces of a puzzle. As though the clock is falling apart, slowly and gracefully.
All of this takes hours.
The face of the clock becomes a darker grey, and then black, with twinkling stars where numbers had been previously. The body of the clock, which has been methodically turning itself inside out and expanding, is now entirely subtle shades of white and grey. And it is not just pieces, it is figures and objects, perfectly carved flowers and planets and tiny books with actual paper pages that turn. There is a silver dragon that curls around part of the now visible clockwork, a tiny princess in a carved tower who paces in distress, awaiting an absent prince. Teapots that pour into teacups and minuscule curls of steam that rise from them as the seconds tick. Wrapped presents open. Small cats chase small dogs. An entire game of chess is played.
At the center, where a cuckoo bird would live in a more traditional timepiece, is the juggler. Dress in harlequin style with a grey mask, he juggles shiny silver balls that correspond to each hour. As the clock chimes, another ball joins the rest until at midnight he juggles twelve balls in a complex pattern.
After midnight, the clock begins once more to fold in upon itself. The face lightens and the cloud returns. The number of juggled balls decreases until the juggler himself vanishes"