Night Circus

     Night Circus was a pretty captivating read, to be honest.  It was described as a more adult Harry Potter, a description I felt was appropriate from what I experienced.  I had a feeling I would enjoy the book after seeing what Prospero said when first seeing his daughter dropped unexpectedly into his care: "Well, fuck."
     Comparing it to Harry Potter, I can see why it would be labeled as a more adult version of wizardry.  I mean, looking beyond the perverse bet that Prospero and Mr. A.H. set up, thematically speaking the label sticks.  Harry Potter was engrossing to many children because it was relevant to what they wanted to experience.  Their imaginations were captivated by magic, and they felt as if they were as good of friends with Ron and Hermoine as Harry was.  My friends and I literally grew up with Harry Potter, both the books and the movies.  They get darker and have a more mature feeling as the years at Hogwarts went on.  Perhaps this is because the people who were children when Harry was were growing up?
    Along the same lines as the H.P. tangent, the Night Circus has similar, more adult themes or ideas as the later books/films do in the H.P. setting.  J.K. Rowling didn't really delve into romance whereas Celia and Marco develop their relationship and it's a central point of the book.  They're bound to fight each other for their lives, a 'contract' they have no control over.
     If Night Circus was written pre-J.K. Rowling, perhaps it wouldn't have been met with the reception it had received.  Part of the world's most recent generation had grown up with magic, and having it introduced again in a not-so-foreign light seems pretty appropriate.