Caraval by Stephanie Garber || REVIEW

Caraval has been everywhere lately, if you've not heard of it then you probably live under a rock. I'd seem a mixed bag of reviews so I decided to read it for myself to see what all the fuss was about. The plot is based around a game called caraval and follows two sisters; Scarlett and Tella. They have wanted to visit caraval since they were children and they finally get the chance, but everything is not as it seems and the game is more than they expected.

Author: Stephanie Garber ⬥ Series: Caraval #1 ⬥ Published on: 31st January 2017 ⬥ Genre's: Young Adult, Fantasy ⬥ Format: E-book ⬥ Source: Purchased

Amazon ⬧ Goodreads

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Synopsis

Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

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My Rating

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Likes

✶ I was gripped from the very first page and read this book extremely fast. There was something about the writing style that I just loved, at some points I physically had to force myself to stop reading to go and be *slightly productive.

✶ I am in love with the world of Caraval. Even though it can be cruel and awful, it was also magical and so interesting to read about. I've never read another book like this and I thought the idea was really original. I know some people compare this to 'the night circus' but I didn't like that book so not for me. 

✶ Stephanie Garber did an amazing job with the world building. It was so descriptive I actually felt like I was seeing what the characters were. (P.S. this is her debut novel, and it doesn't feel like it at all!) 

✶ I really enjoyed the mystery element to this book, you never quite knew what was going on (but in a good way) and I really enjoyed that. It kept me guessing until the very end. 

Dislikes

✶ My main issue with this book was that I felt really disconnected from the characters. I didn't really have any investment in them and was mainly reading it for the world building. 

✶ I also didn't really like the romance, it felt sudden and rushed and just unnecessary really. I think authors need to realise we don't need romance in every book. If it's not going to be believable then just leave it out altogether. 

Just a warning. This book could be triggering to some people as it does feature parental abuse quite heavily. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Caraval. I originally gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads but while writing this review I decided to change that to 3.5. I still enjoyed it but the characters were a problem for me.