Title: Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval #1
Published January 31st 2017 by Flatiron Books
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 432
“Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her 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 faraway, 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. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.” -Goodreads
My Review:
I do not think I have ever said I disliked a book in a review.
And it will not be today!
I loved this book.
I think it was a really good book. Was it the best? No. Was it great? No. But, was it entertaining? Yes. Did I buy the last two books in the series? Yes.
The last two are wins in my book.
While I have read through a few reviews to get this review, not a lot were positive. A lot said that the characters, setting, and plot was bland. While it may not have been as well-developed as one could wish, I do not think it was horrible.
Scarlett was an interesting character. I think she was really unique. Yes, she was kind of static. But, what was she supposed to do, hate her sister? The only idea she had was to protect her sister. That never changed, but how do you expect it too? She learned that she was not to trust people’s words and to trust people for their actions. While she may not have been the most creative character, she was fun to read about. I related to her a lot. I think she was really confused and did not know how to deal with anything.
Julian and Tella were cool. I think I saw the whole Julian plotline sooner than I would have liked. I wish he had a been a little bit more unpredictable. Also, Tella kind of made me super mad. I know she could not technically have been completely upfront with her sister, but she was so rude for the things that happened.
The idea of Legend was really interesting. I think that his storyline will be developed more in the next two but I wish we had a bit more of him. I cant say much without spoiling but I am intrigued.
I think Caraval seemed really pretty. I liked the descriptions. It was interesting to look at the map and the places that they went to. I do agree with others that sometimes it was hard to follow. A few plot points were not on the map and I had no clue how they got to the places they went to so fast.
But other than those things, I really liked it. I think it was quick and entertaining. It has been on my TBR list for way to long.
Sorry for not making this a long blog. I really am tired and needed to write this. I did not think that it was necessary to write a huge review since most bloggers have already read it.
As always, thanks for reading
A Bookie