Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval #1

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 0/5

Plot: 5/5

Primary Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Blurb: A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

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. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

My Thoughts:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started this book and ended up having to start reading an ARC instead. So when I tell you that I am DELIGHTED to have finished this, I mean it. I don’t even know how to describe this book. It’s chaotic, it’s magical, mysterious, sensual without being sexual, frustrating…This book is a wild ride. The Caraval game is a mystery that has to be solved, and clues must be found along the way. Scarlett spends the entire game trying to locate her sister Tella because that ends up being the mystery that must be solved. Since the only person on the island that she knows is Julian, she enlists his help and they get cozier by the day. But crazy things start happening and Scarlett can’t tell what’s real and what’s the game. The ending of the game had me in a full on panic, I didn’t see any of it coming. I ate this book up and I can’t wait for book 2.

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