Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber - ⭐⭐⭐

Description from the Publisher

The acclaimed New York Times bestseller! Welcome, welcome to Caraval—Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of the unbreakable bond between two sisters. It’s the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world...

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.

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

My Review
Page Count: 407 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Caraval

I was really excited about this book, so I am sad to say that this book fell a little flat for me. I started this book, got about halfway through, then put it down. I picked it back up again about a month later. The story started out well, and I was invested. However, once Scarlett got to Caraval, the story began to slow down. 

The characters were just OK. I was into the story at some points, but not others.The main romance didn't have enough chemistry. I wanted them to end up together, but after a certain plot twist and the ending, I could have gone either way. There was a potential for a love triangle that wasn't fleshed out but was hinted at, and then the third character ended up liking someone else. The father was very extreme and over the top with his behavior, which didn't match the rest of the character development. The sister, Tella, got on my nerves and came across as immature and naive. 

The magic system was also OK. There wasn't much explanation as to how the magic actually worked, and the limitations weren't clear. I think I would have been more invested in the story if the magic system had been more developed because I do think that the idea of Caraval is an interesting one. 

I will probably continue with the series, mostly because I already purchased the second book, Legendary. I hope Tella is not the focus of the second book. I would really like to see Scarlett's story fleshed out and developed. Overall, I found this to be an average book for a YA audience. I enjoyed some parts of the story, but this will most likely not be a re-read for me in the future.