Caraval by Stephanie Garber Book Review

Title: Caraval (Caraval #1)
Author: Stephanie Garber    
Publish Date: January 31st, 2017
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Source: Purchased my own copy

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.

Penelope's Review

What a fantastic debut! I am so glad that I finally got around to this from my TBR pile -I found it well worth the wait! The story follows two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, though Scarlet takes more of a main stage role in this book over Tella. Scarlet's character grew on me throughout the book. At first I wasn't sure if I liked her meek attitude, but as she grew bolder and more in tune with her interests, I found myself wanting to know more. 

I thought Julian was great. The more I read about the him, the more I wanted to read. I was never 100% sure who's side he was on and I loved the mystery there. And of course, Caraval itself. This was such a neat idea and I loved the magic and the characters within it. I have read some reviews that say the game didn't really make sense for anyone other than Scarlet, but I think that's the point. I think Caraval is unique to each and every person who plays. Maybe I'm way off the mark here, but I just felt like once you stepped into the game, you were meant to feel like the only one playing - like everything was tailored to you and you truly had a chance at winning. And I really love that idea.

In terms of the writing style itself, I've never really read anything quite like it. I think it's maybe not a style that is for everyone, but I ended up enjoying it. I do think that some of the descriptions got really long and were maybe a tad unnecessary, and Scarlet attaching colors to all of her feelings took some getting used to, but I liked it overall. I definitely think anyone can pick up this book and get something out of it so I recommend it to everyone!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!