REVIEW: Caraval (#1) - Stephanie Garber

Title: Caraval (#1)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Format: Hardback
Pages:  402 Pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

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.

Thoughts

The story follows Scarlett, who has been sending letters to Master Legend for years and finally gets invited to the legendary Caraval.

I did enjoy this story, but I really wanted to love the story, and there was just something that just couldn't give me what I was after. The book is written well, and it is very unpredictable, which is why I liked it, I really couldn't guess what was coming but something was there stopping me from really loving this book.

I loved Scarlett and Julian, and really enjoyed these two characters together, and with Julian's twist near the end of the book, you really don't see that coming. I found Scarlett to be a great character as she does grow within this book from being under her father's thumb to finally growing a backbone.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Donatella, I found her to be spoilt, and a selfish brat, she knows that Scarlett will be there to clean up her messes and protect her, and I just wanted someone to slap some sense into her. Yes I loved Scarlett but there were some things that I couldn't stand, everything she did, she did for Tella, who knew this and used it to her favour which annoyed me to no end.

Overall, it was a good book, and I will be reading Legendary, but I think I mainly it was Tella that made me rate it low as she just really did my head in.