CARAVAL (BOOK #1- CARAVAL SERIES) - By Stephanie Garber 3.5/5

SUMMARY:

The book starts with Scarlett Dragna & Donatella Dragna, two sisters in the Isle of Trisda, with a villainous, controlling and abusive father who has never been the same, since his wife Paloma abandoned them. Scarlett has forever dreamed of the magical game & performance called Caraval lead by a person called Legend, based on her Nana's stories of him.

Scarlett has written Legend letters every year, begging for him to perform at Isle of Trisda, and never gotten a reply until one year, she sends him one last letter telling him she is going to be married to a Count chosen by her father, and recieves Three tickets to Caraval at Isle de los Suenos for her, her fiance and her sister.

Scarlett is scared of her father, and is ready to throw away her dreams of Caraval, while Donatella is excited at the opportunity to escape Isle of Trisda and their father forever. They are joined by a handsome sailor Julian, who promises to take them to Caraval in return for one of the tickets.

Upon arrival to Isle de los Suenos, she finds out Tella(Donatella) is missing, and is the subject of the treasure hunt of that year's Caraval, and finding her grants the winner a WISH. The deceptive magical world, and the warning to not be swept away with mind games forms the base of the story that occurs over 5 nights of Caraval.

Will Scarlett find her sister? What are the real intentions behind her invitation to the game? What is real and what is magic? Who can she trust? Can she win the game before everyone she loves are lost?

MY REVIEW: 

I give this Book #1 CARAVAL 3.5/5. First of all, this book is my first read of this year 2024, and this is so refreshing to read among all the dark romances that circulate in BookTok and is suitable to read for all ages.

I loved the simple fictional world that the Author created, without too much hectic world building. I very much enjoyed the way the author writes, this book does not get boring at any point and is smooth to read. The Caraval world is very fun and beautiful and takes us back to our childhood with aesthetics of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Harry Potter and Disney.

The Female Main Character- Scarlett Dragna. One of the interesting characters I have ever read with an ability to not only see, but feel colours and associate emotions with colours, which makes word play super interesting. She is a responsible, pragmatic sister with an intense love and protectiveness. All she wants is a happy, peaceful life outside her father's clutches. Even when her brain tells her not to play Caraval, her heart loves the opportunity, but soon she is thrust into secrets and confusing mindgames. The way her character evolves through a personal journey of finding the courage to stand up, while simultaneously believing in her heart to do right things, makes her an admirable character.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER? The story was simple and elegant, but I wished for more challenging and intriguing storylines, with twist and turns, The story was predictable at times, but a surprise at other points. The author had the world at her hands to manipulate the story line into whatever she wanted to, but seems to have stuck into straight lines. While this book is a great casual read, it would not be in my top list of books with impressive and smart writing. However, it is so much better than most books out there, and is a decent fantasy book.

It was a fun read and a good way to start off the year, and I am definitely looking forward to Book #2 Legendary.

Book name- Caraval (Book #1 Caraval Series)

Genre- Fantasy 

Type- 3 book series 

Author- Stephanie Garber 

Pages- 312

My review- 3.5/5