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g-a-n-y-u · 3 years

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Book Review : Caraval

During the weekend, my brother, mom, and I went to Barnes&Nobles to buy some books. As I was looking at all of the books, I found a book that looked interesting and I decided to buy it. Well, my mom did but, you get the point. I bet you are wondering what the book is. The book I decided to read is Caraval. Before reading this review, understand that there may be some spoilers or details that may be false. Please read with caution!

A little girl, Scarlette, wrote letters to the Caraval Master. Or known as the owner of the Caraval, she would write every year. She always wanted him to perform at her island. One day he finally wrote back and said he and his circus were not traveling but, he sent three tickets to come to his island where he will perform. Scarlette's sister, Donatella, was also informed that they could be able to attend the circus. Unfortunately for Scarlette, she was getting married in a week and she had to prepare. Adding to that, her father would punish her badly if he knew that she and her sister escaped the island. Suddenly, when the sisters were talking a strange boy approached them. It was Julian, the ship-boy. The sisters never heard or saw him but they decided to talk. They both were talking when Scarlette's father came. He asked Julian how his drinks were. Julian lied and said he enjoyed them but, the father knew he was lying. Assuming that Julian was 'tasting' one of his daughters, he asked who. Even though they told him it was a misunderstanding, he didn't believe them. Julian decided to say Scarlette and it did not end well. A little while later Donatella presented the Caraval tickets to Julian and he was honestly a little curious how they got them. A day later Julian wanted to meet Scarlette near the black sands on her island. Suddenly, Scarlette was unconscious and she woke up on a boat. Julian explained that he and Donatella made a plan that they wanted to go to the Caraval. Knowing that Scarlette would have declined, they made her unconscious so she would be able to go to the Carval with all of them. After a while, the boat started to sink and Julian and Scarlette had to abandon it. They finally arrived at the island where the Caraval was going to perform. Julian said that he dropped Donatella on the island before he picked up Scarlette. However, both of them didn't see her. It was like she just disappeared. Will Sharlette find her sister, beat the Caraval games, and even meet the Caraval master?

#romance books #book review #caraval #book recommendations

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charlotteisnotthechosenone · 5 years

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Review: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

To provide a little bit of context for anyone who is not familiar with this series Legendary is the sequel to Caraval (released back in 2017) and is the second book in the Carval series. The conclusion, Finale, was released just the other week. As it is a sequel I am not going to delve too much into the synopsis but just to pre-warn everyone this review will contain spoilersfor events that take place during Legendary.

When I first heard about the Caraval series a lot of people were saying how they thought it would be perfect for fans of The Night Circus which naturally should have peaked my interest in it but it instead seemed to have the opposite effect! The Night Circus is a book I hold so dear that I didn’t want Caraval to be a lesser version of this story and for me to be constantly comparing the two. I didn’t want to dismiss the series completely though and a few months after it was released I reluctantly picked it up. While I do see where the comparisons to The Night Circus originate, particularly in terms of the setting, for me this is where the comparisons end. When you delve properly into both books they both have vastly different themes and plot lines and are both outstanding books in their own right. I will admit that my expectations for this series were set so incredibly low because of all these comparisons – how could anything, in my opinion, come close to what I feel for The Night Circus? I am now so incredibly glad that I put those worries to one side and gave Caraval a fair chance because I have fallen completely and utterly in love with this series.

I picked up Legendary so that I would hopefully finish it around the time that Finale was to be released (which I achieved!) and I think there is one quote from the book that perfectly sums up what I feel for this series – ‘Caraval can make you fall in love’. I am so totally and utterly absorbed in the magic of this universe and as I turn each page I feel like I am stood there next to Scarlett and Tella discovering the world alongside them. I feel that their awe is my awe and their fear my fear. There were so many jaw dropping twists weaved throughout the story which seemed to give Caraval itself a much darker feel that in had in the first book. The game held a sort of magical innocence the first time around - until the game was finally complete and all hell then let loose! But with Tella’s ulterior motives to free her mother and her bargain with the Prince of Hearts taking place before the game had even got properly underway I knew we were in for a much darker ride this time around.

Throughout the story the stakes and the importance of finding out the true identity of Legend increases, and without this knowledge – until right at the very end – I find that you, as a reader, can very much empathise with the difficulty Tella faces in what she deems to be an impossible decision. Every new bit of information seemed to bring with it more questions and more conflicts until it became totally impossible to see a way out of Tella’s bargain which would not wreak destruction on the world – hand the deck of destiny over to Legend and allow him to inherit the abilities of the Fates to become ridiculously powerful or hand Legend over to the Prince of Hearts and allow the Fates to be freed. Throughout the book this decision came back time and time again to the identity of Legend. If you are going to hand a very large amount of power over to one man then you need to know their intentions. I have been totally fascinated not just by the identity of Legend himself but I want to know his story, where he came from, how he got his power, where the hell did the idea of Caraval come from!

“Every good story needs a villain.But the best villains are the ones you secretly like.”

I don’t think I just like Legend I am absolutely enthralled by him. At the very start of the series he is seen as a sort of ‘god like’ figure and for me anyway I quickly just accepted that he was this important figurehead, presiding over the game and who would build his reputation solely on his illusiveness. But as you delve deeper into the world of Caraval, particularly in this second novel you realise that Legend’s secrets may be closer than you think. The penultimate pages leave you with a tease of these secrets, goading you to come back for more in the third and final book. While reading I often found myself getting completely swept up in the world, and to some extent, the innocence of Caraval and it is only when you stop and remember the number one rule of Caraval that you realise just how immersed you have become.

“You must remember it’s all a game”

It is this which provides the grounds for the impossible task Tella must face upon winning Caraval. Each and every one of Legend’s pawns each have a role to play in order to keep the game moving forward so how can you be totally sure absolutely anything they say/do is real? When playing Caraval first time around this was something Scarlett seemed to be able to keep very much at the forefront of her mind and as a reader you were very much able to separate the real from the make believe however throughout Legendary that line becomes very much blurred both for the characters and myself as a reader. I think this just one of the reasons which highlight the absolutely incredible writing throughout not only this novel, but its predecessor as well.

Legendary is one of the most spectacular books I have read in ages and this series is steadily becoming one of my all time favourites. As much as I want to dive straight into Finale I also want to eek this series out for as long as I can because I don’t want to have to finish exploring this world. One thing is for certain though it won’t remain on my TBR for very long!

#book #booklr #booknerdanonymous #new #recently uploaded #YA #YA novels #YA Books #ya fiction #young adult #young adult books #young adult book review #YA Book Review #bookreview #caraval #legendary #finale #stephanie garber

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bookishreviewsblog · 5 years

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Stephanie Garber: Legendary (Caraval #2) | Lara

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win. After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name. The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever... Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.

Scarlett and Tella are safe and away from their abusive father, but troubles are far from over for them. Empress Elantine’s 75th birthday is approaching, and with it, another Caraval game and Tella still has a favor she needs to pay to her mysterious “friend” who has helped her find Legend, and, as it turns out that friend of hers is no one else but the Prince of Hearts. He might have a way of finding Tella’s mother and Tella s willing to do anything to find her – including another Caraval game and betraying Legend to Jacks in order to save both her and her mother’s life.

“There were shipwrecks more graceful than Tella.”

While Caraval was told from Scarlett’s perspective, its sequel has been presented from a point of view of her adventurous and cunning sister. Tella is determined to find her mother, who she hasn’t seen in over a decade, not knowing what she’s getting herself into. Her head is always filled with various schemes and plans to get to what she wants, but she rarely considers the consequences – the number of people she’ll hurt trying to accomplish her goals. I have to admit I was tremendously annoyed by her character in the first book, mostly because she was just going around and screwing with Scarlett, but Tella’s brave and she’s got balls to do what needs to be done. I think Garber chose the perfect character to carry the dynamics and adventures the second book has to offer.

Legendary takes a slightly different path then we’d expect after reading Carval, but that’s all it’s about – series progressing and advancing in unexpected directions, leaving those comfortable beginnings we fell in love far behind and taking their books to a new level. This time, the danger is real, and not only the lives of Tella and her loved ones, but the fate of the whole world depends on the choices Tella is going to make. When she realizes this time, Caraval is just a game, but what it’s about isn’t – in order to save her mother Tella needs to win and betray Legend, but what if her mother’s life comes at a cost the entire world will have to pay? It’s about so much more than Caraval and playing the game because the Fates are about to get freed into the world and *spoiler* Tella is dying, this time for real, as a consequence of trusting the Prince of Hearts.

The romance was absolutely unnecessary and vigorously forced, I don’t know for what reason, but I would be perfectly all right reading a YA fantasy book that isn’t intertwined with pathetic pulling around with smirky mysterious love interest. Dante was also a shitty one, too, since he did nothing and had zero (0) personality that would make me even consider him as a character. And was it such a great plot twist at the end *spoiler* that he was Legend, really? Anyway, I like it where this series has headed only I pray Dante won’t be an endgame :P

#books #book reviews #fantasy #fiction #young adult #high fantasy #stephanie garber #caraval #legendary

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brightbeautifulthings · 7 years

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Caraval by Stephanie Garber

"He'd heard every person gets one impossible wish--just one--if the person wants something more than anything, and they can find a bit of magic to help them along."

Year Read: 2017, 2018

Rating: 4/5

Context: I've seen posts for Caraval flitting across my dash now and then, and reading Something Wicked This Way Comes as a child has made me irresistibly drawn to any magical circus or carnival stories. Spoilers will be clearly marked.

About: All her life, Scarlett has dreamed of going to Carval, the mysterious and magical game hosted by the magician called Legend, of escaping her father and his tyrannous rule on the island of Trisda. She just wants to witness a little magic, but when the invitation to Caraval actually arrives, she may be too afraid to take it. Her father will kill them if she and her sister, Tella, try to leave, and freedom is coming soon in her marriage to the count, a man she's never met and whose name she doesn't know. When Tella is kidnapped and made part of the game of Caraval, Scarlett will have to risk everything to get her back.

Thoughts: I'm not sure Caraval quite lives up to its promise. The book itself is lovely; this is nice but not strictly necessary, and the map on the inside lacks the details of others like it from Six of Crows or Graceling. There is magic and danger, mystery and wonders, but something about it didn't quite hit home for me. In part, it may be because Caraval is a game of mystery, and it makes it sometimes difficult to follow all the twists and turns of the novel. There are a lot of false clues and bits of information that seem important but ultimately lead to nothing, and I found myself frustrated with trying to keep it all together. Similar to The Night Circus, there is just too much, and I think the novel would have benefited from Garber streamlining things a little.

I'm not sure if it's the writing itself that seems circular and repetitive or if it's just Scarlett's point of view. She's continually torn between fear over finding her sister and being distracted by Julian's good looks, neither of which help the plot or the character development move forward. I didn't initially care for her much as a main character, since she's constantly dramatizing things and rushing headlong into disaster. She's painted as the sensible sister, but we rarely get a glimpse of this. Her character development is ultimately not bad, as she's much stronger by the end of the novel, but it's a rather painful process for the reader.

The only other character present often enough to track is Julian, and I'm pretty over this sort of anti-hero. He's heart-stoppingly gorgeous, full of himself, and often outright mean, yet Scarlett continues to look for reasons to trust him every time he does something a little bit nice. Girl, you can do better. I could do without the romance altogether, but that’s usually the case for me. Garber notes that Caraval is a novel about sisters, but it's difficult to see that as well, since Tella and Scarlett share very little page-time. Whether the author or Scarlett want to admit it or not, it's a novel about Scarlett.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

Caraval warns its players that nothing that happens during the game is real, but as a reader, I got a little tired of the mind-fuckery. There were too many things that happened and then didn't happen that I felt a little like I'd wasted my time getting invested in things that turned out not to be real. Even Julian is, gasp, actually a nice guy, and I'm tired of stories that insist a despicable hero was a good person all along. There's nothing wrong with writing an actual villain and finding ways to love him anyway (I promise; his name is Kaz Brekker). I ended up enjoying most of Caraval, but I wish I'd enjoyed it more.

#book review #caraval #stephanie garber #4/5 #rating: 4/5 #2017 #2018

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