Caraval (Caraval #1)

By Stephanie Garber

This book wasn't what I expected but I did really enjoy it.  I was expecting it to be similar to the Hunger Games, but other than a "game" being the central aspect there is nothing similar between the two books.  Throughout most of the book I got major Alice in Wonderland vibes.

'Caraval' is about two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, who live on a tiny island in the Conquered Isles.  They are abused physically by their father, and when Scarlett finally receives an invite to Caraval, a performance held once a year, they finally believe that they may have a chance of escape.  Upon arrival, Scarlett quickly discovers that the whole point of this year's performance revolves around her younger sister's kidnap, and she sets off on a perilous journey to try and get Tella back.

I thought the world-building in this book was great but not perfect.  Not much detail is given to the world as a whole but I found it really easy to visualise the setting once Scarlett arrived at Caraval.  There is a map at the beginning of the book which helped, but to be honest this was not needed as the descriptions given throughout the book were really good.  I did keep forgetting that most of the book was set at night, rather than during the daytime, and found it difficult to picture it like this.  

I did like most of the characters, especially Scarlett.  She was a strong lead and I really rooted for her.  Tella, on the other hand, really annoyed me.  She seemed to be so reckless and not think about her actions, but there is a nice little plot twist towards the end surrounding her that I didn't see coming.  Julian, the main love interest, was another character I really liked.  He was really mysterious.  I kept wondering whether he was on Scarlett's side or whether he was working against her.  Legend himself is another mysterious character, again you wonder whether he really is the villain that's he's portrayed as throughout the entire book.  Scarlett and Tella's father was the only one I was certain was a real villain, but is all as it seems?  I didn't like him as a character but he was a good antagonist.  The secondary characters who appear throughout the story are all really likeable and I was always wondering who had an ulterior motive and who did not.

I really liked the writing style; as I've said it was really easy to visualise what was happening in my head.  Towards the end of the book I didn't really see how it would work as a series as it seemed to come to a satisfying end but there is a nice plot twist at the very end that set things up nicely for the rest of the series.  The book as a whole was very mysterious and I often thought I had things figured out when in reality I couldn't have been more wrong.  I will definitely be picking up further books in the series.

One thing that did annoy me was the UK cover.  The US cover is so much nicer but having read the book I kind of feel that the UK one does fit the story more.

Date read: March 2017
Rating: 8/10.