Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Author: Stephanie Garber
Published: 2017
Genre: YA Fantasy

Synopsis From Goodreads:

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.

My Take:

Caraval is the first in a trilogy involving the fate of the Dragna family. It is marketed as YA Fantasy and has the magic, suspense, and adventure of a fantasy, but it screams fairy tale. Wonderfully written, the prose made my heart sing! “The fire in the hearth finally died, sending a gray coil of smoke into the air, the color of things better said in whispers” and “the color of sweet dreams and happy endings” are only two of my favorite lines…and there were many. The language flows and dances before you in a way that completely transports you to another time and place. Delicious twists and turns leave your jaw on the ground and rattle your bones throughout. At the front of the book, you are presented with a beautiful map of the world which grounds you in suspended disbelief. From start to finish, I loved this book and devoured it in record time, moving on to the second and third books in the series, Legendary and Finale.

The novel is a relatively clean tale but does have very frequent sexual innuendos and suggestive, immodest elements along with an attempted rape. Nothing is spelled out but the whole thing has a very sensual flavor. The story’s plot will have you relentlessly turning page after page. Some books focus on character-building, some on world-building, some on plot. This one nails all three. One of my favorite books! The best part is that it is a completed series so you can binge the next two books AND the author just completed a new series based on the same characters and world, continuing the story.