Reviews with content warning for Gore - Caraval

I debated giving this book just under 5 stars bc I predicted many of the plot twists, but I loved this book too much to doc points for that.

I’m not a big fantasy reader but this book really drew me in. The world of Caraval is so magical and I love the concept of this big performance. Not knowing what’s real and what’s fake. But also knowing that what you’re reading is probably fake? But wanting to believe it anyway. I was so intrigued the whole time.

Scarlett annoyed me a lot at the beginning but her character development was so perfect and great to read through. And ugh I love Julian. This was such a great book to get me into fantasy and I will def be reading the rest of the series and the spin-off :)

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.25

This book was very much whimsical nonsense tied up in a mystery that was reminiscent of a studio ghibli movie. You question what is real and what is not, if what has happened actually did happen.

There was enough mystery and world building to keep me interested in reading more, though the characters were a bit one dimensional they managed to hold my attention.

Other books I've read with this vibe did not have strong enough characters to keep me engaged and since this was a debut novel it has a lot of promise for what comes next.

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kcmg710's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

WARNING // Minor spoilers like baby ones I'm sorry 🤗

I really loved this book so much, the writing as a whole was so beautiful it was like a feast for my eyes and some of the descriptions/metaphors I re-read over and over again because they were so beautiful.

Loved the characters and the development (well Scarlett’s - I’m assuming we will see the others in the rest of the trilogy).

Like in the beginning Scarlett really bugged me

with how obsessed she was with her sister and getting married and all that palava I actually (stupidly) thought she was quite boring and I understand because of her trauma and stuff and in reflection I was probably abit too harsh on her just because of my views on marriage but that doesn’t mean that other peoples are wrong // I saw on TikTok one of the characters from little women? Say something similar and thought she has a frickin point actually) and seeing how brave and resilient she was in the end and strong for standing up to her father and going after her actual dreams (adventure and stuff)

was truly amazing. 👏🏼👏🏼

Even though I loved this book and it didn’t really have many faults but it’s just not quite 5*for me and I can’t figure out why ☹️

As you can tell from my rambling I am not a writer but I hope my review was helpful
(I also don’t know if I’ve used the spoiler tags properly so sorry in advance)

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linneaalgemon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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dannilmp's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Caraval is a great read for those who love magic, especially if you have read the Night Circus. A circus type game with high stakes for failure, this book will have you rooting for the main character all the way.

What made this book even more interesting for me was I read it as a buddy read, so I was constantly looking for answers to questions and trying to puzzle out the bigger plot points of the book, without this I don't think I would have rated Caraval 3 stars. I enjoy worlds with magic and as Caraval appears to be the only place within this world setting that magic exists makes it more intriguing and drives a want to understand why and how it can happen in this world. It was an easy read and felt like you were flying through the pages!

On the other hand, some of the characters could have been more thought through, Donatella's character was just straight up unlikable for me, but so where aspects of Scarlett's personality, though I think her character growth over the novel does help make up for this. I would have liked to have seen other characters given more "screen time" and not just be around for a few pages for a massive plot point and then to just disapear.

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g4bby's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's as trippy as Alice in Wonderland. A masterpiece.

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