A review by sarahdm
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.0

 
Um, yeah.

I wanna say that I don't think I am the target audience for this. This is very much a pre-teen book. 10-13 year olds. But I didn't know that because everyone talking about this book is an adult.

This was a 2.5-3 star bland tween fantasy romance until the ending. The world could be interesting if the author actually took the time to work on the world building instead of rushing through every encounter that happens. The two main female characters Scarlett and Tella are, um, idiots, unskilled, and uninspired. One of them is also the most self-center, selfish, piece of shit in the universe even though she barely has any on the page time. Julian, the only character with a personality, is great but the ending kind of fucks up his character too. Oh and yes the ending. 

I will try to put this as spoiler free as possible. The ending is rushed and convoluted nonsense. The "plan" makes absolutely no sense when there are other options to get the same results without going on a wild goose chase. The author gives neither us or Scarlett a moment to process what the fuck just happened. And glossed over the extremely fucked up shit that just happened as if those actions had no weight to them. Also the lies. The lies take everything that was good and genuine about this book and takes a huge shit on it.

The world building feels like you ask a waiter for a glass of water and they sprayed you in the face with a squirt bottle. The characters feel like they are bland uninspired pieces of cardboard that just let things happen around them. The plot is moronic to the point that I think I would rather watch paint dry then read this again.

Listen. There are lots of fantasy romance novels for pre-teens out there. Some of them are smart with interesting characters that are worth your time. This is not one of them.