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A review by jujelly
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
1.0
[1.5]
ugh.
i wish i could like this, because everybody else seemed to have enjoyed it so much, but i'm sitting here, cringing my butt off, because all of this feels so gimmicky.
so, so gimmicky.
i feel like i got scammed. like, i'm sitting here and i feel like i got scammed out of my time.
it's difficult to write about a carneval-type of setting and not have it end up being an entire clownfest - and sadly stephanie garber succeeded in doing exactly that.
scarlett is naive, her morals are all over the place, and i can't stand her personality that only consists of caring for her sister, being scared for her sister, searching for her sister, everything for her sister. and it's not like her sister is anybody who is so deserving of so much adoration. her sister is just as obnoxious, if not more so.
who the fuck gambles and plays with their own and their sibling's life like that, and then apologises for it nonchalantly, as if tella hadn't fucked up scarlett's entire world and made her go through three deaths?
scarlett and tella are both annoying, and i could not care any less about them and their wellbeing. the characters were barely developed, the world is lacking on all fronts, and it all just felt like a show.
granted, it is a show, but it's not very good. i couldn't connect to anything, and by the end, i was happy that i didn't have to.
the plot twists were gimmicky, and their explanations at the end was a waterfall of over-explanation and 'oh, everything is all good, we were just tricking you' except it didn't really play with your mind the way it had intended; it just felt like i'm being played a fool.
the romance was lacking as well, and i can't say i really care about julian and his backstory or scarlett's involvement there.
i hate writing negative reviews, i really do, but i just spent the past hours reading something that had zero emotional merit for me, so i'm a little irritated.
i will not be continuing this series, and i'm thankful i didn't buy the physical book on a whim, when i saw it on the shelves in the bookstore.
ugh.
i wish i could like this, because everybody else seemed to have enjoyed it so much, but i'm sitting here, cringing my butt off, because all of this feels so gimmicky.
so, so gimmicky.
i feel like i got scammed. like, i'm sitting here and i feel like i got scammed out of my time.
it's difficult to write about a carneval-type of setting and not have it end up being an entire clownfest - and sadly stephanie garber succeeded in doing exactly that.
scarlett is naive, her morals are all over the place, and i can't stand her personality that only consists of caring for her sister, being scared for her sister, searching for her sister, everything for her sister. and it's not like her sister is anybody who is so deserving of so much adoration. her sister is just as obnoxious, if not more so.
who the fuck gambles and plays with their own and their sibling's life like that, and then apologises for it nonchalantly, as if tella hadn't fucked up scarlett's entire world and made her go through three deaths?
scarlett and tella are both annoying, and i could not care any less about them and their wellbeing. the characters were barely developed, the world is lacking on all fronts, and it all just felt like a show.
granted, it is a show, but it's not very good. i couldn't connect to anything, and by the end, i was happy that i didn't have to.
the plot twists were gimmicky, and their explanations at the end was a waterfall of over-explanation and 'oh, everything is all good, we were just tricking you' except it didn't really play with your mind the way it had intended; it just felt like i'm being played a fool.
the romance was lacking as well, and i can't say i really care about julian and his backstory or scarlett's involvement there.
i hate writing negative reviews, i really do, but i just spent the past hours reading something that had zero emotional merit for me, so i'm a little irritated.
i will not be continuing this series, and i'm thankful i didn't buy the physical book on a whim, when i saw it on the shelves in the bookstore.