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A review by shercockholmes
Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo
4.0
Quick thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC so I could review this.
Vibes: Magical Realism, Cultural Reclamation, Family Bonds
Beasts of Carnaval is an absolute must read for fans of Caraval or The Night Circus. It has the same fanciful, mythical vibes of an unending party, but with a mysterious undertone. The story is set on the Caribbean-inspired island of Etérea. Under the rule of the Hisperian Empire, recent legal changes have ended plantation slavery on the island. Sofía, formerly enslaved, now finds herself unsure of her future. Like many other newly freed men and women, her cultural identity was taken and erased during the diaspora of slavery.
Five years before the events of the novel, the plantation owner Don Reynaldo de Esperanza left on holiday to the famed Carnaval de Bestias on Isla Bestia. With him, he took Sofía’s twin brother, Sol, as a valet. The plantation continues to operate as Don Reynaldo’s daughter, Adelina, takes over in secret. Adelina is happiest when tinkering with machinery. Her main efforts (besides keeping the sugarcane business afloat) are directed toward instituting work reforms and automation. She spent her formative years considering Sofía a companion, not a servant. As such, when Sofía attempts to leave to find her brother, Adelina joins her hoping to discover why her father never returned.
Sofía is a very easy FMC to root for; she’s grounded, methodical, and logical. She isn’t written without flaws, but her choices make sense based on the information she has. She’s not frustrating. You want her to find her brother. You want her to succeed and be happy. She carries a lot of pain and trauma, but she gets things done.
The novel is listed as Adult Fiction, but there is no content that would keep it off YA shelves. There is, in fact, no romantic subplot. It’s a breath of fresh air. Thematically, love is explored through sibling bonds and found family. We finally have a heroine who is not pining after a man in a masquerade mask. I was happy to see it.
I had concerns around the halfway mark that the novel might not stick the landing. But thankfully, the plot points I feared might be forgotten in the mid-novel shift were all resolved by the end.
Vibes: Magical Realism, Cultural Reclamation, Family Bonds
Beasts of Carnaval is an absolute must read for fans of Caraval or The Night Circus. It has the same fanciful, mythical vibes of an unending party, but with a mysterious undertone. The story is set on the Caribbean-inspired island of Etérea. Under the rule of the Hisperian Empire, recent legal changes have ended plantation slavery on the island. Sofía, formerly enslaved, now finds herself unsure of her future. Like many other newly freed men and women, her cultural identity was taken and erased during the diaspora of slavery.
Five years before the events of the novel, the plantation owner Don Reynaldo de Esperanza left on holiday to the famed Carnaval de Bestias on Isla Bestia. With him, he took Sofía’s twin brother, Sol, as a valet. The plantation continues to operate as Don Reynaldo’s daughter, Adelina, takes over in secret. Adelina is happiest when tinkering with machinery. Her main efforts (besides keeping the sugarcane business afloat) are directed toward instituting work reforms and automation. She spent her formative years considering Sofía a companion, not a servant. As such, when Sofía attempts to leave to find her brother, Adelina joins her hoping to discover why her father never returned.
Sofía is a very easy FMC to root for; she’s grounded, methodical, and logical. She isn’t written without flaws, but her choices make sense based on the information she has. She’s not frustrating. You want her to find her brother. You want her to succeed and be happy. She carries a lot of pain and trauma, but she gets things done.
The novel is listed as Adult Fiction, but there is no content that would keep it off YA shelves. There is, in fact, no romantic subplot. It’s a breath of fresh air. Thematically, love is explored through sibling bonds and found family. We finally have a heroine who is not pining after a man in a masquerade mask. I was happy to see it.
I had concerns around the halfway mark that the novel might not stick the landing. But thankfully, the plot points I feared might be forgotten in the mid-novel shift were all resolved by the end.