welivethrougbooks's reviews
250 reviews

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I read the first book in the series, Caraval, in the summer of 2021. It's now the Winter of 2022.

And honestly, it didn't take me that much time to get back into the series.

That's always a huge issue for me with sequels... sometimes it takes me awhile to remember why I liked the series enough to continue reading it.

Did NOT have that problem here though.

It took me approximately 3 seconds to be drawn back into the magical world of Caraval.

And at first, I was reluctant to start to like Tella in this book. From the first books POV, Scarlett made Tella seem like a silly little girl that needed a babysitter or else she would join the circus (I mean. She did).

Scarlett isn't wrong. But wasn't right either. Garber made Tella into everything I want to be when I grow up. She wasn't free of faults, but instead was a character that wasn't scared to go after what she wanted and fierce in doing so. You go girl. YOU. GO.

Then there was Jacks.

WHAT.

I mean, was I not supposed to be rooting for him in this book? Because Dante seemed to realized what he wanted after he saw another boy playing with his 'things.' And let's be honest - that seems to be exactly what Dante saw Tella as, just as much as Jacks did.

And Scarlett. She really had to go and lose every ounce of character development between the books. I loved her in the first book - but I was completely bored with her character in the second one. It seemed as if she was the shallow one between the two sisters now, not Tella. It was amazing to see if from Tella's POV, who believed that people say her as vain and silly - while trying to find her mother and save the world. Yet Scarlett was deemed the responsible, serious one when she was just upset over her two suitors.

I will start to go into things that may be spoilers so you've been warned, and I will not take any responsibility for what you read after this.

That was a big build up to say that Dante is a fuck boy.

And I kind of saw the plot twist coming, because who else could it have been? But that just made him so much more evil in my point of view.

Anyway, that was a ton of ranting for me to just say that I love this book. It was magical. And the characters - while frustrating at times - we're incredibly fun to read about.

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