Felt like fan fiction - addicting but no real personality for the characters or plot that stands 

This felt like if a CW teen show had one fever dream of a season and then ended with a happy ended & minimal character growth.

Writing Style: 1/1

Story: 1.25/2

Characters: 0.5/2

Total: 2.75 stars

Extra rating: Enjoyability: 0.75/1

The writing style is what first drew me in. Colorful, vivid and fantastical. The main character had some form of synesthesia which made for interesting and really beautiful narrative in some parts of the book.

The story however, well…

The story had the potential to be something more thrilling if the romance didn’t completely overshadow every single plot progression for 75% of the book.

And ugh, the romance was so…blah. I wanted to love Scarlett so much as a character especially because much of her motivations and fears were being fueled by her trauma, but it was quickly drowned out by all her feelings associated with the  love interests. Even her thoughts outside the love interest felt redundant because it was the same train of thoughts every single god damn time. 

“Nothing in Caraval is real”

and just so many starry-eyed, gooey descriptions of Julian to the point where I was in literally agony trying to get through one more scene where she talks about being in close proximity to him.

Scarlett and Tella’s relationship was also something I was excited to see, especially since the synopsis literally introduces them as sisters that have a bond like no other. Every time Scarlett describes Tella, it plays with the idea of a complex relationship—Scarlett feels obligated to protect Tella due to domestic violence from her father and her mother leaving, but she also feels hidden resentment that Tella doesn’t treat her own life (or Scarlett’s in that matter) as careful as Scarlett does.  But, for most of the book, the relationship was overshadowed by the romance which made it a little disappointing. But, I will say the ending does make up for some of that disappointment.

Despite a lot of cringy love details that I would rather not deal with, I will still definitely continue with this series. 

I did not like this. The main issue that I have is that this book does not deliver on its promises.

Scarlett and Donatella (Tella) Dragna live with their abusive father, the Governor of the Isle of Trisda. As a child, Scarlett dreamt of participating in the game of Caraval led by a mysterious magical being called Master Legend, and winning the reward: a wish. She sent Legend many letters in the hope of receiving the very coveted tickets, but never received an answered. Years passed, and she gave up on her dream.
This year, however, she finally received a letter and three tickets: for her, Tella, and her fiancé. The Governor has arranged a marriage for Scarlett to a count that she's never met, but with whom she has exchanged letters. An engagement that she now sees as an exit route. Tella, however, wants to participate and win in Caraval in order to escape their father.
Against her will, Scarlett ends up having to participate in the game, and very quickly realizes that Tella was kidnapped by Master Legend and that she is at the center of the game. If she fails to find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, Tella will be gone forever...

There are good elements. The premise of the story is quite interesting (which is why I am so disappointed with the way it unfolds). I really enjoyed this dark carnival setting with some latine influences. I liked that the romance between the main character, Scarlett, and her love interest, Julian, was slowly built. It is believable.

However, I had many issues with the prose. I do not think that the author is a bad writer. I have read a lot worse, but the prose in this one feels overly colorful (*wink*). The superfluous descriptions started to interfere with the pacing. The author also uses color adjectives to describe smells, tastes, and emotions and ends up creating sentences that do not make any sense.

(I know it is because of Scarlett’s ability to see emotions as colors, but it was very distracting)

For example: "Shades of the rich ruby love she'd felt during the game mixed with hues of deep-indigo hurt" or "Something about him made her feel perilous shades of silky black". And since she described Scarlett’s emotions that way, it made it difficult to understand and connect with her. I really did not learn much about her outside of what was written verbatim, so I did not have any reason to care about her. She is also quite unlikable because of how foolish she is. I understand that this is supposed to be a story about much she learns during the game, but she very annoying at times.

I did not find any of the characters likeable or enjoyable. Even, Legend, as a villain felt… strangely boring (?). I also found them quite stereotypical and "one note" (opposite sisters, cold and cunning love interest

who is a double agent

, mysterious villain who is manipulating everyone…), which is not always an issue, but in this case it did not help. The father felt like a moustache-twirling villain, and I find those very difficult to do well… The author also used a trope that I hate:

the very old man who does not age (Julian) who ends up with the very young and naive main character and manipulates her before he falls in love with her.

The story was also somewhat predictable. I consume a lot of fantasy, so it is quite difficult to surprise me. It does not always bother me, but in this case, I guessed most of it pretty quickly (and what I did not guess was not well introduced to the story, it came out of nowhere).

I was expecting a harrowing story full of twists,

but ultimately they are all rendered pointless by that final twist. Donatella, the sister, was behind all of it. Everything was a lie. It is comparable to an "it was all a dream" ending, in my opinion. What was the point of all of this? Escaping their father and Scarlett’s fiancé? Was all of this necessary to achieve that? None of it makes sense. The other books may answer that question, but if that is the case, this one does not lead me to believe that. Scarlett simply accepts  everything, and very easily forgives her sister. Which brings me to my next point: the book does not accurately describe how horrible of a sister she truly is. She put Scarlet through all of this — unnecessarily in my opinion — and she was completely unapologetic about it. Again. Why?

I wanted and expected to love this, but I didn't. I adore this author's Once Upon a Broken Heart series, but this one just isn't for me. I wasn't in love with the characters, especially Tella, and the atmosphere of the story is not my cup of tea; Probably because I hate circus/carnival atmosphere and that is what this is. If you like carnival or circuses, this book is for you.

It may have been how fast I read it, but the book as a whole was a bit confusing, with plot twist after plot twist, and an incredible amount of questions that seemed to go unintentionally unanswered. The prose was beautiful and really drew me in, but the plot seemed simultaneously overcrowded and a little empty. Overall, a pretty enjoyable read, though there were definitely some areas that could use improvement.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but at times I felt like one too many things was happening and some of the information towards the end felt very rushed, especially compared to the pacing of the rest of the book.

It's been a day since I finished this book. And as the hours have passed, I've felt more grateful that I read it. I was able to see parts of myself in this story, and I've also learnt more about me. 

I experienced so much joy and excitement reading this. The kind of ADHD joy/excitement that dances through your whole body and feels euphoric. The kind that makes you scream and cackle because the tension is just right, the twists are endless, and you just figured out that clue right before it was revealed. 

I love the concept of this book. I love the setting. The characters. The descriptions. I have synesthesia, and so it was a DELIGHT to read the senses blend so many times. One of my favourite synesthesia-like moments in this book was the comparisonred velvet red curtains to chocolate cake
soaked in wine. I've never tasted that, or thought about this, but I SO understand this comparison!!! So much. Heheh

I was a little disappointed with the ending at first, and sort of still might be? But I also find it SO COOL. What Stephanie Garber did and how she did it was very clever and I love it. I really love it.

Thank you, Stephanie, for this story.