Stephanie Garber’s Caraval is a fantastical and fascinating read, complete with interesting characters, intriguing world-building, and immersive storytelling. I enjoyed playing the game alongside Scarlett.

Family, love, self-doubt and acting from a place of fear are all themes that are featured predominantly in this book. We are literally told as much within the text (which I didn’t really like but o can overlook it). Garber’s writing is appropriate for the YA genre. I liked the way she described the events and locations of Caraval, which aided in the world-building of Caraval. While it’s not a novel concept, her use of colours to describe emotions was cool.

The sisterhood that Scarlett and Tella share is a powerful bond. They are willing to go to great lengths to protect one another, even while actively (and unknowingly) acting in opposition to the other’s attempts. Scarlett is a timid protagonist who is scarred by the physical and psychological abuse she has endured at the hands of her father. Her fearful nature is challenged by Caraval. My favourite aspect of Scarlett’s character arc is that it was believable. She didn’t miraculously become a changed person over the course of a week, but Caraval still significantly impacted her development.

I loved the dynamic she and Julian had. His storyline was probably the most interesting to me. Caraval was a lot more romantic than I expected, but not overtly so. Romance is very much a subplot, but it’s consistent and I found myself really rooting for these characters. They had excellent, natural but reluctant chemistry that I loved reading.

My favourite part of the whole novel has to be the very interesting world-building of Caraval. I enjoyed that I had to figure it out as Scarlett did. It made the book feel a lot more interactive. The way magic and death work in Caraval made me question the reality of what was happening, adding a maddening quality to the game. This further enhanced the dual warnings given at the start. It was a little twisted and dark, but that’s why I enjoyed it so much.

The ending was satisfying and I liked that it could stand on its own if it wanted to, but it also nicely sets up the premise for the sequel. I would be inclined to read the next one, but I’m not jumping straight into it right away. If a mysterious, slightly twisted, fantasy with a light sprinkling of romance is your thing, I recommend this.

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Aside: I can’t help but compare it to The Night Circus, but aside from the general setting, the two books are vastly different. The Night Circus felt even more immersive, with a completely unique narration technique and a lot more character development. Caraval has a stronger fantasy element with distinct world-building.