Name: Caraval
Rating: 4.047295543054954 (2311 reviews)
ISBN: 9788581638560

Camila Fernandes

Stephanie Garber

Caraval

Ashlyn Barrett

Not quite sure how far she'd already fallen, she imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out.

kristin :)

Jade Martin

She remembered thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she  imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black.

Harley Rae

Cara Johnson

Allyssa Fritz

It’s more than just a game or performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find to magic in this world. 

The boy who’d saved her from drowning in more ways than one. 

“I need to know what's real and what's not.”

Lieke Nieuwlaat 

Het verleden ligt slechts grotendeels vast, en de toekomst is moeilijker te veranderen dan je zou denken

Olivia Doone

were replacing Julian's cool scent, moving like smoke under the odd door he'd just pulled her through. TIl keep you safe, Julian whispered. His body pressl

“ Dreams that come true can be beautiful, but they can also turn into nightmares when people won't wake up.”

samantha lias

"It is not fate, it is simply the future observing that which we crave the most. Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything." 

That’s just cruel and reminds me of cr 

Pia 

Every time Scarlett or her sister dis- obeyed, Governor Dragna did something awful to the other as pun- ishment.

"She'll thank me for it later." Julian bared a wolfish smile, the whites of his teeth shining in the moonlight. "You know, that's exactly what your sister said to me earlier."

Are we sure the father didn’t do something to her?

"How do you know that?" Scarlett asked. Julian flashed a wicked smile. "I know because I've played before."

Oh okay great I thought it would be something bad haha silly me 

“What happens if someone does get swept too far away?" asked Scarlett. “That's usually when people die or go mad," Rupert answered

Finally she got there took her long enough 

Specifically, a black tattoo shaped like a heart.

"Tell me they didn't take a day of your life." "No..." She fought to stay standing.They took two days." t

Oh this book is messing with me so bad but like I can’t stop reading it’s so damn good

Julian wrapped a protective arm around Scarlett."I’d appreciate it if you stopped looking at my fiancée like that." "That's funny." the gentleman said. "All this time, I thought she was my fiancée."

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

I read this book translated and I think that was not the best choice as it made me feel like a lot was missing or a there was something missing. Also while the concept was amazing and the end was really wow I didn’t really feel it it didn’t get through to me. Overall a good book easy to read and very pleasant 

🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕

Die Geschichte von zwei Schwestern, die ihrem gewalttätigem Vater entkommen wollen und sich ein Leben in Freiheit wünschen. Dafür nehmen sie am magischen Spiel von Caraval teil und riskieren dabei ihr Leben. Schnell verliert man den Überblick über Realität und Fiktion. Wem kann man trauen? Ab 15

Roman

Steph

I want to like this, but I just can't stand Scarlet. Like girl, have some self-respect, please!!!<br /><br />But the premise of the book is incredible. The world of Caraval and the game and the twist and the reveal. It kept me on my toes while reading the book. Like Scarlet, I don't even know who to trust, what to believe because it was only a game, but how far would the game go? It definitely feels like Alice in Wonderland kinda story where she's thrust into this whimsical, fairy-tale-like game where she has to race against time to win. <br /><br />Again, love the prose, the worldbuilding, but I can't stand the characters. 

The acclaimed New York Times bestseller! Welcome, welcome to Caraval—Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of the unbreakable bond between two sisters. It’s the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world... Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever. Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away. New York Times bestseller #1 IndieNext Pick Publishers Weekly Flying Start Entertainment Weekly Best 10 YA Books of 2017 Teen Vogue Best YA Book of the Year Amazon Best Book of the Year Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year BuzzFeed Best Book of the Year “The Hunger Games meets The Night Circus. Grade: A-.” —Entertainment Weekly “Impressive, original, wondrous.” —USA Today “Spellbinding.” —US Weekly “Magnificent.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “I lost myself in this world.” —Sabaa Tahir, author of An Ember in the Ashes “Beautifully written.” —Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn “Shimmers with magic.” —Marie Rutkoski, author of The Winner’s Curse “Darkly enchanting.” —Kiersten White, author of And I Darken “Decadent.” —Roshani Chokshi, author of The Star-Touched Queen “Like stepping into a living dream.” —Stacey Lee, author of Outrun the Moon “Destined to capture imaginations.” —Kirkus Reviews “Ideal for fans of The Night Circus, Stardust, and The Hunger Games.” —School Library Journal

payton makein-ashuk

Yulez

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their ruthless father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the legendary, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over. But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor who she has just met, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Mandie

i really liked the premise of this, it was interesting. 

Slow at the start but the end is so good! 

Storm small 

This excerpt from Caraval—Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game—contains for the first six chapters. Everyone is talking about Caraval! “Spellbinding.” —Sabaa Tahir, author of An Ember in the Ashes “Beautifully written.” —Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn “Shimmers with magic.” —Marie Rutkoski, author of The Winner’s Curse “Darkly enchanting.” —Kiersten White, author of And I Darken “Decadent.” —Roshani Chokshi, author of The Star-Touched Queen “Like stepping into a living dream.” —Stacey Lee, author of Outrun the Moon “Magnificent.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Destined to capture imaginations.” —Kirkus Reviews "Ideal for fans ofThe Night Circus, Stardust, and The Hunger Games.” —SLJ

Caraval: Chapter Sampler

The storyline was interesting and extremely unique. I however found it more YA than I initially anticipated, resulting in more basic thought patterns and dialogue. The storyline overall was very simple in plot however still thrilling. I hope the following books age with the characters :)

Anna

Probably one of the BEST books I’ve read in a hot minute!!

ophelia ross 

I really enjoyed reading this book, but I think the games could have been more interesting. The world was great, but the narrative sometimes failed to precisely describe the enchanting and interesting world of this book in my opinion. I enjoyed the slow burn between the fmc and mmc. 

ovgun

lowkey had my eyes glazed over the entire time I read thi

𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒

I was intrigued by this series because of its interesting concept. I liked the dynamic between Scarlett and Tessa. Scarlett was so protective of Tessa, and you could tell that they loved each other very much. This was a decent read; I got pretty into the story sometimes. But other times, I honestly just didn't care what happened that much. This book was pretty crazy at the end; you never knew what was real or not. I thought the ending set up for the next book pretty well. Overall, good book, but I just don't see myself reading it again. 

Maggie Hotmer

It’s a 5 but I don’t like the epilogue.. a cliff hanger? Seriously? But the book is amazing and full of plotwists

Domdom

It was awesome, it really felt like I was one of the characters in the book. 

Kriscel Ofemia

Really, really good I honestly has a lot more high expectations for the plot I thought it would be really creepy since the whole phrase they have going on is it’s all just a game but honestly the end had lowkey shocked me it was really good they really pulled all the missing pieces together I enjoyed reading. Donatella is seriously so much smarter than they made her seem to pull all that off crazy.

Yuliana 

I was really excited to read this book after seeing it all over social media. I did enjoy it ot but a thought it might be  bit more twisted.

Kathy gerrard

This was a reread lol. This is probably my favorite book ever and this was my third time reading it. One of the best storylines ever, perfect characters, this book is so special to me.

Sofie I

I had so much hope for this one but i was left disappointed. I don’t know why I was expecting a different romantic crossovers 

Angie

Welcome to another edition of a book that has been sat on my shelfs for years and I should have watched ages ago but was too daunted to pick up but on a week where all I wanted to do was escape the real world, It was amazing to escape of the world of Caraval! This Review is properly not needed at all as I expect most will have already experienced this one before me but in case you have not here goes.

Describing this one is rather hard but the atmosphere, the characters, the game, the magic… the writing was so poetic that I found myself obsessing over the words that Stephanie has written it was like the words were jumping off the page and I was dead centre in the world created smelling everything and experiencing it all with Scarlet & her Sister Tella.

"Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game."

I don't want to give anything away or ruin the surprise for others. There were many twists and turns that I didn't see coming while listening to this story. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, something else would happen that made me question everything again. This story held my attention and kept me guessing right to the very end.

Ian Brakspear

Welcome to another edition of a book that has been sat on my shelfs for years and I should have watched ages ago but was too daunted to pick up but on a week where all I wanted to do was escape the real world, It was amazing to escape of the world of Caraval! This Review is properly not needed at all as I expect most will have already experienced this one before me but in case you have not here goes.

 

Describing this one is rather hard but the atmosphere, the characters, the game, the magic… the writing was so poetic that I found myself obsessing over the words that Stephanie has written it was like the words were jumping off the page and I was dead centre in the world created smelling everything and experiencing it all with Scarlet & her Sister Tella.

 

"Welcome, welcome to Caraval! The grandest show on land or by sea. Inside you’ll experience more wonders than most people see in a lifetime. You can sip magic from a cup and buy dreams in a bottle. But before you fully enter into our world, you must remember it’s all a game."

 

I don't want to give anything away or ruin the surprise for others. There were many twists and turns that I didn't see coming while listening to this story. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, something else would happen that made me question everything again. This story held my attention and kept me guessing right to the very end.

I felt something was missing, the book was good but not amazing, maybe because I was comparing the world building to Harry Potter a little bit, even though they're very different. But I felt of caraval wasn't that magnificent to me. 

I definitely liked Julian, and the writing. 

"She imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out"

Monica Faez

I felt something was missing, the book was good but not amazing, maybe because I was comparing the world building to Harry Potter a little bit, even though they're very different. But I felt of caraval wasn't that magnificent to me. 

Planning to read the next book though. 

I definitely liked Julian, and the writing. 

"She imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out"



Me parece injusto calificar este libro porque probablemente no soy el público meta, sin embargo, al pensar en otros libros parecidos, Caraval queda pequeño en cuanto a la construcción de su propio mundo, me parece inmediata y apresurada, los personajes sorprenden y dejan de sorprender cada dos segundos y me parece que el “build up” de lo que sucede es mínimo, todo sólo pasa y ya, y hasta me parece “gracioso” porque el libro está lleno de descripciones muy detalladas sobre lo que podemos ver y aún así sabemos muy poco del universo en sí; los juegos de Caraval suenan maravillosos hasta que entras en ellos.

dani ocean.

The ending really caught me off guard, and some of the moments had me going back to reread parts! There was just once or twice I got a little bored, but other than that it picked back up quick. Love Scarlett!

Lily

didn’t surprise me the way i expected it to. i love julian & scarlett + scarlett & tella’s sisterhood tho <3

ALSO WHY DIDNT HE CALL HER CRIMSON AT THE END. WHY.

chel

3.5!

didn’t surprise me the way i expected it to. i love julian & scarlett + scarlett & tella’s sisterhood tho <3

ALSO WHY DIDNT HE CALL HER CRIMSON AT THE END. WHY.

many people said this book was overhyped, and i finally read it in 2024. for me it was a very fun easy 5 stars read! i managed to read it blindly even i already saw some reviews of this so for me theres no dull chapters at all, it was really fun & made me more and more intrigued by each chapter. a simple fantasy book, easy to understand yet still surprising. i actually feel like i can guess where the plot is gonna bring me but the book succeeds to keep me at the edge of my seat worrying about how the next chapter is going to be. very appropriately hyped book 👏🏼

almeera

"Hope is a powerful thing. Some say it’s a different breed of magic altogether. Elusive, difficult to hold on to."

 to like this book more than I did but sadly I just wasn't feeling it. The premise seemed enchanting and magical, I was excited to read this apparently mesmerising romance and follow the mysterious adventure but in the end I was mostly just confused and disappointed. We're told that everything is a performance and not to trust anything or anyone, and so I read the book like this, wondering if Scarlett herself was an unreliable narrator and believing that everyone within the game was likely lying to her or part of the performance. But for some reason Scarlett didn't follow this advice and despite being told to not let herself be too swept away in the game, she absolutely was and this just made me frustrated. Plus everything just felt too... flowery for me, I usually like purple prose and overly detailed descriptions but unfortunately this just fell flat for me and I found it just slightly too chaotic to fully immerse myself.

 entertained a lot of times throughout this story, there were aspects of this that were almost immaculate, the vibes were sooooo good - there's just something about a twisted carnival full of twists and turns and madness, like a Alice in Wonderland-esque adventure. I was initially excited to learn about this world, with conquered isles and empires, where Scarlett and Tella's father seems to be the most powerful man on their remote island and they get swept away by a rough pirate like sailor to an enchanting world neither really knew existed, giving me that Pirates of the Caribbean - Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner aesthetic. I liked that everything was wild and unpredictable right from the moment Scarlett and Julian landed on the island where Caraval existed. The map at the beginning reminded me of Venice, Italy - the canals and gondolas, and I was hoping for the magic of a masked ball where everyone is wearing a different face and you're not sure who you're surrounded by, and for a big part of the story it delivered this pretty well.

Unfortunately, I think maybe it felt slightly too young for me in the end, maybe I am starting to outgrow YA a little too much so this could be a mess problem. But for one, I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two love interests, it felt a bit like insta-lust considering how hard it is to trust anything that Julian says. Another thing is the lack of world-building, we get swept away in the world of Caraval but in the end it just didn't feel as magical as it could have if we had understood the world where Caraval exists, who was this empirical and conquering force? What was the setting and what time period is this, is this medieval with Latin influences based on the naming and the map? Is this fantasy or magical realism? How did the magic of Caraval even work? I ended up finishing this book with more questions than when I started it. I also found the descriptions quite confusing and then randomly like 40% in, we learn that Scarlett apparently sees emotions in colour!? And then even this wasn't actually explained, and it didn't help understand why the author used quite so many similes. Then the ending just pissed me off>>>

“I’m guessing Dante didn’t really die either?”

“No, he died, but also came back, like Julian,”

had me close to throwing the book across the room and DNFing at 95% (which would've just been silly) - it felt like those stories where everyone wakes up at the end and nothing is real, it was all dream and it just ruins it for me, I'm afraid.

Overall, I think this book had a great concept and that the author can write well but tried too hard to make this as complex and convoluted as possible - and not to say that this story shouldn't be complex and convoluted but I think it was applied to the wrong parts. I think I was hoping for something just a little bit deeper, I loved the whimsy and enjoyed the craziness for the most part but then there just wasn't anything solid to hold onto and so I didn't really develop a connection to it. I think I will still give the second book a try, and I do still want to read Once Upon a Broken Heart too but I am a little bit worried that maybe Garber's works just aren't for me or maybe I've outgrown the level that she writes at. I can see why some people really enjoyed this book, but for me, it just didn't quite hit the spot I was hoping it would.

Genevieve 

"Hope is a powerful thing. Some say it’s a different breed of magic altogether. Elusive, difficult to hold on to."

3.5 ⭐

I really wanted to like this book more than I did but sadly I just wasn't feeling it. The premise seemed enchanting and magical, I was excited to read this apparently mesmerising romance and follow the mysterious adventure but in the end I was mostly just confused and disappointed. We're told that everything is a performance and not to trust anything or anyone, and so I read the book like this, wondering if Scarlett herself was an unreliable narrator and believing that everyone within the game was likely lying to her or part of the performance. But for some reason Scarlett didn't follow this advice and despite being told to not let herself be too swept away in the game, she absolutely was and this just made me frustrated. Plus everything just felt too... flowery for me, I usually like purple prose and overly detailed descriptions but unfortunately this just fell flat for me and I found it just slightly too chaotic to fully immerse myself.

I was entertained a lot of times throughout this story, there were aspects of this that were almost immaculate, the vibes were sooooo good - there's just something about a twisted carnival full of twists and turns and madness, like a Alice in Wonderland-esque adventure. I was initially excited to learn about this world, with conquered isles and empires, where Scarlett and Tella's father seems to be the most powerful man on their remote island and they get swept away by a rough pirate like sailor to an enchanting world neither really knew existed, giving me that Pirates of the Caribbean - Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner aesthetic. I liked that everything was wild and unpredictable right from the moment Scarlett and Julian landed on the island where Caraval existed. The map at the beginning reminded me of Venice, Italy - the canals and gondolas, and I was hoping for the magic of a masked ball where everyone is wearing a different face and you're not sure who you're surrounded by, and for a big part of the story it delivered this pretty well.

Unfortunately, I think maybe it felt slightly too young for me in the end, maybe I am starting to outgrow YA a little too much so this could be a mess problem. But for one, I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two love interests, it felt a bit like insta-lust considering how hard it is to trust anything that Julian says. Another thing is the lack of world-building, we get swept away in the world of Caraval but in the end it just didn't feel as magical as it could have if we had understood the world where Caraval exists, who was this empirical and conquering force? What was the setting and what time period is this, is this medieval with Latin influences based on the naming and the map? Is this fantasy or magical realism? How did the magic of Caraval even work? I ended up finishing this book with more questions than when I started it. I also found the descriptions quite confusing and then randomly like 40% in, we learn that Scarlett apparently sees emotions in colour!? And then even this wasn't actually explained, and it didn't help understand why the author used quite so many similes. Then the ending just pissed me off>>>
SPOILER: this quote alone: “I’m guessing Dante didn’t really die either?”
“No, he died, but also came back, like Julian,”
had me close to throwing the book across the room and DNFing at 95% (which would've just been silly) - it felt like those stories where everyone wakes up at the end and nothing is real, it was all dream and it just ruins it for me, I'm afraid.

END SPOILER

Overall, I think this book had a great concept and that the author can write well but tried too hard to make this as complex and convoluted as possible - and not to say that this story shouldn't be complex and convoluted but I think it was applied to the wrong parts. I think I was hoping for something just a little bit deeper, I loved the whimsy and enjoyed the craziness for the most part but then there just wasn't anything solid to hold onto and so I didn't really develop a connection to it. I think I will still give the second book a try, and I do still want to read Once Upon a Broken Heart too but I am a little bit worried that maybe Garber's works just aren't for me or maybe I've outgrown the level that she writes at. I can see why some people really enjoyed this book, but for me, it just didn't quite hit the spot I was hoping it would.

Caraval

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