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A review by yas_sezer
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
SPOILERS BELOW
i had a really good time with this story, especially since i havent read a fantasy in a whileeee. but it definitely has its flaws that i found i could not ignore.
ill focus on the positives to begin with:
- the writing i really liked. it made it so easy to visualise caraval and the characters, and i especially enjoyed her describing emotions with colours (think inside out but fantasy). i feel like ive got a very vivid picture of what this world looks like, even though its definitely a bizarre one.
- the wizard of oz x alice in wonderland x hunger games?? vibes throughout this were so much fun. the magic of it was very reminiscent of the first two, while the games operated in a fantastical version of the hunger games (except somehow no one dies... more on that later).
- the concept of the story is a lot of fun. going into a magical world where reality is unclear? sign me up.
- I loved how trippy the atmosphere was the whole time. I couldn't even trust my own opinions with whether or not I trusted what I was seeing, despite my predictions. I hope the future books only go into this more. also weirdly legend reminds me of oz mixed with the mad hatter? love that
- I liked julians character during the games even though I don't feel connected to him at this stage. I do see potential though.. surely it gets better. (idk how I feel ab julian being a performer though, scarlett im w you on this one. he aint even call us crimson anymore)
- "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"
LATER ON BECOMING
"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".
my whole heart squeezed.
now onto the negatives...
- scarlett is so frustrating for a few reasons.
1. I understand you care about your sister (as you keep TELLING me), and that you are doing everything for her but... give me a break. this is shoved down my throat every chapter, multiple times. I wanted to focus more on the actual caraval games and that plot, but hearing about tella every second started dragging out and I stopped caring.
2. you are so slow. with everything. julian is telling you to hurry up and get in the boat so you can actually get inside and qualify to play the games otherwise you lose your chance, and what do you do? just stand there and whine and complain and waste everyones time, until he almost didn't make it. pissing me off.
3. i know julian is supportive of you and has helped you out from the moment you met him essentially, but why are we in love with him already? in 5 days? girl gimme some slow burn. i hate when theres inexperienced characters and they suddenly fall in love. i would have preferred it if she was discovering these feelings slowly, in gentle ways, through his actions towards her. it had so much potential (and the quotes are great too), but it just happened to quickly. this is book 1, it could've been delved into more in a delicate way. give us soft love.
4. why are you so utterly obsessed with this wedding of yours? bbygirl, you don't even KNOW your fiancé. you have never met him, don't know his name, don't know his age, characteristics, NOTHING. he wrote you love letters, big whoop. this is only special when its from someone you love. im sorry i just could not understand why she kept referring back to the fact that she is meant to get engaged so she cannot possibly do anything with dante or julian. you are single my guy, you don't even want to marry this count, he doesn't want to marry you, and daddy is out of the picture here. shut up and live a little.
okay back to my general negatives:
- we did not get character depth with anyone else and im kinda disappointed. im hoping its first book syndrome, and heaps more will be delved into in the following books. but tell me more about tella, julian, and dante as people. i feel like i don't really know anything about these characters other than the fact that scarlett loves her sister and julian so very much. julian has heaps of potential with his cheeky charmingness and hes doin all the right bookish things, but to such a tiny extent. let me KNOW them.
- the plot is lots of fun and a great concept but i do feel like some things were not entirely thought out - at the end tella literally says that no one really knows how things work coz no one talks about it but its "sorta" like this... wdym girl? felt a bit lazy to me. also a lot of things were just very convenient that i started to just assume everything would be fine anyway coz that keeps happening. we somehow have everything we need at all times. idk the stakes didn't feel high at all. also julian and dante all being performers and dying but not really dying? i understand it for the plot, but cant help but feel like this was a bit of a cop out. i didn't shed a tear when julian 'died', which aint a good sign for me.
- i also wish we saw more about the actual game with other competitors trying to get the wish as well. it felt like everyone else was just vibing in this little village, but i thought we were all here to win? i didn't feel the competition aspect of it, and i wish i did.
- as much as I like the writing, theres a bit too much telling rather than showing in some cases. some things don't need to be explained so many times or so spelt out. have some faith in me to figure it out on my own.
overall, I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but if you do read it I don't doubt that youll have a semi-decent time. despite all my negatives I actually had a really good time while reading this and ate it all up. but having it settle in me for a bit, I realise I was just caught up in the heat of the moment, and that I don't have a strong connection to the story at this stage. I will be continuing the series and hope it gets better from here.
i had a really good time with this story, especially since i havent read a fantasy in a whileeee. but it definitely has its flaws that i found i could not ignore.
ill focus on the positives to begin with:
- the writing i really liked. it made it so easy to visualise caraval and the characters, and i especially enjoyed her describing emotions with colours (think inside out but fantasy). i feel like ive got a very vivid picture of what this world looks like, even though its definitely a bizarre one.
- the wizard of oz x alice in wonderland x hunger games?? vibes throughout this were so much fun. the magic of it was very reminiscent of the first two, while the games operated in a fantastical version of the hunger games (except somehow no one dies... more on that later).
- the concept of the story is a lot of fun. going into a magical world where reality is unclear? sign me up.
- I loved how trippy the atmosphere was the whole time. I couldn't even trust my own opinions with whether or not I trusted what I was seeing, despite my predictions. I hope the future books only go into this more. also weirdly legend reminds me of oz mixed with the mad hatter? love that
- I liked julians character during the games even though I don't feel connected to him at this stage. I do see potential though.. surely it gets better. (idk how I feel ab julian being a performer though, scarlett im w you on this one. he aint even call us crimson anymore)
- "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"
LATER ON BECOMING
"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".
my whole heart squeezed.
now onto the negatives...
- scarlett is so frustrating for a few reasons.
1. I understand you care about your sister (as you keep TELLING me), and that you are doing everything for her but... give me a break. this is shoved down my throat every chapter, multiple times. I wanted to focus more on the actual caraval games and that plot, but hearing about tella every second started dragging out and I stopped caring.
2. you are so slow. with everything. julian is telling you to hurry up and get in the boat so you can actually get inside and qualify to play the games otherwise you lose your chance, and what do you do? just stand there and whine and complain and waste everyones time, until he almost didn't make it. pissing me off.
3. i know julian is supportive of you and has helped you out from the moment you met him essentially, but why are we in love with him already? in 5 days? girl gimme some slow burn. i hate when theres inexperienced characters and they suddenly fall in love. i would have preferred it if she was discovering these feelings slowly, in gentle ways, through his actions towards her. it had so much potential (and the quotes are great too), but it just happened to quickly. this is book 1, it could've been delved into more in a delicate way. give us soft love.
4. why are you so utterly obsessed with this wedding of yours? bbygirl, you don't even KNOW your fiancé. you have never met him, don't know his name, don't know his age, characteristics, NOTHING. he wrote you love letters, big whoop. this is only special when its from someone you love. im sorry i just could not understand why she kept referring back to the fact that she is meant to get engaged so she cannot possibly do anything with dante or julian. you are single my guy, you don't even want to marry this count, he doesn't want to marry you, and daddy is out of the picture here. shut up and live a little.
okay back to my general negatives:
- we did not get character depth with anyone else and im kinda disappointed. im hoping its first book syndrome, and heaps more will be delved into in the following books. but tell me more about tella, julian, and dante as people. i feel like i don't really know anything about these characters other than the fact that scarlett loves her sister and julian so very much. julian has heaps of potential with his cheeky charmingness and hes doin all the right bookish things, but to such a tiny extent. let me KNOW them.
- the plot is lots of fun and a great concept but i do feel like some things were not entirely thought out - at the end tella literally says that no one really knows how things work coz no one talks about it but its "sorta" like this... wdym girl? felt a bit lazy to me. also a lot of things were just very convenient that i started to just assume everything would be fine anyway coz that keeps happening. we somehow have everything we need at all times. idk the stakes didn't feel high at all. also julian and dante all being performers and dying but not really dying? i understand it for the plot, but cant help but feel like this was a bit of a cop out. i didn't shed a tear when julian 'died', which aint a good sign for me.
- i also wish we saw more about the actual game with other competitors trying to get the wish as well. it felt like everyone else was just vibing in this little village, but i thought we were all here to win? i didn't feel the competition aspect of it, and i wish i did.
- as much as I like the writing, theres a bit too much telling rather than showing in some cases. some things don't need to be explained so many times or so spelt out. have some faith in me to figure it out on my own.
overall, I wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but if you do read it I don't doubt that youll have a semi-decent time. despite all my negatives I actually had a really good time while reading this and ate it all up. but having it settle in me for a bit, I realise I was just caught up in the heat of the moment, and that I don't have a strong connection to the story at this stage. I will be continuing the series and hope it gets better from here.