Mini Re-Review--Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her 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 faraway, 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. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Oh my wow. For the first time in what has to be a decade or nearly there, I RE-READ a book! Yes. ME! Lol. I wanted to pick up Stephanie Garber’s Finale and know without a doubt what was going on and instead of doing series recaps, I thought…let’s RE-READ Caraval and Legendary! So here we are!

I read Caraval when it first came out and was enchanted with the story and since I’ve a real crummy memory at times for story details, re-reading it had me just as enchanted as before! I could remember a few things, mostly character related vibes and whatnot, so there were no surprises for me there, but everything else felt like reading a brand new novel!

What makes a re-read even better is that I will be able to go from book to book this time around and be able to dive into the magic over and over until it’s truly over. I was reminded of how much I adored Scarlett and Julian in this one and I am most looking forward to rediscovering Tella again! Her character was a delight in this book! She’s spunky and bold and I just love that girl! I can’t want to continue this journey of Caraval and rediscover my love for this series!

So since I have reviewed this book to the fullest already, I feel like ending my rehash here as I’ve never done a review for a re-read. But as I said, it’s been nearly 10 years of blogging since I ever picked up a book for a second time! Caraval is just that magical and special to me that I decided to make an exception!! 

If you wanted to see my full review from two years ago, click here.

As it was before, it is again...


Overall Rating 5/5 stars