Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: Fantasy, action, romance?
Buy Amazon
Caraval Cover from Amazon
I think I prefer the one from Amazon, though the Australian cover is not bad, I think it is not the true representation. A quick reminder to readers who have not read the book: Caraval was released in 2017, followed by Legendary last year. I have managed to read both books, but I shall start Caraval as part of my Backlist Reader Challenge.
Story
Caraval starts with Scarlett Dragna, older sister to Donatella Dragna. The story starts with a few letters to a mysteries Master Legend. Then we get a little background story: mother disappeared, abusive father and a girl who longs to be free from the tyranny and the small isle. Caraval then launches itself into a magical mystery that sets everyone on a journey. Throughout the story, Scarlett has to remind herself that “it is just a game” frequently, even I was a little befuddled by the constant red herrings.
Characters
Truly, it is the characters that make the book come alive. We have Scarlett with abandonment issues, and tries to play mother to her little sister. She is the heroine of the story, and Scarlett is the sister you want to have looking after your back, but not when you have a boyfriend around. She is very observant, and when time calls, courageous.
Donatella Dragna is the sister who is caring, although she does not show it much. She goes by Tella, and even though she comes off as reckless and spoilt, she isn’t. In Caraval, she does play a part in the book, but she does not show up much.
Julian is a mysterious man/ sailor who showed up at the right time, he is also the guy who had to watch Scarlett’s back. Even though she looks after her sister well, she’s pretty shitty that looking after herself. What can I say? I do love a man who can be exasperatingly good looking, and watches my back =)
Marcello Dragna is the father of both girls, as well as the governor of The Conquered Isle of Trisda. He is this ambitious, cold man who turned monster without his wife: Paloma. His cruelty prompted the sisters to flee, without him there will be no story.
Then we have Master Legend, the mysterious person, some say man, who has power. No one knows his real name, or who he is. Everyone in Caraval only knows that the prize of winning the game is a wish.
Verdict
There is a reason why people love the book. Caraval works with the theme of family in the story, like sisters will always watch your back. I am happy to see that even romance/ good looking bods fail to distract Scarlett from looking for her sister in a magic island. Caraval also ended with two letters, and of course that means a cliffhanger. I am okay with that, because this is a backlist read and Legendary is already out!
If you haven’t already read Caraval, you should definitely get onto it before Finale comes out in May.
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