Caraval

OH CARAVAL. This has been such a highly anticipated read for me. The moment I heard Stephanie got a book deal, I knew I wanted to read the book, despite the fact that the only thing known about this book was the title and a small description. So yes, I went into this book with a lot of high hopes which were definitely not let down. Let me tell you (and I certainly won't be the first) Caraval went way beyond my expectations and I loved it. It had a great plot, such interesting characters, and the whole concept of Caraval is so fun and very mysterious. This book has fantasy aspects, sooo much suspense, great character relationships and I really think it's a book everyone would enjoy.

First, let's talk about the event itself, Caraval. I love the concept and I applaud Stephanie for coming up with something so intriguing and it really reminds me of an escape room. If you don't know what an escape room is, it's basically where you and a group of people are locked in a room and the only way to exit is through solving clues. Caraval is kind of like that, but more extreme. The game lasts longer, people can watch the game, I'm pretty sure you can leave the game any day you want, but both escape room and Caraval have a similar concept; solve these clues within the given time and you get out. Having a book take place within Caraval made for such an awesome story, especially with Scarlett and the position she was put in.

Now, onto the actual book itself. Caraval had suspense, a lot of mystery, and the plot twists in this book, oooh! I think Stephanie did a great job with always keeping this book suspenseful and interesting which is something I might be looking forward to in her future works. If you're someone who loves to predict what happens next or try to solve the mystery, Caraval might even be more fun for you to read because this book constantly was surprising me. Alas, I am just a kind of "go with the flow" reader so I made no effort to try to figure things out and just went with the story. Of course, the book was still super enjoyable despite that.

The only tiny problem I had with this book was Scarlett and how she was a little irritating the beginning. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the book too much but her character was a little whiny at times, which irked me a little. However, I'm glad this issue didn't last long and didn't go on forever.

So many surprising things happened in this book oh my looorrddd. Okay, first, I think we all knew Julian was a pretty shady character. However, I did not expect for my speculation of him being a part of Caraval to be right! Yes, I was completely surprised to find out he was apart of Caraval and that part where he died was absolutely heartbreaking but I'm glad he's not dead.

Tella being apart of Caraval was also pretty shocking as well. I was rereading the ending so many times, trying to understand how she became apart of the game and everything. The whole thing was just very shocking and something I definitely didn't anticipate happening which I probably should have anticipated...oops!

Of course, Stephanie couldn't stop shocking as even as the book was ending! I am really excited for the next book and to read about Tella and Scarlett's mom and how the sisters are going to be post-Caraval. This world that Stephanie has created is fabulous and I really can't wait to get more stories about it.