REVIEW: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
SERIES: Caraval #1
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RATING: 5 Stars
GOODREADS ~ AMAZON ~ AUTHOR ~ TWITTER

Welcome, welcome to Caraval - Stephanie Garber's sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangeruous intrigue if a legendary game. 

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during the 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.

MY THOUGHTS:
I'm not a fantasy fan, but after hearing so many people mention this in their 'Most Anticipated 2017 Releases', I was delighted to be approved on Netgalley for this amazing book (though I am very jealous of those who own a physical copy with the groegous covers!).

Caraval is one of the few fantasy books I have read so I can't give you an analysis of how it fairs in the YA fantasy market. On the other hand, my lack of fantasy knowledge meant that I was easily swept into the fantastically built world. Like I said, I'm not sure whether this was because I have little fantasy experience but my guess (and from talking to others about it), full credit goes to Stephanie Garber for her immense talent at world building. Each aspect was vividly described and half of the reason I was so hooked was because I just couldn't wait to get back and learn more about it!

Next on my gushing list of things I loved, is the characters. Each one was so creatively built so that I didn't feel the same about two characters. To me, that is a real skill of a writer - being able to distinguish characters, not only in terms of the story but in terms of the emotions they provoke. Not only were the characters unique, there were so many layers to their past. Every single person had an unexpected part of their character arc - nothing was predictable which really added to the mystery of Caraval.

My general experience of reading Caraval was utterly magical. There was mystery, suspense and a undertone of darkness. The sister relationship was lovingly created and every aspect explored. I loved every sentence that graced the page and can't wait to see more from this universe and spectacular author.

*I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS FOR REVIEW BUT IT IN NO WAY AFFECTED MY OPINIONS*