Book Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I said that 2025 was going to be my fantasy year so what better way to start than with book one in the popular Caraval series?!

Caraval is a hugely popular young adult fantasy trilogy that centres around two sisters, a carnival-like game full of magic and what happens when they play the game. I wasn’t really aware of the Caraval series until I joined BookTok in September 2024, by which point the immense love and hype around this series put me off a little.

I’m always very cautious when a book or a series receives this much attention because I often find that I don’t gel with hyped-up novels. With that being said, something about the series pulled me in. I also really wanted to read the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy and I’d heard it was best to read Caraval first. So I went all in and asked my husband for the Caraval trilogy for Christmas!

January seemed like the perfect time to make a start on the series. I have a lot of fantasy books on my TBR this year and a young adult series full of mystery and magic felt like the perfect pick for the month where everything feels a bit miserable. So I tentatively dove into the first book—Caraval and it didn’t take me long at all to completely fall in love and understand why this series is so popular.

What is Caraval About?

Scarlett Dragna has lived a sheltered life. Having never left the small island where she lives she has been trapped between protecting her sister, Tella, and dealing with their cruel father. But now she has a chance to escape. Her father has arranged a marriage and even though Scarlett has never met her fiancé she believes no man can be as evil as her father.

However, for the longest time, Scarlett has had a dream of seeing Caraval. The mysterious once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show. It’s just a game but everything feels very real in Caraval and it’s just the escape she’s always wanted. Her letters to Caraval’s organiser, Legend, have always gone unanswered. That is until she finally receives an invite.

There is no way Scarlett can participate in Caraval now with her wedding just days away but Tella won’t take no for an answer. For the youngest sister, Caraval means escaping her father without her sister marrying a stranger. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella takes Scarlett to the show.

Upon arrival though it seems the sisters have been tricked. Tella is kidnapped and whoever finds her first is the winner of Caraval. Scarlett knows that everything in the game is just an elaborate performance designed to feel real but the love, magic, and heartbreak she experiences doesn’t feel like a game. Scarlett must participate and find Tella before she disappears forever.

Did you know that Stephanie Garber has just announced her first-ever adult novel coming in September 2025? Get all the details about Alchemy of Secrets here!

Book Review for Caraval

The way I nearly got whiplash reading this book is insane! There are so many twists, it’s incredible!

Caraval is one of those rare books that had me hooked from the very first page. The opening line is a page on its own and it immediately adds intrigue to the story. More often than not, it takes at least a few pages or even a few chapters if they’re short for me to fully get into a book. However, with Caraval it was immediate. There was absolutely zero effort required to enjoy it.

One of the most clever things about Caraval is that you never know who to trust or what is real. The confusion perfectly mirrors how Scarlett is feeling as she navigates through the game while discovering new things about herself. It’s written in the third person which I think helps with putting you in the game. You end up having just as many questions and theories as Scarlett does along the way. I’m usually quite good at working things out in books, but I can almost guarantee that you won’t be able to figure Caraval out. Even when you think you’ve got it all worked out another curveball will be thrown in to shake things up!

Even though there are a lot of twists throughout the novel, the ending is where the most amount of action takes place. I would say that the final 100 pages are extremely twist-heavy. When I first started reading this part I was tempted to say that this was a slight criticism of the book because of how close together the twists happen. However, once I hit the final 30 pages, I changed my mind on this as it becomes very clear just why there’s so much happening and you can see that it’s all part of the magic and deception of Caraval.

I honestly don’t have a bad word to say about this book. Every plot thread was excellently executed. The pairing of Scarlett and Julian was just perfection for me and I couldn’t get enough of their story. The constant guessing about who Legend is kept the novel exciting and fast-paced. Each character felt like they truly added something to the story no matter how big or small their part.

As someone who prefers standalone novels, I wasn’t sure how I would feel starting a series but I think the fact that I moved straight on to the second book—Legendary as soon as I’d finished this one is a testament to how much I enjoyed Caraval.

All I can say is if you’ve been putting off starting this series because you’re not sure it will live up to the hype then you need to go and grab a copy of Caraval right now! It was the perfect start to my fantasy journey and just the kind of book January needed.

Don’t forget to check out my other Caraval trilogy reviews:
Legendary Book Review
and
Finale Book Review

Caraval Reading Vlog

Did you know that I also have a YouTube channel? One of my favourite kinds of videos to make is reading vlogs so come and take a deep dive into Caraval with me! It isn’t spoiler-free but if you’ve read the book already, then I highly recommend checking it out!

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