Caraval

Enter the magical and mesmerising world of Caraval with the first book in the global bestselling series

By: Stephanie Garber

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

Welcome to Caraval, where nothing is quite what it seems.

Scarlett has never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.

Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure. And for Scarlett and her beloved sister Tella it represents freedom and an escape from their ruthless, abusive father.

When the sisters' long-awaited invitations to Caraval finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show's mastermind organiser, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But nonetheless she quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.

This audiobook includes a bonus interview with the author.

(P)2017 Macmillan©2017 Stephanie Garber

Critic reviews

With CARAVAL, Stephanie Garber spins a spellbinding tale of sisterhood, love and betrayal. Like her characters, I lost myself in the dangerous, enchanting world she created-and never wanted to come out. (Sabaa Tahir, author of New York Times bestseller Ember In the Ashes)

Enchanting and mysterious, Stephanie Garber's CARAVAL is a story rich with sumptuous detail, beautifully written. (Renée Ahdieh, New York Times No.1 bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn)

In a book where nothing is at it appears, one thing is certain: CARAVAL is the darkly enchanting adventure you've been looking for! (Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Paranormalcy and And I Darken)

Intoxicating. Darkly magical. CARAVAL walks the knife-edge between fantasy and reality. Within mere pages, I gladly lost myself in this perfect labyrinth of a plot. Stephanie Garber doesn't just dazzle-she makes me believe. (Jodi Meadows, author of The Incarnate Trilogy and The Orphan Queen)

A tale of sisterly devotion painted in colors of cerise and shimmering gold. If you ever wondered how it would feel to step into a living dream, here's your ticket. (Stacey Lee, author of Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon)

A decadent and enchanting tale. CARAVAL will sink its teeth into you, and you will not want to leave. (Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen)

CARAVAL shimmers with magic. This is an inventive, delightful tale with several aces up its sleeve. (Marie Rutkoski, New York Times bestselling author of the Winner's Trilogy)

[A] magnificent debut novel . . . intriguing characters, an imaginative setting, and evocative writing combine to create a spellbinding tale of love, loss, sacrifice, and hope.

I love this novel . . . It's a thing of beauty and the stuff of dreams. (Cecelia Ahern)

Like the Carousel of Roses at the heart of the party, the language is colourful, giddy and with the occasional barb.And like a fairy story, CARAVAL reveals dark truths behind a playful, glittering surface.

Advance word on Stephanie Garber's CARAVAL has been nothing short of ecstatic, and in this case, we're glad we believed the hype. It is a lush romantic fantasy, exquisitely written, inhabited by a cast of marvellously colourful characters.

Even after a brilliant year for the fantastical in literature, it remains a firm favourite. Earning early comparisons to The Night Circus, Caraval is far more than just more of the same magical showmanship - this is a wonderfully deft, mesmerising and beautifully told tale of love, loss and the impossible. Scarlett's search for her missing sister, and the truth behind the mysterious Caraval show, is one to savour

Worth the read

Spoilers: So the caraval series is about two sisters since they were little, they want to go to this mysterious caraval which is like game. So one day they got a reply from the caraval master, the legend, and what I can say about this story is at first it's kind of like predictable at first, very alice in wonderland-ish. The little sister goes missing and then it's the first sister has to save her. I kinda got confused at first but as the story went on and I am intrigued every chapter is like amazing and the for the first book is centered on Scarlett and Julian and I can see that during the climax of the book where Julian reveals himself, I was so heartbroken and then he died and then Donatella died and then turns out Legend isn't Legend, and Legend is someone else which is like what the heck all these plot twists and then I'm like somehow this is a roller coaster feeling, and then it was all a game and then suddenly because of the love for her little sister that makes the Scarlett’s wish come true which is the prize of the game, and she brought her sister back to life. Then suddenly all the players that died in the caraval are alive again after the end of the game and I'm just happy that Scarlett and Julian is together and that is just like the ending. I mean the ending really makes me wanna read the next story and also Donatella gets the letter from her mysterious friend, which will open the story of the second book. I'm like who is it so yeah overall this book is really nice and it's you should go for it because if you want to start with the other series which is the hype now which is called the Once Upon a time a broken heart, you have to finish reading this serious because yeah it really gives like the opening of the world that Stephanie Garber invented so yeah five star from me.

Such a good premise but ended up being disappointing

I really liked 3/4 of the story until the ending ruined it. I also absolutely despited Tella 😭

Great

I did really liked this book. It was better than I thought it was going to be and completely different.

Magical

Caraval is a fantastic adventure but I was a bit confused at the end. 4.5 ⭐️

It had its problems. it wasn't perfect. But it was...

My problem is not the story but the realism of it. I love realism but when it's too much in a fantasy setting it can get annoying. Like obviously scarlet is gonna be like that. her sister is an ass but it makes sense and everyone else also makes sense. we know certain character knows the guy behind the caravan well from the beginning. good foreshadowing. I knew how everything was gonna turn out because of the realistic portrayal of the story/characters were. So it wasn't perfect as I said but its perfection is what made it not perfect. it might not make sense; of course I'm aware of it. But this is fantasy.

I know my review is five stars despite having issues with it and the author is already a recognized person. I respect her work but balance fantasy with reality.

Also this setting is set in back when the Spanish and British empire were at their pick. colonized places have English names but uncolonized places have Spanish names. Can you make it more obvious? Tella redeemed herself. Scarlet was able to break loose. it was a good story over all and despite mu issues with it I can't give it less than five stars since I couldn't even set it to 1.5x speed. I wanted to know what was next.

Amazing story. Easy to decipher. still enjoyable. and if this review gets to someone's eyes. let me tell you, I'm considered a genius so you won't see what's coming. so don't worry. give this a chance.