Review: Caraval - Stephanie Garber

Review: Caraval - Book #1 Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber - September 2016

I had recently finished the Once Upon a Broken Heart series and the first book mentioned a little bit about Jack's relationship with someone named Donatella.  At the time of reading the first two books, I didn't realize that there was a prequel series with the first book being Caraval. This month on Bookstagram, a group of friends were doing a buddy read and since I had a copy on my bookshelf, I thought I would make it a priority to read this month. I also needed to get the Once Upon a Broken Heart world out of my head. I went in blind to Caraval and have to admit it was a darker book than the Once Upon a Broken Heart series and then reading this book, the female character Scarlett frustrated the hell out of me. She was so whiny and was very much playing the victim-blaming game and she was so self-righteous and wanted to control everything. I just wanted to shake her and scream for her to wake up. I guess in part her role could be understood as she was the older sibling and if I were in her shoes, I probably would have acted similarly.  During the book, Scarlett aka Crimson, and her sister are invited to a week game called the Caraval hosted by someone named Legend. This is not a game for the weak and it will be a week where reality will blur with fantasy and if you aren't clever enough you might not be able to tell the difference.  Readers be warned, that this book is an intense mindf%$k read and I would consider it a Dark YA Romance read. After finishing Caraval and seeing the type of character and person that Donatella is, I can see why she and Jacks worked as a couple and I am eager to read the next books to see her #meetcute with Jacks.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3A0sRyT