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Caraval

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Caraval

By: Stephanie Garber
Narrated by: Rebecca Soler
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About this listen

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 weeklong 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. Nonetheless, she quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And whether it's real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over and her sister disappears forever.

©2017 Stephanie Garber (P)2017 Macmillan Coming of Age Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Magic Classics Heartfelt Game

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)
I love this novel . . . It's a thing of beauty and the stuff of dreams. (Cecelia Ahern)
All stars
Most relevant  
I read this book years ago and revisited it with Audible. It was just as magical this time round.

Magical!

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Cons- The chemistry between the main characters didn't feel strong. I'm just not that invested from what was in this book. If you are mainly looking for a fantasy series with the main focus being romance, I wouldn't suggest this for you. It was not what kept me reading.

- It was a slow lead up before things really got interesting. I think if I hadn't read to about chapter 20, I wouldn't have cared too much about finishing it. Although the persistence DID pay off

- This isn't a rinse and repeat kind of book for me. What kept me reading was mostly the mystery behind it. I didn't enjoy the characters that much, although there was some whit from Julien.

Pros- I found the main characters' development progressive. I won't say she was my favourite protagonist. At least you see her character evolve, unlike many main female characters who have little personal growth.

- the storyline was very unique to me, which I loved

- the descriptions and the world created were immersive. The words came to life, and I was sucked in.

- it was a blend of fantasy, mystery, romance, and action. There were so many moving parts to the story.

- MAJOR plot twists. I usually figure things out pretty easy with stories, but there were some surprises for me that kept me on my toes.

I recommend this book and will definitely be reading the next book of the series.

Unexpected

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It was an enjoyable listen, treading the line between reality and fantasy very well.
The performance wasn't bad, the only part that bothered me was her very airy screams which sent shivers down my back.

A dash of magic

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engaging story of who done it mixed with the fun of magic. a love story and a story of what its like being the older sister.

this edition of the audio book feels like it may have been abridged at one point with snippets recorded later and added back in as the tempo and clarity of the reading are distorted, however rebecca solare is one of my favorite narrators, so i still enjoyed it.

magic mixed with "who done it"

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I enjoyed the plot, characters and the setting. Caraval was intriguing and enjoyable - it's good to see the development of a few lead female characters. Can't wait for the next!

Enjoyable Read

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Bit if a slow start but I could not stop listening . Extremely engaging and has the best twists

Such a great book

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I won’t be reading the sequel.
It was a hard listen, when the narrator was trying to be devastated or sad, it came across as whiney and cringe.

The ending sucks.

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This story was a mental roller coaster for both the reader and the main character of the story. It was fast paced and full of twists and turns. It’s best to go into this story blind. There’s mystery, adventure, romance and beautiful imagery.

Caraval its self as a concept gave me Pleasure Island from Pinocchio vibes and I was always waiting for something mad or twisted to happen.

Biggest con- hated the foreign accent used for Julian. Made it had to connect with the character and take him seriously.

I am looking forward to reading the next book ‘Legendary’ in hopes it answers all my unresolved questions and theories of the story. If book two is successful I’ll bump my overall rating up to a 4!

A roller coaster of mind games

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The narrator was fantastic, she really made the book work through speech. Very heartfelt, enthusiastic and genuinely full of emotion.
I really enjoyed the storyline even though it is aimed at the teenage variety it still has some guts to it and it's worth the listen.
Plenty of twists and turns in the plot.

And finally...... you should expect:

Lots of smiling, sneering, grinning, smirking, twisting-of-the-lips, and also many more different descriptions of how the lips are able to form a smile - both benevolent and malevolent 😉😃

Interesting teen romance

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I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like this book. However, I quickly came to love the story, with its mystery plotline and unexpected twists and turns. just as you think you know a character, or what's about to happen, your expectations get turned upside down. Very interesting book, well read and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unexpected, but great

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