Caraval (Caraval, #1)

by Stephanie Garber

After seeing all the hype surrounding Finale, I decided that I had to read Caraval and see what it is all about.

I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read, and the story was intriguing. But honestly, the romance was terrible. I did not care for a second about Scarlett and Julian, especially because it was obvious from the start that he was either working with Legend or that he is Legend. Somehow I think this took away from the plot twists. I am not sure if it was supposed to be a plot twist, but it felt like one that was so foreshadowed that it wasn't at the same time. However, the part after that about Tella working together with Legend and her planning this whole thing did surprise me. I had not expected that.
The characters felt incredibly bland and undeveloped. They did not have a real personality. One characteristic defined them completely. I did not mind it that much since I still enjoyed the book a lot, but I do wish that they get more interesting as the series continues.
The world itself was really interesting, even though the magic system was never really explained. Things just happened because why not? If it was not for enjoyment, this book would probably have 2.5 or three stars, but I really really liked it, thus four stars seems more appropriate. Enjoyment is the most important aspect of general YA novels for me. However, I do feel the need to address the issues of this book and not just hype it up only because I enjoyed it a lot. I highly encourage the audiobook, I flew through it.
Even though I really enjoyed this book and will continue the rest of the series, I do not agree that this is a series. This book had a very nice end and continuing this series felt forced. It would have been more interesting if there were other books in this world, however, I do not care about Scarlett and Tella's continuation.