Caraval Book Review

 Book #8: Caraval by: Stephanie Garber

Overall rating: 9/10

Caraval was a stunning book from start to finish. From looking at the front cover, to finishing the epilogue, I was immersed in the story at all times. With amazing pacing, charming romance, and an engaging plot, Caraval is the perfect book to read.

While I was reading the book, it felt like I was the one watching Caraval. The book successfully conveyed the whole feeling of the game, and the map of Caraval helped me to understand where certain things took place. It would be appreciated if there was a map of the whole world in the book, instead of just Caraval, but it wasn’t exactly explored that much in the story.

The book’s pacing was pretty good as well. While it was a fairly long book, the majority of the events take place over the course of a week. It wasn’t necessarily fast paced, but it wasn’t a slow paced book either. The whole story was really action packed, and I wasn’t really bored at any point in the story. The romance’s pacing was alright as well. It didn’t feel rushed at all, but it was a little bit slow burn.

Worldbuilding could have improved a bit, in my opinion. There’s a lot of history about Caraval written in the book, but there’s no history about the world in the book. The book could have been so much better if there was some more exposition

Despite what reviews say, I do not think that Caraval is similar to The Hunger Games. Caraval doesn’t really have the high stakes sense of life or death that The Hunger Games possesses, and while it may bear a resemblance later in the story, I don’t see many similarities between the two right now. However, that doesn’t mean that fans of the series wouldn’t enjoy Caraval as well.

Caraval was a pretty awesome book. It’s a must-read for any YA lover, and I can’t wait to read the next books in the series!