“Not quite sure how far she’d already fallen, she imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars come out.”

Trigger/Content warnings may be considered spoilers about certain themes or plot twists in the story
TW/CW: Child/Physical/Emotional abuse; Murder; Kidnapping; Death of a child; Death of a parent; Attempted but failed sexual assault; Arranged marriage; Suicide; Self harm

Scarlett Dragna has been stuck on her home island with her sister Tella and cruel father her whole life. After being set up in an arranged marriage, she thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval are over, until they aren’t.
This book is beautiful. No I’m not referring to the cover although that’s beautiful as well. I felt so entrapped in the game and the beauty of Caraval I was so sad it was over (until I remembered there were 2 more plus a spin off trilogy). I love the character development we see in Scarlett. Honestly I’m not a world building person, and this book has to rely on world building because of what it is. It was done beautifully, but sometimes it was a bit much. The ending was not my favorite but I won’t knock it yet because there’s two more books to make up for the lackluster twist. I am so excited to venture out and see what else Caraval has to offer.