Publishing Date: January 31st, 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆/4/5

That basically sums up my experience with "Caraval". While I loved the idea behind it - the whole notion of this magical game where nothing is what it seems and you're playing mind games with yourself the whole time...I also found myself going a bit crazy at times, alongside the characters.
The writing style, the narrative and the descriptiveness of this story, made the world truly come to life, and it was a magical world that honest to God charmed me, and made me believe in it.

However, there was a lot of going back and forth on 'facts', which was a source of much frustration on my part. For example, we have one of our main characters Julian, who is kind of that typical 'player boy', shrouded in mystery and helping our main protagonist along.  Meanwhile, a little steamy romance brews between them in the background...

We don't know much about Julian at all since the the whole book (with the exception of the epilogue) is from the point of view of Scarlett, our main protagonist, and so we the readers know as little as she does.

Except, we do learn things down the lane...only to have Julian contradict himself and his supposed reasons for being in Caraval a few chapters later. Once or twice, I was good...I was OK with it...but when it bloody happened over and over again, I was ready to leap into that book and counsel him a bit until he bloody figured out his own cover story!

I get that it's part of unraveling the mystery, but boy!!! did it make me MAD™.

I actually kind of #shipit???

The plot twist that I'd rather pretend didn't happen...

Give me more of Legend or I will scream!!!