Tag: Fantasy

Bookmas 2021, Monthly TBRs

Merry Bookmas Day 1 – 1st December – December TBR

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! And a merry bookmas! As I announced last week I am going to be posting every day in December and this is the first of these posts. Of course I had to start my blogmas/ bookmas with my TBR for December so I hope you all enjoy reading about what I plan to read in December and the thoughts I already have about the books.

My December TBR:

  • Well Met by Jen de Luca – This month I have included lots of books that are outside of my comfort zone in my TBR and this is one of them. It mentions a Renaissance fair and that sounds very unique and interesting.
  • The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read his first book either this year or last year, I can’t quite remember and it was very enjoyable so hopefully the second book lives up to it.
  • Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I am interested in reading this book because it has been compared to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I loved hat book.
  • Kingdom of The Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I love Kerri Maniscalco’s work and Kingdom of the wicked is no different, I can’t wait to be back with Wrath and Emilia.
  • Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – The description makes me think of Six of Crows a little bit so I have high hopes for this one.
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – again this book is on my TBR, I will read it eventually!
  • Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I’m not usually drawn to this genre but the synopsis really interested me and I’m not completely sure why.
  • All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – this is like a very dark version of the Hunger Games mixed with family gangs.
  • Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I love her books and a fantasy book about magic and nuns sounds amazing.
  • The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – again, another book outside of my comfort zone but I am looking forward to giving it a chance.
  • In The Crypt With A Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – a 1920’s themed murder mystery makes me think of Agatha Christie which I love so hopefully I will enjoy it.
  • The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – this is written by the writer of Death In Paradise which is one of my favourite TV shows so hopefully this book is good too.
  • Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I love the Caraval series and this book follows one of the characters from that so I’m excited to read it.
  • Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – this is a book that I have heard a lot about so I want to get around to it soon.
  • Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I don’t know much about this book other than it has a lovely cover.
  • The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – this is a festive themed book that I am excited to read
  • It sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I don’t know much about this book either, other than it is outside my usual genre
  • Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – it’s set in an ice cream shop, I don’t need to know anything else about it.
  • Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I loved A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and I can’t wait to read the second one in the series
  • Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – another festive themed book that I am very glad I managed to get onto my TBR.
  • The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I have seen so many good things about this book and I know it has comedy in it so I should enjoy it.
  • Murder In Midwinter – a collection of crime short stories set in winter should be a nice change of pace.

That’s it for my December TBR, have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Monthly Wrap Ups

November Wrap-Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people! It is getting to the end of November and it is time to share my November wrap-up with you all. This month has gone by so quickly because I’ve had so much to do. This month has been for getting everything ready for Christmas and at last it is all done, prepared, ready. I’ve also been making all my posts for December because as I announced last week I will be trying to post every day in December, it has been fun but a lot of work. I haven’t finished them yet but I’ve done most and I am attempting to finish them today. On top of that I’ve been unwell for at least half of November and that has left very little time to read.

So, let’s talk about what I did and didn’t read and what I thought of the books!

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this book this month, I wasn’t in the mood for a long fantasy book but I have moved this book to my December TBR
  • Vampire Brat by Angie Sage – one of the books in the Araminta Spook series and I did read this book. I liked it but it isn’t my favourite of the series.
  • Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – I did not read this book but I have moved this one to my December TBR
  • Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – I did not read this book
  • These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan – I did not read this book, it’s another fantasy that I just wasn’t in the mood for this month
  • The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson – I didn’t read this book
  • The Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton – I did read this book, it was interesting but not all that enjoyable for me
  • The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White – I did not read this book
  • The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino – I did not read this book
  • The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – I didn’t read this book either
  • Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did read this book! and it surprised me, I have posted a book review for this book if you are interested in my full thoughts
  • The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson – I did not read this book
  • Shadowscent The Darkest Bloom by P M Freestone – I did not read
  • Rose by Holly Webb – I wanted to get around to this book but in the end there wasn’t enough time
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – I am currently reading this book and I will finish it before the end of the month and I am enjoying it a lot.
  • Pages and Co by Anna James – I did read this book and I enjoyed it so much I want to get the rest of the series.
  • Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg – this is another book I wanted to get to but in the end I didn’t
  • Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey – I did not read this book
  • Ghostsitters by Angie Sage – another book from the Araminta Spook series and I did read this
  • Fable by Adrienne Young – I did not read this book
  • Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody – I did not read this
  • Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare – I did not read this
  • By the Book by Amanda Sellett – I did not read this book
  • Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – I did not read this book either

So I ended up reading five books off my TBR and I am in the middle of a sixth book from my TBR, outside of my TBR I read You’ll Be The Death of Me by Karen M McManus for a book tour so that makes my overall total for the month 7 books which I’m pretty pleased with.

I hope you enjoyed reading my November Wrap-up!

Uncategorized

My plans for Bookmas/Blogmas 2021

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well. Today’s post is more of an information dump than what I usually post. I wanted to let you all know about what my plans are for this blog in December – and yes, I have given myself a lot of work to do because I plan to post every day in December. I’ve already started making and scheduling the posts so I won’t have to be stressed every day in December about whether or not I can make the posts in time, so as long as technology works as it should there will be a post from me every day. Fingers crossed.

I am going to list here what is currently the plan to be posted each day!

  1. My December TBR
  2. Bookish Advent Calendars – ones I saw on Etsy that looked interesting
  3. Fun christmas bookish trivia – a quiz!
  4. A collection of Night Before Christmas parodies
  5. The best drinks to curl up with in winter – including some recipes
  6. The Christmas Stocking Book Tag
  7. The best books of 2021 – I love looking at these so I had to include my own
  8. Cosy books to read at Christmas
  9. Which book should I read over Christmas? – another quiz!
  10. Bookish Christmas gifts
  11. Books that surprised me this year
  12. The Christmas song book tag
  13. The best and worst books of each month in 2021
  14. Books I wish I had got to this year
  15. Goals and things I’m looking forward to in 2021
  16. Books on my Christmas wishlist
  17. Bookmas trees
  18. Bookish naughty or nice tag
  19. Bookshelf tour – I am still debating if I should just take pictures or if I should try and video it, what do you think?
  20. Bookish Christmas quiz – yes another one!
  21. Christmas cuisine book tag
  22. Christmas films I reccomend
  23. Books with a Christmas theme
  24. Christmas Family traditions
  25. Book Characters Who I’d love to spend Christmas with
  26. Winter book tag
  27. 2022 most anticipated books
  28. The jingle bell book tag
  29. End of year book tag
  30. My book of the year for 2021
  31. My stats for 2021

So, that’s what my December posts are going to look like! Are you excited for them? What post are you most looking forward to seeing on my blog?

Book Reviews

Book Review: Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

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Happy Monday Bookish people! This is my second review for today, the first being City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab – the first book in the Cassidy Blake series. Tunnel of Bones is the second book in the Cassidy Blake series.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Tunnel of Bones Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This second book takes place in Paris and it was very nice for me because I have been to Paris once and I recognised a few different areas and that made it even more spooky for me and added to the atmosphere. Also there was a part where they visited the catacombs and that was one of my favourite scenes in the book because of how it forced the characters to react. This one felt darker than the first book in the series which I enjoyed.

Tunnel of Bones Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I have mentioned some of my thoughts of the characters in my review of City of Ghosts and the two main characters are Cassidy and Jacob and the main thing I like about them is the friendship, in this second book the dynamic of that friendship is changing a little bit and it gave the book a dramatic element.

Tunnel of Bones Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’ve also said this in my review of City of Ghosts but I love the writing of Victoria Schwab and I get along with it very easily so this series is very fun to read.

Tunnel of Bones Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because I enjoyed it just as much as the first book in the series and I gave that book four stars so I gave the same rating to this book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual.

She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs.

When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter — and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger.

And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

Book Review: City of Ghosts by V E Schwab

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Happy Monday bookish people! It’s time for another book review. This week I was updating my list of what books I have and haven’t written reviews for yet and I realised I had written a review for Bridge of Souls, the third book in the Cassidy Blake series by V E Schwab but I hadn’t written reviews for the first two books in the series. So today I will be posting reviews for City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

City of Ghosts Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This series follows Cassidy Blake and her best friend Jacob. Jacob is a ghost who has attached himself to Cassidy after something happens. This book is one of the first middle grade books that I have read since being an adult and it reminded me of how good the genre can be when it has a well thought out and intriguing plot. Cassidy’s parents are like a middle grade most haunted type thing, they travel to different cities and do documentaries about the history and the ghostly myths of places that are supposedly haunted. I loved the uniqueness of this part of the plot, I liked the irony of Cassidy seeing ghosts and her parents not knowing but they are doing a ghost show. The atmosphere of this book is perfectly balanced between the serious spooky nature of the towns and the things Cassidy and Jacob have to face and the relationships of family and friends.

City of Ghosts Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The two main characters are Jacob and Cassidy. I have some similarities to Cassidy in that she can’t help herself but get dragged into different scenarios because of her curiosity and that would definitely happen to me, I have no control over my curiosity whatsoever. Jacob provides an interesting dynamic because he’s so real and they have a great friendship but as a reader you are being constantly reminded he is a ghost and Cassidy is being reminded too.

City of Ghosts Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I haven’t got much to say here other than I love V E Schwab’s writing, I think I own nearly every single one of her books and her middle grade series is just as good. I don’t find the writing is too young for me or too simple which makes the reading experience enjoyable.

City of Ghosts Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because I thought it was a great beginning to an interesting series.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Book Tags

’90s Movies Book Tag

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Happy Friday bookish people! I was looking for something fun to post today and I thought I haven’t done a book tag in a while so I will have go at ones of them and so I chose the ’90s Movies book tag. I was born at the very end of the 90s so I wasn’t really a 90s kid but I have seen a lot of the films from that decade. I found this tag on Zeezee with Books’ blog but it was created by A Book Lovers Playlist. I hope you enjoy the book tag!

She’s All That: Name a book couple that are an odd pairing but they still fit perfectly.

For this one I instantly thought of Jeremy and Sophia from Deadly Curious by Cindy Astley. Jeremy is a new recruit to the Bow Street Runners who is investigating a murder and Sophia is the daughter of a wealthy family and she desperately wants to become a detective and constantly puts herself in the middle of the investigation to help with it. As a couple, they shouldn’t work but they do.

10 Things I Hate About You: A Book Series that you have a love/hate relationship with

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefavater. I have read the first book in the series and I didn’t love it but I liked it enough to continue the series, mainly because the premise is intriguing and I want to see what happens with it but I keep putting the second book on my monthly TBR’s and never getting around to reading it.

Clueless: A character that is totally clueless but you love them anyway

Kai in The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. He isn’t as clueless as he comes across sometimes but in comparison to Irene that is how he sometimes seems but I love him anyway.

Titanic: Name a book that made you cry

I can’t really answer this one, I actually can’t think of any books right now that have made me cry. There must be loads of them but I just cannot think of one.

American Pie: A Book that makes you laugh

The Spellslinger series by Sebastien De Castell, his books always make me laugh.

Can’t Hardly Wait: A book with a crazy party

This was a difficult one but what I came up with in the end is Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Technically the reader doesn’t actually see the party but they hear about it and how different people were acting during it.

Cruel Intentions: Name a character you can never fully trust

Victor Vale from Vicious by V E Schwab. He is a morally grey character that I love but I’m never completely sure what he’s doing is right or whether he will turn into a villian at some point in the near future.

Drive Me Crazy: Name your favourite boy next door or girl next door couple

For this one all I could think of is Eve Brown in Act Your Age Eve Brown, which I haven’t read yet but I feel that it gives off girl next door couple vibes.

Scream: A book with a memorable villian

Shadow and Bone. Whenever I read something about villians I always think of the Darkling. I’m not even sure why.

The Craft: Name a book with witches

Serpent and Dove is one of my favourite books with witches in, I loved everything about it – even though I haven’t gotten to the second book in the series yet. The magic system and the way the witches are treated is a part of the book that is written so brilliantly.

That’s it for this book tag, I hope you all enjoyed it! What books would you have said for your answers?

Uncategorized

My 5* Predictions

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all good. Today I am bringing you a blog post about all the books I own and haven’t read yet that I think will be a five star rating. I believe there are nineteen books I think I will give five stars which in comparison to the 300+ books I own and haven’t read is not that many.

Up first is…

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I am excited to get around to reading this book because I have seen so many people read it and love it recently which makes me really want to read it soon. Also, it is my first proper adult fantasy, as I am trying to branch out of YA. I will still be reading that genre just not as much.

Up next is…

Sabriel by Garth Nix

I bought the rest of this series after I read Lireal earlier this year. My partner persuaded me to read it, he even bought it for me that’s how much he wanted me to read it, and I ended up loving it so I think I will have the same reaction to the rest of the series including Sabriel and the book up next…

Abhorsen by Garth Nix

I also anticipate the next two books in a series will be a five star read…

The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale is a very dark fantasy read but I loved it! And I gave it five stars so I am excited to read the rest of the series and I have high hopes that I will enjoy them just as much as the first book.

Now the next group of books is also a series – this is a common theme for me, if I read the first book and give it five stars immediately I anticipate the rest of the series getting five stars too..

Queenslayer, Crownbreaker, Way of the Argosi and Fall of the Argosi by Sebastien De Castell

I absolutely love this series, I have read Spellslinger, Shadowblack, Charmcaster and Soulbinder so far and every single one of them has been so enjoyable. I haven’t actually given any of this series five stars so far but I really think the rest of these books are going to push me to giving that five star rating.

Finale by Stephanie Garber

This is the last book in the Caraval series, I love the first book. I gave Caraval five stars and it is one of my favourite books I have read. I didn’t like Legendary as much but I still liked it and I can’t wait to finish this series.

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

I loved reading Kingdom of the Wicked, the first book in the series, and the main characters are some of my favourites in all the books I’ve read. I can’t wait to be back in that world and see what happens next with Emilia and Wrath.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

I loved both her other books and something I really like is that they are all standalones and I get a full story all in one, it gives me a good feeling when I finish the book and so I am excited to read this one as well. I think it’s about nuns which sounds pretty interesting.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

The Truly Devious series is a great mystery series with plenty of twists to keep you guessing and I am hoping this next segment of that series is going to be just like that.

Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett

I am highly anticipating this book because to me it has the same structure as six of crows, with a heist and a group of misfits being forced together. This is the type of fantasy adventure I really enjoy.

Blood and Honey and Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

I loved Serpent and Dove and the whole premise of the story so I definitely think that the next two in the series will also be five star reads just like the first one.

and finally…

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Tudors is my favourite period of history and I love any book that is about them and I have heard such good things about the Wolf Hall series so I am excited to try it.

That’s it for all of my five star predictions, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Monthly Wrap Ups

October Wrap-Up!

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Happy Monday bookish people! It is the first of November and that means it is time to share with you my wrap up for the month of October.

October was once again a really busy month for me, I officially started my PhD course and I have had to sort lots of things out in preparation for my Masters graduation while also dealing with some issues with my health. It has been a long feeling month that is for sure, but we are now in November and I am feeling great about reading and the books I have chosen (my November TBR post will be going up later today!).

So, in October I was planning on reading lots of spooky books and mysteries and… well, I didn’t do as well with my TBR as I’d hoped. I wasn’t feeling the books I had on my TBR when it came time to read them and then now – the first day of November I am really in the mood to read them. That is very annoying.

Anyway, let’s get into what I did and didn’t read in the month of October!

October TBR and Thoughts:

  • A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – I did not read, I was very excited this book was finally on my TBR but I just didn’t get a chance to pick it up.
  • Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody – another book I was so excited for but didn’t get around to.
  • Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – I didn’t read this one but it has been moved to this month’s TBR…
  • Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco – I NEED to get around to reading this soon but I didn’t manage it in October
  • City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab – I did read this one, I actually read this entire trilogy this month
  • Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens – I also read this one
  • The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton – I did not read this one
  • Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – I’ve heard such good things about this one but I haven’t read it yet
  • Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I didn’t get to this one
  • Legendborn by Tracey Deonn – I’m disappointed I didn’t get to this one it was the perfect month for it
  • Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg – This is the one I’m now really in the mood to read so I’m just going to do it, I’m going to read it in November
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I am so scared to read this because I heard it’s classed as a horror so I didn’t read it in Ocotber
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I did not read this one
  • Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens – I did read this one
  • One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus – I did not read this one
  • People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield – I didn’t get around to this one but I am very excited to read it soon
  • Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price – I did not read this one
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – I didn’t read this one
  • Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I didn’t read this one
  • The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino – Another book I was too scared to read
  • The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine – it turns out this book is from a series and I don’t have the first ones in it and I’m not sure if I need to read them first
  • The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson – another book that it turns out is in a series and I didn’t read because I don’t have the first few to read before this one
  • The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava reid – I did not read this one

So, out of my TBR I read five of the books which isn’t great but it isn’t awful either. Outside of my TBR I also read the first three books in the Araminta Spook series by Angie sage which takes my October total to eight books. Considering everything that has happened this month I’m pretty happy with that total. Although I definitely plan to read more in November so we will see how that goes.

That’s it for my October wrap-up I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know how you all did with your October reading.

friday first and lasts

Friday First and Lasts Round 2

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Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am bringing you the second round of my newest series Friday First and Lasts. The series in which I take the first sentence of one book and combine it with the last series of another book to see what we get.

For this round I will be giving you three sets of first and lasts, the books up first are:

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T A Willberg

“I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life/ however long it took” – This sentence actually turned out really well. It creates a very dramatic line.

Up next are the books:

Capturing The Devil by Kerri Maniscalco and Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

“A blast of frigid air greeted me as I unlatched the carriage door and stumbled onto the street/filled with thoughtless joy I turned Priestbane to follow” – this one doesn’t work quite as well as the first set, but it still works and has a good flow to it.

The final set for today are from the books:

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

“Snow is falling/and then she would be dead” – This is the one that probably works the least out of the three sets but it has an intense and sinister ring to it that I quite like.

That’s it for today, I hope you all enjoyed it! If you’ve got any good ones, please leave them in the comments below, on my Instagram @the_blind_scribe or on Twitter @oliviatempleto6.

Book Reviews

Book Review: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! Today I am bringing you the book review for one of my favorite books that I have read – Caraval by Stephanie Garber! I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you all.

In this book review I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Caraval Plot:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I happened to pick this book up in a WhSmith in one of those service stations on the motorway while on a long car journey because I liked the sound of a circus-y themed competition story. I didn’t know then that this book would start an obsession with all things circus, particularly books with that setting. I love the plot of this book, it is filled to the brim with magic and escapism and one of the things I always love in books – not knowing who or what you can trust. This book completely messes with your head while at the same time being joyously beautiful and whimsical, dashed with danger. I could not put this book down.

Caraval Characters:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Scarlett Dragna is one of two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, and in Caraval we follow Scarlett after Tella goes missing and Scarlett must compete in Caraval to find her. She is headstrong and fierce, especially in her loyalty to her sister. Scarlett is the character that I wish I could be (and who I will be dressing up as for YALC next year). The other character who features heavily in this book is Julian de Santos, he’s a cheeky, charming, mysterious man often described as looking like a rogue/pirate. As soon as I read that I knew I was going to love him, he’s definitely in my top five male book characters.

Caraval Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Stephanie Garber is an exceptionally good writer who has such talent that she drew me in from the very first sentence of the book and has captured my interest ever since. I have read the first and second book in the series so far and I find myself thinking on it all the time.

Caraval Overall:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I had to give this book five stars because as I said, it is one of my favourite books I have ever read.

Blurb/Synopsis:

A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it!