Fantasy Mini Reviews: Caraval by Stephanie Garber + The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I’m starting to understand the popularity of mini-reviews because they’re so fun and are less stressful to write than full discussions. ✏ Today, I’m back with two fantasy books that I actually listened to via audiobook!

CARAVAL BY STEPHANIE GARBER

When I first read the preview of this book, I was instantly enticed by the storyline—a magical game that blurs what is real. ✨ The story is filled with colorful writing and twists at every turn. I truly thought this book had a lot of potential but it felt extremely underdeveloped. I still plan on reading the sequel, Legendary, but I didn’t understand the hype of this first one. 🤷‍♀️

Spoiler-free Summary: 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.

For a book that never stops describing emotions, characters, and day-to-day tasks in color, the world building and character development felt dull and grey. 😕 The romance between Scarlett and Julian threw me for a loop because he was originally introduced as a potential love interest for Tella.

I would give this book 2/5 stars. ⭐⭐ The book was riddled with the overuse of unnecessary, flowery language that hindered the storyline development. At the same time, this book took an interesting twist on a mysterious game. If you’re interested in the audiobook, I would definitely recommend because the narrator is the same narrator for The Lunar Chronicles series who always does an A+ job! 

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THE CRUEL PRINCE BY HOLLY BLACK

This book has a lot of mixed reviews in the bookish community where some people are absolutely in love with Jude and Cardan and others are confused by its hype. 🤷‍♀️ I’m somewhere in the middle where I did enjoy some aspects of the book, but I also don’t worship its entirety. Similar to my feelings with Caraval, I thought this book had a lot of potential but the lack of development hindered it from being an all-star book.

Spoiler-free Summary: Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I was instantly intrigued by the concepts of the world and the wickedness of the characters. 👑 However, I don’t think the writing successfully explained the points the author was trying to get across. For example, I took the romance between Jude and Cardan at face value because we were told about it, but I wasn’t invested in it because it wasn’t really developed.

The Cruel Prince gets 3/5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐ I am still planning to read the sequel because I’m hoping that the series will improve, but overall, I thought this book was simply an okay read. ☁

Want to Buy This Book?

If you purchase the paperback or hardback version from Book Depository, I make a small commission which helps keeps my blog running. 🛍️ They have free shipping worldwide, so talk about a win-win solution!

HAVE YOU READ EITHER OF THESE BOOKS? WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS! 💕