THE WORST YA FANTASY BOOK EVER

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  • @ReadswithRachel
    @ReadswithRachel  Год назад +59

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  • @KarikiNeroli
    @KarikiNeroli Год назад +2190

    My review on goodreads for this book was: "I wanted girlboss but all I got was gaslit."

  • @rgs8970
    @rgs8970 Год назад +1585

    Alternating picturing Donatello (the turtle) and Donatella Versace as the sister, either of which could have improved the book

    • @lycianempire
      @lycianempire Год назад +148

      What about Donatello in a wig that looks like Donatello Versace's?

    • @rgs8970
      @rgs8970 Год назад +43

      ​@@lycianempire yes please, the best of both worlds 😂

    • @glitterdivine
      @glitterdivine Год назад +57

      Plot twist: Donatella Versace is actually Donatello the mutant ninja turtle. And Scarlett is Splinter. (I did not read the book. Obvs)

    • @butterflyglasses
      @butterflyglasses Год назад +35

      @@glitterdivine Nah, Scarlett is definitely Raphael (I also did not read the book)

    • @frenzy2061
      @frenzy2061 Год назад +5

      Exact same thing that I was going through this whole review lmao

  • @lydialuton4402
    @lydialuton4402 Год назад +2047

    The funniest part of caraval to me was the shear thoroughness in which every dress was described and how ugly they all sounded

    • @ultimateninjaboi
      @ultimateninjaboi Год назад +75

      God... i hate that this makes me want to find those excerpts, just out of morbid curiosity. (Cuz lord knows im not about to read this whole thing)

    • @princessatellaluma
      @princessatellaluma Год назад +17

      *sheer :3

    • @SeymourDisapproves
      @SeymourDisapproves Год назад +88

      Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way could never

    • @ButtercupJr
      @ButtercupJr Год назад +47

      It's one of my biggest pet peeves as a reader: when the author overdescribes their MC's pretty wardrobe. I. Don't. CARE. Just tell the frickin story.

    • @michellelies
      @michellelies Год назад +17

      Am reading Garber's related series right now and OMG yes. Less than six hours ago I was complaining at a brunch about how the only thing that gets any detailed description in these books are the 1980s Barbie dresses her and her stepsister wear.

  • @SlayerOfVampyres
    @SlayerOfVampyres Год назад +1702

    This is astoundingly vindicating. Reading this book is like running on a treadmill thinking you’ll get somewhere

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  Год назад +149

      That’s exactly my feelings!!!!

    • @_laurenolo_
      @_laurenolo_ Год назад +60

      now that's the most accurate description I've ever heard for that feeling!

    • @dannyi.2945
      @dannyi.2945 Год назад +9

      This is the perfect description 😂

    • @vashtinayagar1325
      @vashtinayagar1325 Год назад +11

      It's honestly so much worse when you read Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Ballad of Broken Heart and go into Carnaval expecting the same experience😢 those books were so much better

    • @vsboardza
      @vsboardza Год назад +3

      I read this book years back and I haaaaaaaated it

  • @dannyi.2945
    @dannyi.2945 Год назад +1842

    When she described a dress as "the colour of midnight laughter" I threw the book across the room 😩

    • @dannyi.2945
      @dannyi.2945 Год назад +184

      @@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 yes, but how do I, the reader, understand what that is?

    • @-autumnfeelings
      @-autumnfeelings Год назад +166

      ​@@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 But the reader doesn't, so it doesn't give the reader any emotions. Like she says her embarrasment is yellow and that's it. The reader doesn't see any other signs of embarrasment. It's just emotions written lazy

    • @linkshoro
      @linkshoro Год назад +75

      @@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 she doesn't even have synesthesia, apparently it's some magical power she randomly has and somehow fully unlocks later on

    • @lookstothetroon
      @lookstothetroon Год назад +15

      @@jaginaiaelectrizs6341 schizophrenia

    • @VeelouC
      @VeelouC Год назад +24

      ​​@@linkshorodk but I think I have word synesthesia and to me laughter is gold and midnight is deep velvet blue-purple exactly like the cover

  • @CadillacBandit
    @CadillacBandit Год назад +794

    Patiently waiting for Rachel to launch her “Teens Deserve Better Books” campaign 😅 I’d sign up in a heartbeat

    • @woobiefuntime
      @woobiefuntime Год назад +1

      I love Jennifer barber

    • @strawberrylime33
      @strawberrylime33 8 месяцев назад +4

      Ooooh, she did make a video on teens deserving better YA books!

  • @lycianempire
    @lycianempire Год назад +680

    Like most stories, this would be infinitely improved if it had an entire Muppet cast.
    Only Miss Piggy would not put up with any of this BS.

    • @lycianempire
      @lycianempire Год назад +94

      Added note: the creepy scene with the Count would be replaced with having to help him count things in a gloomy castle room.

    • @disgruntledmoderate5331
      @disgruntledmoderate5331 Год назад +20

      @@lycianempire This would be so much better.

    • @Mario_Angel_Medina
      @Mario_Angel_Medina Год назад +35

      If the Muppets did an adaptation of this book, Miss Piggy would play Donnatella, and Scarlett would be played by the only prominent human actor on the film (like Scrooge in _A Muppet's Christmas Carol,_ Jim in _The Muppets in Treasure Island_ and Dorothy in _The Muppets and The Wizard of Oz)_

    • @realmcarthy
      @realmcarthy Год назад +12

      All stories are better with the muppets

  • @ragingdevi
    @ragingdevi 11 месяцев назад +173

    "Poop?"
    "Yes this book is poop."
    Crying 😂😂😂

  • @silkwormchan
    @silkwormchan Год назад +766

    Off topic but the parenting interlude was adorable!!

    • @standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory
      @standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory Год назад +18

      From an Old Mom, 👍 👍 👍

    • @marshmallow4646
      @marshmallow4646 Год назад +43

      It was adorable and made me laugh honestly made my day a little better

    • @moomoo1182
      @moomoo1182 Год назад +27

      “Um…poop?” “Yeah this book is poop.” KILLED me 😂

  • @raynebowmo2223
    @raynebowmo2223 Год назад +232

    At twenty minutes in I became convinced this is the Truman show and everyone around Scarlett are actors

  • @oldinnie
    @oldinnie Год назад +71

    The idea of Caraval as the festival itself sounds so fun but this book drained me so bad... "He's Legend!" "No, he's Legend!" "No, maybe Legend was the friends we made along the way..." Please. And the end? Stop this madness. I was so done with the twists by the time it was revealed Julian is not actually Legend

    • @thallassophobic
      @thallassophobic 2 месяца назад +3

      maybe the legend was the friends we made along the way had me wheezing

  • @graysonwalker2297
    @graysonwalker2297 Год назад +319

    SPOILER
    The reason her feelings have colors is bc you find out in book 3 that she actually has SUPER POWERS because her dad is the head of all the gods, gods that aren't even mentioned until book 2. Like..
    What.

    • @rono3457
      @rono3457 Год назад +26

      I never finished book 2. I'm sorry what on earth happened??? Donatella and Scarlett have super powers?? Do Julian and Dante have super powers too

    • @sofiastj
      @sofiastj Год назад +6

      How is it I read the whole series and missed this. To be fair, I read that one in 2019, then just read the third one recently without any refresher lolllllllll.

    • @graysonwalker2297
      @graysonwalker2297 Год назад +24

      @@rono3457 the gods/fates are mentioned in book two, her powers arent revealed until book 3 when she realizes her real dad is the God of all the fates. Her and Tella are half siblings and their mom was really a theif idk

    • @basicgirl3680
      @basicgirl3680 10 месяцев назад +2

      She literally had these powers in the first book- and the second book is based on Tela’s perspective. Like what?

    • @FfffTttsub
      @FfffTttsub 8 месяцев назад

      Might as well have wings

  • @EveryDayALittleDeath
    @EveryDayALittleDeath Год назад +298

    I did read Caraval when it came out, but I honestly have no memory of it. I remember being really intrigued by the premise, but confused and disappointed with the actual novel, and that's literally all I remember. It was very forgettable apparently
    Edit: Omg, I have synesthesia and I love reading books with characters who have it, because there's a lot you can do with it in writing. The fact that Scarlet has synesthesia and I managed to forget that speaks volumes

    • @hart-books
      @hart-books Год назад +17

      Same here. There was so much hype behind the release, the cover was beautiful (yes, I'm a sucker for a good cover), and the premise was interesting enough. But I found it far too easy to put down.

    • @rebeccapawela5417
      @rebeccapawela5417 9 месяцев назад +2

      Do you have recommendations of other books with synesthesia?

    • @EveryDayALittleDeath
      @EveryDayALittleDeath 9 месяцев назад +7

      @@rebeccapawela5417 A Mango Shaped Space is good for a realistic representation of synesthesia. Mondays Are Red is a more fantastical take on it.

  • @plutoh9958
    @plutoh9958 Год назад +176

    "I'm salt, like Lot's wife"😂😂😂 this is so perfect! Love that so much🤣

  • @adrienne8831
    @adrienne8831 Год назад +326

    no matter how bad uni gets, it is a highlight to see rachel tear into bad books haha

  • @Amorfis
    @Amorfis Год назад +142

    'I don't need to be nice to paper and ink.'
    I'm getting this tattooed on my face

  • @faithmoir1637
    @faithmoir1637 Год назад +412

    i picked up this book thinking it was the night circus bc a lot of my friends were HYPING up the night circus (rightly so, it slaps) but when i read it i was like.... what are you ON

    • @pinkm4ngo77
      @pinkm4ngo77 Год назад +53

      Same - I wanted this to be as beautiful and magical as the Night Circus…. It was not. Not at all lol

    • @ryry3944
      @ryry3944 Год назад +1

      Yess!! I did the exact same thing. :(

    • @little_fox_tells_tales
      @little_fox_tells_tales Год назад +1

      Literally I thought it was awful but I had such high hopes 😭

  • @stephysteph8558
    @stephysteph8558 Год назад +111

    "I know Son it's frustrating when we want to do things and can't. I wanted to read a good book, but this..." 😆Parenting Goals right here

  • @xbjrrtc
    @xbjrrtc 11 месяцев назад +179

    My dumb ass thought the book was "Caravel", so I was picturing 15th century Portuguese ships 😅

    • @theresisty7122
      @theresisty7122 5 месяцев назад +6

      I first thought the title said "Carvel," and I got excited for a story about ice cream cake.

  • @pinkm4ngo77
    @pinkm4ngo77 Год назад +435

    I HAAAAATED this book so much. I didn’t want to finish it, but I kept on angry-reading it all. The whole trilogy.
    I can’t fathom how so many people loved it so much.
    - the setup/world-building: makes no sense, lazy
    - the characters: what a bunch of unlikeable, bumbling idiots
    - the story: so much contradiction and ridiculous coincidences
    - but the writing,… the writing: please kill me. ‚Her electric confusion tasted like the deep blueof the ocean while she could hear the fuzzy softness of the wind in the distance‘ (made up, but could be legit in the book)
    - the magic: it’s whatever Stephanie needs it to be for the next nonsensical plot twists
    I had forgotten how bad and frustrating this was - I feel phantom anger again lol.
    Thanks for this spot on review.

    • @idk-YS
      @idk-YS Год назад +23

      I bought the entire triology and I regret it!! Nothing made sense and the writing was so frustrating 😭😭 I tried to like it but just couldn’t

    • @-autumnfeelings
      @-autumnfeelings Год назад +33

      I agree. They acted like Caraval was such a special, magical thing but when they came there, it was nothing special at all. It was just a town and there was so little magic. And the magic that was there, was boring

    • @-autumnfeelings
      @-autumnfeelings Год назад +4

      ​@@idk-YS Same. I brought the whole series and regretted it as well

    • @ettaetta439
      @ettaetta439 Год назад +2

      I read the series as a teenager with very little taste in books but I still hated it.

    • @DelilahDarling17
      @DelilahDarling17 Год назад +8

      I tried to read the book all the way through, but I genuinely couldn't stand to. I'd go on a rant about all I strongly disliked about it, but you pretty much hit every nail on the head. I highly respect the amount of patience and willpower it takes for one to hate-read all the way through.

  • @Marie45610
    @Marie45610 Год назад +348

    The character flaw or quirk of being easily embarrassed isn't terrible, but it sounds like it was just done super poorly.

    • @ettaetta439
      @ettaetta439 Год назад +66

      Absolutely. I'm easily embarrassed, and once, when I was fighting with a guy in school, someone asked me if I liked him. I didn't, but my face turned as red as a tomato out of embarrassment and no one believed me when I said I didn't because of it. Neither of us liked each other. In a book series all about romance, characters being easily embarrassed is a very convenient trope for reasonable misunderstandings and for funny scenes.

    • @runawaygemm5397
      @runawaygemm5397 Год назад +7

      Marasi Colms in the Alloy of Law and the other books is a much better example, it’s actually done well there

  • @gliscorpropagandaaccount1764
    @gliscorpropagandaaccount1764 Год назад +244

    As a person with minor synesthesia, I do not think synesthesia does that

    • @Pharm2be
      @Pharm2be Год назад +31

      I also have synesthesia and (for me) it’s literally just numbers have shapes 😂

    • @screamingbean7509
      @screamingbean7509 Год назад +23

      As a person who also has synesthesia, that’s not how it works💀

    • @ms.moronic9165
      @ms.moronic9165 Год назад +1

      @@Pharm2be Of course numbers have shapes. That's how you know which number they are.

    • @snicketylemony
      @snicketylemony Год назад +8

      @@ms.moronic9165 I think they mean that the synesthesia affects numbers and shapes vs affecting emotions like the book says

    • @chandra_creator
      @chandra_creator Год назад +5

      @@snicketylemony but there's different types of synesthesia

  • @sophialane4507
    @sophialane4507 Год назад +163

    The ending of this book really got on my nerves. Scarlett went through so much trauma just for none of it to be real and everyone to pretend its all good? Also Julian still wanting to be with her even though he was literally faking his personality the whole time was weird af to me. Very disappointing book.

    • @JaneDoe_123
      @JaneDoe_123 Год назад +40

      THIS! That ending annoyed me so much, poor Scarlett was just dragged around, manipulated, lied to, and gaslit; just to have to prove her love for her sister. AGAIN!
      ISN'T RUNNING AROUND LIKE A CHICKEN WITH HER HEAD CUT OFF ENOUGH?? Her sister would've gotten an uppercut from me, fr.
      "Everything is a game" everything is a damn lie, more like it.
      Like, I get that in Legend's twisted mind lying=fun=game. BUT! WE THE READERS ARE SUPPOSED TO LIKE THE DAMN MONSTER??? NO!!
      I can say in defense of this book tho, it was very easy to read when I was in a reading slump.

    • @sophialane4507
      @sophialane4507 Год назад +11

      @@JaneDoe_123 Yeah omg I also had read it when I was in a reading slump and it took me very little time to finish it aha. But yeah I did NOT like Tella or Legend or any of the characters really besides Scarlett a little bit.

    • @JaneDoe_123
      @JaneDoe_123 Год назад +15

      @@sophialane4507 yeah, naíve as she was, she was sheltered and had been beaten into following very strict behaviours, it didn't take me out of it. But it's like every character, instead of helping her, took advantage of that.
      Woo! Reading slump buddies! I've noticed that YA books and some murder misteries tend to do that for me, maybe because they're my Comfort zone books, since they're what I read the most growing up.

    • @user-zx7gy1iz3x
      @user-zx7gy1iz3x Год назад +18

      not to mention julian + legend potentially being old enough to have met their grandmother when she was scarlett's age??? and i'm pretty sure in that fever dream death part it shows legend WITH their grandmother, and considering that he gets with donatella...no.
      and the lazy "we don't age on the island" to rectify the otherwise predatory age gap was so weird imo, especially since the magic system was never explained

    • @frankie9373
      @frankie9373 6 месяцев назад +3

      I t feels like the author watched the movie 'the game' where a buisness man gets a real life game experience gifted to him by his brother and things go to shit and you never know if its real or not until the end. great movie, but the whole point of it was that the guy was a shitty human being and the game was to remind him of what matters in life and to humble him.
      there was a goal behind that.
      to me this seems like the author watched the movie, thought it was a clever concept, and threw a girl into it with no purpose to it and no reason that warrants it.

  • @marah.7528
    @marah.7528 Год назад +154

    The most frustrating thing to me is that ALL of the world-building, “true plot”, anything like that, is in the MIDDLE of book two! In terms of pacing a trilogy, this has got to be one of the most confusing to me. Caraval ends up feeling like a first draft of a decent (?) duology of legendary and finale.

  • @the_goddess_1859
    @the_goddess_1859 Год назад +438

    I'll play devils advocate for a second in terms of her flowery descriptive methods.
    She honestly sounds like she may have synesthesia. I have it, and the way she tries to describe interactions with the senses makes utter sense to me, because stars ARE sharp, and colors CAN have a sound or feel.
    I hope that makes sense

    • @linkshoro
      @linkshoro Год назад +128

      unfortunately she doesn't even have synesthesia, apparently it's some magical power she randomly has and somehow fully unlocks later on

    • @erich6073
      @erich6073 Год назад +56

      I think if any other aspect of the book displayed an ounce of intention, I'd give Garber a pass on the prose and take it on faith that it's there for a reason and that it means something. But the entire novel is just pretty frosting over a turd cake.

    • @SGRmoss
      @SGRmoss Год назад +28

      @@linkshoro Exactly. Her powers are never fully explained. I was so confused about that.

    • @ababilashari9970
      @ababilashari9970 Год назад

      OR maybe write for most people who doesnt have synesthesia (or make it part of the story, i.e. make it make sense)@@johnwaggner9143

    • @Velkhana22
      @Velkhana22 9 месяцев назад +6

      @@linkshoro Sorry for the random reply to a 10-month-old comment, but I think goddess up there was referring to the author having synesthesia IRL and that being why she describes things the way she does in the book. Like, she's trying to describe to the reader how those things look and feel from the perspective of someone who does, and the MC having magic powers is the handwavey reason she uses in the story for her as the writer to be able to put those real life experiences to paper.
      Not excusing the remainder of the book, of course, just that one particular point :)

  • @idk-YS
    @idk-YS Год назад +159

    The entire of the first book DID NOT make sense. Like why couldn’t they just simply fake their deaths and leave?? Why did Tella put her sister through the trauma💀

    • @Lalaland666-k3x
      @Lalaland666-k3x 19 дней назад +3

      It was the making it look like Scarlet was doing stuff with Julian for me💀

  • @ashleycoleman2251
    @ashleycoleman2251 Год назад +51

    “Slapped together with spit, a prayer, and a dry glue stick.”
    😂

  • @muskanc6521
    @muskanc6521 Год назад +69

    Caraval, Lightlark and Handbook for mortals feel like the three authors at some point sat down together and came up with this idea and other random things to throw in and came up with these books

  • @frontporchcake7592
    @frontporchcake7592 Год назад +77

    Turning your kid being sad they can’t play Mario at the moment into an opportunity to roast this book was too good

  • @zainabreads4382
    @zainabreads4382 Год назад +30

    trilogy spoilers! idk if this is revealed in the first book but legend was deeply in love with tella's grandma and then decades later falls for the grandma's granddaughter (one of the sisters). such a weird plot twist

    • @zainabreads4382
      @zainabreads4382 Год назад +3

      @@klane2004 lol yes. i just remember reading that plot twist in i think the first book (?) but i was oddly umcomfortable with tht. sure legend is immortal so he doesnt technically "age" but dating a girl then 70 years later, dating the same girl's grand-daughter? it aint right lol

  • @bekichan91
    @bekichan91 Год назад +24

    100% agree that a book being YA is not an excuse for poor quality work. It says a lot that folks are willing to make excuses if those affected are predominantly teens and women.
    As for this book specifically, it seems like the author panted the first draft, then didn't actually fix any of the gaping plot holes. I've read a number of authors that write without a plan - but they do several drafts and fix up the mess of the first draft. It's wild to me that this was trad published - the amount of hands it would've gone through, and it's STILL like this??

  • @akrasiels4001
    @akrasiels4001 Год назад +48

    The exchange with your son and his tiny voice lightened my mood at work. 😊 So sweet.
    I also appreciate this review re-do! Great work as always!

  • @PirateGoblin42
    @PirateGoblin42 Год назад +70

    From the blurb I was kind of expecting a sort of fairy type thing where the sister is whisked away by a fairy circus and the lead only has a few days to find her before she becomes a part of the circus forever (sort of a labyrinth kind of thing) where we get chapters from the pov of both sisters; one trying to hunt down the circus, the other experiening it's wonders/terrors.
    The actual plot is just odd, and not in a creative or fun way.
    Its a shame as I love stories about carnivals and circuses. Oh well, guess I'll have to stick with the Night Circus.

    • @realmcarthy
      @realmcarthy Год назад +5

      I love nightmare circuses and carnival stories too!!!!!!

    • @iriswinnow
      @iriswinnow 6 месяцев назад +2

      that is such a gorgeous plot for a book, you are so creative and i can truly feel your love for stories with carnival themes 🥹 i would love to read or write something with this plot, infinitely better than whatever caraval was 😵‍💫 the dual pov idea is brilliant!

    • @UrMentalHealth
      @UrMentalHealth 4 месяца назад +1

      Honestly I also thought thia will be like this. But instead of becoming part of the circous forever, she disapears with it.

  • @fynnsternis6432
    @fynnsternis6432 Год назад +12

    i read caraval years ago and was so upset about the ending. i tried explaining it to my sister but i genuinely couldn't cause i just couldn't recall which factoids actually turned out to be true (none, it turns out) and which got a twist, and what the final twist was. Completely convoluted.

  • @tracyjohnson4478
    @tracyjohnson4478 Год назад +83

    I forgot what a fever dream this entire series was as you were summarizing everything. Strangely, I liked Donatella more than Scarlet simply because at least Donatella was a more active participant (via the second book) while Scarlet is being a wet blanket the entire trilogy. Donatella was annoying as hell but at least she didn't make me want to flip tables like her sister.

  • @melleroy7341
    @melleroy7341 Год назад +173

    I read this book in 2016 right when it came out, I was a teen with poor mental health and tbh this book just felt like a fun, fluffy Wonderland type story. It probably wasn't a masterpiece tbh, and I'm never gonna read it again, but I genuinely refuse to believe it was worse than LIGHTLARK of all things. And even if it was just as bad, you'd think we would have moved on to better things since 2016. Lol I guess I'm just willing to be more generous for the sake of nostalgia, but still, to me Caraval was just an age-appropriate, kinda silly but enjoyable YA book

    • @emuu6232
      @emuu6232 Год назад +21

      same here! i read it when i was sad as a teen and it’s silliness and lightheartedness made it a fun read for 15 year old me to be honest. i wouldn’t read it again or continue the series and sure there are some problems but it was something that entertained me in a bad time so i cant hate it

    • @ahoy_m8y
      @ahoy_m8y Год назад +3

      I'm right there with you both, 14-16 (somewhere in there) me didnt get heavily emotionally invested in the characters and the horror fan in me was like "ooh twisted magic and deception?"

    • @kiwigirl3988
      @kiwigirl3988 Год назад +4

      Yeah, I read it in eight grade and while it wasn’t a masterpiece it was entertaining and I loved it at the time.

    • @bawkah8378
      @bawkah8378 10 месяцев назад +5

      You can still have nostalgic appreciation for a book and also think it was a terrible story. These things are separate. As someone who is part of the Twilight generation, while I have nostalgia for those books and fondness for the memories of reading those books with friends, I can fully admit now as an adult that it was a big pile of dung.

    • @mochaleeseo
      @mochaleeseo 2 месяца назад +1

      good for you, but as she said “I don’t have to be nice to paper and ink” I don’t understand this whole “it wasn’t a masterpiece but it’s not supposed be!1!” Thing, as if masterpieces are the only type of literature that have to be decent.

  • @EenayaMajed
    @EenayaMajed Год назад +53

    when i first read this book i thought scarlett’s synesthesia was just her being cringe and describing her emotions like a 14 year old fanfic author would but no (slight finale spoilers if you care) it’s actually her superpower and it becomes plot relevant i can’t believe stephanie got away with this 💀

    • @sofiastj
      @sofiastj Год назад +5

      I read the last book a month ago and already cannot remember this plot point.

  • @smallcece
    @smallcece Год назад +43

    aaaa i remember when i commented on your review of caraval, i think it was the first time i left a comment because i felt like i was finally not alone in my dislike of this book lmao the infinite cop-outs and the fact that there are no consequences to anyone's actions were so deeply unsatisfying and the amount of gaslighting scarlet goes through by literally any person important in her life are so problematic-- i remember feeling flabbergasted by the fact that the author decided to respond to her clearly traumatized protagonist, that just saw two people important to her (no matter how instalove julian was) die with her not being able to do anything about it with just a silly afterparty scene. like WHAT. i vaguely remember liking the shapeshifting dress and i think that's the only thing that left a good impression on me of this whole book jajajaj

  • @va1kyrieshade979
    @va1kyrieshade979 Год назад +20

    I'm convinced reading Stephanie Garber is my version of binge drinking: instead of a bottle I come back to myself clutching one of her books and trying to remember what actually happened in that fever-dream of "twists" and ret-cons only to do it again when the next book comes out.
    Altho I would be lying if I didn't say 99.9% of why I keep reading is really just my moody-ass being in love with Jacks.

  • @mystery1317
    @mystery1317 Год назад +7

    The "wHYY??"/"I don't know. I would love the answer to that too, son." sent me over the edgeee 🤣

  • @mollylikesspace
    @mollylikesspace Год назад +80

    This is just 'gaslighting' the YA novel😭

  • @thefriesofLockeLamora
    @thefriesofLockeLamora Год назад +27

    Someone once suggested that I would love this because The Night Circus is my favourite book of all time. Then I read the reviews by people who didn't have Cassie, tjr, sjm or coho in their favourites list and I'm glad I avoided it.

    • @emmyrose233
      @emmyrose233 Год назад +5

      Yeahhh I love a lot of Cassandra Clare books but I automatically distrust anyone who acts like she's the best writer ever

  • @thelexicon7294
    @thelexicon7294 Год назад +29

    I always felt that there was something a bit poetic about how much work was put into Caraval's packaging compared to how little work was put into the contents.
    I don't know who remembers this, but Caraval had such a stranglehold on... basically half the book world in the months PRIOR to its release. It was hyped to high heaven. It was Macmillan's biggest effort to push a book in years. It was in every subscription box for the month of its release. The hardcover has four different (beautiful) designs and we were all talking about which one we would get. It was likened to The Night Circus.
    And then it came out. If half the time put into its physical development and marketing had instead been put into the contents, we might actually have a forgettable but decent enough book. Instead we have... Caraval.

  • @maryezell4474
    @maryezell4474 Год назад +18

    THIS IS SO GRATIFYING OML. This book is so beloved online and I read the entire series and was left absolutely baffled. The entire reading experience was like waiting for a beat to drop that I knew was never going to. I read the entire series (don't ask) and it just keep getting worse and worse.

  • @Wanderness
    @Wanderness Год назад +29

    FINALLY!!! Ive felt so alone for YEARS in my hatred of Caraval, ive been wondering what you would think of it (totally missed your older video). Best day ever 🥳

  • @yusahana6323
    @yusahana6323 Год назад +18

    "Dante is dead, or was dead." Who knew that even Caraval had Dante Must Die mode
    Edit: "Dante's alive" oh thank god we need that crazy white haired half demon mf running amok to make this book interesting

  • @muriel6843
    @muriel6843 Год назад +72

    “Why didn’t Tella just not?” 😂
    The amount of times I’ve thought that while reading books with annoying characters is astounding.

  • @jujudisasters
    @jujudisasters Год назад +14

    Listening to you explain this book felt like hearing about someone's skit they wrote in middle school drama class where they're super into using plot twists as a storytelling device but like, from clearly a middle schooler. Glad I never read this before wow what a wild nothing plot

  • @alison4dice
    @alison4dice Год назад +10

    Love your video title, beautiful makeup, and especially the parenting interlude. BTW, 9am definitely tastes like "how many hours until I can go home????" ;)

  • @bats550
    @bats550 Год назад +18

    Just a note on the comment on scents and flavors: If death and mold would be anything, I feel like it would be cloyingly sweet. Also, the circus clip you kept playing is now stuck on repeat in my head.

  • @camillieeb
    @camillieeb 11 месяцев назад +2

    This is so interesting, I read all three of the original books and I think they are beautifully written and great stories. Seven years after reading the first one I can still conjure up the description of the various castles, the dresses etc. But clearly, a lot of people have the complete opposite feeling. It really goes to show different strokes for different folks. Thanks for all your videos, I especially enjoy the "Authors Behaving Badly" series.

  • @Onetruepossum
    @Onetruepossum Год назад +13

    "It's a ROLE PLAYING game! What role am i playing? The victim??"

  • @gem9535
    @gem9535 Год назад +10

    Rachel went from "Your feelings are valid

  • @tjp4059
    @tjp4059 Год назад +9

    Every time you say Julian, I see mort saying "king juuuuliaaaaaan"

  • @blueranyk4198
    @blueranyk4198 Год назад +13

    i'm so glad someone else agrees! fun fact, i read the whole trilogy bc i read the first book and then sunk cost fallacy convinced me to finish them out of spite. in the second book, julian undergoes a ridiculous character assassination and transforms into a completely different (and very loathsome) person, and the plot of the third book is 100% disconnected from anything that happens in the first two books. as in, the third book just invents a ton of concepts out of nowhere that have zero precedent in the previous books. truly stunning stuff

  • @wangocopperboom
    @wangocopperboom Год назад +13

    I feel so validated. I was recommended this by so many people based on the fact I enjoyed The Night Circus. But for me, Caraval reads like watching a 2 season CW drama-like it looks fun and interesting from the previews, but then you start watching it and kind of lose interest after the holiday hiatus.

    • @clpearson991
      @clpearson991 Год назад +6

      This book sounds more insane than Riverdale

    • @lurdesoliveira
      @lurdesoliveira Год назад +2

      Omg! It's totally like CW!! Such a good comparison!

    • @wangocopperboom
      @wangocopperboom Год назад +3

      @@clpearson991 Riverdale is going on six seasons, so that tracks! Caraval is so bad it would have been cancelled long before that.

  • @szfo6090
    @szfo6090 Год назад +15

    I love how yesterday i was watching shorts and this book was appearing constantly in "books to read" "best fantasy books" etc.🤣

  • @kiefer666
    @kiefer666 Год назад +21

    The entire time I was reading this book all immersion was shattered the moment I couldn't stop picturing Legend as NiGHTS from nights into dreams

  • @howdoichangename8773
    @howdoichangename8773 7 месяцев назад +5

    Caraval tripped and fell on its face so that tma's Nikola Orsinov could dance

  • @Nixx0912
    @Nixx0912 Год назад +7

    Acctualy someone recomended this series to me when I was ranting about YA promoting toxic relationships, or something around those lines. Anyway I usually run in the opposite direction when someone is branding any YA novel at me specially involving romance.

  • @gigitastic90
    @gigitastic90 Год назад +20

    Oh god its been like 3 or 4 years since I read this book thru my library's ebook program and I'm still not over how bad it is. It haunts me.

  • @TheGeekyandproud
    @TheGeekyandproud Год назад +4

    i genuinely do not understand how books like this get published and then somehow get POPULAR?? like holy shit

  • @_laurenolo_
    @_laurenolo_ Год назад +40

    I absolutely think so many of these criticisms were valid and I even agree with a lot of them, but I just CANNOT agree that it's worse than Lightlark. I feel like Krimson Rogue's (and everyone's honestly) breakdown of Lightlark is enough to show what a disaster that TRULY was and honestly it makes Caraval look like a minor offense in comparison imo

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  Год назад +13

      I still havent watched KR's video! It's so long

    • @_laurenolo_
      @_laurenolo_ Год назад +16

      @Reads with Rachel I literally have it in my playlist a second time because it was so entertaining, it's my new favourite movie 💀🥲

    • @jaydenv8557
      @jaydenv8557 Год назад +5

      I know I’ve watched a bunch if krimsonrogues videos but I wasn’t sure if I’d watched that one yet or not, went and checked and yeah apparently I’ve watched the 7 and a half hour video about a book I had never even heard of lmao

    • @vivivalley
      @vivivalley 7 месяцев назад

      @@_laurenolo_ its like three movies 😭

  • @CorwynsWorld
    @CorwynsWorld Год назад +8

    I am living for the cutaways to the circus

  • @SilverEars20
    @SilverEars20 Год назад +4

    I’m happy to see this remake. You have brought this book up so many times 😂.

  • @EmileeAshe
    @EmileeAshe Год назад +6

    "I'm just glad you read" is probably one of if not the best thing I've ever heard a reviewer say. No matter if you hate something that someone loves, or you love something everyone else seems to hate, it's good that you read. Keep reading.

  • @Meow-Meow501
    @Meow-Meow501 Год назад +7

    Rachel, you look good in glasses! Look at you getting that bag with sponsorships! You go girl.

  • @rchlface
    @rchlface Год назад +7

    "I am salt like Lots Wife" I want you to know my girlfriend says this on a daily basis. We regularly call her a pillar of salt... and she gets.... well salty, that no one ever gets the reference. So thank you, you made her day!

  • @PokeHedgie2000
    @PokeHedgie2000 Год назад +1

    The shiny blue with the black lipstick are a really nice contrast! And with the glasses it ties the look together!

  • @SevenReads007
    @SevenReads007 Год назад +10

    As someone who ACTUALLY has synesthesia… it doesn’t work like that. Describing things as a sense they are not is just poor communication, when I describe my way of seeing the world it’s not like that at all. People’s voices have color and that color correlates to how they make me feel, songs do that too. I don’t hear a kitten getting its claws, that’s just nonsense.

  • @Kaiheart
    @Kaiheart Год назад +38

    See, I feel like a devils advocate, because I actually liked Caraval the two times I read it. 😅 It's such a nonsense book in a Wonderland kinda way with the whole "stage play" aspect, I just lost myself in it and read it all in one sitting. The writing is simple and I could easily picture the world as the story was happening, and some of the side characters were fun.
    In honesty though, I never read the sequels. The first book finished in a way that I wasn't curious about what happens next, so maybe it goes downhill afterwards. Also to be fair, I read Caraval while in the middle of my massive depressive episode, so anything that activated serotonin was welcome. lol
    I'm glad to see other people's opinions and I kinda want to reread the book and finish the trilogy now, just to find out why so many people have issues with it.

  • @F66x
    @F66x Год назад +8

    Midnight might have a flavor in the way a glass of water hits different at 3am.

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  Год назад +5

      This sounds like a Taylor swift lyric

    • @F66x
      @F66x Год назад +5

      @@ReadswithRachel Taylor if you're seeing this, let's workshop something.😂

  • @Thatdumbgremlin
    @Thatdumbgremlin Год назад +8

    “Remember, it’s all a lie.”

  • @Naeruve
    @Naeruve Год назад +2

    Your makeup is ALWAYS incredible 💙🩵

  • @globblin1734
    @globblin1734 6 месяцев назад +3

    The parenting interlude was so precious

  • @JulianGreystoke
    @JulianGreystoke Год назад +17

    Girl you need to stop dropping new vids while I'm trying to watch other videos because you know I'm gonna come running right over here.

  • @ribbonquest
    @ribbonquest Год назад +11

    "Fever dream" is an overused description but in this case, I think this book really is a fever dream.

  • @melissamoments
    @melissamoments Год назад +3

    It's slapped together with spit, a prayer and a dry gluestick - this is genius and I shall be using in work when things do not make sense 😂

  • @soph4381
    @soph4381 Год назад +5

    Having never read the book, hearing the nickname Tella made me constantly think of the magician from the duo pen & teller, and that image is wild to me.

  • @cantduckinbelieveit7426
    @cantduckinbelieveit7426 Год назад +17

    “IS IT POOP?!”
    “I would say so.”
    😂💀😂💀😂🤣🤣🤣

  • @oftheearthbutfromthestars
    @oftheearthbutfromthestars Год назад +7

    god I hated this series, for many many reasons. but most of all, he dated her grandmother. HER GRANDMOTHER. I hate and angry skimmed it so I could read OUABH, which may not stand anywhere near other YA but was SO MUCH BETTER than caraval.

  • @Puellaphantasia
    @Puellaphantasia Год назад +5

    The youtube algorithm brought me here and I have never spite clicked so fast to hear all the salt.
    I have *never* given up on a book, even when I knew I wasn't enjoying it but my god this came so close. I was so bored, so annoyed, so *angry* everytime I though *oh, its finally getting good* the "plot" changed.
    It took me a couple of weeks to get through this books because of how much fun I was not having, and I once devoured a 600+ page book in 3 days. I finished it and immediately put it in one of those little neighborhood libraries hoping someone would take it before my hate grew to such lengths that I decided I needed money for it (I got it with a gift card so I spent no actual money on it for which I am glad). To this day I critisize it to people for the amount of lying and manipulation that went on *by the characters were supposed to be rooting for*.
    And to top it off?
    This was literally one of the least magical books I have *ever* read. I'm a very visual reader, I can't read a book without vividly picturing what's happening like a movie or or tv show in my head, and the only way I can describe this book was like all the magic was happening off screen. I turned to my sister at one point, looked her dead in the eye and made her swear to me that if I was ever kidnapped at a magical festival but she was repeatedly told I was fine it was all part of the game, that she'd stop and enjoy herself.
    That was the final nail in the coffin. Scarlet wanted to see this show her entire life because of its magic and wonder, but when she finally got there she was too busy pretending she gave a crap about her sister to stop and explore any of it. There was never a moment where I got immersed in this world because Scarlett never got immersed in it. They took her dearest childhood dream and turned it into a nightmare where she never enjoyed a single moment and somehow expected *me* to find wonder in it.
    Fuck this book, if I was Scarlett I would've been pissed, *especially at Tella and Julian*

  • @Rebekah_withanH
    @Rebekah_withanH Год назад +8

    I feel like this entire book's aesthetic is "wasn't The Night Circus good? What if we made that, but without the good parts?"
    (And no, I'm not claiming plagiarism, I'm just making a funny)

  • @chasingdaze
    @chasingdaze Год назад +2

    lmao "what does midnight taste like? what does NINE AM taste like? does 6:45 have a particular flavor??"

  • @Emily-dq7sk
    @Emily-dq7sk Год назад +9

    I have never felt so validated in my opinion of something. I read this within the week it was released because all of youtube was talking about it. I have honestly thought for the last how ever many years that I 1. read some alternate universe copy and or 2. lost my mind while reading it. The whole book felt like chapters from ten different books with the same three characters all put together.

  • @eyeballsoup7310
    @eyeballsoup7310 Год назад +4

    6:32 is this whole book secretly just five nights at Freddy’s sister location fanfiction /j

  • @nameless7047
    @nameless7047 Год назад +9

    wow. the statement on the thumbnail is pretty heavy. i’m so ready to see why 💀

  • @heyimsasa
    @heyimsasa Год назад +8

    i gave this book a 1-star a couple of years ago and i briefly considered trying it again because garber blurbed one of my favorite books ever (daughter of the moon goddess) and it turns out i was right in giving it a 1-star cuz you reminded me of almost everything i hated about it 😂

  • @little_fox_tells_tales
    @little_fox_tells_tales Год назад +4

    “I am salt… like Lot’s wife.” 💀💀💀

  • @abitsourrrrsorry4885
    @abitsourrrrsorry4885 Год назад +4

    Everytime I hear Donatella, I keep imagine that one Donatella VERSACE 💜 meme lmaao

  • @amberdawn868
    @amberdawn868 Год назад +4

    Now I just need an edit of the cover that says "Everything is a Lie" in the same font as the title in place of the title XD

  • @scroogemcduckrich9705
    @scroogemcduckrich9705 Год назад +2

    Dadada Circus cracks me up 😂😂😂😂

  • @KayMarieClair
    @KayMarieClair Год назад +2

    I remember watching your review 4 years ago after I had read the book and was searching desperately for others who were just as disappointed. Although the original points you made were fine, this was the impassioned review I was hoping for! Thank you forever.

  • @rhi393
    @rhi393 Год назад +15

    I enjoyed Caraval, but like I don’t think it was good if that makes sense. Like it was a fun simple ya that I needed at the time but I wouldn’t really recommend it. This book for me was very much, no thoughts just vibes and literally this book is only enjoyable if you literally don’t think about it 😂

    • @ReadswithRachel
      @ReadswithRachel  Год назад +16

      That’s me with the Pretty Little Liars tv show. I had fun but is it good? Nah

    • @rhi393
      @rhi393 Год назад +2

      Very much just here for the vibes. I also really love PLL but my god it’s such trash 😂😂

    • @rhi393
      @rhi393 Год назад +2

      I would also like to add, until watching this I had not clicked that Scarlett had synthesia(?) I thought it was just the writing 😂

    • @LaineMann
      @LaineMann Год назад

      @@ReadswithRachel it STARTED good. But the more it went on the blander it got and the stupider the characters became.

  • @karoliinalehtinen6701
    @karoliinalehtinen6701 Год назад +5

    I think the divided opinions on this are so fascinating. Like I have never read this book yet I have heard several different booktubers I respect and enjoy talk about it. First time I heard about it someone totally hated it. Then someone else talked about it and absolutely loved it. Both of them talked about it in such different ways I was almost convinced they were talking about two different books. As I was watching your review I honestly wasn't still 100% sure if they were the same books (I'm now). But yeah I don't think I've seen a book divide opinions quite this much.

    • @ahoy_m8y
      @ahoy_m8y Год назад +6

      It's a "have to read it to know how to feel" kind of book. It also depends on what angle you're approaching it from. I loved it for the twisted magic, deception, lies, and confusion. If you're in it for a straightforward plot, you're not gonna get that from a book about questioning your reality

  • @mushr00w9
    @mushr00w9 Год назад +6

    This is actually one of my favorite bookseries! Although I prefer legendary & finale. It's insane how people view books differently

  • @SemiIocon
    @SemiIocon Год назад +4

    I think it's cool that you went back to do this review now that you've come more into your own as a reviewer. I love seeing how content creators are developing their skills.

  • @gabrielavillaboim9701
    @gabrielavillaboim9701 Год назад +6

    I loved this book and just finished ballad of never after but im still watching 💀

  • @passionproject568
    @passionproject568 7 месяцев назад +3

    Despite what people may say or feel about these bad book reviews, it is actually extremely helpful.
    People in general don't know that a book to read, especially for fun is a luxury in some parts of the world. Especially me who lives in a remote place somewhere in Africa. Where there are no book stores and no library. I have to travel to a larger city 12 hours away. Its important not to spend so much money on a poorly written book because the hurt and disappointment is just extra. Because when I buy a book it's really a treat.
    So thank you ❤