Although it is only March, this is my favourite book of the year so far. 5 stars. 
 This took me out of reading casually. I read it following a very long book and this was a burst of colour I needed. The story follows Scarlett and Tella on their escape from the abusive hands of their father to the open and somewhat sinister arms of Caraval. Before entering Caraval it is clear the sisters look after each other a great deal to protect one another from their father. Soo when Tella goes missing Scarlett is horrified. Yet from Scarlett entering Caraval with Julian I was absolutely hooked. As I've mentioned in previous reviews I love fantasy books that aren't the usual swords and dragons but a topsy turvy quirky of a regular world. Caraval provided this to no end. It was amazing, I wanted to be there. The world building of Caraval was beautiful, to the point I wanted to be there greatly. A favourite part of Caraval for me was when the facade fell away. When it was clear people were staff and they had to break character to Scarlett or when they went into the underbelly of the grounds and everything was not as it is seemed x1000. There is a slow burning romance that had me slightly obsessed and the end of the book didn't help that. There are more to the characters that Scarlett meets and these have not all been given to the reader in book one...I can't wait for book two.A large part of this book in essence is based in rumours and deception. Who is Legend? What really is his history and what is Julian's links to Caraval? I need those questions answered. To flesh out the world of Caraval more. It is so difficult to explain how much I enjoyed this book. The environment, the foods, the drinks, the appearance of the characters, the hints, clues and clothing. It had it all, minus a dragon.The prose is very elaborate and dreamy which is just what I wanted for a book so fantastical. Although I did stop when the sentence "Tella's expression fell, like a doll Scarlett had dropped" came up...what does that mean?! My only criticism was the lack of description for the world outside of Caraval. Tella and Scarlett seemed to come from some random island and the surrounding armies and kingdoms were not talked about at all. There appeared to be a true gap that could have been expanded on, maybe in the next book...that just wasn't touched in book 1. 
 I am excited for book 2 and wish I had it now. Till then, I may give Caraval a re-read!