“Caraval” by Stephanie Garber

I didn’t like it. I went into this one with HIGH expectations because I was told that it’s like Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, which I read at the beginning of 2016 and loved. With that in mind, I started Caraval expecting an engaging story that would keep me at the edge of my seat, making me fall in love with its characters and prose. Unfortunately, that’s not what I got.

Goodreads summary:

Welcome, welcome to Caraval―Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved 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 far-away, 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.

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“The Sea of Monsters” and “The Titan’s Curse” by Rick Riordan

After reading The Lightning Thief by audio book, I said I wouldn’t continue to reread the series in that form because I hate how it’s narrated, but I went back on my word. So, did I like it this time? No.

Quick summary:

The Sea of Monsters and The Titan’s Curse are the second and third books in Rick Riordan’s middle-grade fantasy, adventure series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

In The Sea of Monsters, our protagonist Percy has to rescue his best friend Grover, a satyr, when he goes missing. Percy decides to search for him in the Sea of Monsters, a.k.a the Bermuda Triangle, with his companions, Annabeth, a friend he made in the last book, and his cyclops brother, Tyson. Meanwhile, Luke and his boat of baddies are still up to no good in the name of Kronus.

The Titan’s Curse picks up with Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia, who popped out of a tree in the last book, on their way to check out some half-bloods Grover peeped at a military boarding school. With the help of the goddess Artemis and her band of hunters, Percy and his gang are able to rescue the half-bloods and get them safely to Camp Halfblood, but at the cost of Annabeth, who was lost in effort.