Reading Kingdom discussion

I think this is a really interesting book so far! I think it plays into the trope of weirdly seductive villain characters really well, and the twist at the end left me curious about how it’s all going to play out.

One of my main critiques of it though is that all of the characters are kinda jerks (I would use another word but rule 1). Scar is super judge-y straight from the start for no reason, Julien is manipulative, Tella is selfish, etc. I didn’t really like any of them as people.

Another minor issue I had is that Scar is obviously supposed to have synesthesia, but it only manifests as a dump of colors and adjectives when anything important happens. Adjectives in general are a bit overused in the writing, one case that seemed silly to me was a “watery canal.” Like, what else is it supposed to be?

I thought the descriptions from Scarlet's perspective were interesting, the way she compared sensations with things, such as saying it tasted like midnight. I can see how you would think it's gratuitous, though.

Also, I definitely agree with your feeling that the characters are jerks. I started getting really frustrated with all the bs-ing on the part of all the people in Caraval, like this is supposed to be fun? Even though I knew would never happen in this PG-13 sort of YA novel, I was really just waiting for Scarlet to use some choice insults against these manipulative people, especially Legend.

I never read Scarlet as judgy. I think she's just always on the defensive and protective side due to her bad experiences.

All in all, though this book was definitely frustrating, I think it says a lot that the story could get that emotional reaction from me! Looking forward to everyone's thoughts :)

I personally really like this book, and the series as whole, especially with the whole circus-y aspect. I am a sucker for anything carnivalesque XD I found Scarlett's synesthesia aspect pretty cool, although there are books that deal better with describing the condition. In this story, it added a little more depth to the character and was a fun way to describe emotions in my opinion. I enjoyed the descriptions in the book, and while this may be an unpopular opinion, I liked Scarlett and Julian's love story. I did find Tella to be a bit annoying and unfeeling toward her sister, and I thought that it was unlikely so many people would overlook a father's cruel treatment of his daughters (I know that the book appears to be set in a time period where people would generally not view this is a problem, but I'm going off the mindset that this is an entirely fictional world, with no racial/sexist ideas). That being said, I did love the world of Caraval, although I wish it came across as less of a wicked-seeming place. I agree with Molly when she says that the people in the game were kinda awful, but I also suppose that was part of the message I got that the game is supposed to change people, either in good or bad ways. I thought Scarlett was a pretty likeable character considering her situation. And to finish this, may I just say that I totally want a magical dress now haha. I look forward to other people's opinions! Thank you both for providing your thoughts! :3