I definitely enjoyed this one way more than CARAVAL, and that’s mostly due to the fact that donatella is the narrator of this story… after the turmoil and tests that her sister scarlett went through, this time it’s donatella who must solve the mystery behind caraval, its mastermind legend, and how it ties together with her mother!

this series reads like a YA novel, and I fear I would have enjoyed it more when I was in high school during the hunger games / divergent era 😶 trying my best to get into the correct mindset though!!

the romance in this one was SO much better, this time focusing on donatella and dante (with a little side of jacks but let’s be real, we’d all pick dante) 👀 I loved the slow burn forbidden-esque romance!!! 

and even though donatella is a literal ✨ child ✨ she’s way more mature than her sister in realizing the stakes of the world and what must be done for the greater good

still not my favorite fantasy series ever - and I missed the fantasy world building in this one (where was the magic!!! where was the beauty!!!), but the cliffhanger ending had me sucked back in ready for the next installment!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: provence sparkling rosé