Carnival Fantástico by Angela Montoya
Blurb:
An unputdownable romantasy following a young woman posing as fortune-teller at a magical traveling carnival, where the handsome boy who once broke her heart resurfaces and warns her that the carnival is more sinister than it appears.
Welcome to the Carnival Fantástico, a spectacle of magic and mischief, and the perfect haven for a runaway. Using her tricks and razor-sharp wit, Esmeralda becomes the carnival's resident fortune-teller, aiming for the lead role in the Big Top Show. Success would mean freedom from her former employer, the commander of the King’s army.
Ignacio has defected from the army and is on the hunt for evidence of his father’s corruption. But the last thing he expects to find on his father’s trail of lies is the only girl he's ever loved, spinning false fortunes at a traveling carnival.
Perhaps fortune has thrown them together for a reason. They strike a deal: she’ll help him expose his father if he helps her secure the main act. But old feelings don’t die easily, and the commander’s secret isn’t the only thing they'll need to confront.
Review:
Carnival Fantástico is a spectacle of magic and mischief, a haven for those who have nowhere else to go. It’s also the home of Esmeralda, who’s the carnival’s infamous and notorious fortune teller; reliant on tricks and wit to keep her cons going. She’s determined to become the lead role in the upcoming Big Top Show, but the position requires becoming better at her profession than she already is. Becoming the lead role would result in freedom and reprieve from her previous employer, who’s also the cruel commander of the army of the king who rules the land where Carnival Fantástico resides.
Ignacio has defected from the army and is determined to bring down his father using evidence of his corruption and cruel deeds. He never predicts that he will follow his father’s deceptions and crimes to a girl he’s loved unlike any others, a girl who creates false fortunes in a renowned carnival caravan.
Drawn together by their goals to become the lead role in the Big Top and their determination to bring down the king, they strike a deal to work together: Esmeralda will aid him in exposing the king as the cretin he is, and Ignacio will help her secure the act she longs to acquire. Unfortunately, their old romance is far from dead, and their lingering feelings threaten to convolute their mission.
I love myself an excellent carnival-based fantasy story, and Carnival Fantástico hits all the best spots for those types of narratives. Brimming with deep characterization, an intriguing premise, and faustian bargains that threaten to break apart just as easily as they threaten to give the characters what they want, this is the type of book readers will pick up and be unable to put down.
It’s an engaging and immersive narrative that feels like magic made manifest. The setting is beautiful and entrancing, and reminds me strongly of the most famous carnival and festival-themed narratives in the fiction literary sphere.
Carnival Fantástico is Caraval by Stephanie Garber meets Harley In The Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman. It’s un-put-downable, and has that sense of mystique and intrigue that makes readers fall in love with fantasy narratives akin to this one. It’s a masterclass of building tension in a unique and interesting world, with characters so authentic and vividly written that they feel like friends and family.
I absolutely loved Carnival Fantástico, as well as the tension that brews stronger and stronger between Ignacio and Esmeralda throughout the narrative. Not only does their existing and present relationship push the narrative forward, but their own personal lies and deceptions bring a deliciously deceptive vibe to an already amazing story.
My favorite part of the book overall has to be the carnival aesthetic. I’ve only been to the carnival in real life once, but it’s one of those things that has stuck with me throughout my life. This story is much the same. Steeped in tension, high stakes, and a romance worth giving up everything for, it’s a novel that takes a unique spin on the carnival aesthetic, where the characters are often more dangerous than the setting itself.
Well-written and crafted with excellent prose that drips with literary prowess, this is a book I will be thinking about and loving for quite some time!
