Caraval
#3284.04 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Ongoing 2016–present Reading commitment Medium Stephanie Garber Last reviewed 2026-10-16
Overview
Caraval is Stephanie Garber's bestselling young-adult fantasy trilogy, following sisters Scarlett and Tella Dragna as they're swept into Caraval, a legendary, once-a-year performance game where nothing is what it seems. The sisters escape their cruel father's control when they receive a coveted invitation to the game, but on arrival Tella is kidnapped by Legend, Caraval's mysterious, unseen organizer, and becomes the very objective of that year's performance; Scarlett has only five nights to find her sister or face permanent, magical consequences, all while unable to tell what within the elaborately staged game is illusion and what is dangerously real. Published between 2016 and 2019, the trilogy is followed by a companion series, Once Upon a Broken Heart, set in the same universe. Caraval became a New York Times bestseller and has been praised for its immersive, dreamlike blend of romance, magic, and mystery.
Portal fantasy, Romantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Caraval Trilogy Stephanie Garber
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Caraval | 2016 | 1 | core | 3.97 (968,178 ratings) |
 | Legendary | 2018 | 2 | core | 4.09 (504,186 ratings) |
 | Finale | 2019 | 3 | core | 4.12 (424,918 ratings) |
The original Caraval trilogy.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
Once Upon a Broken Heart (Caraval universe) Stephanie Garber
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Once Upon a Broken Heart | 2021 | 4.06 (764,509 ratings) |
Set in the same Caraval universe per the author's own statement, with a new cast and settings, deliberately readable independently of the main trilogy.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Caraval? Caraval's Core Canon is 3 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Caraval? Publication order, starting with Caraval. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Caraval finished? Ongoing (2016–present).
- How much reading does Caraval take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,336 pages).
- How is Caraval ranked? #328 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,897,282 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #328?
Ranked #328 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.04 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 1.9M reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.15 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #327, The Wrath and the Dawn (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Ongoing · 1.9M ratings · Ranks #328 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Caraval (2016)
- Legendary (2018)
- Finale (2019)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Caraval and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Abarat Portal fantasy / Dark fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.14
- Shades of Magic Portal fantasy / Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.13
- The Powerless Trilogy Romantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.09
- The Iron Fey Urban fantasy / Portal fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.03
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.04 across 1,897,282 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Caraval (Stephanie Garber) accepted 2026-08-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Reader-rating platform − Caraval Tier 1
- The Nerd Daily -- Stephanie Garber author interview Tier 2
- https://caraval.fandom.com/wiki/Caraval
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is the original trilogy (Caraval, Legendary, Finale). Once Upon a Broken Heart, confirmed by the author as set in the same universe with a new cast, is Expanded Canon.