"Beasts of Carnaval" is an enchanting and haunting tale that masterfully blends the allure of a fantastical carnival with the harsh realities of history and identity. The vivid descriptions of Isla Bestia transport readers into a world filled with mesmerizing performances and tantalizing feasts, making it feel alive and immersive. Sofía is a compelling protagonist whose quest for her twin brother drives the narrative forward, and her journey of self-discovery amidst the backdrop of her ancestors’ culture is both poignant and powerful.

The author's ability to weave themes of colonization, heritage, and the struggle for freedom into the fabric of the story is commendable. The pacing is well-balanced, allowing readers to savor the lush details while keeping the tension high as Sofía uncovers the darker truths of the carnival. The only reason I’m giving it 4.5 stars instead of a full five is that some plot points felt slightly predictable, but the rich character development and emotional depth more than make up for it. Overall, "Beasts of Carnaval" is a spellbinding read that will linger in your mind long after the last page is turned.

*ARC Review* On the surface this is the magical tale of an island and a girl who journeys there in search of her lost brother. A place shrouded in mystery and tales of a Carnaval where every appetite or desire is fulfilled, a paradise so amazing few ever leave. However, this book is so much more than what you expect. It is a war cry, a lament to a history others tried to erase, a telling so deep and meaningful it will shake you. Tears were shed and I feel honored to have read it. 😭 💔 🌺

I am telling ya’ll Rosália Rodrigo has something.to.say. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
I FELT the author’s conviction while reading The Beasts of Carnaval. Everyone has been busy raving about Suzanne Collins saying “she only writes when she has something that needs to be said.” Well count Rosália amongst her ranks because that is exactly how I felt reading this novel. I came into this thinking it would be a fun spooky story filled with mythology I’ve never encountered. I walked away contemplating our society and deeply unsettled in the best way. 5 STARS!
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Key Notes:
🌺 Don’t let the cover fool you this book does not fall in the horror category.
🌺There are parts of the story that feel slightly slow. Hold on and push through, it is absolutely worth it in the end.

it's fever-dreamy and about the dark secrets of an island of supposed "paradise", as well as colonialism and the damage done to the caribbean. opening was great and ending was great, but in the middle it felt a little bit lost and loses both the "paradise island" and fever dream foci. 3.5 stars, rounded up (although I did have to weigh between rounding it up and down).

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: Wonderland-esque worlds, pragmatic MCs, found family, anti-colonialism

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 4/9 and will be posted to Instagram 5/17 and to my review blog 5/29.

Isla Bestia is a dream of an island. Upon arrival, guests don masks and enjoy the Carnaval party from sundown to sunrise. Their every need is met, with drink and elaborate food, only outcompeted by the ever increasing extravagance of the carnavaleros and the various set pieces aimed at inspiring awe. The setting was lush and gorgeous. I definitely felt like I was there with Sofía as she experienced the wonders of the island. I particularly liked the early experiences on the island, where we see things like a hedge maze full of trick mirrors and an underwater cavern that tells the story of the island and its people.

Despite the glamour and extravagance of the island, not all is as it seems, and there's a darker undercurrent threading beneath the party. It was interesting to see how Rodrigo played with the senses and sense of time while Sofía was at Carnaval. She starts out very clear-headed and determined to systematically investigate until she finds her brother. But as more time passes and her searches turn up empty, it becomes harder to cling to that pragmatism. As she turns to other avenues of investigating, she slowly becomes ingratiated into Carnaval, and it becomes less and less clear where the line is between reality and dream.

While I enjoyed a lot of the Carnaval sequences, at a certain point the dreaminess became a bit boring and I was ready for Sofía to once more focus on her goal of finding her brother. Luckily, there's really only a chapter or two of that dream-like state before Sofía gets herself back on track. That being said, I actually really enjoyed the tone shift at that point, and I feel like those two chapters of dreamy revelry really helped set it up to be impactful. As mentioned, Carnaval has a dark side, and with her probing questions, it's inevitable that Sofía runs aground of that darker side. Those scenes were eerie in a different way than Carnaval previously was, and I enjoyed the increasing fever-dream nature of what was going on.

Awakened to the truth of the island's revels, Sofía is finally able to peak behind the curtain and begin understanding the truth of what's really going on, including why she keeps hearing whispers of Taike'ri, the native tongue her mother spoke in whispers. There's actually a good amount in this book about language. The language of power, of categories. The language kept alive in the shadows of colonialism and slavery and struggle. The reignition of that language as a form of resistance. As a linguist specializing in language revitalization, I really enjoyed seeing that focus and particularly the celebration of revival.

But beyond language, Isla Bestia hides a sanctuary for the very people the Carnaval revelers look down upon and abuse. It serves as a place where they can reclaim their history and identities, and where resistance can range from the big (active) to the small (living happily). The second half of the story really focuses on healing, survival, and acts of resistance. We get to see a thriving community that's built something despite the odds, and Sofía gets to see another way to live. One that isn't so hampered by the Hisperians and their beliefs.

Sofía as a character has definitely been through a lot. She lost her brother five years prior to the opening of the book and Emancipation happened only two years before the beginning of the book. She still bears the physical and mental scars of what happened, though she's focused first and foremost on finding her twin before taking the time to process and recover. That being said, those experiences are bubbling under the surface and she regularly feels the pain of them.

I will say, I appreciate a pragmatic character, but she was driving me a little crazy with her insistence on disbelieving her eyes and ears. On the one hand I get it, if you're a scientist and live in a world sans magic, you're going to look for the seams. On the other hand, when you're shown magic again and again and again, at some point you have to accept what you're seeing.

Sofía's relationship with Adelina was particularly interesting. Sofía was 'gifted' to Adelina when they were seven, meant to be her handmaiden, though the two grew to be close like sisters. Adelina clearly loves Sofía and champions her writing, and while Sofía loves her back...she also cannot forget how they originally met and how they lived for nearly a decade. It's an interesting tension and it obviously had to come to a head at some point. I enjoyed their friendship, but I also think they ended up in a good place.

Beasts of Carnaval read like the most beautiful and haunting fever dream. For some readers, it may read as a beautiful historical fiction story. However, there are some of us who will feel this story deeper as it addresses some of our own ancestral stories or akin. The imagery was absolutely stunning. There were times I would have to go back and re read a section because I got so caught up in the world building. By the end of the book, I felt so many emotions and was left with tears in my eyes. Beautiful book.

I think this was a good book. I found the characters and world to be so interesting and the story moves at a quick pace which keeps the story moving and enjoying it. Rodrigo uses of fantastical elements it was really fun and I enjoyed those elements of the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. Anything inspired by Puerto Rico I will read. This is a utopian, historical fantasy book. At night the beasts of Carnaval come out. Sofia travels to find her missing brother. On her journey she is hit with the Taino and indigenous culture of her people. This book was really well written and made me think of Caravel.

this book is the perfect read for those who want to read historical fantasy with strong characters and deep relationships. The first half of the book were a little hard to get through but the second half was everything that I wanted this book to be!! Get ready to dive into an experience that will leave you wanting to reconnect to your own history especially us BIPOC folks.

Great story. Interesting and unique. A must read. Didn’t expect it. The cover is absolutely beautiful as well.

Thank you so much to The Hive at Harlequin press for the e-arc!!! I think this is going to be in my top three favorites of 2025. It’s a story that’s as vibrant as the cover is. The writing is beautiful and takes you on such a journey that feels like a fever dream in the best way. I love the Caribbean culture and learning about a very real topic that I would like to research more of. Sofia is an amazing character and shared so much resilience and care despite everything she has been through. I think this is such a stunning book, and I can’t wait to buy it when it comes out! 5 stars.

This was a very beautifully written, bittersweet story about reclamation and finding peace after opressional trauma. I enjoyed Rodrigo's prose, and the setting is gorgeous.

Beasts of Carnaval depicts a fantastical reimagining of 19th century Caribbean culture and mythology, set just post-emancipation, with all the heated social and racial tensions of the time. Freedwoman Sofía travels to Isla Bestia, a pleasure island for the rich and elite, to find her lost twin brother.

I know I already mentioned this, but Rosália Rodrigo's writing here is honestly perfection. The descriptions and aesthetic are lush and immersive, and its obvious the author took the time to flesh out this world's political landscape to reflect the characters and time period.

Personally, I preferred the first half of the book to the second, in terms of plot tension and locational mystique. The magical, dreamy atmosphere of Carnaval disapates once Sofía gets to the secret caves, and while that's all fascinating in its own way, I feel like the vibe of the story changes.

Regardless, I appreciate the work Rodrigo puts into depicting the loss of cultures through slavery, and the realities people faced after it was abolished. I look forward to whatever this writer puts out next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the author for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Beasts of Carnaval is an atmospheric novel written in exquisite prose. The setting is fantastic and the premise unique, and it sounds like a novel that should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, though, I found the latter parts of this book to be less than enthralling. That's not necessarily the fault of the book – obviously others have enjoyed it much more than I did – but for whatever reason, I could not get into or bring myself to care about anything that happens in the second half of this story.

The beginning, though, is fabulous. Sofía is a freedwoman who travels to Isla Bestia (a hedonistic island where revelers party the night away with abandon) with her friend (and former owner) Adelina to search for her brother who disappeared there five years prior. But something dark is lurking under the glamor and glitz of Carnaval, and Sofía and Adelina begin to lose themselves to the thrall of the island. And, well … yes! This is the reason I picked up this book, and it was exactly what I hoped it would be – Sofía attempting to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance while navigating the dark underbelly of paradise. But then the narrative shifts, things get fever dream-y for a while, and then there's no more Carnaval. The setting changes, the tone of the story changes, the supporting characters change, and most of the magic is lost. I probably would have been a lot more tolerant of the abrupt switch had this book been about 75 pages shorter (and provided most of the pages had been cut from the second half of the book), but unfortunately I mostly just found it tedious. Even the climax is just … meh. I came here for Carnaval, not to read about Sofía wandering through caves and writing letters.

But, again, this is probably mostly just a “me and my unrealistic expectations” thing. The prose really is lovely and it's obvious that the author put a lot of care into writing this novel. Lots of reviewers will probably love it, and I do look forward to seeing what Rosália Rodrigo will come up with next.

My overall rating: 3.35 stars, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is July 29, 2025.

I don't think I have read anything like this before. The writing was beautiful and poetic. It is striking and imagery is a great addition to the story. The book is based in Carribean folklore and mythology which I have not read a ton of, but found very interesting. Because the writing is a bit flowery, some passages seem a tiny bit too long, but I was still enjoying the book so much.

Sofia's realization and coming to terms with her identity along with mysteries of the past was very well done. I highly recommend this one.

this was a beautiful, devastating fever dream. so gorgeous, intoxicating, but laced with something darker underneath. Beasts of Carnaval is one of those stories. it pulls you in with its lush world and dazzling spectacle, only to unravel into something much heavier: a tale of stolen history, lost identity, and the ghosts of a past that refuses to stay buried.

Sofía’s journey isn’t just about finding her brother—it’s about finding herself in a place that was never meant to hold space for her. Isla Bestia is breathtaking, a paradise of endless music, glittering feasts, and performers who seem almost otherworldly. But beneath the revelry is something sinister, something that tugs at the edges of her mind. The deeper she sinks into the island’s spell, the more the lines between past and present blur. the echoes of her Taike’ri ancestors hum through the performances, their language and culture twisted into entertainment for those who once took everything from them.

this book hurts. not because it’s tragic in the way you expect, but because it forces you to sit with the weight of history, with the knowledge that some things—some people—are lost forever. Sofía fights, she searches, she unravels. and through it all, the island watches. there are no easy answers here. no simple victories. just the ache of remembering, of reclaiming, of realizing that some wounds never fully heal. this is stunning and cruel in equal measure—a story that lingers, that haunts, that refuses to let you go.

5 stars

~~ I received an ARC copy of Beasts of Carnaval from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~

What a beautifully written book. Rosalia Rodrigo paints a colorful picture of the island of Carnaval, a "pleasure island" that has drawn the rich and influential from the Hisperian empire to its shores. Her main character, Sofia, is a freedwoman looking for her brother Sol, who has gone missing after a number of years.

Rodrigo creates a complex work that touches on the realities of slavery and the death of indigenous cultures in the Caribbean in her piece and honors the cultural ancestry that has been long lost to colonization. I couldn't put this book down and the read felt like a technicolor experience. I can't recommend this book enough.

Beasts of Carnaval is a wonderful book steeped in mythology and wonder. The prose of the novel is lush and takes a little longer to read. In this novel, a woman searches for her brother at his last known locale, Isla Bestia. As Sofia discovers more and more secrets, its mysterious nature begins to be revealed. There are themes of friendship, family, and Post Colonialism. This is a novel to take some time with and let it saturate your senses. 5 stars.