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.