Book Review Tuesday (9/30/25) – Beasts of Carnaval

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

Continuing with Latine Heritage Month, here’s a new release that caught my eye! The cover and premise seemed stunning, and I was intrigued by the inclusion of Taíno mythology. On almost all of those fronts, Beasts of Carnaval delivered instantly—I was hooked from page one!

Enjoy this week’s review!

Beasts of Carnaval – Rosália Rodrigo

Sofía has heard legends of Isla Bestia since she was a child. They say that enchanting performances and mysterious people populate the mysterious island, and those who come there are too entranced to ever return to the real world. Sofía is sensible enough to not believe the rumors. But when her twin brother goes missing, her trail leads to Isla Bestia. There, she’s drawn into a bizarre, luscious world of magic and shifting alliances. Caught up in a tangled web of intrigue, Sofía must keep her wits about her if she wants to find out which of her new allies are men—and which of them are monsters.

TW/CW: colonialism/imperialism themes, loss of loved ones (past), panic attacks, religious bigotry, blood, murder, racism/slavery themes, misogyny

Before I get into gushing about everything I adored about Beasts of Carnaval, I’ll get my one major pet peeve out of the way: fantasy worlds that are named so closely to reality that they basically are reality. Rodrigo’s world is essentially the Caribbean, except that the countries are named slightly differently—their colonizers are Hisperian, for instance. Real-word terms such as mestiza are used, so at that point…I dunno, it’s so close to historical reality, so why not just set it in the Caribbean of the past and just establish that there’s magic and some minor changes? Alternate history, anyone? I guess there’s a ton of fantasy novels that do that for European countries, but honestly, I’ve never liked it no matter the country that inspired the setting.

I dunno, the commentary would come across no matter the setting. Beasts of Carnaval isn’t the first book to have this, but for me, even though it peeved me, it didn’t take away from how lush the worldbuilding was; beyond the real-world hierarchies that were present, I loved the magic in this world, and it was integrated into the real world almost effortlessly. It’s a very fleshed out world rooted in historical themes and cultures, enlivened by vibrant and vivid magic inspired by Indigenous Taíno mythologies.

After reading Beasts of Carnaval, I’m absolutely going to be looking out for anything else that Rosália Rodrigo writes, because the prose of this novel was truly captivating! A Carnaval-inspired setting is bound to have some fun imagery, but Rodrigo wrung every ounce of magic out of it. With her prose, Isla Bestia wasn’t just abstractly a place that nobody wants to leave—she really makes you feel the seductive enchantment of the entire island! From the first description of the hummingbird dancer at the beginning, I was nothing short of captivated—I was hooked from start to finish, and I loved every minute of exploring the world that Rodrigo had crafted!

Compelling prose needs a compelling protagonist, and Sofía was just that! I adored her character, and she just seemed to leap off the page for me. From the start, I loved the many facets of her personality; she was strong-willed, determined, sensible, and sometimes practical to a fault, but I loved watching her adventures. Especially in contrast to the other characters around her, she was so focused on her mission of finding her missing brother that I got sucked in immediately. Hidden beneath her practical exterior, her deep caring for Sol made me root for her instantly, and I loved the way she fought back against the micro (and very much macro)aggressions that she experienced in daily life for being mixed-race. It’s rare that I love a character from the get-go, but Sofía captured my heart immediately!

A part of Sofía’s character that I also appreciated was the discussion of her mixed-race/mestiza identity! As a mixed-race person myself (though I’m very white-passing), I loved the nuanced discussions surrounding her conflicting feelings about her identity and how it positioned her in the highly stratified world around her. Rodrigo also had some excellent discussions about passing privilege and the treatment that Sofía got as this universe’s version of an Afro-Latina woman, especially with her being a former slave; Rodrigo did an excellent job of balancing her pride with the hurt she carries from enduring decades of racism from her peers and having to justify being a part of either of the communities she’s descended from. It was also especially poignant to have her arc revolving around discovering the magic of her Indigenous ancestors, inspired by Taíno mythology! It’s always so fulfilling to connect with one’s culture (speaking from experience), and to have that be physically manifested as healing magic was nothing short of emotional. I couldn’t get enough of it!

Overall, an enchanting and emotional novel that hooked me instantly. 4 stars!

Beasts of Carnaval is Rosália Rodrigo’s debut novel.

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!