Legendary (Caraval, #2) by Stephanie Garber

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ARC provided by Flatiron in exchange for an honest review.

1.) Caraval ★★★★

“But the best villains are the ones you secretly like, and my nana always said Legend was the villain in Caraval.”

I know that Caraval was a super polarizing read last year when it released, but I fell on the side of totally loving. From the game, to the mystery, to the lyrical writing, to the compelling characters, I couldn’t get enough. I devoured it in two sittings and never wanted to stop the reading experience. And guess what? Legendary was no different.

In Caraval we follow Scarlett and watch her run away from her home, and her abusive father, so that she can try to rescue her sister, Donatella, by winning the magical game of Caraval. Well, immediately after the outcome from Caraval, Legendary picks right up. Except this time, we follow Donatella, and she has stumbled on her own very own mystery and her very own game. And forget everything you think you learned in Caraval, because this trilogy takes a completely new approach, with completely new twists and turns, in Legendary.

“Legend has chosen you to play a game that may change your destiny.
In honor of Empress Elantine’s 75th birthday,
Caraval will visit the streets of Valenda for six magical nights.”

The invitations are distributed and a brand-new game of Caraval is going to begin, in a brand-new empire that is ruled by a very powerful empress. And this time Tella has decided to play so that she too has a chance to locate someone who has disappeared from her and Scarlett’s lives, their mother. Paloma was truly a woman of mystery, but we are able to see a few flashbacks that Tella has of her mother, along with a few of the keepsakes that Tella has kept all these years.

“For it was also said the Prince of Hearts was not capable of love, because his heart had stopped beating long ago. Only one person could make it beat again: his one true love. They said his kiss had been fatal to all but her—his only weakness—and as he’d sought her, he’d left a trail of corpses.”

We also get to see that a magical card prophesied that Tella would be a victim of unrequited love for her entire life. So, a ring that appears to be more than just a ring, and a card (think Tarot cards) that Tella took against her mother’s will, is all she has as clues. That is, until she meets someone who knows much more about that particular card, and the entire Deck of Destiny. And Tella ends up trying to win Caraval for this new stranger, for her mother, for her heart, for her life, and for Legend himself. Because the only way Tella will ever see her mother again is to win this game.

This book also had a bit more romance than Caraval, but I was completely living for it. And I’m still living for it, honestly. And like, we are maybe about to get a love triangle and I’m still totally here for it. And some of these scenes were legit 11/10, and I completely recommend. Also, I’m still swooning over Dante. But I also can’t stop thinking about Jacks and love that good angst. Be still, my heart.

“I’ve never wanted to be someone else until that moment I saw him kiss you on the dance floor.”

Okay, now I don’t want to gush too hard on you all, but you want to know what this book reminded me of? The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black. And chapter thirteen was such a work of art. Probably the best chapter I’ve read in any book in all of 2018.

So, why did I end up giving this four stars and not five with glowing sentences like the paragraph above this one? With so many twists and turns throughout this book, all of which blindsided me and made me fall more and more in love, the ending ended up being so predictable. Like, to the point that I thought it couldn’t be real, and that the epilogue was going to pull the wool from my eyes. But no, the disappointment just stayed. Which is so sad, because this book was so good, and such a treat to read in every single way, but the ending just made this amazing book really end on a bad note.

“Tella would destroy the world before she allowed anything to happen to her sister.”

Also, there wasn’t as much of a positive sibling emphasis in this book. Like, Tella was 100% committed to Scarlett, and we know from Caraval that Scarlett was 100% committed to Tella, but Legendary didn’t do anything to help enforce that percentage. Scarlett was honestly kind of a hot mess in this book, from start to (especially) end. I pray that Finale is either entirely in Tella’s point of view or it switches between Scarlett and Tella’s point of view. I don’t think I can deal with another solo Scarlett book after her actions in Legendary.

But overall, I really did love reading this. Again, I know not everyone does, but I just love Stephanie Garber’s writing and purple prose so much. I completely connect with it, and it completely immerses. I always feel like I’m there for all six nights of Caraval, in the castles, carriages, balls, and cathedrals. Also, these books and their settings are such aesthetic goals, I swear! Plus, this entire series is such a love letter to morally grey characters! I can’t wait to see how this all wraps up in the last book, Finale.


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The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Buddy read with Amy at A Court of Crowns and Quills! ❤

✨ Receive a custom set of playing cards with four unique suits AND a signed bookplate when you upload your proof of preorder purchase HERE! (US only, I’m sorry)

38 thoughts on “Legendary (Caraval, #2) by Stephanie Garber”

  1. Ahhh I cannot wait to read this! And all that romance? 😱 Sign me up! I’m sad to hear the ending wasn’t great though, but I’m not surprised since I experienced the same disappointment with the end of Caraval, to some degree. Maybe Stephanie Garber just struggles with endings a bit, since the rest of her books are so fantastic 😂 I need to read a recap of Caraval before I start Legendary, I forgot a lot of what happens!

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    1. The romance was SO good! And, love, I felt the same way… I couldn’t remember anything about Caraval! Hahaha! But it comes back to you quickly! Happy reading, love! You have to let me know how you end up feeling! (especially about chap 13!) 💗xx

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  2. This was such a great review. I read Caraval recently but I feel it didn’t stick with me how I was hoping it would. I think the main thing was I wasn’t a huge fan of Scarlett. I still am looking forward to reading this. I am excited that Donatella will be the main character in this. I put a hold on this at the library. I am also really looking forward to chapter 13! ❤

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    1. Hehehe! The hype for chapter 13 is so real! Also – My friend Amy just told me that chapter 13 will be the annotated one from the B&N edition! So… now I have to go read that in store, haha! But I hope you love this one, and thank you so much for your kind words! Happy reading always, love! 💗xx

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      1. Oh you must have been so excited to hear that! I love the idea of annotated books. I always wanted to pick up that subscription service that sends you annotated books. (I can’t think of the name right now) I will have to go check out the barnes and noble book after I read it. Happy reading as well!! ❤ xoxo

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    1. Awh, thank you so much, Angelica! This was me, until I got an ARC a little over a WEEK before release! I was like… Flatiron? Hello? Hahaha! Happy reading… tomorrow, love! You have to let me know your thoughts and feels after! 💗xx

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    1. Awh, I feel you, love! The wait is bad… then waiting extra for the copy to get to you? The worst! But I promise that this one is worth it! And I hope you completely fall in love! Happy reading, babe! 💗 xx

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  13. I’ve been waiting to read your post until I finished writing my review 😊 But I completely agree with you on everything!! I LOVE DANTE SO MUCH!!!!!!! GAH!!! He made me melt like butter in this book. And I was surprised how much I didn’t hate the love triangle vibes I was getting at the end. SUPER curious to see how that plays out later! And oh my god, Scarlett. I wanted to strangle her. What was her glitch?? I’m with you—really hoping the next one is from Tella’s perspective again because I can’t stand Scarlett now. Also completely agree about the ending. I actually thought we were being punk’d. Like I would get to the last chapter and Garber would be all “just kidding, here’s the true ending” because that kind of happened in Caraval. But alas, that really was the finale. Still a magical fun read though! I can’t wait for the next one!!

    Awesome review! Sorry for the novel comment, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this thing!! 😄😘

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    1. This comment is EVERYTHING! And like… DANTE HAD ME SWOONING SO HARD! I’m so happy you enjoyed, love! That ending… girl, I don’t know WHAT direction it is going to take with either sister, BUT I’M HERE FOR IT! And never be sorry for long comments. Love, I could talk about this book for days! Hahaha! I hope your next read is just as good, if not better! Happy reading! 💗xx

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    1. WE WILL ALWAYS! And… hopefully when we buddy read book three together it will be… a little more ahead of release! Hahahaha! And hopefully it will be filled with way more chapter 13s! Muhahaha! Happy reading, love! 💗xx

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