Review: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Title: Legendary

Series: Caraval #2

Author: Stephanie Garber

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Format: paperback, 304 pages, published by Hodder & Stoughton

Goodreads Rating: 4.34/5

My Rating: 5/5

WARNING!!! SPOILERS MAY BE COMING(if you haven’t read Caraval, I tried to be spoiler free)

Review:

“The spellbinding sequel to Sunday Times bestselling Caraval.

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more – and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets . . . including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about – maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.” – blurb on Goodreads

I do not trust myself to say what the book is about without revealing too much, that’s why most of the time I’ll share here the blurb of the book. Legendary is the sequel of Caraval, that is now part of a series (3 books) to my delight because Legendary was so awesome. Which I will talk about below, so, without further ado… let’s get into it.

The Cons:

1. Character-wise… Scarlett. She was annoying. I mean, I found her annoying in Caraval even though I pitied her for a while because of her father and whole fiance stuff BUT she’s not that likable to me, especially because of her relationship with Julian and her decision at the end of the book that really made me want to slap her.
2. Can I complain that there was too little of Julian… I really liked him and what makes this better is that we had Dante!
3. The last thing I didn’t like was that… at some points… this book was slow-paced unlike Caraval. What I mean is that, even though there were moments that gripped me, there were some long descriptions that bored me and the story dragged… but not always. It wasn’t that hard for me to put this book down and pick up later or the next day.

The Pros:

1. I will start with the characters, Dante first because… man I like this character. He is so intriguing and nice and not… really a hero and maybe that’s what I like about him the most. He himself said that in the book. In my eyes he’s a likeable character whose appearance I was always looking forward to. And I did like his chemistry with Tella.
2. Jacks. He’s the villain. But he’s that kind of villain you love and hate. He is quite horrible but there’s just… something that drew me to like him. I don’t think his feelings for Tella are faked and that says a lot considering who he really is… I’m not going to tell you. He’s a villain that I really like.
3. The whole thing with the Fates blended with the history of Caraval and Legend and the lost mother of Scarlett and Donatella. But especially the Fates. That kind of magic really intrigues me and I loved it to bits!
4.  The… open end? Why? Because it leaves room for this story to continue and honestly, if there wasn’t a third book to come I would’ve put this in the cons so that’s why it’s here. I can’t wait to see what will happen to Tella and Legend and Jacks!

This book may not have left me with the same feeling as Caraval but I certainly liked it enough to give it 5 stars even though it’s more like 4.5 stars. The magic from the first book may not be that present but it’s still here and with the Fates thing it made it even more interesting to me not to mention the relationship development of Tella and Legend, my heart breaks for Julian because of Scarlett ugh aaaand I want more Jacks, that guy stirred my interest. So that’s it from me. Another review that should’ve come earlier… a lot earlier and it might not be that great but I hope you enjoyed it. At least a bit. Bye!

 

Your future can be whatever you wish. We all have the power to choose our own destiny.

 

“Every good story needs a villain.”
“But the best villains are the ones you secretly like…”

 

Not everyone gets a true ending. There are two types of endings because most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that’s when hope is needed most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.