Finale (Caraval Series #3) by Stephanie Garber
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Web ID: 15843518Repetitive
I went into Finale expecting a solid 4-star read, but once again, it fell flat for me. The Caraval series has always had stunning worldbuilding, and this book is no exception. The settings and magic remain the highlight, but everything else? A bit underwhelming. Scarlett’s growth was a nice touch, but the other characters felt one-dimensional, and honestly, I stopped caring about what happened to them. The repetition throughout the series made the pacing drag, and the plot often felt confusing—like things were happening just for the sake of drama, without much explanation. And this wasn’t just a Finale problem; it’s been an issue across all three books. At this point, I’m hesitant about picking up Once Upon a Broken Heart. I see so many people raving about it, but if it’s anything like Caraval, I don’t know if I want to go through that again.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Super Cute!
** 4.5 Stars ** I had such a fun time with this series, and I think you can definitely feel Garber getting more confident and grounded as each book progresses. I really liked that we got to focus on each sister in the first 2 books, and this was a culmination of both of them as we got both of their POV's, and both of their conclusions. I think we did lean a little heavy into the love triangles, but I'm glad they worked out the way they did and all 3 (yes there were THREE) weren't the forefront of this book, but we instead mostly focused on Tella's with Legend and Jacks. The world-building is so rich and whimsical - I really liked that we leaned more into the lore of the fates and got a lot more backstory to stuff that happened in 1 & 2. Although I was we got a little more setting like we did in Caraval & Legendary. I really liked the carnival-esque whimsy from the games, and although the lore was super fun, interesting, and unique, I think we lost a little bit of the actual world that we came to know and love in the earlier books. All in all it was very cute and I'm excited to see how OUABH piggy backs off of this story!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Loved! A fun series
This series gave me Alice in Wonderland vibes. Magic. Fates. Liars. Enemies. Found family. There was a lot going on witha lot of characters. But it was a fun read. And the narrator for the audiobook, Rebecca Soler, is one of the best I’ve heard. I messed up and read the Once Upon a Broken Heart books first. Now I have to go back and re-read them. You don’t have to read these first. But these books have Jacks’ back story. These books are YA, and there is little to no spice. If you want that in a book, these aren’t for you. But if you want a fun, light read after one of the heavy series, this just might be for you. I loved them.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
AMAZING
This is the last book in the Caraval series. I liked about how they switched between Donatella and Scarlet. I believe the Finale is my favorite book of that series. Stephanie Garber is a queen at writing books. She makes it almost impossible to put down. This book is meant for young adult readers and adults. You must read Caraval and Legendary before reading this book as it is a continuation of those books. I advise to read the Once Upon a Broken Heart after you finish this series. Once Upon a Broken Heart is written by the same author and mentions mainly the same characters as in this one. They also continue around the same time period. Happy reading!!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing
I loved this book/series. The theme woven through it was beautiful and that ending!!! I really loved the true love story and that is if two sisters devoted to each other and the people they love. Both scarlet and tella have grown so much and the characters who support them are amazing. Like the last two books this one is filled with excitement twists and turns and mystery and I love love love the romance. Such a great series.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
“All games must come to and end.”
Tropes: 💛 Double POV 💜 Slow Burn 💛 Viloence 💜 Love triangles 💛 Magic 💜 Powers 💛 Death 💜 Fates “A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.” Tella, Scarlett, Legend, Jacks, Julian… ⭐️So much has happened. Tella and Scarlett are waiting for their mother to wake. Fates have been released and pose great danger to the girls and to the people they love. ✨Both Scarlett and Tella find themselves in push / pull love triangles while facing battles and obstacles. Emotions are high and tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. ⭐️Valenda is in grave danger. Scarlette faces truths she never knew were possible. Sacrifices are made, love blossoms and beautiful endings do really happen! “I thought I already told you, I’m only trying to keep you.” “Love is messy. it’s not easily controlled. But that’s what makes it so powerful. It’s unbridled passion.” “..he tasted like the ocean air that slipped in through a cracked bedroom window, salty and tempting and untamable.” 💭 First off - Stephanie can sure write a dang good book! Her imagination and talent is truly mystifying. This book will take you on an epically enchanting journey. I can’t even fully put into words how much I’ve enjoyed this trilogy. Sad it’s over but so glad I picked it up!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Yikes
Okay first of all, can we talk about these reviews being all, “This is Hunger Games meets The Night Circus?” LOL, the absolute magic of The Night Circus could run circles around this entire trilogy. Also where do you get Hunger Games from? Is it because of the cringy, unnecessary love triangles? This has me HEATED. Speaking of heated, here comes my actual book review. It’s, uh, not good. 1. Starting off strong with the nonsense metaphors. Again. It’s literally page 8 and we’ve got men “smelling like magic and heartbreak.” Last time I checked, heartbreak smelled like booze and hot pockets and B.O., but like, to each their own, I guess. “It looked like the color of wishes come true.” I actually can’t get over this. This is the writing of someone who was praised for writing a good metaphor in elementary school, without truly understanding the lesson, and then ran with it anyway. That and repetitive exposition. 2. It is absolutely absurd how much this trilogy’s narrative relies on characters’ lack of communication. These two sisters mention how much they adore each other every other sentence, but even with the ungodly repetition, it’s hard for readers to believe that when they spend the other sentences justifying their lies to each other. Major ick. They also just… refer to each other as “my sister” a lot? Everyone knew y’all were siblings by chapter 2 of book 1, so why all the “‘do you know where my sister is?’” and “my sister wouldn’t do this,” and “what about my sister?!” three times per paragraph? She has a NAME. 3. Another major ick - nowhere throughout the trilogy is it made obvious how old the characters are. At one point I think it is said that Tella is supposed to be SIXTEEN, but, respectfully, no. Stop that. Reject. That makes dear betrothed Scarlett what, 18? ish? Still, her age makes a little more sense since she HAS to be fairly young to set up the horrendous Bachelorette game with her suitors. (Ugh, how old are they?? Aren’t the Legend Bros, like, ageless? The Fates too? Didn’t we leave thousand-year age gaps behind with Bella and Edward? No? I digress.) My eyes rolled so hard I thought I’d lose my vision. Major cringe. “What’s our prize?” “A kiss per round and marriage for whoever brings me the best presents.” Good lord. Take the L and the red flag and RUN, Nicolas. 4. Do NOT tell me we’re supposed to feel emotional over the death of the mother after knowing her for 3 seconds. Also, what is the pacing of this book?? “Every time I close my eyes I see her being murdered.” Tella, darling, it happened 30 minutes ago, of COURSE it feels like too much right now. “Every time it’s quiet…” HOW MANY TIMES HAS IT BEEN QUIET IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, BABE? Honestly. Gavriel needed to be a character much earlier in the series. Establish him as a dangerous threat earlier. Make him kill Paloma at the end of Book 2. Make it a climactic punch instead of a hurried plot device. Give the sisters time to mourn and THEN turn to Jacks in their unresolved grief. Was this book even planned? It definitely feels like two story ideas smashed together that don’t quite mesh properly. 5. Just gonna repeat what I said about the first two books. The world building is nonexistent. The magic has little to no foundation. Characters are introduced and then disappear. Things just… happen. All the time. The amount of magical power these characters have is absurd at best and fluctuates based on shaky rules at worst. Edit: Didn’t DNF, but finishing this book was a struggle. The ending was long in coming but also hella rushed. I really can’t complain about that though, I guess. I could rant about the whole series more but, yikes. I just need to go read something else.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Loved the series
I loved this book and the whole series. What an incredible experience to read these beautiful books
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com