Legendary (Caraval Series #2) by Stephanie Garber
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Web ID: 9093025Super Cute!
** 4.5 Stars ** This was such a good continuation of the world of Caraval. I really liked how we started on the Isla de los Sueños for Caraval, and the entire game was set there. Now that Scarlet won Caraval, we set sail (literally) for Valenda, which is the capitol city of the Meridian Empire. I like that we got to travel to another destination set in this world, which brings about its own unique whimsy to the Caraval games. I also liked that we got more backstory and lore for the fates - I think that helped flesh out some plot holes of the first book. I also liked the introduction of the love triangle between Tella, Legend, and Jacks. We assume Tella and Legend are end game coming out of Caraval, but Jacks throws a wrench into that and really makes you guess as to who she is going to end up with! I do have a question about her kiss with Jacks - are we really supposed to believe that she's his one true love, and that their kiss is what made his heart start beating again? I just don't buy that, especially since Tella never really had feelings for him outside of what they were manipulated to be. The love triangle was fun but they just didn't feel organic and I don't really get that part as I don't think it was explained very well. I also really liked the juxtaposition between the goal of the game - to find the object to get rid of the fates, and Jacks mission for Tella - find out Legend's real name, and how whichever quest she decides to do parallels who she has feelings for. Super cute, super fun, and I'm really enjoying the series.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Audiobook Review
3.5 stars. I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Soler. Rebecca does a great job of giving each character a unique voice throughout the story. Donatella and Scarlett end up back in the magical world of Caraval. Only this time, Donatella is the star as she tries to repair her debt and find Master Legend’s true name. Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers Fake Dating Love Triangle (?) Quests Age Gap Slowburn I really enjoy the world of Caraval, it feels magical every time I read about it. This story takes place in Valenda and is the second Caraval of the year in honor of Elantine’s 75th birthday. The world isn’t as whimsical as the first, but it still felt magical. It was giving me Venice vibes most of the time. Legendary follows Donatella’s POV and I’m glad she had great character development throughout the story. She wasn’t as selfish and carefree in this sequel. I definitely preferred her POV more than Scarlett’s in the previous book, which was wild because I left Caraval with disdain for Tella and was apprehensive about how I would like her in this book. We also meet Dante again in this book and I swear he is swoon-worthy. I really liked his character growth and his protectiveness over Tella. He is such a selfish individual, but for her he was doing crazy stuff just to make sure she was OK. Another Caraval character that I appreciated more in this story versus the last. The last main character is a new one, Jacks, the heir to Valenda and the rumored “Prince of Hearts” – as all his fiancées have been killed, supposedly by him. He is a very cold character and we don’t learn too much about him in this story, but I am looking forward to OUABH, as I believe this is the same character and everyone seems to LOVE him in that. I am curious what his development will be like! Scarlett and Julian are side characters in this story, so not much happens with them. But let me just say, WTF Scarlett. When you guys get to the end you’ll know what I’m talking about because honestly ??? That seems awfully out of character for you miss girl! These stories are so difficult for me to follow at times. I like to try and guess what happens at the end or pick up on foreshadowing – but the Caraval series so far has made that really difficult. The plot twists sometimes come out of nowhere, but I liked them MUCH more in this book than in the first one as I feel like they actually fit and had meaning. It was rough when everything gets tangled in the middle for what seems like nothing…but this one made some more sense. AND Stephanie leaves us with a crazy cliffhanger that makes me want to pick up the 3rd book yesterday. Oof! Question, do they mention the ages of the girls earlier in the series? I ask, because apparently Donatella has been 15 this whole time and just turned 16? I literally was picturing them all in their 20s. The choices they made make a little more sense now, as does their recklessness, but huuuuuh? If they were mentioned earlier than the end of this book, I must have completely missed it. Beep beep – going to keep them 20s in my head.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Obsessed
♠️🌹𝖤𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗌 𝖺 𝗏𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗏𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 🌹♠️ 𝓛𝓮𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓻𝔂 4 ⭐️s I definitely enjoyed Caraval more than this one but I do love the introduction to the new characters like the Fates & specifically Jacks. I didn’t really know how to feel about him at first and while Dante has my 🖤 Jacks is right behind him. While this book still held the air of mystery of Caraval, it definitely had less magic and suspense. It was a 4 star read but could have easily been 5 stars, had Donatella not been the main character. I really didn’t like Donatella (Tella) in Caraval and I wasn’t thrilled this book was from her POV. I tried to go into it with an open mind and thought maybe I will like her by seeing things from her POV, but if anything I like her less then I did before. She’s very repetitive in her inner monologues and she’s very immature when it comes to love and emotions, almost like a toddler. I also feel like Tella made Scarlett seem like a villain in this one, almost completely different from the Scarlett we met in Caraval. I think Tella is just jealous of Scarlett and her relationship with Julian and we really see that when it comes to her thoughts of her sister. It also really gave me the ick that Tella would repetitively say “no matter what I do or how often I lie, Scarlett will never leave me and stop loving me because we’re sisters”. That’s just disgusting mentality in my opinion and Tella doesn’t deserve Scarlett (or Dante). Lastly, we FINALLY meet Legend but I just wish the lead up to who Legend is, was more… built up. I hated the way we found out and it was so… lackluster. THIS IS LEGEND! His introduction is supposed to be ✨MAGICAL, STUNNING, WONDROUS✨.. and instead it was literally worse than "meh"…….. and why is Tella the only person ever to know who he is. just gross. Plus, Tella is LITERALLY telling us the entire book who he is and I could only see doing that as the author IF it wasn’t him… like why would you have her tell us every other page who Legend is and then make him actually by Legend… like why, just why?!? I also think they’re a terrible match and he can do better. I also find it highly rude and disrespectful that Tella will get her prize for winning Caraval, but Scarlett never got her wish. And no, her wishing stupid Tella back to life does not count as her wish because Legend had nothing to do with that. So if Tella gets a prize Scarlett deserves her wish because Scarlett legit won while Tella was basically told how to win. So in my eyes, Tella didn’t win the game, it was given to her. Anywayyyyyy I did see that Finale is from both Tella and Scarlett’s POV’s so hopefully it will be more enjoyable. Can’t wait to start Finale and the OUABH 💖
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win
Tropes: ♠️ Magic 🥀 Love ♠️ Curses 🥀 Deception ♠️ Adventure 🥀 Violence ♠️ Triumph “A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.” In the second book of the series… 🥀Scarlett’s sister Tella must now play a game of Caraval. She needs information on Legend to get to her mother to save her life. However, deciphering between if its truly just a game or not, is a mind twist itself! • ♠️Tella is faced with brutal conquests and is torn between if she should truly sacrifice so much to save the woman who abandoned her and her sister. So much is on the line and time is against her. Can she do it.. is it even worth it?! And what should she do about feeling this way towards Dante when she swore off love?! • “He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels and bottles of fresh moonlight.” “I know you were willing to sacrifice yourself for her, but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice you.” 🥀Holy twists and turns, emotions and enchantments!! I really am enjoying this series. This book has really pulled me in. Tricks played on your mind, thinking you’ve got it figured out when in reality you have nothing figured out!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Disappointing… again
This is slightly better than Caraval, but i think Tella is just an overall more interesting character than Scarlett. It’s almost exactly mirroring the “Sybella is more interesting than Ismae” energy from the first two books of the His Fair Assassin series. Please. Give. Us. More. Magic. System. Depth. My god, everything is just “it’s ancient magic!” this and “his magic can change the stars!” that and “there’s no logic necessary to this earth altering power other than its ✨magic✨” everything else. Anyway. I’m all for flowery language and lavish descriptions, but SG, my love, this is… a lot. “The air tasted like wonder?” “He tasted like fallen angel wings??” “…the color of tears cried from storm clouds?!” Metaphor is an incredibly powerful tool for a reason; you can’t just upend the entire concept and expect readers to ride along on a wave of poetic fluff. Our brains do not have the omnipotent magic required to comprehend this stuff. I also truly think these books could be shorter with the number of times the same thought is repeated in the same chapter, page, or even paragraph. Tella’s Big Decision™️, her anti-love ideology, her adoration for her sister, and any number of other themes were laid out so many times and in so many near-identical ways that I almost gave in and started skim-reading. Still didn’t DNF, so 2 stars for you, Glen Coco. One more to go.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Swept away in the story
I was not a big reader and I was absolutely swept up in the series and then on to Stephanie’s new books. I found a love for reading after!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
DNRd it..
Just could NOT get into it… I really loved Caraval and was excited for this one.. I felt like the magic, intrigue, mystery, suspense, and even the tension/romance that made Caraval so great was nonexistent in this one. I felt the writing took a massive turn downhill, the characters were boring, the relationships felt surface level, and tbh I found Tella to be so annoying in this one, her character felt immature and one-dimensional. All the “plot-twists” or big reveal moments were super predictable which was kind of a let down. idk I was just really looking forward to this sequel, and seeing potentially a new perspective on the caraval weekend experience.. but it really feel flat. The game was not the center of the story and felt like an afterthought. World-building was lacking, really lost all the magic and fast-paced storytelling that made me not being able to put Caraval down!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
It was very good
I’m loving this series of books so far now I most buy the last one to see what happens
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com