Oh my gosh.
Everyone I know knows that I loved Caraval. I made countless friends read it, I've talked countless customers into buying it, and I added it to my library's collection, I was so in love with it.
It's completely weird for me to say, especially with how upset I usually am with sequels, but Legendary is even better than Caraval!
I've continued to annoy my friends with just saying HOW GOOD I thought it was.

I wasn't sure I'd like Tella's pov at first, since Caraval focused on Scarlett's story, but the more I read, the more endearing Tella became. We're introduced to so many fates, so many traditions, so many new characters, and so many plot twists! I didn't see any of it coming (which, as my friends ALSO know, I've been frustrated at almost every book I've been given lately, because they've been easy for me to predict...)

I'll write a more in depth review once my head clears a little, because it's still full of the beautiful world of Caraval.

I cannot wait for whatever Stephanie Garber writes next!

“What have I always told you about the future?”
“Every person has the power to write her own.” Tella said.

Please God. Let there be a third book. There has to be a third book. Right? RIGHT?! THIS WAS SO GOOD. I spent a good four hours this morning finishing this book, completely ignoring everything else around me an I can’t say that I regret it. I mean seriously, the only part of this book that I didn’t like was when it ended…

Dante looked up and gave her a fallen star’s smile.
“You should always wear flowers.”

Would it be bad if I said I hoped the next book (IF there is one) was also centered around Tella? I liked the first book BUT this one was just so much better in my opinion. I thought Garber’s writing had seriously improved, the plot was even more twisty than in book one AND Tella was just so damn likeable!

Tella might have been many things, but she was far from silly or worthless or whatever labels people liked to affix because a person was young and female.

I only read Caraval once as an ARC so it’s been quite awhile but from what I can remember, Tella is so much fiercer than Scarlett. I loved her sass and how even in the moments where she knew she should be scared of the people and things happening around her, she put on a brave face. She always had a retort ready for Dante and Jacks or anyone else trying to stand in her way. I couldn’t get enough!

But Tella didn’t believe in impossible choices. In her experience one path was always clearly worse than another.

I was a huge fan of the plot centering around the Fates, too. I’ve always thought that the concept of fate was an extremely interesting thing so the fact that Tella had to worry about them AND a new game of Caraval made the stakes even higher this time. It was all so incredibly twisty and complicated and of course you never can tell what’s real or fake—who’s working for Legend and who’s genuinely trying to help Tella. I LOVE IT.

But Tella didn’t want to look at the stars. She wanted to see him.

There also might be a love interest in here that I am completely obsessed with. Extremely broody and obviously I will not be saying more, just know that I am all for this ship. 100%. That’s basically why I need another book if we’re being honest with one another, lol.

Tella claimed she didn’t want love—she liked to say loved trapped and controlled and ripped hearts apart. But the truth was she also knew love healed and help people together, and deep down she wanted it more than anything.

Overall I was THOROUGHLY impressed, you guys. While the first one was good, this one was GREAT. All the stars!

“Don’t be like me and settle for the ease of an almost-ending, when you could have the true ending.”
“I’m not sure I understand what that even means,” Tella said.
“It means 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.”

ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication. THANK YOU NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the chance to read this early. ♥

First off, there’s another book, right? Because this book left me with too many unanswered questions! More than book one... so it’s a bit tricky for me here because if there’s another book, then this one was hella great, but if this is the last book then I’m just too flustered to think!

I’m just going to go ahead and say that the world that Stephanie Garber has created is freaking cool and amazing. I thought Tella was a decent character, although I did like Scarlett more.

As with Julian, I really liked Dante. Stephanie can write some great males! Even the new character Jacks was incredibly intriguing. I love the mystery behind the curtains, because I never know what's going to be revealed to me. Who is Legend? Where is Legend? What is Legend? Do I know? I think I know! These books really do feel like a game, and a game I enjoy playing.

So again if this is the last book, then I’m sort of pissed lol. But if it’s not then bravo, bravo, bravo. If you want a great place to escape, then try to find your way through Caraval and live through Garber's gorgeous writing!

Legendary is a thrilling sequel to Caraval. Caraval was such an amazing book that I was a bit nervous about starting Legandary. Legendary is even more exciting than the first. Everything that I loved about Caraval -- the world-building, the magic, the relationships, the excitements, and the twists -- are all there in Legendary with even more magic, suspense, and mystery. This is a book that I could not put down.

Received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

The sequel to Caraval picks up immediately after the first book ends and is told for Donatella's point of view. The sisters are off on another adventure, now free of their father's wrath and no arranged marriages. With another game of Caraval and even more at stake, Donatella must win in order to find her missing mother and save herself from almost certain death.

Just like the first book, I finished this in one day because I just had to know what was going to happen next. With both repeat characters and new faces, it was easy to fall in love all over again with the dark, dangerous Dante or the wicked, villainous Jacks. Adventure, disaster, romance...This book has it all and it is written so exquisitely that you will lose yourself. I need the next book and this hasn't been released yet! And yes, you do find out who Legend is!!!!

When I read Caraval last year, I absolutely fell in love, and I have been recommending it to everyone I possibly can. Immediately after I finished it I wanted to read the sequel, and I have been beyond excited for it ever since, but I was also a little worried that it would not live up to the first one. Well, here is something I don't usually say about sequels, while I can't say I prefer this one to Caraval, it did live up to my expectations and I absolutely love it. .
I feel like I could go on forever about what I loved about this book, but my favorite (even if it did frustrate me a little bit) was that it had the same feeling of not being able to trust anything or anyone that the first book did. Even though I basically knew one of the big mysteries from the beginning, I was still going back and forth the entire book on whether or not I was right.
While I did love this, and I did give it 5/5 stars, I did have a few small problems. The first on was the fact that I felt like some things were constantly being repeated. I loved Tella and Dante, I loved all of their scenes together, but after while it seemed like every time they were together their conversations were very similar and stated to get repetitive. The second thing that I didn't like was that there were a few plot points that I just felt were not necessary. I don't want to go into too much detail about this because it would spoil the book, but there was something revealed at the end that, in a different story would have made a huge impact, but it didn't seem to have any impact on this story. Finally, what may be the most disappointing thing about this book for me, the ending. I wouldn't say it was a bad ending, I would go so far as to say I actually liked it, but I wanted little bit more added on, just a little bit. There are a few scenes that I want to see between multiple characters, and I did not get them. As far as I knew, I assumed this was going to be a duology, it seemed pretty set up do be that way before I started to read this, but after finishing Legendary and still being left feeling like I am missing something, I wonder if there is a plan for this to be a trilogy.
Despite my feelings of not feeling like the end was an end, I very much so loved this overall. I had the hardest time putting it down once I had gotten into it.

I was so excited to see this because I loved the first book! And this one is just as good if not better!!!!! I loved that it started right up from where the last book ended! And the twist, wow! Amazing job!

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Stephanie Garber once again sweeps us away into the mesmerizing world that is Caraval, only this time, in Legendary, the game is far more different than we could have ever suspected. The world may be the same, but there is still much to learn about Caraval itself and I am so utterly blown away that I find it hard to get my feet back on the ground in reality!

As you may know already, Legendary is a companion to Caraval, this time it’s Tella’s turn to shine. Her mysterious friend who played a part in getting her and Scarlett into Caraval the first time around has come to collect his payment. What he asks for is simple, he wants Legend’s true name. In order to gain that information, Tella will have to play Caraval and win the game in order to come face to face with the mysterious Legend. There’s a lot more at play this time around then the game itself. Tella and Scarlett’s past comes to the forefront in this one and Tella is determined to get some answers, though it’s going to be harder than she could ever guess.

The stakes are definitely higher in this one, for Tella’s mysterious benefactor, Jacks, is a far more sinister type. He asks for the impossible and if Tella can’t deliver, well, it won’t be good for her! Then there’s Dante who played a bit of a role in her getting into trouble with Jacks in the first place, but yet the boy just doesn’t leave her alone. After spending the night together after the first Caraval, Tella was ready to walk away from him, as she’s been known to do with any boy she kisses, but Dante isn’t one to be walked away from. He just keeps coming back. I will admit, their interactions were enjoyable! If I wasn’t laughing at their antics I was positively swooning over something Dante said or did. These two were just wow! I thought I was totally for Scarlett and Julian, but I have to say I think Tella and Dante are definitely my favorite Caraval couple!

There’s definitely an added tension to this one that I feel like wasn’t quite there in the same way in Caraval. Tella has a much more pressing deadline to win the game this time and get what Jacks is demanding. She’s also still trying hard to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother. Tella was always more hurt by her leaving than Scarlett was.

Though Scarlett was still in this story every now and then, she wasn’t as present as I would’ve thought. There were reasons for that and I guess it’s more fitting that Tella has her own journey through Caraval on her own like Scarlett did.

The ending left me emotional, let’s say that! There were answers and then there were the things that were left unsaid. At the time of writing this, I haven’t heard if there will be more to come with this world. It’s my greatest hope that there is!

Legendary is a befitting title for this companion to Caraval. It’s as magical, exciting, and stunning as its predecessor, if not a little more! There’s so much mystery and beauty to this book that I was simply swept away by Stephanie’s words! This book was pure magic! My heart aches to return to this world already and see what more adventures could be had within its pages, because I am far from ready to say goodbye just yet. I can’t remember the last time I read a series where the magic felt so real that I lost myself from reality, but Legendary has in fact done that to me! If there’s any book recommendation you will take from me, let it be this one!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Legendary releases May 29, 2018

Yes. Yes. YAAAASSSS!

Legendary picks up the same night Caraval ends, but Tella is our main girl in this novel.

I love how all the characters are reoccurring and wishwishwish I had reread Caraval instead of just skimming the, errr, hotter portions. Seriously, if you have time, reread the first book. Garber has made this world so deep and lush and detailed—you will relish Legendary even more if this world is fresh in your mind.

Garber’s dreamy, gorgeous descriptions are the place between sleep and awake. The Neverland-ish quality transports the reader eagerly into Legend’s game. No spoilers. Tella’s journey is twisty and turny like Scarlett’s, but the game feels more dangerous and goodness, the romance got me.

This is a series that I have to own. I’ve already pre-ordered the beautiful hardcover for my bookcase. If you liked the first book, you will love this installment. I can’t wait for the third book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

If you think you know the world of CARAVAL, guess again. It's a rare sequel that manages to be better than the first, but Garber pulls out all the stops in this wonderfully lush follow-up to one of my favorite YA fantasy reads of last year. LEGENDARY subverts all expectations. Its stakes are higher, the dangers more present, and the characters more complex. I will admit that I have the tendency to be wary of sequels that shift POV focus to another character. It didn't help that I didn't particularly glom onto Tella in the first book. However, I ended up loving her narrative and her voice more than I did Scarlett's. Here is a girl who has felt underestimated by everyone around her (including herself) all of her life, but shines through every page. I even liked the romances more here.

If there's one criticism to make is that for all of the lip service paid towards the sisterly bond between Scarlett and Tella, I still wish we saw more of them together. If there's a third installment (oh please let there be a third installment because all of those bombs dropped in the last 50 pages were a lot to handle), I hope they don't spend the majority of the book separated for plot reasons. All in all, though, LEGENDARY is a wondrous sequel. Even if you were mixed on CARAVAL, I still suggest giving this one a go. It could very well turn you around!

A thrilling sequel to Caraval. A fast-paced plot and dazzling characters and setting return as the game of Caraval is played once again, but this time the stakes it may be higher than Donatella Dragna is willing to risk.