This is the third and final book in the Caraval series. I loved every book in this series and this one was just as fantastic as the previous two. This series is so completely unique and magical I just love every moment of it. This is one of those books that is effortless to read and so completely engaging.

The Fates have been released from their deck and Legend has claimed the throne. Tella is heartbroken to find that Dante is a lie, but relieved to have her mother back. Scarlett stumbles upon even more dangerous secrets. Together they must work to save the kingdom from the machinations of the Fates.

I love stories about the Fates and I really enjoyed this one. All the characters are complex and easy to love and engage with. The settings are amazingly creative and really come alive. This whole story is darkly magical.

Everything was tied up beautifully and I enjoyed all the twists and turns that got us to that point. Garber’s writing flows beautifully and is so easy to read and engage with. I will definitely be checking out more books from her in the future.

Overall this was an amazing conclusion to a fantastic series. I loved everything about it; the whole series was just pure mystery and magic. I would recommend to those who enjoy magical fantasies with a dark edge to them. If you are a fan of the Caraval series this book won’t disappoint!

I was somehow chosen to be accepted for this eARC of Finale by Stephanie Garber. I was so excited. I have been a huge fan of Stephanie's since the day I met her in a small town Barnes & Noble for somebody else's book signing two years ago. It was the spark that also helped fuel this book journey. It still took me a little longer to get confidence to take the first steps needed to start. I squealed when I got the email saying I have been scepter. I danced a happy dance with my three year old son who then told me he was done and went back to his cars.
I have been so excited to read Finale, but once I had it in my hands I had mixed opinions. Once I read it Caraval would be over. I started Finale and was instantly hooked. Stephanie pulled it off again. She wrote a story that kept me on my toes. It was full of surprises that had me gasping out loud and got me kicked out of the room so my husband could play Xbox without me yelling "WHAT?!" Garber wove a story of intrigue and love and she blew my mind and softened my heart. I had many moments I was unsure of who was good and who was bad. I was never sure who to root for. The depth of the characters had me hurting with them through heartbreaks. It had me cheering for them in their victories and rooting for me on their journey.
Finale did not disappoint. I knew it would be awesome and I knew my heart would be broken and out back together again. Garber tells a colorful story of magic and love and good vs evil. Everybody needs to read this entire series

I was so excited for this book and it did not disappoint! Where the first one was from Scarlet's point of view and the second was from Tella's, this book switches back and forth to finish out both stories. This book kept me on my toes, and I found myself torn between wanting Tella to end up with Legend and wanting Stephanie Garber to throw in some crazy plot twist and have Tella end up with Jacks. Scarlet's story had a couple of twists thrown in as well. You learn more about their mother and the girls' relationship with her. There is so much going on in this book. There is love, loss, scheming, betrayal, revenge and redemption. I loved this series, and this was definitely the conclusion the story deserved. I am somewhat sad there won't be another one. This world is so beautiful and magical. However, the conclusion was perfect.

Whoa nelly, that’s a lot to digest!

First, I love that it bounced back and forth between the two sisters; it was nice to see what each was thinking and feeling as they each dealt with their own challenges.

Second, I greatly enjoyed the ending. I felt like it was kind of perfect; there was closure, but stayed true to each character.

Still docking a star because they often frustrated me and I, again, felt like it could have been shorter. However, as always, the story kept drawing me in and as annoyed as I was at times, I couldn’t really stop reading.

A part of me, a very small part, wanted to be a little generous and give this book two stars. I very nearly did, initially, as credit is deserved when credit is due and <i>Finale </i>definitely improved over the disasters that the first two novels were. Unfortunately, when I look back at all my notes while reading this novel, it becomes pretty clear that despite improvements, this book retains a great number of the problems that arose in previous novels of the series. And while the villain of this particular novel was a nice change of pace from the prior books, various decisions that Garber made on his end were incredibly ridiculous, predictable, and even manipulative on her end. And ultimately, I am still left wondering what on earth possesses Garber to believe that I, as a reader, should have any sort of positive feeling toward a single one of these characters. It all comes down to, I think, the image that Garber has in her head and the poor portrayal of the characters. She tells us regularly who each of these characters are and then proceeds to write them in a manner that does not match those previous statements.

Lets begin with the characters; they're all generally awful people. Not a single one, literally aside from Legend who is purported as one of the <i>most</i> selfish, comes across as unselfish. Scarlet is selfish, Julian is selfish, and Tella is the <i>most</i> selfish. Worse, she is petty to the point of instantly hating another woman for simply being pretty and knowing Legend somewhat intimately. Yet, somehow I am supposed to believe that these characters are loving and self-sacrificing. They're just not. Of all the characters, ironically the only one I could ever bring myself to like a tiny amount, surprisingly enough as I hated him in the past two novels, was Legend if only for his few moments of sacrifice. And then the single moment where I actually felt anything for what was happening in this novel came from a heart-wrenching moment with a dog who really never deserved to be made part of the disaster that is the lives of these characters.

The men in this story are disturbingly predatory in a great many ways and fortunately Garber does call this behavior out as problematic. But even so, there was a moment within the story in which one of the characters is forced, unknowingly, into doing something that she would never willingly do and then later made to feel bad for hurting the character who'd forced her out of a desire to reverse it, though reversal was impossible. This entire side plot made me extremely uncomfortable and made the implication that one should feel bad for hurting the person who took away your ability to consent.

And, to cherry top the novel is the inclusion of not one but <i>two</i> ridiculous love triangles. The love triangles only exist to further show the selfishness of the main characters, though I suppose Garber's desire for them was to make readers doubt and guess at her ultimate goal for the ships. It doesn't work, of course, and predicting the relationship outcome for the novel takes no time or work at all. Not only do we already know who both Tella and Scarlett will end up with, but we spend a ridiculous amount of time on Tella's runabout between the two immortal men in her life who supposedly only want to possess her. Tella regularly questions which man actually "loves" her, despite the answer being painstakingly obvious in every way aside from the character in question actually making the statement, "I love you." Scarlett's love triangle is blessedly short-lived in comparison, though it lasted much longer than necessary and also served as a plot point to further the rest of the story. It was all rather painful to read.

The main villain of the story had potential. In fact, it was the work that went into the <i>fates</i> that made me almost appreciate the story. They were interesting and, had the main characters been better, might have served for decent adversaries. But not only were all their efforts to defeat these villains somewhat paltry and silly, following the previous novels by having everything relevant simply <i>land in the laps</i> of the characters trying to defeat the monsters the fates were, the moment in which they finally win was incredibly anti-climactic. Add in the fact that Garber goes as far as she can to make us feel bad for the villain as he's defeated and I was left more annoyed than before. The backstory of the villain doesn't make me care about him, though it is made clear that Garber wants me to care. It was a poor attempt at manipulating the emotions of her readers and later resulted in one of the most ridiculous endings I've read in quite some time.

As a small aside, I couldn't help noticing some very uncanny similarities between one of the villains in this novel, Jacks, and the character Jac from Amanda Foody's <i>Ace of Shades </i>series. Their abilities to take away pain, mainly, and the fact that it hurts them in the process as they feel all the pain of the person for whom they are taking it. This alone was somewhat fascinating to me as I went and checked the publication dates of these books and noticed that they were fairly similar and so I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that anything was borrowed from the others' novels, but it does seem as though Jacks has far too many similarities and Jac did come first.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The Caraval series gets right what Twilight did wrong. Never change for a man. You do you, girls. You do you. Tella and Scarlett are stronger role models for women, but they still embrace feminine wiles and they use them. The level of detail in the imagery makes for a vivid read with characters you can't help but love. The underlying questions of relationships and trust make the read metaphorical for the modern world. The illusion is all around us, but you can still find what is real.

I thought this was a strong end to the trilogy and it definitely did not go as I predicted. My only complaint was that I felt the dialogue between characters was not as strong as the first two books, particularly when they were discussing emotions and feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. Wow! This is a fantastic finish to a fantastic story! I love everything about this story. The setting, characters, and plot are all beautifully crafted. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next!

Scarlett and Tella and Julian and Legend all return in this true Finale of the Caraval series. The POV switches between the sisters and I found myself living for Tella’s narration. After reading Caraval, I never thought I would favor Tella so strongly but I love her and Legend so damn much. The plot is twisty turny and filled with Fates released from the enchanted deck--oh Jacks!

Fans of the series will be pulled into this adventure that promises secrets and romance and danger. I will definitely be rereading these books in the future. I’m happy with the ending, but I will miss this world and Legend most of all.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy. I ordered the Owlcrate special box for Finale and can’t wait to see it on my shelf.

I’ll read whatever Stephanie Garber writes next!

I don’t think it’s a secret that I have loved every book of this series, so when I was approved for an arc, of course I dropped everything.

Scarlett and Julian were my favorites, so I was thrilled to get more of them in this story. Tella and Legend are something entirely different. I will admit to getting a slight bit irritated with their constant push and pull. Obviously I was just waiting for everyone’s HEA because the story unfolds just as it should.

Plot wise, it’s like two separate parts of the main story. Each one was compelling and captivating and when the POVs would switch, I would start reading even faster to get back...only to find I was sucked into that new thread line. There are a lot of ups and downs to this book. There’s kissing and swoons and backstabbing and actual stabbing and lots of magic. Let me tell you I was here for all of it.

Overall, it was everything I wanted and a few things I didn’t know I needed. I’m sad this series is over, but I can’t imagine it could have been done any better. Thanks to Stephanie for giving us such an amazing story.

**Huge thanks to Flatiron Books for providing the arc free of charge**

WOW! WOW! I am speechless. Finale was everything I wanted and more. The Caraval series has become one of my top favorite series of all time. Stephanie's writing is beautiful and enchanting. I became spellbound. I have so much love for every single character, and I wish they were real! The character development from book one to the finale has been incredible! Finale has been one of my most anticipated books of the 2019, and it will now be one of the BEST reads of the year. A huge thank you for netgalley and the publisher for approving me for an arc! I will write a more proper review but I just wanted to let everyone know asap that they should definitely be per-ordering this!

This trilogy has been enchanting from start to finish. I have been in love with this series since I picked up Caraval and the feelings have only grown since. Finale was incredible and shows how far these characters have come and how much they’ve grown together as well as individuals. I was glad that Scarlett’s POV returned in book three as it has been sorely missed since Caraval. However seeing the juxtaposition between the two sisters’ stories and the challenges they overcame really increased the stakes and made the story all the more magical. The ending was heartfelt and satisfying and upon finally finishing this book I can only lament that the story has concluded. I will miss the world of Caraval dearly!

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved Caraval, and forced myself to wait to read Legendary until it was nearly time for Finale to be released so it would be fresh in my mind. It took a bit for Finale to get started, but once it picked up, it was a quick read. Tella isn't my favorite sister, but she's a character I enjoy being somewhat annoyed by 🤔. The ending was satisfying and I definitely recommend this trilogy for young adults and adults alike!

Sometimes Tella made me want to outright slap her. Saying things like "I know this will happen but I'm gonna do it anyway" then complain about the consequences. But to be honest who hasn't done that? Humans are flawed and they eccentuate that here. Maybe because they're so close to the fates? This is not just a game. I like how careful and pragmatic Scarlett is. She reminds me more of me even though most everyone seemed to dislike her POV in the first one. I love Legend. I love how tricky Jacks is. And I hope maybe one day Stephanie decides to write more on their futures instead of making this the very last we see of their fantastic characters. I'm in love with Caraval and it's magic.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40381392-finale

Wow. Finale packs a massive size punch! Be prepared for a lot of information to be presented to you in #Finale. Ms. Garber pulls out all the stops on the third and finale book. Scarlett and Tessa have their hardest decisions in front of them. What they choose will seal their fate forever. In freeing the Fates the game has now changed setting Legend up to stake his claim. One thing that I didn't really like is the author left the door cracked a tiny bit for another book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, and Flatiron Books for the E-arc copy of this novel.

The Fates have been freed and now Donatella and Scarlett must decide where their loyalties lie and figure out a way to survive to the Finale of the grand show that is the Caraval series. Tella is enraptured every night in dreams wrapped in the magic of Legend while encountering the mysterious Jacks during the day. Who truly is the keeper of Tella's heart? Meanwhile Scarlett must choose between the real Count Nicolas and Julian. What starts as an innocent game to win her heart turns dangerous and the roller coaster of events begins.

Finale attempts to answer the multitude of questions that have been created over the first two books and tie it all up in a nice red bow. The book manages to do so by creating a wild roller coaster ride with no breaks that left me out of breath and my head reeling. The chapters are short and numerous with only a few not containing some massive plot development. There were many opportunities to flesh out the story more and give more depth. It almost appears that either the author was unable to contribute the time to fully delve into the story or editors pushed for a shortened book and cut length out of the novel wherever they could. A few moments in the novel felt rather forced and rushed such as the revelation as to who Paradise truly was before becoming a thief. If you happen to miss just one sentence, other parts of the book might not make any sense at all.

Outside of the rushed text that sometimes felt like a Young Adult novel shoved into a Juvenile chapter book's frame work, I enjoyed the story line and felt that it successfully answered many of the questions from the first two entries. The ending of the novel left room for another installment if the author decides without leaving a cliffhanger.

Finale is the perfect ending to one of my favorite YA series! It was everything I was hoping for, and I’m happy with how it all played out. I can’t wait for whatever Stephanie Garber does next!

Finale by Stephanie Garber was such an amazing book! The heart on the cover? That's exactly how I feel about it. It had the perfect true ending and was... you just have to read it.

This is the third book in the series, so there are spoilers for the first two books here. You've been warned.

When we last left the story with Legendary, Tella had discovered that Dante was actually Legend, and she felt that she had feelings for him, but he left and broke her heart. Now, he's coming into her dreams, and her mother, released from the Deck of Destiny, is now in a deep sleep. Tella's love for her mother is strong.

Scarlett has decided that she wanted to get to know Nicholas and give him a chance, even though she has feelings for Julian. She hasn't seen him for a while. Maybe his feelings for her weren't real? She's trying to get over him.

Both of their worlds are upended when the Fates start waking up and Tella witnesses something horrible, committed by the terrible Fate Gavriel.

First, they have to find out Gavriel's weakness, but even after they figure it out, they have to figure out how to exploit it so they can stop him. We also learn more secrets. There are secrets about Legend AND Scarlett to be learned.

All of this excitement, including a love triangle or two (that I thought was well done) occurs amidst a sea of shimmering prose like "The cabin looked as warm as a handwritten love letter." and "He looked like a wish that had just woken up." (These were taken from the Advanced Reader's Copy and could change in the Finale edition). The writing is gorgeous and kept me reading.

There were several powerful lines, and I was in tears at a couple of points. The most powerful line to me was "I forgive you." Oh, and the last two sentences of chapter 59? So many feels.

I loved the ending too! There wasn't another Caraval in this book, but it was still full of magic. You definitely want to read this one.

This conclusion to the Caraval series does not disappoint! Told from the alternating perspectives of the two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, this book was full of twists, turns, action, and magic, tied up with a perfect little bow!

Scarlett and Tella really come into their own as strong, independent women who know what they want and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Legend and Julian remain entrancing and romantic, albeit at times frustrating. And Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, returns as the character you love to hate. Many of the Fates make an appearance and are frighteningly realistic. The story moves quickly with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged, with sweet bits of romance mixed in between the action.

I loved how Garber took all of my favorite characters, places, and Fates from the world of Caraval, mixed them all up, and gave a truly satisfying ending to the series. Thank you, Netgalley, for giving this Caraval-addict an ARC of this book for an honest review. It was incredible!

I loved this book so much!!!! It met my expectations, and while I'm sad the series has ended (though I do want a short story collection or a novella from Dante and Julian's perspective from before the Caraval book) Stephanie did a good job wrapping things up while leaving it open at the same time.
Loved all the characters and learning more about the Fates. They were so fascinating and I wish we could know more about them. Overall I just adore the sister relationship with Tella and Scarlett and I can't wait to add this book on my shelf. It's just so magical and breathtaking and I couldn't put it down. I'm may or may not have squealed and made noises while reading it or when things interrupted me and I needed to know what happened next.