ARC Review: Legendary (Carval, #2)

About The Book:

  Title:  Legendary (Caraval, #2) 

  Author: Stephanie Garber 
  Pub. Date: May 29th, 2018 
  Publisher: Flatiron Books 
  Pages: 416 

  Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy 

  Rate: 4/5 stars 

Synopsis :

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.

Review:

Legendary. This is going to be so hard to write. I guess I'll start by saying Caraval was my favorite book that was published last year. I loved every piece of it, because it was a giant magical puzzle. And I really liked Legendary too. While it didn't have the same action flow Caraval did, it had a uniqueness that made it special in its own right.

"As fantastical as Caraval might feel, these next five nights are very real." 

We left off Caraval on quite of a cliff-hanger with Tella. While Caraval was really Scarlett-based, Legendary is mostly Donatella-based. And I do have to say, I like Tella better than I like Scarlett. While Scarlett is safe and more reserved, Tella has a sharp tongue and is more quick-witted. Tella made some hasty decisions in Caraval that we see affect her in Legendary. We ended Caraval with a mysterious note from a 'friend' and we do find out pretty quickly who that friend is and exactly what he wants from her. Spoiler Alert: it's not good. It was great seeing the world of Caraval from another point of view, though. I think it made Legendary so much better because it adds the perspective of things that weren't revealed from the first book. We also meet a new cast of characters. Some of them I loved, while others I felt we didn't see enough from them to get a good snapshot of their characters and motives. 

Legendary has an entire new setting, which is quite exciting. There is a new game but the base on which it's played is an entire new plot line that involves Legend as his history. I loved the power-struggle between the two big bads and the stakes of the game. I think my biggest turn-off from Legendary is that it left me with more questions than answers. I'm sure this is a good thing for many, but I wanted some closure before more plot doors were opened. The next book could go in a million different ways, but I'm worried that all will not be answered by the conclusion of the series.

It's true, Legendary is not Caraval but it's not supposed to be. I will say that when you pick up this book you get the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you read stories about your favorite characters. This book sucks you right in just like Caraval did, and when you finish it you're going to miss Scarlett, Donatella, and Legend. I wish that it had answered a little bit more questions that it brought up during this sequel, but I'm hoping it's just leaving them open for a fantastic and heart-stopping follow-up. Have you read Caraval? How stoked are you for Legendary? 

- Jocelyn