Legendary
Description:
Stephanie Garber’s limitless imagination takes flight once more in the colorful, mesmerizing, and immersive sequel to the bestselling breakout debut Caraval
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.
Hardcover, 451 pages
Published May 29th 2018 by Flatiron Books
My Review:
Exquisite and magical 🥀
Legendary....
….is the title, the writing, and are the characters. Garber used only the most gorgeous adjectives and synonyms present in Roget’s Thesaurus to write this fairytale-like sequel to Caraval.
Donatella Dragna is the main protagonist and player in this novel. She has saved her sister Scarlett and is unaware of the danger that surrounds them still. For a bargain so she thinks, she agrees to deliver the real name of Caravals Legend Master to a mysterious stranger. Unfortunately this has brought her into a dilemma and she has to enter and win the dangerous Caraval games.
Legendary begins with a memory. A memory of Tella finding some cards in her mothers’ box when she was younger. This is an important part and it delves into deeper throughout the novel, as these cards from the deck of Destiny are the key to unlock certain things.
Throughout the entire game, Garber weaves a deeply delicate web around each corner and character to create a magical world. The idea of centering cards and their use in this novel was brilliant. This perhaps has been and old premise, but the depth in which their mechanics served as the main device has been thought through and through. I kept telling myself in surprise how well done and imagined this was.
The game of Caraval comes at a price, of course. Is it worth to Tella to risk her life, her love, or the loss of her dearest ones at the end? How about the power shifts and backstabbing? Well, you will be surprised at the end with a twisted cliffhanger that shatters the illusion that you knew anything at all. Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the last book in the series to find out if love can conquer the lies and deceit and whom the girls can trust. As of right now…a life needs saving and the card of love still has to be played!
***
This is a young hearts delight. So magical, so beautifully dangerous, wondrously new and exciting. First love, bewitched characters and tantalizing cruel heat make this an indulgence to read.
I am not the target age for this series and I knew that going in. I did not expect this to be a challenging, thought provoking read. But I found it enchanting and dreamy, a combination of beauty princesses and evil. Imagining gorgeous dresses, beautiful palace like surroundings, good vs. evil situations etc. So, while this does not stir me personally as much anymore (sigh), I am aware that Garber knows her target audience and her craft. She has set the hook in her novels and her readers are at her wish and command. So if you need an enchanting tale in your life, this will be your go-to series. Enjoy.
