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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Not as good as the first Caraval, lost it's magic a bit.
But still good and I'm looking forward to the third part.
But still good and I'm looking forward to the third part.
I actually liked this more than Caraval, which is not something I say often about sequels. I really felt like Donatella was a more interesting protagonist than Scarlett, and her perspective made the story better.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
** 4.5 stars
Legendary was a stunning follow up to Caraval, and I think it’s one of the rare times when the sequel is better than the original. For starters, there’s a noticeable improvement in Stephanie Garber’s writing in Legendary compared to Caraval. Her prose is still pretty consistent with what we see in Caraval, but there were some scenes, particularly in the beginning of Caraval, that I thought were a little clumsily written and almost awkward to read. That is not at all a problem I had with Legendary. I think the improvement has to do with her growth as a writer (since I’m pretty sure Caraval was her debut novel?) and a greater sense of confidence in the direction of the series.
Beyond just her improved writing, I think Legendary is overall a more compelling story than Caraval was. The game is more dangerous, the stakes are much higher, the romance is better, and Tella is more interesting of a main character than Scarlett was. While I did enjoy Scarlett and Julian’s romance, I have to say that Tella and Dante’s was better. Their build up takes longer and Tella’s fake engagement to Jacks introduced a dynamic between Dante and Tella that we don’t get to see with Scarlett and Julian. You could argue that we get some of that in Finale (which I will touch more on in a separate review), but the Dante-Tella-Jacks triangle is more organic than the Julian-Scarlett-Nicolas of it all.
The main storyline of Legendary follows Tella’s desire and attempts to find her and Scarlett’s missing mother, which she has to win Caraval to be able to do. I do think having two Caravals back to back diminishes the credibility of what we know about it being very sought after because of its supposed rarity. Nevertheless, I think finding their mother and uncovering the secrets of the Decks of Destiny made for a much better overarching plot than Scarlett trying to find Tella and escaping their father did. Marcello Dragna was a pretty run of the mill villain as far as bad guys go and he was only a direct threat to the girls in the very beginning and at the end of Caraval. Jacks, however, posed a very real and very unavoidable threat to Tella’s life. The consequences of which we were constantly reminded of. I said in my Caraval review that I thought it was obvious Garber was setting up a romance between Julian and Scarlett, but I thought it was just as obvious that Jacks would be both the Prince of Hearts and the “friend” Tella had been writing to. I mean, there are only so many characters in this series lol. Regardless, I loved Jacks and I understand why people would love OUABH with him as the main love interest.
Legendary was a stunning follow up to Caraval, and I think it’s one of the rare times when the sequel is better than the original. For starters, there’s a noticeable improvement in Stephanie Garber’s writing in Legendary compared to Caraval. Her prose is still pretty consistent with what we see in Caraval, but there were some scenes, particularly in the beginning of Caraval, that I thought were a little clumsily written and almost awkward to read. That is not at all a problem I had with Legendary. I think the improvement has to do with her growth as a writer (since I’m pretty sure Caraval was her debut novel?) and a greater sense of confidence in the direction of the series.
Beyond just her improved writing, I think Legendary is overall a more compelling story than Caraval was. The game is more dangerous, the stakes are much higher, the romance is better, and Tella is more interesting of a main character than Scarlett was. While I did enjoy Scarlett and Julian’s romance, I have to say that Tella and Dante’s was better. Their build up takes longer and Tella’s fake engagement to Jacks introduced a dynamic between Dante and Tella that we don’t get to see with Scarlett and Julian. You could argue that we get some of that in Finale (which I will touch more on in a separate review), but the Dante-Tella-Jacks triangle is more organic than the Julian-Scarlett-Nicolas of it all.
The main storyline of Legendary follows Tella’s desire and attempts to find her and Scarlett’s missing mother, which she has to win Caraval to be able to do. I do think having two Caravals back to back diminishes the credibility of what we know about it being very sought after because of its supposed rarity. Nevertheless, I think finding their mother and uncovering the secrets of the Decks of Destiny made for a much better overarching plot than Scarlett trying to find Tella and escaping their father did. Marcello Dragna was a pretty run of the mill villain as far as bad guys go and he was only a direct threat to the girls in the very beginning and at the end of Caraval. Jacks, however, posed a very real and very unavoidable threat to Tella’s life. The consequences of which we were constantly reminded of. I said in my Caraval review that I thought it was obvious Garber was setting up a romance between Julian and Scarlett, but I thought it was just as obvious that Jacks would be both the Prince of Hearts and the “friend” Tella had been writing to. I mean, there are only so many characters in this series lol. Regardless, I loved Jacks and I understand why people would love OUABH with him as the main love interest.
I liked the first one better but this world is so interesting
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked this a little less than Caraval, but still really enjoyed the story overall! I actually much preferred Tella and Dante as the two main characters in this compared to Scarlett and Julian in the first book. I think I was thrown off a little by the introduction of Jacks - he's completely unlikeable (one of the reasons I couldn't get into OUABH!) and I'm not sure what point he had in the end... I'll be reading finale though as I feel like I want to round up the plot!
No puedo con la protagonista ojalá haver seguro siendo scarlet.
Y dante siendo legend? Necesito explicaciones
Y dante siendo legend? Necesito explicaciones
So I absolutely love Garber’s stories but really dislike her writing. Nothing smells of “ink and other dark, seductive things” or is “the color of disillusioned dreams and bad decisions”. This book definitely had less of the overly flowery language than Caraval, but it’s still hard to look past.