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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The ambigious ending of Caraval certainly leads itself to a sequel in Legendary, but whether this sequel was really necessary is another question. This time around we mainly follow Donatella on her journey through another Caraval game with just as high stakes as Scarlett found in her game previously.
Firstly, I feel this book had a lot of character development for Donatella but also justified some of her more (what I personally found) annoying behaviours and traits that we saw in Caraval. This book also worked to flesh out some of the mythology of the Caraval universe, but I was certainly left wanting more. The Fates are an intersting concept and one that I hope to see given more attention and detail in the final book.
However, Tella's character development was not enough for me to want to like her character and compared to Caraval, reading Legendary was a little bit more of a chore for me, hence the slightly lower star rating compared to the first book. I also couldn't get past some aspects of Legend's character right at the end which felt like the ending of the book was a slight letdown.
Firstly, I feel this book had a lot of character development for Donatella but also justified some of her more (what I personally found) annoying behaviours and traits that we saw in Caraval. This book also worked to flesh out some of the mythology of the Caraval universe, but I was certainly left wanting more. The Fates are an intersting concept and one that I hope to see given more attention and detail in the final book.
However, Tella's character development was not enough for me to want to like her character and compared to Caraval, reading Legendary was a little bit more of a chore for me, hence the slightly lower star rating compared to the first book. I also couldn't get past some aspects of Legend's character right at the end which felt like the ending of the book was a slight letdown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Abandonment
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i really disliked the fact that this book’s setting wasn’t the same as the previous one, i really wish it had been more “magical” like i expected it would. the new element of the Fates and the new characters were great tho, it would’ve been better if the book focused more on that rather than the horrible romance between Tella and Dante, i hope he fucking dies or something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book took me so long to get through! I was very disappointed at first by the POV change, which I think made me want to read it less at the beginning. But, as I learned more about Tella, Dante, and Jacks, I fell in love with Legendary just as much as Caraval.
The beginning was slow, but the ending was great! I totally guessed the plot twist, but that almost made it better. I definitely recommend playing a little game while reading this book and try to figure out who Elantine’s Heir is…maybe you’ll win!
The beginning was slow, but the ending was great! I totally guessed the plot twist, but that almost made it better. I definitely recommend playing a little game while reading this book and try to figure out who Elantine’s Heir is…maybe you’ll win!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Blood, Murder
I was enjoying the book until the end when it was revealed that the main character was only 15 years old. That made everything seem very icky and off for me. The 'well what if, but what if, but what if' that went on and on and on made the book really drag and the game playing in all the relationships (trying to make someone jealous, ignoring them, doing things to get their attention) is really unhealthy and not something that should be foregrounded in a YA book, but always seems to be.
Besides that there was still enough interesting things to keep me reading but it was tough going at times.
The author seems to have forgotten her own canon, or is just ignoring it. In the first book it was stated that Legend had had a relationship with Scarlett and Della's Grandmother. Now we're supposed to believe that he's only a teenage boy because that's how he chooses to appear. Really Della is getting involved with a man literally old enough to be her Grandfather which is just awful. Since I've realised this fact, and that the age difference is probably similar for Scarlett and Julian, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to enjoy the final book very much.
Besides that there was still enough interesting things to keep me reading but it was tough going at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting