Reviews with content warning for Blood - Finale

Spice Rating: 🌶️ / 5

What a finale (see what I did there?) to the Caraval series!

I just had so much fun with this book and the entire series. I wasn't second-guessing reality as much this time, which was nice, but there was still plenty of drama going on. I loved seeing both Tella's and Scarlett's POV--it showed their differences but also how similar their goals were as well as their sisterly love for each other. The stakes were the highest they've ever been, and that made the tension even better.

It's hard to explain why I loved this series so much other than the ~vibes.~ Just go read it if you're a fan of fantasy romance, magic, and games.

Content Warnings

awkwardimagination's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Solid 3. It's definitely the strongest of all three books, but bc it's the last in the series I don't think that's a good thing. The plot was better, the characterization was better, and maybe I'm juts blind to it now but the prose also seemed better.

I still absolutely did not like the ending.

I do not think Legend should have given his immortality up for a 16 yr old he met like 2-5 months ago, as opposed to his brother (who he does actually care about a lot, but is horrible at showing) who has been by his side the entire goddamn time. I just don't like the way he was characterized throughout this whole series, he could have been so much better. Like Jacks, and Poison, and the Assassin - they were all fucking great.

Tella still grated my nerves every chance she got, but Scarlett (while still a bit annoying) was really good in this book (even if I did find it completely unbelievable for her character). Julian really stepped up his game in this one; i was real indifferent to him in the first book, and we barely saw him the second, so I don't know if that's really that hard to do. And I loved Jacks and the Assassin the most, but I was dead set on Legend being the legendary character of this series and I'm so fucking disappointed in the direction the author decided to take him; he could have been so great.

Whatever, I really only wanted to read this series bc I really want to read Once Upon a Broken Heart, and considering the improvement between books 1 and 3 of this series I'm holding onto a thin string of hope that OUaBH will actually not make angry.

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milzy_23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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readwithria's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Finale wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, but I had a good time reading it nonetheless.

This book was a mixed bag for me. There were some aspects of it that worked really well for me, and some that I could have done without. There was one particular subplot that was dropped as quickly as it was started, and there were some characters that could have been entirely excluded and I would t have noticed.

The magic in this book felt more fleshed out than the previous two, which I definitely appreciated. However, I don’t actually understand how magic works in this world. How do people get magic? Where did it come from? How does it work? I don’t think these questions could be answered at the moment.

This series was fun, and I can see why it’s so popular, but it wasn’t quite there for me. Finale in particular was not quite what I wanted it to be. 3.5 stars.

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aryc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved it 💜

I loved the entire trilogy. The story development in Finale closed some doubts I had, although it left me with some other ones 😅. Like Caraval it's a light and quick read, which doesn't stop the description from transporting you to the place as you read. I loved the ending as it is left open to the imagination.

I feel like I need more of Legend and Tella's story 🙉.

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sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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volleyworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think that this book was the most entertaining book of the whole series! I think that the writing was much better than the last two books and was just much more detailed and descriptive. All throughout the book I was captured by the magic and wonders of the world, I’m sad that I finished the series, but am so glad I could follow along with this dangerously magical adventure.

Couldn’t keep my mouth from dropping to the floor when I found out Scarlet’s father was the Fallen Star. Amazing plot twist and scene! 👏👏👏

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oliviagrace33's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was such a fun read for me. I cannot wait to read "Once Upon A Broken Heart" and follow Jacks story even more. To me, he is the highlight of the book, and I hate that we don't get enough Jacks content.

This book ended fine. Nothing happened quite like I would have wanted it to, but I still enjoyed the ending overall. The ending left me feeling pretty satisfied, even with Tella's choice. I wasn't sure I was going to like Legend as much as I did Jacks, but by the end I liked Legend enough to be okay with that being her final decision. Honestly, it does make more sense. She loved him for much longer, and they did have clear chemistry.
I wish there had been a bit more Scarlett and Julian scenes. I love them together, and I would feel more complete if they had a few more scenes sprinkled in.

Overall, this is a very good book and a very good series. I do recommend, and I think I will love Jacks' spinoff even more.

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