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A review by ellaira
Finale (Large Print) by Stephanie Garber
5.0
THE GOOD
❈ I found myself feeling much less annoyed at and much more pitiful for Jacks than I did in Legendary. I have a strange attachment to him now and I felt sad at the end that he didn't get a very happy ending.
❈ I was also much less annoyed at Tella for her secretive plots and impulsiveness. I think this is partially because she became a lot more honest in this book. I think she grew so much as a character in this book. Overall, the characters spent a lot less time arguing with each other for having to do risky things and were more open with each other. Or well, I guess to put it more clearly, they didn't play games with each other as much.
❈ I enjoyed learning more about the Fates, but I also wished we could've gotten a deeper glimpse into that part of their world. Only a handful of them really played any role at all. Then again, if we get a sequel, that might be different.
❈ The scene in the marketplace made me bust out laughing, which is something that rarely occurs in books. It was a nice break in the tension.
❈ Usually, when there are two love interests battling it out for the attention of a character, I find it extremely frustrating and not very enjoyable to read. I guess its just not my thing. But surprisingly I didn't mind it here.
THE BAD
❈ For the first few chapters, the romance between Tella and Legend seemed a bit too sappy for my taste and I had some trouble getting into the book, but after that it didn't really interrupt the flow for me anymore.
❈ I was a bit annoyed at the fact that the secret Tella exchanged her daughter's weakness for in the future didn't play as much of a role. I know it most likely served as a plot device to set up for future books, which I am for, but it felt disappointing that Tella went through all of that for a secret that didn't help them that much in the end. Having the Assassin on their side, I immediately thought that they might go back to that moment in time and murder him, but it ended up just leading to a plot to dress Scarlett up similarly to their mother to have Gavriel fall in love with her again, which they totally could've come up with without that secret they bought.
❈ The way Nicolas's story ended was very sad and abrupt, and it felt like it was unnecessarily so. I don't think the side plot really brought anything to the story and I could've done without it. And more importantly, what happened to Timber afterwards? Who is taking care of him now? I need to be reassured on this matter.
❈ I want to see more development with the other performers in caravel please!
❈ I also wanted to hear more about Julian and Legend's backgrounds. I know it wasn't entirely relevant here but I'd enjoy it if we got the opportunity in the future.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
❈ This was definitely a change of pace from Caravel and Legendary, but I didn't think that was necessarily a fault. If there had been another caravel, it probably would have felt too repetitive. I thought the pacing was pretty good throughout the book.
❈ I was a bit surprised that Scarlett and Julian, and not Legend and Tella, were pushed forward as the new rulers. Scarlett has matured a lot, but I still have trouble imagining her personality being compatible with the constraints of ruling. But, you never know.
❈ We never quite closed up that loose thread with Esmeralda. She's most likely dead, but you can assume such things.
❈ There is going to be a spinoff about Tella's daughter??? You can't just leave that hanging there.
❈ I'm curious what role Jacks would play in this hypothetical spin-off novel. Will he fall in love with Tella's daughter? Or plan to destroy her for Tella's betrayal? Or both? I don't know I just miss Jacks now for some reason ):
❈ Although, giving up Tella's daughter's weakness seems like horrible betrayal, theoretically they could sell it to the sisters and buy it back immediately afterward, eliminating the risk because they would forget immediately afterward, if I'm correct. Then again, that isn't as dramatic. But they would still have to give up / find a secret of equal value, which could make for an interesting sequel.
❈ I found myself feeling much less annoyed at and much more pitiful for Jacks than I did in Legendary. I have a strange attachment to him now and I felt sad at the end that he didn't get a very happy ending.
❈ I was also much less annoyed at Tella for her secretive plots and impulsiveness. I think this is partially because she became a lot more honest in this book. I think she grew so much as a character in this book. Overall, the characters spent a lot less time arguing with each other for having to do risky things and were more open with each other. Or well, I guess to put it more clearly, they didn't play games with each other as much.
❈ I enjoyed learning more about the Fates, but I also wished we could've gotten a deeper glimpse into that part of their world. Only a handful of them really played any role at all. Then again, if we get a sequel, that might be different.
❈ The scene in the marketplace made me bust out laughing, which is something that rarely occurs in books. It was a nice break in the tension.
❈ Usually, when there are two love interests battling it out for the attention of a character, I find it extremely frustrating and not very enjoyable to read. I guess its just not my thing. But surprisingly I didn't mind it here.
THE BAD
❈ For the first few chapters, the romance between Tella and Legend seemed a bit too sappy for my taste and I had some trouble getting into the book, but after that it didn't really interrupt the flow for me anymore.
❈ I was a bit annoyed at the fact that the secret Tella exchanged her daughter's weakness for in the future didn't play as much of a role. I know it most likely served as a plot device to set up for future books, which I am for, but it felt disappointing that Tella went through all of that for a secret that didn't help them that much in the end. Having the Assassin on their side, I immediately thought that they might go back to that moment in time and murder him, but it ended up just leading to a plot to dress Scarlett up similarly to their mother to have Gavriel fall in love with her again, which they totally could've come up with without that secret they bought.
❈ The way Nicolas's story ended was very sad and abrupt, and it felt like it was unnecessarily so. I don't think the side plot really brought anything to the story and I could've done without it. And more importantly, what happened to Timber afterwards? Who is taking care of him now? I need to be reassured on this matter.
❈ I want to see more development with the other performers in caravel please!
❈ I also wanted to hear more about Julian and Legend's backgrounds. I know it wasn't entirely relevant here but I'd enjoy it if we got the opportunity in the future.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
❈ This was definitely a change of pace from Caravel and Legendary, but I didn't think that was necessarily a fault. If there had been another caravel, it probably would have felt too repetitive. I thought the pacing was pretty good throughout the book.
❈ I was a bit surprised that Scarlett and Julian, and not Legend and Tella, were pushed forward as the new rulers. Scarlett has matured a lot, but I still have trouble imagining her personality being compatible with the constraints of ruling. But, you never know.
❈ We never quite closed up that loose thread with Esmeralda. She's most likely dead, but you can assume such things.
❈ There is going to be a spinoff about Tella's daughter??? You can't just leave that hanging there.
❈ I'm curious what role Jacks would play in this hypothetical spin-off novel. Will he fall in love with Tella's daughter? Or plan to destroy her for Tella's betrayal? Or both? I don't know I just miss Jacks now for some reason ):
❈ Although, giving up Tella's daughter's weakness seems like horrible betrayal, theoretically they could sell it to the sisters and buy it back immediately afterward, eliminating the risk because they would forget immediately afterward, if I'm correct. Then again, that isn't as dramatic. But they would still have to give up / find a secret of equal value, which could make for an interesting sequel.