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A review by megbreyer
Legendary by Stephanie Garber
3.0
Similarly to Caraval, I was intrigued by the world — although less so in this story, though the addition of the Fates was interesting. I really enjoyed Jacks as a character and I certainly liked Tella better in this book (though I really couldn’t stand her after Caraval). This was a light and entertaining read and it definitely kept me hooked throughout. She made questionable judgments, but was a much more entertaining protagonist. At the end of the day, I did enjoy it and wanted to keep knowing more, which is why I’m giving it 3 stars instead of lower.
A lot of things about the book irked me, though. Dante as Legend was painfully obvious and frustrating, as was the trope of Tella being Jacks’s one true love. How could she have been Jacks’s one true love when she was dying from his kiss until one random moment? He felt ice cold during their dinner with the empress, which was after the kiss, but warm with a heartbeat later on?
I couldn’t stand the blatant miscommunication/obvious lying that is never questioned — Tella still going about this whole adventure while keeping Scarlett in the dark even though she could’ve been helpful, Scarlett being MIA while seeking out her old fiancé and no one questioned much, and Dante telling Julian that he only cared about Tella for the cards yet Tella never bringing that up and so blindly trusting him (like Scarlett did Julian despite red flags). I hated that even after the reveal Tella wasn’t upset or anything because I sure as hell would’ve been. Another little thing about that scene — she used her final breath to apologize about their stupid kiss? What about maybe sending a message to her poor sister? No? Cool. And why did she not think about everyone saying Legend constantly led girls on and it was always a game? That didn’t cross her mind until he ~shockingly~ left her.
Also, similar to Caraval, I felt like this book wasn’t as flushed out as it should have been. A lot of information is given in the form of info dumps through characters telling stories, which doesn’t feel natural. Or, information is offered at the ~perfect~ time — example: Tella fighting the Undead Queen and her weakness being mentioned for the first time. It was too convenient, as was a lot of other things Tella stumbled upon (similar to Scarlett’s round of Caraval).
All in all, Scarlett and Tella need to get the hell away from Caraval and it’s players.
A lot of things about the book irked me, though. Dante as Legend was painfully obvious and frustrating, as was the trope of Tella being Jacks’s one true love. How could she have been Jacks’s one true love when she was dying from his kiss until one random moment? He felt ice cold during their dinner with the empress, which was after the kiss, but warm with a heartbeat later on?
I couldn’t stand the blatant miscommunication/obvious lying that is never questioned — Tella still going about this whole adventure while keeping Scarlett in the dark even though she could’ve been helpful, Scarlett being MIA while seeking out her old fiancé and no one questioned much, and Dante telling Julian that he only cared about Tella for the cards yet Tella never bringing that up and so blindly trusting him (like Scarlett did Julian despite red flags). I hated that even after the reveal Tella wasn’t upset or anything because I sure as hell would’ve been. Another little thing about that scene — she used her final breath to apologize about their stupid kiss? What about maybe sending a message to her poor sister? No? Cool. And why did she not think about everyone saying Legend constantly led girls on and it was always a game? That didn’t cross her mind until he ~shockingly~ left her.
Also, similar to Caraval, I felt like this book wasn’t as flushed out as it should have been. A lot of information is given in the form of info dumps through characters telling stories, which doesn’t feel natural. Or, information is offered at the ~perfect~ time — example: Tella fighting the Undead Queen and her weakness being mentioned for the first time. It was too convenient, as was a lot of other things Tella stumbled upon (similar to Scarlett’s round of Caraval).
All in all, Scarlett and Tella need to get the hell away from Caraval and it’s players.