Do you know what is an absolutely magical delicious delight? LEGENDARY.
There is no hope for me btw, I am completely in love with this series. The world! The magic! The twisty plots! The characters! I’m standing right behind Tella as she scoffs “I’m not in love with anything” and then hurls my whole heart and soul into the game. Same, Tell, same.
It just captured me so much, was so gorgeously written, and I feel like I’ve just run wildly through Caraval myself. My affections ARE YOURS, little book. I will just flail gently until book 3 comes out. Also you can catch my review of the first book, Caraval, here!
Also BEHOLD THIS ARC. Which literally has my name on it, from the fantastic people at Date A Book.
☆ Full disclaimer…everything was PERFECT and I’m just here to flail.
Wildly. With no regrets. And I loved Caraval, but dare I say Legendary was even better?!?
☆ I was really happy that it also features another game of Caraval.
Different town. Different rules. Different (and so so much higher) stakes. And it’s all still so intoxicatingly mysterious and twisty. This book is so gorgeously Slytherin. NO ONE is ever straightforward. It’s all double-crossing the double crossed and outwitting someone who’s already playing tricks on you. Who’s lying? Who’s who they say they are??? WE DON’T GET TO KNOW. I freaking love this.
☆ It’s narrated by Tella this time!
Tella is so unapologetically herself, and it’s amazing. Her personality is like: “will stab u but also love pretty shiny things.” And I mean. I’m in love. (Also I found Scarlett unfortunately whiny with a damsel complex, so like Tella just improved my life 10000%.) Tella kisses boys and wears luscious dresses and plays mind games and is clever. I also loved how Tella is caught between playing games and actually fiercely caring about things. The whole book she’s like: “I dO NOT LOVE” while, you know, furiously loving so so many people.
☆ The sisters!! Can we !! flail over the !! sisters!!
Family is such a huge theme for these books! Scarlett would do anything for Tella and Tella would do anything for Scarlett. And half the plot hinges on Tella looking for their long-lost mother. Plus Tell and Scarlett are domestic abuse survivors and they support each other and listen now that they’re out. They also DO NOT JUDGE each other’s choices. It is so so good and wholesome and THANK YOU.
☆ The boys were all beautiful and almost definitely evil.
This is the right way to write devious and dark boys…skip the alpha and abusive relationships rubbish and move onto tricksters and otherworldly powers and manipulation of magic and kingdoms and the world. Livin’ for all the Slytherins here, I tell you. I loved Dante, who works for Caraval, and who Tell fights with 500% of the time (SHIP IT). He was awful and intriguing all at once. And we also have Jacks — Tella’s fake-fiance-during-the-game. He ate a lot of apples and was so pale he was nearly blue and also turned out to be practically an otherworldly demon. Sometimes these things happen in your love life, ok.
☆ THE MAGIC!!
There are cursed cards, Fates trying to be set free, and of course — who is Legend?! And how is he so powerful? PS. I finally knooooooow and I’m so freaking happy. I love how the magic is complex and gorgeous. Also take a moment for how amazing the writing is. I just want to eat the whole book. The descriptions and imagination are on a whole new level of incredibleness.
☆ The ending has me craving more like nothing else.
It’s both satisfying and torturous. I’m slightly suffocating with the need to find out what happens next. The plot was perfection here and it answered many many questions…and then left us with more PLUS a wicked lead in to what’s going to be a stunning finale.
So yes I’m besotted with Legendary, LOOK AT ME GO. This is an enthralling read of magic and puzzles, entrancing plots and characters of cleverness and passion. I’m in love with the lush writing, the gowns of flowers, and the bedazzling and rich scenery. The whole story has thoroughly caught my heart!
THANK YOU HACHETTE AUSTRALIA FOR THE ARC! Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Graber came out May 2018.
★★★★★
A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.
After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.
The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.
goodreads review of Caraval Book Depository Booktopia AUS
YOU DO NOT ASK A PERSON TO CHOOSE THE BEST CARAVAL EDITION. YOU DO NOT. THEY’RE ALL BEAUTIFUL I WANNA CRY.
I love the Caraval universe but I liked the first book more than I loved Legendary. ugh I think I’m the only one who doesn’t love Legendary that much I don’t know what’s wrong with myself. I still loved the storytelling though and I love the card subplot. THERE ARE ACTUAL CARDS RIGHT? I WANT TO HAVE THEM ALL.
Btw, Jacks is my favorite character in this book. There’s something about his sociopathic personality I love. I ALSO CAN’T WAIT FOR FINALE.
In regards to your first question, the first thing that came to mind was A Gathering of Shadows. I loved ADSOM but AGOS was on a whole different level of PERFECT. Just leave me fangirling here for a few days.
I KNOW THAT WAS A MEAN QUESTION I’M SORRY.😂😂 I want to like…collect them all?! Seriously. *heart eyes* And haha I mean Caraval was amazing so I don’t blame you either. 😉 The card subplot was soooo cool. It reminded me a bit of Ace of Shades which I read earlier this year and freaking adored.
Jacks was so awful and somehow great for it?!😂Him and those apples though. JACKS, SIT DOWN AND HAVE A DECENT MEAL. He’s probably hangry.
I LOVED Legendary. I thought I was a flailing mess of excitement after I read it, but reading your review just made me flail twice as hard. I need the third book like yesterday.
omg I’m a flailing mess this time, right?!?😂I LOVE when books just capture my imagination like this ahhh!!!
I really want to read this series. It’s sounds so interesting. And how cool is it that you have your name on an ARC….
It IS SO SO GOOD!! I’m going to flail forever basically.😂Total recommend.
I need to read these books!! My ever-growing TBR doesn’t need me to read them, but I need to read them 😂
Both covers are beautiful!! But I do really like the darker covers with all their gorgeous flowing scripts and designs! 😍
Hmm when I read the Rebel of the Sands duo, I really liked the second book better than the first! Now I’ll have to read these and see which book I like better! Thanks for the great review, Cait!!
I hear you with the TBRs but pfft, I mean who cares how they feel when we just keep stacking 3989 books on top of them and ignoring their cries?😂We’ll be fiiiine.
And I’m glad Rebel of the Sands worked out that way for you!
Well I officially need to read this. *runs off to find the first book* *puts it on hold at the library* *sees I’m number 12 in line* NOOOOOOO! The last time that number happened to me (it was like 18 or something) I had to wait for forever. I’m still waiting for the book, actually. 😑 I must’ve put that thing on hold just under a year ago or something.
And I’ve just got to say this: when you began talking about how much you loved it there at the beginning, I immediately had “Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ (from Lion King) start playing in my head. 😂 It kept on going the whole post.
Omg I feel the pain of having to wait that long😭😭 I get stuck in mammoth lines in my online library. Like WHY WORLD. Just buy some more copies. 😂😂 (Shh no I’m not super demanding or anything.)
And SO MUCH LOVE TONIGHT THO. I was not subtle.😂(I mean…am I ever subtle when I adore a book hahah.)
Gahhhh I really need to read this. It sounds so good and I am so behind!
Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles both had better second books than first books. I liked the second Heroes of Olympus more because it felt refreshing to be at a different camp and deal with a different mythology where we the first one trying to hard to be like a Percy Jackson book minus the Percy. And The Kane Chronicles second book was better because of the character development
I hope you get to try it! I’M KINDA OBSESSED. IT’S PROBABLY HARD TO TELL.
And oh I loved the HoO series so much (although found Percy’s second book a bit slow? But after that jafkdlsad they were perfection) And I kind of want to reread them all, wow, it’s not like my TBR would hate me for that.
I cannot not wait to read this!
I hope you get a chance!💖 It’s just AMAZING.
Ah I am so happy you enjoyed this sequel so much, Cait! I have to say, I was entertained with the first book, but somehow I didn’t fall in love with it – I think my expectations were way too high, the bookish community will do that to you haha. Yet, I’m still curious to read Legendary and damn, you made me want to read it RIGHT NOW. Tella sounds like an amazing main character as well, one I could really love 😀
Thank you so much for sharing this! <3
Aww I totally get that! Books don’t always work for everyone, right? I’m super glad that I feel hopelessly in love with Caraval and Legendary though because I’d had a bad run of books and then this just blew me away so 😍
I have this to read but I’ve been so busy this month that I haven’t had time, and I bought so many books recently at once that I’m not even sure when I’ll get to it. Loved Caravel though, like it was really sensory and that’s a big part of how I read.
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Oh I relate to being super busy! This month has been madness for me and I feel like I’ve read less this year than in the past 3 years and aghghgh. BUT LEGENDARY MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER. And yes to the sensory! It’s so visual and tactile. 😍 Such good writing.
OH MY GOD CAIT THIS REVIEW SCARES ME?? bc it sounds like the world is opening up so much MOREEEE and it’s like a proper fantasy from this sequel?? SLDKFLSDKJFlk also I’m so excited for Julian and also all of these demons/gods lsdflksdjf
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IT’S SO GOOD, I CAN ONLY SIT HERE AND FLAIL OKAY. 😍😍
OOh I loveeeee this series!! Even if/especially because of their gorgeous covers!!! I actually liked Caravel better than Legendary, but I like Tella SO much more than Scarlet. So. Both of them were great!!!
It’s such a fantastic and imaginative series right?! *falls hopelessly in love with it* 😍😍Tella is just 100 x better than Scarlet though ahah, aLTHOUGH I do think Scarlet was less damsel-y in this book at least. 😂
Ooh, I’m so glad that you say it’s good! I LOVED Caraval, but I was so scared that this one would suck like second books often do :(. But now I’m really excited to read it! I can’t remember exactly what happened at the end of Caraval… it was all very complicated, so
I’ll have to reread it so that I’m not too confused. Yay! More excuses for reading!
I get so worried about sequel-blues too, gleh, but THIS DID NOT DISAPPOINT AT ALL. Also I couldn’t remember the ending of Caraval either.😂 But someone kindly summarised it for me on Goodreads which was helpful. Heh. (Although I’m planning a full series reread before the finale!)
“This book is so gorgeously Slytherin.” I JUST I love that as a descriptor for a book 😀 Lovely review and I’m a sucker for otherworldly tricksters as well and I’m SO FLIPPING happy to see a book with sisterly love like this. Ever since Grey’s Anatomy, lol, I’ve loved the concept of someone being another person’s person. It just conjures so many more emotions in me than “soulmate”… kinda how the concept of “drift compatibility” from Pacific Rim is just SO MUCH and on point and wild and encompasses a lot and I love it.
I loved Catching Fire so so much more than Hunger Games. It fired on all cylinders and was just FAB in pacing and characters. I also really liked Snakecharm more than Hawksong in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes shapeshifter Kiesha’ra series // it just kept building up the world and I loved the characters and plot twists and romance and suspense. I think that series is her best and it just got better with each book.
Aww I’m so glad you like my wildly weird descriptions.😂I had SO much fun with this review haha. And ahhh sisterly love is something we absolutely don’t get enough of in books, right?! Usually they’re fighting, but this? THIS IS EVERYTHING.
And Catching Fire was incredible. Still shook.
This release totally creeped up on me and I haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet! It’s stunning (though I expected that). So glad you loved this one, I really need to get to it ASAP!
~Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Omg I’m so behind too on all the releases, so I hear you!! Like where is time even going these days. 😂😂
I love my US ARC to pieces but I also (very lovingly) hate all the UK/AUS bloggers who got review copies with their names on them?!? Like seriously one of the prettiest ARCs I’ve ever seen and of course the hardcovers exceed even that. I love how you describe it as “gorgeously Slytherin” because really there is no quicker and easier way to sum up the entire book 😂 (That also must explain why I loved it so much!) I already can’t wait for Finale next year!
LOOOOL I HEAR YOU!!😂 I mean, I didn’t think I’d get one because I’m not even on the ARC mailing list?! But they’re also my publisher so like, they love me. I love them. My soul is their’s. 😍 IT HAS MY NAME ON ITTTTT.
And it’s so Slytherin right?!? SO MUCH. I love that.
OMG! I need to read these!
I’ve heard so much about Stephanie’s books, but never happened to read one. Well at 175+ books/year and daily Corpus job, I should be sharp as a tack by the time I close in on 100. 😀 Oh, and then there’s the cycling…
Thanks for the review and inspiration to read more!
Warmly,
Kelly
My FB – kelly.millerquintanilla
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
They are SO SO GOOD!! I hope you get a chance to try them!
IM SO BEHIND ON COMMENTING I HATE MYSELF (ive been reading every post as they are published tho! promise)
I loooved Legendary. I thought my love for Caraval was unbeatable but this was soo dark! I literally agree with everything in this review. I can’t wait for Finale, though I’m not a fan of the title :// It’s sooo unimaginative!? I like the US covers better because they are more vibrant and pretty!? BUT THEY ARE BOTH STUNNING US AND UK. Also can we agree Tella is 10X more better than Scarlet. I love that Tella is so bad-ass and still loves to wear dresses and do whatever she wants!! I LOVE HER.
Noooo don’t feel bad!! I don’t expect everyone to always keep up with my blog.😂😂
AHH BUT SO GLAD YOU’RE OBSESSED WITH THIS SERIES TOO. I mean, right?! How epic was this one. So dark and stabby too and like all the MIND GAMES 😍and I just freaking adore Tella and how badass and clever she is. I just love reading about girls who aren’t smothered by patriarchal assumptions?! TELLA IS JUST AMAZING.
I haven’t read either of the books in this series, but I have them on my shelf and am hoping to dive in soon. I heard some people didn’t like the first book, but thought they might like the second better… we’ll see.
Ohhh I hope you try them! I mean I loved the first book so.😂 I think the second built of it amazingly!
AGH THIS BOOK. I finally started reading it and finished it within 24 hours. It was absolutely beautiful and so complicated and amazing and so much better than Caraval imo and I LOVED ITTT. Tella is such an awesome narrator… I like her so much better than Scarlett for the reasons you mentioned. I also am completely in love with Dante (and predicted he was Legend from the beginning yay me XD) but I really hated Jacks?? Idk he was just never genuine to me idk.
But ahhh I just loved this one sooo much! And now starts the torture of waiting for book 3…. *sighs*
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IS IT SO SO GOOD I CAN’T EVEN WITH HOW PERFECT IT IS. And like I loved Caraval a LOT but this was….wow. So twisty and complex and schemey. I love schemey books. And I adore Dante but also want to slap him and I HATE JACKS BUT I LOVE THAT I HATE HIM. However that works.😂😂
I think the UK editions of the books are so gorgeous but I think I prefer the US covers because of the stunning colors and design. I’m rereading Caraval right now and am so in love with being in the game and I cannot wait until I’m thrown into Legendary…but I really have to pay attention to details this time because I forgot all the important stuff last time xD
The cover designers have just SPOILED us so much for this and I love it!! So here for it ahh!!! And I need to reread Caraval eep, because I miss this world so much. I think I’ll do a full series reread before Legendary!
I haven’t read Caraval AND I AM SUFFERING… I love that there’s so much complex magic and I couldn’t be more excited to read it!! Plus, MC who denies love?? Totally me, honestly. Can’t wait to know more about these characters!! And it’s sooo cool that book has your name in the cover!!
So I just realized that I had actually purchased the second book and was going to read it without the reading the first one. Do I need to read Caraval first before reading Legendary? Or are both book stand-alones? Thank you! ☺️
Oh I definitely think you need to read Caraval first! I don’t think Legendary would make much sense without it?