About the Book
Book Titles: Caraval, Legendary, and Finale
Author: Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Format: Physical Book
Source: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★
Disclaimer: This is an unsponsored review. I purchased my copy of this book from a local bookstore with my own money. All opinions expressed are my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Summary
For most of her life, Scarlett Dragna has dreamed of attending Caraval, a magical interactive performance put on once a year by a mysterious man who calls himself Legend. Unfortunately, her dreams are about to end, as her father has arranged a marriage for her. Her hopes of seeing Caraval are almost lost until her sister Donatella teams up with a mysterious sailor to take them to see the show. All is not well however, as upon arrival, Donatella is kidnapped by Legend himself. Determined to save her sister and to get home before their father notices their absence, Scarlett is forced to participate in all that Caraval has to offer.
My Review
As I mentioned in my review of the first book, I was terrified that this series would not live up to my expectations for it. Little did I know that this series would be one of the first that I reviewed for this blog that I would give a perfect 5/5 stars to every single book. This series had me on the edge of my seat for almost the entire time I was reading.
Something to keep in mind as you read this review is that this book is best when you read it knowing as little as possible about it (I mentioned that in my review of the first book too). That being said, I need something to talk about in this review. If you’d like to know a little more about why you should read this book, keep reading. I promise I won’t spoil anything important.
I don’t say this a lot, but my favorite aspect of the series was the romance and other relationships between characters. Love is a huge theme of all of the books, and it is beautifully illustrated throughout all of the main cast. All of the couples have amazing chemistry from start to finish, even if they don’t end up together in the end. There were so many swoon-worthy moments, and I’m not even the swooning type.
One of my favorite things in fiction is the world building, it’s no secret. While this book’s world wasn’t the most elaborate or fleshed out, it didn’t need to be. Especially in the first book, everything felt just established enough to be believable. As the story progressed, we learned more about how the magic in this world functions, and it was extremely intriguing. I even found myself gushing about one of the magical mechanics to my husband at times.
Something I’m learning about myself is that I like books with an element of mystery to them, and this one delivered. The first two books take place mostly inside a game that the characters have to navigate. I loved trying to figure out what the characters should do next as if I were inside the game too.
Speaking of characters, these characters were brilliant. Some of them started a little lackluster, but as I got to know them I started to see them as if they were real people. Every major character (and even some of the more minor ones) felt like they had realistic motivations, wants, needs, and desires. By the end, it was hard to say goodbye to them all.
This is a 5/5 star series and definitely one of my favorite reads of 2024. I highly recommend these books. I’ve already been gushing about them on TikTok.
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