Review: Legendary (Caraval #2)

Legendary (Caraval #2)
By Stephanie Garber

Published By: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: May 29, 2018
Date Read: July 11, 2021
Genre: YA – Fantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Pages: 432

From Goodreads:
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.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…the games have only just begun.

“I kept coming back to you, not because of Legend, or the game. But because you’re so real and alive and fearless and daring and beautiful and if what’s between us isn’t real, then I don’t know what is.”

I remember reading Caraval back when it first released and really enjoying it. It was one of those cases where you’re super excited for the next book… but by the time it comes out, you’ve read so much since then, that it sits on your shelf unread. After receiving an ARC of Stephanie Garber’s new series, not realising it was connected to this series, I finally dove back into this amazing series. And now, I am kicking myself for not reading this earlier. Legendary was in a word, magical!

Right from the start I was thrown back into the stunning, fantastical world of Caraval. This time, experiencing this world from Tella’s point of view. At first, I didn’t know how much I would like Tella’s point of view as I didn’t really feel any connection to her in the first book. All it took was a couple of chapters and I fell even more in love with her than Scarlett. Tella is such a fantastic character to follow through this story. She doesn’t have the hesitation and self-preservation that her elder sister has. She just throws herself into the magic and the story headfirst. I loved that so much. It made this book so much more exciting to me. I actually prefer Tella and Dante’s story so much more than Scarlett and Julian’s.

Stephanie Garber is fast becoming a must-read author for me. Her writing style is just so lyrical and beautiful and it just has that magical feel to it. You feel like you can just escape reality and dive head first into this world and never leave. And that is exactly what I want in a fantasy book! It was beautiful and stunning. Right from the beginning, I couldn’t put this book down and I devoured the whole thing in just a couple of days.

Legendary was everything I could have wanted in a fantasy book and more. I just love that this is very clearly fantasy… but you also feel like the Caraval travelling circus could just come to your town or city one day and actually happen. I loved that! It was filled with twists and turns and although I guessed who Legend was pretty early on, it was still exciting for me when we finally found out. If you’re a lover of fantasy with a heart-melting and exciting romance, I highly recommend this series. I can’t wait to dive into Finale and see how it all ends.

“Don’t give up on me, Donatella. If you stay with me long enough to get you somewhere safe and warm, then I promise I won’t let go of you like I did that night. Together we’ll fix all of this.”

And just because it’s such a gorgeous series, here are two more of my favourite quotes:

“I swear to you, this – us – we were never a part of Legend’s plan. The first time I kissed you I did it because I’d just died and come back to life, but I wasn’t feeling alone. I needed something real. But tonight I kissed you because I wanted you. I haven’t stopped wanting you since the night of the Fated Ball when you were willing to risk your life because you wanted to make me angry. After that, I couldn’t stay away.”

“There are two types of endings because most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that’s when hope is needed most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.”

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