Book Review: Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber
Published by Flatiron Books on May 29th, 2018
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Stephanie Garber’s limitless imagination takes flight once more in the colorful, mesmerizing, and immersive sequel to the bestselling breakout debut Caraval

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.

The second I had this on my NetGalley dashboard, I downloaded it and dove right in. Legendary was one of my most anticipated releases for the year. Caraval was fantastic, and more than that, I have some very special memories related to that book: it was the book I was reading when I went into labor, the first book I finished after Rosalie was born. This series is very deeply embedded into my heart now and I am so happy to tell you all that Legendary does not disappoint.

In fact, I'd even go so far as to say it was better.

It was hard not to compare the two books while reading. Caraval was narrated by Scarlett, but Legendary starred Donatella and I think it was all the stronger for it. I loved Scarlett, don't get me wrong. But Scarlett's life at the beginning of Caraval was very much ruled by fear. Tella, on the other hand, is much more of a go-getter, a protagonist who really drives the story instead of being lead around by it. Tella is the kind of person who takes chances and leaps of faith, she's sometimes too reckless but she's also very cunning and very smart. She is often grossly underestimated by her opponents. I just found her to be a great, engaging, exciting main character. I loved being in her shoes.

Legendary has another round of Caraval, which is only supposed to happen once a year, but this time is happening just a few weeks later for a special occasion. I usually dislike this type of plot, where it's just a rehash of the first book (think Catching Fire.) But I just LOVE the game of Caraval so much, I didn't mind it at all. I loved it, in fact. Garber just has this way of completely messing with your head. You're told over and over again that it's only a game, none of it's real. You're explicitly told this! And yet you can't help but fall for it all anyway. This round of Caraval swept me off my feet entirely. It was so much more magical and fun this time around, even though the actual magic was kept to a minimum this time. (There are no magically changing dresses, for instance. Though I promise there is not a lack of costume porn.)

There is a love triangle in Legendary. Kind of. It may just be my hate-to-love shipper heart that's reading more into things that it should be. But there are two guys vying for Tella's attention. I will not say anything more about their identities but I loved them both so much. I truly could not pick a team because there was the guy I loved and the guy I think Tella was better with. But then there were TWISTS. Ahhh. Also for my fellow hate-to-love shippers, feast your eyes on this beauty:
(He's carrying her in his arms after doing a REALLY NICE THING FOR HER and also she's injured.)

"I still hate you."
"It's probably for the best."

I nearly fell out of my bed, okay. There is a lot of this with BOTH ships! Both are hate-to-love! If this is at all your jam, this book is definitely for you.

The world is also expanded a bit in Legendary. Scarlett's world felt very close and small, but in this book we're traveling some, to the city of Valenda. There are different districts and castles and palaces and temples. We get to see a bit of the religious belief of this world. We even get some creation myth stuff, which was awesome. I loved the expansion of the Fates especially. The myths and the truths surrounding them are fascinating and I really, really want to learn more. That said, some of the world building felt a little silly at times. Not in the big pieces, but just the small ways, like technology and magic. The every day stuff. It felt almost "throw at the wall and see what sticks." But at the same time, that just fed into the whole whimsy and Wonderland feel of the story, so I couldn't really complain that much.

My one true complaint is the writing. In Caraval the writing was flowery, colorful, and overly descriptive, but I always assumed it was because of Scarlett's synesthesia. She experiences her senses differently from normal people. But the same over-the-top descriptions happened in Legendary too. I rolled my eyes a handful of times at phrases like "he smelled like secrets." The writing is not my favorite and I can see how others would find it distracting. Everything else was just so amazing for me that the writing style barely affected me at all.

I loved Caraval. I know it's a polarizing book and some people really hated it. But I LOVED it. Legendary was twenty times better. A complete level-up from the first book, taking all the great things about book one and making them better, while leaving behind the not-as-good bits. So much dark whimsy, magic, romance, and a sense of unreality I've never seen before in any other series. The romances made it even better for me. I'm a megafan and I really, really need to know if a third book is coming because I need more.