Friday 6 July 2018

Legendary (Caraval #2), by Stephanie Garber

Hey guys, this is Abi here,
And I seem to have read some books recently, so I need to get back on track with reviewing them!
This is my review on Legendary!
I hope you enjoy it!


Title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garher
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: 29th May, 2017
Status: Book 2 in the Caraval trilogy
Pages: 416
Blurb: "WELCOME TO Caraval...
THE GAMES HAVE ONLY
JUST BEGUN.

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 fulfil her bargain and deliver
Legend's name, she'll lose everything-
maybe even her life.

But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will
be destroyed forever."

My Thoughts
Okay, so I knew I had to write this review eventually. Which I've been dreading. But sometimes writing a review where you didn't like the book particularly can be interesting. So let's do this.

Okay, my overall impression: Disappointing. I was expecting so much more. The concept was interesting, I liked the ideas of the storyline, but I was bored for large parts of the book. Truthfully, I enjoyed Caraval more.
Whether it was second book syndrome, or something else, I do not know. But I thought it could have been better.

I'll start with the positives:
-It was interesting reading from Tella's perspective, she was more adventurous than her sister. Though I have to say, I was more in line with Scarlett, because she was able to prioritise what her goal was. I'm not saying that wasn't the same for Tella, but I just related to Scarlett just that bit more.
I liked finding out a bit more about Tella, instead of what I saw in Caraval though.  

-There were actually some parts that I liked. Like when Tella gets a run in with the deck of cards, I was actually worried about what was going to happen.
-I also liked the plotline with Tella and her mother. There's nothing that I liked more than a character trying to find something that's been seemingly lost, without even the possibility of finding them, suddenly able to. It makes for a more fleshed out character in my opinion.
-The 'who the hell is Legend' plotline. I had my suspicions, and honestly I was surprised as to who it turned out to be.

Now, the not so good:
-There was barely any magic. I liked the never being able to tell what was real and what was fake feeling of the first book! That's what made the first book great!
-Even though I liked finding about Tella a little bit more, I thought she was... a bit bland. She spent the whole time searching for her idea of Caraval, what she thought it was.
-I felt that Garber's writing must have been different this time around.

So overall, even though the number of good points outweighs the bad, I still think that there shouldn't be as many bad points as there are.
I'm not going to give up on the trilogy, especially as there is only one book left. But my expectations has definitely lowered by this sequel.
I hope Finale is good.

Anyway! That was my review of Legendary, the second book in the Caraval trilogy! I hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you all on Monday!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Byeeeeee!

-Abi xxxxx


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