Legendary (Caraval #2)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Published: 2018
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated F for dangerous fates, both the real deals and destiny itself.
A heart to protect.
A debt to repay.
A game to win.
Caraval swept Scarlett and Tella away from their father. Having won the game, they should be celebrating, but while Scarlett is off with Julian, falling in love with him, Tella isn’t quite free. She has a debt to pay for saving Scarlett. She must retrieve Legend’s true name and. This time, Caraval, being held in the city of Valenda, is more magical and more dangerous than ever and could cost Tella her life, for real.
It’s not just Legend and his players that Tella must be careful of, but the Fates as well. They are returning to the world of Caraval and Scarlett is unsure of what’s real and what’s just an act. Though it appears that Legend is trying to help, Tella will discover whether or not Legend really is the villain he’s made out to be.
I was bewitched with Caraval and Legendary has captured me just the same. Utterly imaginative and magical, this book ups the stakes of Caraval. The dangers are bigger and more life-threatening and this time it’s Tella, Scarlett’s sister, that is playing. She plays not only to protect her sister but to pay off a debt and save her mother. She’ll have to win and if she does, she’ll finally meet Legend, the game master himself. However, if the bloody, heart-stopping curse on her by the dastardly Prince of Hearts, a Fate, kills first that’ll never happen.
Everybody has secrets. Tella, Scarlett, Julian, everyone. Good to see that hasn’t changed and that I’m continuously obsessed with figuring them out. Getting even deeper with the characters that I only got a taste of in Caraval, like Dante, was so cool. I love when minor characters get a spotlight or turn out to be the spotlight. It’s such a twist and I live for minor things turning out to be major. Romance twists its vines through this book too and it squeezes tight, wringing my heart a good one.
The Fates, only briefly mentioned in the first book get a much larger part to play and that was exciting! More so, so was discovering that even though I was following Scarlett during Caraval, the main character of this trilogy is actually Tella. It’s not until this book that I actually figured that out. I can’t complain about the misdirection. It’s brilliant! The plot twists and surprises are mind-bending and breathtaking. I’m totally in love with this trilogy. The magic of the first book became real in this one. And discovering who Legend was…Holy shit! I had many guesses throughout the book, and while it was predictable, it was still incredible.
The city of Valenda really splits down the middle of gorgeous and mystifying, and treacherous and secretive. Garber really showed many different shades of this vast city and it was enriching to explore it with Tella. The temples were the most terrifying yet beguiling for me as I imagined them in my mind. This places nooks and crannies really shed truths on Tella and the sisters’ mother.
Overall
So completely in love and taken by this one just like I was with Caraval. I’m desperate to see how it ends, especially after that ending! Sadly, I’m one of those weird people who really like to have their books in one format and for the Caraval trilogy, it’s paperback. So, I’m waiting a little while for Finale. That gives me time to recover my emotions though. Without a doubt, I recommend this series and though Legend doesn’t recommend getting swept away I do.
Quotables:
“Your future can be whatever you wish. We all have the power to choose our own destiny…” (Paloma to Tella, p. 6)
“She’s once bet her life on her sister’s love. She’d kissed the Prince of Hearts and still lived. These Fates would not kill her tonight.” (Tella, p. 273)
“Fate is only an idea, but I think by believing in it we turn it into something more. You just said you’ve avoided love because you’ve believed it wasn’t in your future, and so it hasn’t been.” (Dante to Tella, p. 352)
More to come soon…
-K.
P.S. Song today? Black Black Heart by David Usher.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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