Legendary by Stephanie Garber
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
I know I told yall a couple reviews back that I was gonna try to have more creative photos of my audiobook reads.
Welp.
As you can see above that has been thrown out the window.
I do not have the energy for some fancy schmany cool looking Kodak moment today.
The world has zapped me of effs to give right now…and the very infant sized amount I DO have do not involve figuring out how to take a cute pic with my phone.
Because yall know….I am always VIP passenger number one on the struggle bus when it comes to techy type things like that.
And it takes all kinds of time and energy and learning that I do not have for that purpose right now.
So…you get my hand, holding my phone, while propped on my couch pillow that just happens to be next to me.
Ta-dah.
I’ll give it a better go next time….possibly.
Just remember…you’re here for my WORDS.
Those I ALWAYS have plenty of effs for because they are always in EXTREME ABUNDANCE (just ask my husband🤣)
Alright….moving on to those…..
This book was #2 in the Caraval series …I finished the first one just days ago.
I absolutely LOOOVE it when I can immediately check out and download the next book in the series on my library app.
No patience necessary…immediate book nerd gratification at its FINEST.❤
WHICH RIGHT NOW IS SO NEEDED.
(You can read about book #1 here:
https://brainglitterwithdani.com/caraval/ )
Yall, I am telling you that this series has been the break my brain needs right now.
Escaping to this fictional world for a tiny bit each day is a much needed reprieve for SO many reasons.
Here is the official summary:
“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.”
Some books in series can be stand alone novels. I feel like book #1 in this series is one of those….but book #2 definitely is not.
You MUST read book #1 to know what the hell is going on in book #2.
If you don’t you are gonna be all kinds of super confused and not able to enjoy the story AT ALL.
But yall…you FOR SURE want to read them BOTH.
I think I enjoyed this story more than the first actually.
The first book was Scarlett’s story and voice…and this one is Tella’s.
And I kinda like her more!
While both sisters are fiesty, independent and likable, I feel like Tella is just a touch more daring and risque in her decisions and personality. (typical younger sibling 😆) Which definitely makes for a very interesting read!
Plus I don’t know…there is just something about her character I really vibed with….I just felt like she was more “real” to me.
Speaking of real…. there is PLENTY in this book that has you questioning ALL things related to reality…just like the first one did.
That whole messy, unclear combination of fantasy mixed with fact, terror mixed with temptation, love mixed with hate type of thing all shows up again in this read.
But in a totally different way….this time in a Tella way.
And of course there is unrealistic cheesy romance….but this one has quite the dark unexpected turns……the author definitely knows how to keep a reader engaged and mystified.
My only little annoyance in this story though DID have to do with Tella’s love life. I thought the way it played out was more rushed than necessary and also a bit bumpy in how it was developed.
Like it just kinda popped up and disappeared and then popped up again and then you’re just like “Huh? What?” at the end.
I don’t know…maybe it will all come together in the very last book and it will all make sense….but I wasn’t a fan of the direction of that piece of the storyline.
I WAS a fan however of how the whole story of Tella and Scarlet’s mother’s disappearance came into play here….. the unique way it was interwoven into the game of Caraval Tella was trying to win.
I know you want me to say more…but I CAN NOT yall….it will give too much away…..you MUST just go read it if that vague ass sentence sounds fascinating.
BTW this game of Caraval is NOTHING like the round that Scarlett played.
There is still magic and mystery…but it is a WHOLE DIFFERENT kinda world this time around.
You definitely do not want to miss out on this one if you enjoyed the first book….and it has me excited to see how the third book completes this darkly magical tale.