I struggled with this book. Unlike Caraval which I found fast paced and enchanting, Legendary was slow. The action was fast but I found that the plot was unfocused and it just dragged. I kept putting it down and picking up something eles.

I liked Tella in the first book but I didn't like her very much in her own book. She was flighty and careless and did stupid things for stupid reasons. Also Scarlet drove me nuts, little miss indecisive and not happy with the guy you love. Ugh.

I was also disappointed because I thought that this was a duologly and it turns out that there are 3 books. So heres hoping that Finale is better than Legendary.

So overall it was good, I just wanted it to be more.

Not quite as good as Caraval. I found myself skimming big chunks of the book because of the purple prose descriptions. I didn’t need to know all of the dress and/or food descriptions or how things were like ink, secrets, or angels. It was somewhat predictable and slow. I will still read Finale, though.

This was one of those "wait - am I reading the same book as everyone else?" moments, because though it sits at a current 4.33 rating on Goodreads, I found Legendary a struggle to get through. Now don't get me wrong, I thought the first installation of the series was fantastic, and had high hopes for this one, but it fell severely short of my expectations.

This story took so long to unravel and get interesting, and as soon as it got remotely entertaining, it went straight back to a poorly written narrative that relied too heavily on what was going on inside Tella's head than anything else. Normally, I'm completely fine with that, but most of Tella's inner conflict was about her feelings about Dante, which felt forced and overemphasized how she's such a helpless girl. I wanted a strong and committed female protagonist and instead, got a preteen inner love debate who constantly viewed both outcomes of her situation by repeating rhetorical questions over and over and over again.

And in terms of plot, I found most of the plot to be SO cliche and for Legend's reveal, entirely anticlimactic. I get that Garber wanted to leave an open ending for a third novel, but this was not a satisfying end to the entire conflict that was laid out for us. I thought that this would be heart wrenching and intense, especially since it dealt with family and "sacrifice," and instead the ending felt quickly wrapped up, leaving me to believe this wasn't the original ending and Garber rushed to find a semi-conclusion to this novel in order to leave room for her next installation - which I most likely will not be reading.

I loved the new element Garber added to this sequel with the Fates and the deck of Destiny. I think overall this wasn't quite as exciting as the first, but all readers who enjoyed the first book will find this a fun addition as the mystery of Legend continues!

Legendary by Stephanie Garber was definitely one of my most anticipated reads for 2018, and I was super excited to finally dive into this book. I read Caraval last year, and really enjoyed the story, (and re-read it again this year before starting Legendary), and I absolutely couldn’t wait to see where the story would go next, AND to see if all our questions would finally be answered. I’m so glad to have finally read this book!

Let me start this by saying that I totally thought Caraval was a duology, and I went into Legendary fully expecting the end of the story with all my questions answered. Surprise, it’s not a duology, it’s a trilogy! I’m have mixed feelings about this, as I mentioned above, I fully went into this book expecting all my questions to get answered, some did, but more didn’t, and it completely took me to the end of the book to realize that this wasn’t the end that I expected. So, yeah… that took me by surprise, but… YAY, there’s totally going to be a third book, titled Finale, which is current set to release in 2019. Considering that the third book is titled Finale, I fully expect it to actually be the final book in the series, and I’m really looking forward to reading it.

Moving on…

Legendary is the second book in the Caraval series, and while the first book is told from Scarlett’s viewpoint, Legendary is told from her sister Tella’s point of view. Tella was quite mysterious in the first book, and I was curious to learn more about her in this book. She really wasn’t at all what I expected, going by what we knew of her from the first book, and I really enjoyed her character growth over the course of the book. I’m curious to see what’s next for her. I also liked that most of the characters from the first book around in this second book also, along with a few new interesting characters as well!

The storyline for Legendary follows along the same line as the first book, yet somehow felt completely different as well. Maybe it was the setting, or the mythical tales, or maybe it was just that the magic felt different, I’m not sure, but, either way, I was hooked. It actually took me longer than I expected to read this book, thanks to our busy schedule, but when I actually did have time to read, I flew through the pages. I had SO many questions after reading Caraval, and quite a few of those were answered in Legendary, but I’m still left with quite a few, and I’d really love to have answers to those. Hopefully we get them in Finale!

Overall; Legendary was an interesting sequel to the charming Caraval, and though it wasn’t the end of the story like I was expecting, I did really enjoy it. I’m not really looking forward to waiting another year to have Finale in my hands, but at least I will have an excuse to re-read Caraval and Legendary before it is released next year, and hopefully with THAT book, I will get the answers I really need. If you’ve already read Caraval in the past and LOVED it, you’ll definitely want to pick up Legendary soon! And if you’ve not yet started this series, I definitely recommend it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Happy Reading!

Legendary is the sequel and last part of Caraval. as you may understand, I cannot talk about the book in detail, without spoiling events from the first book. What I can tell you, in Legendary we follow the adventures of Donatella, who is Scarlet 's sister. Scarlet is the main character in Caraval whereas Donatella is now in Legendary.
As her sister, she will embark in the fantasy/ truly world of Caraval to find this time their mother. The only thing you have to do is just get enchanted by the story, enjoy and think that sometimes what it may seem true, it is not, is it?
I really enjoyed the story and both books should be part of your library if you like YA fantasy themes.
Highly recommend it.

Legendary picks up pretty smoothly from where we left off in Caraval and I was happy to see that Garber didn't waste too much time retelling portions of the first novel. The novel starts with a bang and I have to say, the stakes felt much higher. The game is different, the setting is different, and it even felt a little darker. I loved hearing about the game from Tella's perspective because she is a little more daring and willing to take risks and just a badass character all around.

The novel is full of twists and turns that are very different from the last novel and I loved how Garber kept me guessing from the very beginning. There were many more secrets and lies in this novel and I loved seeing Tella's character growth as the story unfolded. Caraval was a fascinating story, but Legendary really took a few steps above it for me because of the deeper elements like introducing the fates and the deck of destiny. I think this portion of the novel made the game more interesting and I couldn't get enough.

Legendary was an entertaining and well thought out novel filled with twists and turns. It constantly left me wanting more and wondering what was real and what was fake. I can't wait to read book three! I highly recommend this series if you enjoyed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3.5/5

I never really hold out hope the sequels will be as good or better than the original work, but this book left me wanting more! I'm ready for "Finale" now.

This book was pretty good, I thought it was a slow read. I also thought the first book was a slow read too so that is what i expected. Even though it was slow, it was still good. I would recommend it!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Barber shines in this second novel in this enchanting world. From the characters to the world building in general I was hypnotized. Can't wait to dive into more from this author!

The novel was non stop. I binge rea dit in one after noon and then went back later for a re-read. This is a story you an get completely lost in page after page and one that will be a great experience for a variety of readers!

Legendary by Stephanie Garber is the second book in the Caraval Trilogy. Last year, I go to read an advance copy of Caraval and I completely adored it. The story was very atmospheric and so vibrant that it was impossible not to fall in love with it. I waited an entire year for Legendary and was lucky enough to also get an advance copy of the book and let me tell you, although I found the book to be a little lacking in the action department, it was no less atmospheric or vibrant. Legendary is the marvelous sequel we have all been looking forward to.

In Caraval, the story is told from Scarlet’s perspective, but in Legendary we get the story from Donatella’s perspective, Scarlet’s sister. Tella might live life a little wilder than Scarlet but I actually preferred the story coming from Scarlet’s point of view for some reason.

In this story, Caraval is going to be performing again. Usually, they only perform once a year but this is a special event. If you thought the first book was full of magic then you are in for a wild ride with this sequel. Scarlet might not be playing the game this time but Tella is and she has to win in order to save herself and her mother. The stakes are even higher in this book. What will Tella do to win? This book is the ultimate love story, but not in the way you might be thinking. What would you do to save someone you love?

In the end, Legendary was a very solid continuance of the series. The only gripes I have is I didn’t really enjoy the story as much coming from Tella and I was really hoping for some more action. There were places where the book lulled and I found my attention drifting off but the book always pulled me back in. I cannot wait for the final book in this series to see what the author does with it.

Overall, I gave the book 4/5 stars.

Stephanie Garber has a hit! I love this second novel in the Caraval series where we experience on a magical mystery ride of adventure, romance, and intrigue. In Legendary we read about Tella as she plays the Caraval game to search for her estranged mother. Based on a set of Fates cards she learns of the secrets behind her mother's disappearance and the true identity of Legend, the mastermind behind the games. Will Tella have to make daunting sacrifices as her sister did in Caraval, the first book? Can she have her mother and her true love with out ruining th world? Dive into this one to answer the questions you wanted answered in Scarlet's story and you will finish wanting more!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

God's teeth (one of Tella's favorite phrases) is an accurate description of my feelings regarding this book. I loved the world and the idea of Caraval, but I just could not get behind any of the characters and what they were trying to achieve. I doubt even they knew what they wanted the majority of the time. Their priorities and feelings changed every chapter. It was exhausting to keep up with.

Tella was more likable than Scarlett, but she was still incredibly frustrating. She based most of her decisions on how they would make someone else feel, or constantly worried what might happen if they found out she had done this or that. It seemed like she was always trying to make Dante jealous, or wanted to see how someone would react to something she said or did. A lot of the time she just didn't think something through at all.

The ARC I received for review also gave away who Legend was before they were actually revealed in the story. A simple typo where the author referred to Legend as Legend instead of the person they were portraying in the game.

I think my biggest issue is the many, many threads and side stories the author has created. It's almost impossible to keep up with everything. Everyone has secrets. Like, life-altering and world-shattering secrets, yet they choose to keep them to themselves. I wish we had been given more answers instead of piling all the questions on top of each other. I need a little more resolution within my stories, and this series resolves very little. A single answer only added more questions.

Despite everything... I still want to finish this series and see how it ends. My hope is that the final book will have more answers and finally tie everything together into one coherent story.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on July 3, 2018.

I really enjoyed Caraval, but legendary managed to be so much better! I loved Tella as a narrator and these games are a much higher stake and I love it. Yeah can’t waor for book 2!

I liked this story even better than the first. Maybe it was having already known the characters, but this story seemed richer and engaged me more. I am very much looking forward to reading the final book in the series (as well as reading future books from Stephanie Garber!)

After reading Caraval and really enjoying it this was a little bit of a let down for me. Donatella was incredibly frustrating and every time she made a bad decision I wanted to shake and be like WHY?! I did enjoy the adventure of it and even though Jacks was the villain I'm looking forward to seeing how he plays out in the next book. I'll definitely read the next book to see where this story and adventure goes next!

I really enjoyed Legendary. Did I like it more than Caraval….eh I’m not sure about that yet. These stories are both set in the same world but have very different structures. Where Caraval seemed like a game, Legendary does not. Stakes feel much higher but the mystery remains.

I really have a love/hate relationship with Tella. Sometimes I think it’s hard to come back from disliking a character in the first book, to aligning yourself when it’s their turn for you to see inside their head. It also makes her really interesting to me, I have a thing with really enjoying characters that I don’t necessarily like all the time. Am I rooting for her, I don’t know. Well ya I guess I am. We definitely get to dig into her personality more and unlock why she acts the way she does at times. I do think her character grows as the story progresses.

There were things that bothered me a little bit. Like Tella’s lack of concern for Scarlett even though she goes on how Scarlett is the only person she cares about. It kind of made me feel like she was more of the Tella that annoyed me in Caraval. Hmm my sister doesn’t seem to be where she says she is, I guess I’ll go off and get involved in my own drama.

I really like the world. It never stops being interesting because there is always something else weird and unusual going on. It has so many possibilities so you never know what is going to happen. Plus we get a good look at the Fates and their powers this time around. I can’t remember if they were mentioned in Caraval but luckily there is glossary of them because as much as I was trying to keep them in my brain it was helpful to look at it.

So we do see Scarlett but she is very much in the background. There are still some unanswered questions about her. Which I need to know and can’t wait to see how the next book is structured.

I do not want to give anything away so I won’t go into great detail. I don’t even think I’m going to mention other characters besides Tella and Scarlett. I feel like that is part of the enjoyment of this story. You never who is who and why they are doing what they are doing.

If you liked Caraval, I think you will really enjoy Legendary. I think Finale is going to be quite an explosion so I can’t wait to read it.

Going in I didn't think I would like LEGENDARY as much as CARAVAL. Tella wasn't my favorite character in the first book.. I was SO wrong. I liked it even more and Tella became one of my faves. The story had so many twists and turns much like navigating around Valenda. I kept second guessing everyone and everything! I will be obsessing for the next year trying to figure out what Garber has up her sleeve for book 3.

If you enjoyed reading CARAVAL, even just a little bit to be entertained and escape for a few hours/days, pick up LEGENDARY.

I. Can’t. Breathe. My heart LITERALLY hurts. It’s been a minute since I have read Caraval, but Legendary touched me so much more on a deeper level. Legendary was so much more.

Tella is brave, adventurous, and everything one wishes they could be. She has overcome so much. I believe we truly were able to watch her blossom into her full potential in Legendary.

I did not want this novel to end. I am so excited that this series has turned into a trilogy and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book.

I absolutely fell in love with the world Stephanie Garber created in Caraval, so I couldn't wait to read Legendary, especially after the cliffhanger that Caraval left us with. Legendary is told from Tella's point of view, which I loved. In Caraval, we got to know Scarlett, so I was eager to learn more about Tella, and I absolutely fell in love with her character. She's strong, sassy, and sarcastic, and I loved that about her. 

This Caraval is a little different from the last one, as the stakes are higher than ever. Tella can't save her mother unless she wins, but winning the game will come at a cost, and she's not sure if it's worth it. I wont give anything away, but I loved the details we learned about Caraval and about Legend, and I adored the direction the book took and the answers we got. 

Garber has an incredible way with words, and her writing style is very descriptive and colorful, which I love. It makes the book feel pretty to read, and that's something unique to Garber. Overall, I loved this book and I cannot wait for the finale! This has quickly become one of my favorite YA Fantasy series, and if you loved Caraval, you'll definitely want to pick this one up ASAP! I rated this one 5 stars. I'd like to thank Netgalley and Flatiron Books for my copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review.