ARC, 341 pagesRelease Date: May 29, 2018Published by: Flatiron Books
Read from: May 21-28, 2018Caraval, #2Source: Blogger TradeFor fans of: Romance, Fantasy, YA
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
As soon as I finished Caraval, I wanted to read Legendary. And now that I've finished Legendary, I really want Finale in my hands. Stephanie Garber has a way with words and I have really fallen for this series and her writing style.
"But not all childish beliefs were wrong. ...had warned her, the Fates had a way of twisting futures."pg. 26
This time the game of Caraval will be played in a different place, but all the rules are the same. The prize this time tho, is one that is better than all the others. This time the prize is learning the true identity of Legend. Tella becomes a participant in the games because she has to win or risk losing everything.
"Fortune tellsers aren't like you and me. They see the world as it could be, and sometimes they try to bring about what they want, ratheer than what should be."pg. 34
Just like the first book, I loved the characters. Scarlett was still my favorite, but Tella definitely surprised me in this one. She was so selfless and loving, and for some reason I wasn't expecting that. I've been thinking to participate in Caraval you have to be ruthless and murderous, but Tella didn't seem that way.
"Tell me what he wants from you?"pg. 127
As for the plot, this is the reason I gave this 3.5 stars. The plot was very intricate, but even still, I was able to look past them all and figure out all the twists at the end of the book. In the last one everything was a suprise. But for this one I guess I was expecting all the craziness, so I could guess all the plot twists. But even with guessing them all, it was still shocking to see so many of them come to light. I can't imagine what's going to happen in the next book. I also found that it was a bit too slow for my taste. Everything that happened was plot driven, but you don't realize that until the end of the book. And because of that, it seemed like it was a bit slow for my taste.
"...you need to be caeful with him. [...] That's funny, ...I was was about to tell you the same thing."pg. 220
As for the story, I really liked the turn this story took. I love the myths and the way Garber portrayed them. It made for an amazing story. I can't wait to see how Garber puts them all together in the next installment.
"...judging her based on a moment like that is the same as reading one page from a book and assuming you know the whole story."pg. 270
I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but I really liked this one. Caraval is still my favorite, but this one isn't far behind. I can't wait to see what happens to the family and what comes of the romance in Garber's final installment, Finale.
Overall, I give this
