Legendary by Stephanie Garber

The second novel in the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber. I began reading this book as soon as I finished the first in 2018 but I found myself comparing it too much to Caraval and decided to put it down for a while. A long while. Let's be honest, I kind of forgot about it. But I finally picked it back up again this month and was taken on a magical journey back to the mind-boggling world of Caraval and I couldn't put it down.

The plotline shifts focus from Scarlett to her younger sister Tella who falls into the traps of the mysterious world of Caraval. The stakes are high for Tella as she is faced with a terrifying dilemma to choose between two unknown and uncertain loves. I enjoyed how Tella tried to decipher between reality and the artifice of the game, and being totally honest, I actually struggled to do the same. I couldn't differentiate what parts of the plot were part of the extravagance of the game or part of reality for Tella.

Much like the first in it's trilogy, Legendary involves intricate detail about Caraval; the second mystical performance and game that Tella and Scarlett take part in. The descriptions truly leave one lost in the details of the plot, the characters surroundings and the twists and turns of the story. As a reader, you can truly paint a picture of what Caravel looks like, smells like and feels like; I was so engulfed in some of the descriptions that when I finished a chapter I had to put the book down and stare at a blank wall to stop seeing Caraval.

Garber has outdone herself in this novel, she has extraordinarily executed even more mind games along with giving us more insight to the main characters, like Legend himself. As a reader, you will be left feeling a sense of betrayal and agony by the end of the novel. These books themselves almost feel like a game for the reader; you are taken on a magical, romantic and gut-wrenching journey, you reach the final page, hoping for a mystical climax. But it ends. It ends with a sense of a new beginning.

I cannot believe I had waited so long to read this and will be sure not to wait so long to read the final book in this series.

Completed on: 19th March 2021