Re-Review--Legendary by Stephanie Garber

 

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.

So I apparently can't stop myself from reading too fast when it comes to Stephanie Garber! My re-read of Legendary was ideally to take me to Friday and yet here I finished it Wednesday morning. Oops. I always favored Tella of the Dragna sisters. Mainly because I  love her fiery spirit and how she says what's on her mind. She's fierce and loyal to her sister and would go to the ends of the earth to prevent her sister pain, much as Scarlett would do for her. Now, in this book, we see her do what it takes to pay her debts and find her own kind of happiness.

Much to the surprise of Tella and Scarlett, and the rest of the world, there is to be a second game of Caraval just weeks after Scarlett won the last one. This time it's more in honor of Elantine's upcoming birthday, the rule of Valenda. Tella is presented with a dilemma, for in the first game, she had a bit of outside help into getting into Caraval as well as getting a few tips here and there to help her sister win the game and to find a way to be free of their abusive father. And now, this friend has come to collect her debt.

Lead by mysterious letters, Tella finds herself playing yet another game of Caraval, but this time she is determined to win, if not to save her own life. For her mysterious friend has demanded that she bring him Legend's true name and in order to get that, Tella needs to win Caraval.

I had forgotten how early of a role Jacks had been playing in this series. We technically might have saw him at the tail end of Caraval when Tella receives the Luckless coin of the Prince of Hearts. So many mysteries and the more I kept reading, the more I was wondering just how well Stephanie was laying groundwork for her future novels. Of course, I have to wonder if the use of "spectacular" at the end of this one was more coincidence than anything else! Lol.

Tella learns just how dangerous the game of Caraval is when she encounters the Prince of Hearts. Tella knew of the Fates from her mother's Deck of Destiny cards that she glimpsed as a child once and she knew in particular just who this deadly Fate with a deadlier kiss was. When she learns that Jacks, the dark prince himself, is her "friend," things get even more dangerous than they were before. Jacks doesn't just want Legend's name, now he wants the man himself. If Tella fulfills her end of the bargain, he would deliver her missing mother to her as well.

The stakes just got higher.

I loved diving further into the Caraval world and learning about the Fates! It was an intricate addition, yet it's nothing that becomes overly complicated either. So many questions and of course, there's Legend, the man of mystery himself. Just who is Legend? Was it Julian? Scarlett's new maybe beau, was always apart of the Caraval games and he claims to work intimately close with Legend, but is that just a twist of the truth? Is he really Legend? Truthfully, Tella thinks almost anyone could be him.

What I continued to adore about this book was the interactions Tella had with Dante! Dante was the boisterous flirt from Caraval that you almost just rolled your eyes at when he stepped on the page. I had worried he would be a wedge between Scarlett and Julian, but when he and Tella have a night of fun together, I couldn't get enough of him! When he teased Tella or set her up for possible embarrassment, she would dish it right back. She's a force to be reckoned with and I just love this girl! I love how protective Dante became of her as well, as it seems maybe for once, he was tired of chasing all the girls or what have you. 

One always worries in trilogies that the second book would give off "middle book" feels, but this series avoids that trope. Legendary very much stands on its own and brings its own magic to the mix. It helps to set us up for Finale where all kinds of chaos is about to ensue.

Legendary probably remains my favorite book of the trilogy, purely for Tella's moment in the spotlight! She's a character I could find myself being best friends with as she's courageous and is always there for the people who matter to her. She's got spunk and sass and a bravery that's worth admiring! While this one does end with a bit of a cliffhanger, more so than the first book did. Luckily, this time, I can dive right into the third book with no waiting involved.

Now if only I could stretch that one out to last me through the rest of the week and all of next week! We'll see how I do with that one!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars