Change Your Fate • Legendary

Where do I even begin when it comes to telling you all how much I loved Legendary? It’s very rare for me to feel so strongly that a sequel is even better than the previous book. And yet, that is exactly how I feel about this novel! 

Legendary is the companion sequel to last year’s Caraval (which I loved as well) that follows the story of Donatella Dragna, aka Tella, aka Scarlett’s sister. After all that’s happened, Tella finds herself in the midst of sticky web where she’s made a bargain with a mysterious individual to give him Caraval Master Legend’s true name in exchange for something very precious to her. But as a new competition starts, and new players get involved, Tella finds herself involved in a scenario where the stakes get ever higher with every turn of events and every new revelation. The only question is: just what (or who) is she willing to sacrifice in order to win?

I am so, so impressed by the skills Stephanie Garber employed in making this book just that much more than its predecessor. She took the world she had already brought to life in her debut - a world I found lush, mysterious, romantic and immersive - and used that as her foundation as she expanded it into something even bigger in scope. She also performs this exact same impressive trick with the plot - giving readers a taste of Caraval and the competition that we’re all familiar with, even as she adds a refreshing new aspect to the central plot to make the stakes higher. And, best of all, she invites the reader to get to know Tella (and a few other characters I love *coughs* Dante *coughs*) intimately, easily revealing both Tella’s strengths and her flaws with every choice she makes - and that made it so, so easy for me to fall in love with her (even though I didn’t think I would).

In my humble opinion, Garber balanced the familiar with the new so perfectly and I was swept up in Tella’s tale from start to finish! It’s magical. It’s exciting. It’s well-crafted. It’s terrifying. It’s twisty. It’s just so, so wonderful and whimsical. And even better? It was the type of novel that is just so brilliantly done that it made me want to write something all over again - and I love that.

It’s fairly obvious by now that I absolutely loved Legendary. I would definitely say that it exceeded any expectations I had for it going in, and that it’s surpassed Caraval in my heart as my favorite of this series. But as a collective, these two books have really put Stephanie Garber on the list of authors I adore! I cannot wait until I can do a reread of both books, and I also am ecstatic about the fact that we are getting a third book next year - Finale, which is utterly appropriate (and both exciting and terrifying). If you haven’t read these yet, please do! I definitely think they’re so worth it.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber | Series: Caraval #2

Publisher: Flatiron Books | Publication Date: May 29, 2018

Source: ARC received from the publisher (Thanks!)