Gosh, it has been a while since I last picked up a novel by Stephanie Garber – over 7 years to be exact! As someone who was very fortunate to receive an ARC of Caraval ahead of its publication in 2016 and absolutely adored it with every fibre of my being, it’s almost baffling why I ended up waiting 7 years to pick up the sequels. I suppose life just happens.

After finding myself in possession of the first instalment Garber’s Caraval spin-off, Once Upon A Broken Heart (reviews to come!), and finding myself once again captivated by her magical prose and delightfully sharp characters, I knew I had to give Scarlett, Donatella and the world of Legend another visit! Boy, am I so glad I did.

The Caraval books are like gold dust. If you love fantasy and also being dragged through the emotional mud, this series is one for you. Despite the seven years between my first foray into the Caraval universe and diving back in with Legendary, it really felt like no time had passed at all.

While Legendary largely sticks to the format of first book with the games and lots of mystery, magic and illusion, Finale explores the characters’ personal relationships, morals and futures a bit more. By the end, I was getting quite teary-eyed as Stephanie Garber knows exactly how to pull on your heartstrings, but also because now that I have finally jumped back in, I don’t want to say goodbye.

I will say that I’m not usually a fan of love triangles *cough* Twilight *cough*, but Jacks and Dante were so compelling as characters that it was hard not to be swept up by the high drama of Tella’s love life and I’m so glad we have the Once Upon A Broken Heart spin-off to see more of the messy trickster that is the King of Hearts in action.

I do often worry about getting too old for YA, and in some cases, I definitely am but Caraval, despite a central theme of young romance, never onces feels juvenile. Garber has created a truly fast-paced, riveting world that taps into the childlike wonder and curiosity that never leaves us no matter how much we age. I will never tire of how seamlessly she blends all these various fairytales, tragedies, urban legends and lullabies.

The books are highly consumable and the characters are easy to invest in. It’s almost pantomine in how easy it is root for the good characters and completely despite the evil ones but as I say, it never once feels over-the-top childish. Everything was wrapped up neatly and satisfyingly – which is quite rare for series of this calibre! While a lot has changed about me as a person since reading the first Caraval, I’m glad that my love for fantasy, magic, Wonderland and romance still remains and I cannot wait to read more from Stephanie Garber!

RATING
★★★★★