Beware : this review contains the three books of the Caraval series. Spoilers might occurs.
CARAVAL
A legendary competition. A mesmerizing romance. An unbreakable bond between two sisters.
Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.
LEGENDARY
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.
FINALE
A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.
It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.
With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.
Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.
Welcome, welcome to Finale . . . all games must come to an end.
REVIEW
In full transparency... this series was a nice surprise for me. I started to read Once upon a broken heart a few weeks prior and didn't like it at all. I was bored and DNF'it. So, when I started Caraval, I had apprehension. In the end, I liked the vibe of the book, which I would describe as a... magical escape game with a touch of noble carnival. Ish. I just liked what I was reading.
Scarlett was a nice character to follow. She was naive but also emotional. She’s trying to find her place with the sacrifice she’s obligated to do. Like marrying the Count. Then she gets invited to the Caraval and still, she needs to sacrifice herself to find her sister.
The whole story was enjoyable and I was deep into the story. There wasn’t a minute I found boring (in comparison of OUABH). Even with the twists at the end, I wanted to know more, understand why and what. About Legend, about Caraval, about the performers.
I hope we will see Tella more in book 2, because she’s a really intelligent young woman, brave, even a bit sneaky.
But there was some plot hole here and there that I hope will be answered and something about Dante and Julian feels… wrong. I have no idea why or what gives me that feeling, but I’m not 100% sure about the Julian and Scarlett romance, because he shrinks of secrets. So is Dante. There was something off about their story, even if they were performers. They know wayyyy more than they say and I’m sure of it. I’ll see.
A few weeks later...
This series is something else ! I’m so into the story but at the same time, I’m judging the characters for their choices. Seriously, Tella? Being so fierce but at the same time so dumb? I was so happy to have her POV in this sequel, but in the end I missed Scarlett. I realized the sisters are complementary with each other. They need to be both telling their point of view to make the book completely whole.
Also, I’m a bit mad that Legend identity was obvious from the beginning of the book. It’s not like Tella didn’t tell us a hundred times. What. a. shocker. And I kinda had a feeling in the first one. If you just reread two paragraphs above... ahem.
And now I understand why I DNF’d Once upon a broken heart. The book wasn't the problem. The problem was Jack. What an awfully boring character. I can’t with him. Every time he was there I was rolling my eyes, waiting for him to be gone at last.
But overall, I still liked the Caraval, the story, the search. But mostly the new info we have on the worldbuilding. There’s a lot, but it’s really interesting to know more about the magic and the fates.
I’m curious about Finale more than ever.
... finally reading Finale.
I loved this trilogy, but the finale was a bit… disappointing. The first two books tried to make Scarlett and Donatella powerful and fierce female main character. For, in the end, put the sister in their own each false love triangle… Why? I was really sad about this change, now that we got the dual point of view I wished for. I expected so much more for the sisters than just be dragged into romances. They are worth way more than love stories.
Scarlett loves Julian, the whole competition with Nicolas was stupid. But I liked how she discovers things about the fates and her family. It was a really nice twist. I admire the effort to make Scarlett a character who now has a choice about her life, except the result wasn't entirely there, because she was thinking about the others instead of her. The game she played hurt her more than the boys she tried to play with.
Tella, well, she was confronted with my absolute worst character, Jack, and obviously, Legend. But the dumb-blond of her personality was neon red. What a shame. She deserved sooooo much better than that. So much better than Jack, like no ones deserves to endure Jack, he's a pain in the ass. But as a fierce character, which was shown to us from the beginning, dragging her into stupid decisions and dumb shit was a shot gun to the head of her personality.
In the end, I was satisfied with the story, because it wrapped itself really well and the worldbuilding and the history were closed without major unanswered questions.
And I have to give a bow to how a letter opened the series and a letter closed it. It was a really nice touch.
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