chaptersofamylea's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Legend likes to be the villain.”
“How could I forget? That was always my favorite part.”
5 ⭐️
I forgot how much I adored this book. I think I really loved my reread of Caraval for the magic and the nostalgia, but I loved Legendary for its plot. And I’d forgotten so much! What a treat it was to reread, and meeting Jacks again for the first time was a delight.
TWs: parental abandonment, ref to child abuse, blood and injury
“How could I forget? That was always my favorite part.”
5 ⭐️
I forgot how much I adored this book. I think I really loved my reread of Caraval for the magic and the nostalgia, but I loved Legendary for its plot. And I’d forgotten so much! What a treat it was to reread, and meeting Jacks again for the first time was a delight.
TWs: parental abandonment, ref to child abuse, blood and injury
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse
shriya_v's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought it was okay. It was pretty slow and I did put it down for a bit which is fine I think. I am giving this series a try and right now it is not wowing me but whatever lol. I really want to read the next series after this one so we shall see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Blood
jessicaludden's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“Every good story needs a villain. But the best villains are the ones you secretly like.”
I am so surprised that I didn’t like this. It was going fine for most of the book, but the ending pushed it over the edge for me. I liked Tella enough to keep reading but I didn’t really care that much about her. I didn’t really like reading in her POV cause it was just an endless internal dialogue of her reiterating the stakes and the choices she had to make over and over as if I don’t already know what the stakes are. Her romance with Dante was slightly boring to me probably because I feel like he just kept popping up randomly to say a few things to her and leave. Dante being Legend just felt really forced and not surprising at all considering how many times Tella mentioned the possibility. The drama between Scarlett and Julian was annoying especially at the end. I literally just want them to be happy and together. The main thing I liked about this was Jacks of course but even the way things ended with his character in this book didn’t feel right to me (yes I know I’ll probably get more answers in Finale or OUABH). Tella being his one true love makes absolutely no sense to me, like I’m not sure if we’re trying for a love triangle here but I don’t want it. Overall, I was enjoying getting to explore a new part of this world and meet new characters (more like A new character) but the ending just left me disappointed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Child abuse, Abandonment, Blood, and Death
sweetbrinas's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Blood
thelovelyjade's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I like this book and I have enjoyed it. It was nice to see Tella's side of the story as well as going into more of the magic of the world. The discription of the world is beautiful as well. It's so great to have descriptions of a great world.
The things I didn't like was every word break and ending on a period. It's not nice to read and nice to hear on audiobook, it breaks the immersion. Repetition was also an immersion break, it's not exciting to be kept reminding what someone is doing every page. Another thing I don't like...Dante, so boring, so bland. He's one of those guys that has no personality whatsoever and is just...'hot'.
Additionally, Tells is so impulsive and when you get reminded that she's 16 years old throughout the story...and yep, yep now I know why but it's still stupid because of what she could lose.
Overall, it's a an enjoyable book to read. So many adventures, magic and fantasy and fun with some flaws on some sides.
The things I didn't like was every word break and ending on a period. It's not nice to read and nice to hear on audiobook, it breaks the immersion. Repetition was also an immersion break, it's not exciting to be kept reminding what someone is doing every page. Another thing I don't like...Dante, so boring, so bland. He's one of those guys that has no personality whatsoever and is just...'hot'.
Additionally, Tells is so impulsive and when you get reminded that she's 16 years old throughout the story...and yep, yep now I know why but it's still stupid because of what she could lose.
Overall, it's a an enjoyable book to read. So many adventures, magic and fantasy and fun with some flaws on some sides.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Blood
avie_j's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment and Blood
hq_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was a great read. I preferred the plot of Caraval to this, but I prefer Tella and Dante as characters. I didn’t like Tella in the first book but I found her really likeable in this. Her chemistry with Dante was hot, although I definitely forgot she’s only 16 😬
This was an easy, magical read. I’m intrigued to see where the story goes and will definitely read Finale soon!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement
melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Sequels don’t always like up to the hype of the first book but Legendary did just that and more. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Tella in the first book but her actions made sense at the end of Caraval and I was able to get a sense of her character more in her own book than the last one. We got to see her backstory through her eyes and how those experiences shaped her into the person she is today and the way it was illustrated by the narrator was perfection. From beginning to end you can see just how different she is from her sister Scarlett in the way she decides to play the game during Caraval and the sacrifices she makes for the people she loves. Speaking of love, Dante was the best love interest for Tella in my opinion. We know that both of them aren’t the type of people to go into relationships so the way the reader is able to see the change in both her and Dante’s perception of love as the play the game together was absolutely heartwarming. From the tension and teasing in the beginning, to the jealousy in him seeing her with someone else even if it was fake, to the (many) stolen kisses in private and even their final kiss has me rooting for a happy ending to their love story in the last book of the trilogy. The twists and turns in this book were even better than the ones in the last book so I’m excited to dive into Finale and see how Stephanie Garber outdoes herself yet again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Injury/Injury detail
aas's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Abandonment
gummifrog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked this book a lot more than Caraval, although I think I rated it slightly lower - the main reason being that Donatella really failed to grab my heart for the first half of the book, and with it my attention. This book took a minute to find its identity - the setting itself isn't as strong as in the first book, and while it was nice to see more of the world, it felt so weird how distant we were from Scarlett throughout this entire story.
As Tella grew more desperate in her plight and more willing to sacrifice bits of herself to be an active agent in her own story, I started to understand her more and I grew to like her even more than Scarlett. Tella is so spicy and she's not afraid to fight literally anybody, and I love that about her.
Also, as someone who started this series by reading Once Upon A Broken Heart, Jacks absolutely steals the scene any time he's on the page. It's fun to see this earlier iteration of him - a villain playing a game that he's already lost by the first time I met him.
Also, I really enjoy the fact that Dante is mean to be the "better" of the two love interests, but also there's not really a love triangle, and also he's an asshole and a bastard anyway. Donatella's attraction to him is so real, but as he bares himself to her, her love for him makes sense, too.
As always, the biggest thing in a book I fall in love with is the characters and their relationships. Stephanie Garber writes a brilliant morally-grey character in every page of her stories. Her prose is fun and unique, and her metaphors are really unique and stick out in your mind so strongly. It's been really enjoyable to go back and see where her writing started compared to where it is now. Ugh, I love her.
As Tella grew more desperate in her plight and more willing to sacrifice bits of herself to be an active agent in her own story, I started to understand her more and I grew to like her even more than Scarlett. Tella is so spicy and she's not afraid to fight literally anybody, and I love that about her.
Also, as someone who started this series by reading Once Upon A Broken Heart, Jacks absolutely steals the scene any time he's on the page. It's fun to see this earlier iteration of him - a villain playing a game that he's already lost by the first time I met him.
Also, I really enjoy the fact that Dante is mean to be the "better" of the two love interests, but also there's not really a love triangle, and also he's an asshole and a bastard anyway. Donatella's attraction to him is so real, but as he bares himself to her, her love for him makes sense, too.
As always, the biggest thing in a book I fall in love with is the characters and their relationships. Stephanie Garber writes a brilliant morally-grey character in every page of her stories. Her prose is fun and unique, and her metaphors are really unique and stick out in your mind so strongly. It's been really enjoyable to go back and see where her writing started compared to where it is now. Ugh, I love her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent and Death