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itsmoisama's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
This was a mess, I expected that the only thing I won’t enjoy is that it’s focusing more on Tella but no, Stephanie picked the worst story line possible and used it in this novella.
At first, I was annoyed with how selfish and inconsiderate Tella was and how she viewed her relationship didn’t feel right, but those thoughts were gone when the story started to take a very dark turn with Tella going to the audition, too many sexual references were made and they felt very gross but I thought I can ignore them but then she was kidnapped and this took a turn from fun to dangerous.
When she gets kidnapped she’s clearly in danger and doesn’t want to be there, she gets forced inside a room with a stranger who claims to be Legend and he starts making sexual remarks towards her, kisses her, and touches her body without any consent (and she very clearly says no to him!!), and so far as the readers we aren’t supposed to know who her captor is and it’s never made clear until the very end how much she knew, to me I just saw a character get SA’d and it was so disturbing to watch with illustrations too, I usually avoid these things in books so I was horrified to see this scene and see how into it she became despite never being really sure if it’s Legend or not, so like she pretty much cheated too??
How was I ever supposed to find these things romantic:
““It’s really cute how you think you still have any power right now.” Her kidnapper put a hand on her hip, and then the villain slipped his fingers brazenly under her skirt and rubbed her bare skin.”
“That’s what a captive would do. But the hand on her leg was warm and soft and possessive in a way that shouldn’t have felt as good as it did. For just a second, Tella decided to give in.”
“Tella tried not to sigh or moan or beg him to never stop kissing her, but he was so very good with his mouth.”
The fact this was marketed as a cute holiday novella and the age range for it starting at 12 year old is disgusting and disturbing, sexual assault is still sexual assault even if it’s inside a relationship, I genuinely can’t believe this went through editors and no one made a change to this?
Other stuff I wanted to mention:
- Jacks never shows up which is strange because I feel like for a story so focused on Tella one would think he’ll get at least mentioned.
- Scarlett literally had 2 scenes in the whole thing and one of them they didn’t even bother draw.
- Speaking of the illustrations, they are gorgeous and if it weren’t for the shitty story I would’ve loved them more but it seems like the artist focused a lot on, imo, unnecessary stuff while leaving out things like characters descriptions which I though would be nice to see but as I said, we only Scarlett illustrations at the very beginning and that’s it, it’s like Stephanie doesn’t give a shit about her at all.
- I can’t believe Scarlett was in on this whole thing, the Scarlett I know and love would’ve rejected this dumb plan from the very beginning.
Overall thoughts:
Stephanie wanted to write a YA dark romance in disguised as a cute holiday book and I despise everything about this novella.
This book is the reason I’ll only read her upcoming releases on Libby first before spending money on it, what a waste of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault
jamielibrary's review against another edition
1.0
Things I liked- gorgeous illustrations and opening magical cozy story. I wish this had been the vibe for the whole story.
Things that gave me whiplash- drugging, kidnapping, is it infidelity?, dubious consent, and assault.
I am absolutely baffled by the tone shift of this book. This is a YA book. Why are we wanting teenagers to read a boy proves he loves a girl by drugging her, kidnapping her, frightening her, dressing her in a skimpy outfit and making her show off to an auditorium, blindfolding her and having her frighteningly dragged to a second location where he then refuses to take off the blindfold and gropes her while she tries to figure out if he’s her love interest or a complete stranger. This part of the story was disturbing to read especially when this is being marketed as a fun cozy holiday story. The language used did not make it feel like Tella was in on the joke. This is not okay.
There’s an attempt at damage control when Tella claims she knew it was Legend the whole time but it literally says several times that she didn’t know. She was afraid. This was incredibly triggering to read.
This book needs content warnings. What is wrong with everyone in the publishing process who read this and was fine with peddling it to teenagers?
Things that gave me whiplash- drugging, kidnapping, is it infidelity?, dubious consent, and assault.
I am absolutely baffled by the tone shift of this book. This is a YA book. Why are we wanting teenagers to read a boy proves he loves a girl by drugging her, kidnapping her, frightening her, dressing her in a skimpy outfit and making her show off to an auditorium, blindfolding her and having her frighteningly dragged to a second location where he then refuses to take off the blindfold and gropes her while she tries to figure out if he’s her love interest or a complete stranger. This part of the story was disturbing to read especially when this is being marketed as a fun cozy holiday story. The language used did not make it feel like Tella was in on the joke. This is not okay.
There’s an attempt at damage control when Tella claims she knew it was Legend the whole time but it literally says several times that she didn’t know. She was afraid. This was incredibly triggering to read.
This book needs content warnings. What is wrong with everyone in the publishing process who read this and was fine with peddling it to teenagers?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
bkc's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Ratings:
- The story: 1.5/5
- The audiobook: 4.75/5
- The art: 5/5
I read the ebook alongside the audiobook and it was quite an experience. The artwork in the book was beautiful and complemented the story well, and the audiobook was absolutely incredible with amazing sound effects matching the text. It had such a festive vibe! The author went all in on the food descriptions, too, which was fun.
Unfortunately, the story itself was abysmal. It started well, super festive and fun, but it went downhill pretty quickly once it became about Tella's stupidity. Specifically, the story took a really dark turn halfway through. There was happy Christmas music in the audiobook whilst describing some horrible stuff and it was very off-putting.
The fact that Tella was sexually harrassed and assaulted whilst kidnapped was disgusting and so different from the usual Caraval vibe. What the hell was that about? It was definitely not the festive fun it was at the start. Tella then wanted to essentially cheat on Legend because she was so starved of love? The author's obsession with kisses was overwhelming and led to an awful plot for Tella.
In fact, the whole plot just felt like overkill and not the fun Christmas story it was marketed as. The author then tried to save it with a throwback to the letter Tella wrote and the fact that it was Legend all along, but I felt like a line was crossed. Tella didn't know it was Legend, so it wasn't ok.
Overall, I'd recommend going through the artwork and listening to the audiobook, but the story is terrible.
- The story: 1.5/5
- The audiobook: 4.75/5
- The art: 5/5
I read the ebook alongside the audiobook and it was quite an experience. The artwork in the book was beautiful and complemented the story well, and the audiobook was absolutely incredible with amazing sound effects matching the text. It had such a festive vibe! The author went all in on the food descriptions, too, which was fun.
Unfortunately, the story itself was abysmal. It started well, super festive and fun, but it went downhill pretty quickly once it became about Tella's stupidity. Specifically, the story took a really dark turn halfway through. There was happy Christmas music in the audiobook whilst describing some horrible stuff and it was very off-putting.
In fact, the whole plot just felt like overkill and not the fun Christmas story it was marketed as. The author then tried to save it with a throwback to the letter Tella wrote and the fact that it was Legend all along, but I felt like a line was crossed. Tella didn't know it was Legend, so it wasn't ok.
Overall, I'd recommend going through the artwork and listening to the audiobook, but the story is terrible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault
princegene95's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This review contains HEAVY spoilers for Spectacular. This review is also about consent.
Ummm….what is this book? I went into this thinking it was going to be a happy little holiday book. But the content warnings were correct, this book contains sa, and it’s written off to be completely fine. I want to make clear, blindfold kinks and bondage kinks can be fun if done in the right way. However, kidnapping someone and forcing them to go through that is not ok. Having the mc panic and be like “this is fun but I don’t know who this person is” is not ok. Especially when the mc is telling the other person to stop and they aren’t. And I can hear you say “oh, but she was just being groped” or “but it turns out to be the boyfriend and she was into it”, that still doesn’t make it ok. Consent was never given or implying, and wrapping it back to the letter from the end of Finale is a nice touch to the original series, but still does not imply consent. Because consent was never there, it makes this book feel icky.
When I originally glanced through the pictures, as the book is fully illustrated, I saw the photos of the mc tied up and blindfolded and was like “oh, she’s going to give herself to her boyfriend for the holidays and he’s going to be like ‘lol, wtf. You don’t need to’ and untie her” but that is definitely not what the book is like. I could see this being a good jumping off point for discussions on consent, but I’m afraid that it isn’t going to. And I think that’s what I dislike the most about this book.
Do better Stephanie. The writing is fun, the message, not as much.
When I originally glanced through the pictures, as the book is fully illustrated, I saw the photos of the mc tied up and blindfolded and was like “oh, she’s going to give herself to her boyfriend for the holidays and he’s going to be like ‘lol, wtf. You don’t need to’ and untie her” but that is definitely not what the book is like. I could see this being a good jumping off point for discussions on consent, but I’m afraid that it isn’t going to. And I think that’s what I dislike the most about this book.
Do better Stephanie. The writing is fun, the message, not as much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual harassment
come_libros_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I expected to read equally of Scarlett+Julian/Tella+Legend but it ended being and extra to ‘Finale’ (mostly featuring Tella+Legend). The story it was weird to read out (read content warnings), but you have to keep in mind that it’s just another game —another Caraval. Still at the end I wanted to read more, it ended in a way that made you want to read the next story. I liked it but not as much as the main series. Would love to read another book or novella. Maybe a cross-over of Caraval with OUABH, which this book ended with an idea of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug abuse
zamakodknjiga's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It seems like she tried to reach OUABH audience which made her using some mature content a little bit more descriptive than in the main three books (which was a little bit unnecessary for me, but I was ok with reading it nonetheless since I am adult – though that element could be discussed alone).
Still, it was nice to be back in the Caraval world, to see the differences in Dragna sisters again. I love that Tella's doubt made all of this happen, though I'd love if it was a little bit deeper and longer (even though short read is just what I needed right now so I'm not complaining).
I kind of hope this is just a prologue of possible new part that is Caraval worthy (which means, magical, with high stakes and closeted scenes as the three mains were). Or, if not, to just market it within the right genre which is what bothers me mostly in this.
That being said, I want to close this by saying I might also re-read it in December because it's perfect for the 31st and it's one of the fastest reads I encountere in my adulthood and because of these beautiful illustrations.
Still, it was nice to be back in the Caraval world, to see the differences in Dragna sisters again. I love that Tella's doubt made all of this happen, though I'd love if it was a little bit deeper and longer (even though short read is just what I needed right now so I'm not complaining).
I kind of hope this is just a prologue of possible new part that is Caraval worthy (which means, magical, with high stakes and closeted scenes as the three mains were). Or, if not, to just market it within the right genre which is what bothers me mostly in this.
That being said, I want to close this by saying I might also re-read it in December because it's perfect for the 31st and it's one of the fastest reads I encountere in my adulthood and because of these beautiful illustrations.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug abuse