ameliaadrianna's reviews
393 reviews

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the best book I've read in a long time. I'm obsessed with these characters and this series. This is so intensely good that I stayed up late reading it multiple nights and only stopped because I was buddy reading it with my best friend. I read the first book and immediately knew this would be the best book I've read and needed someone to talk to about it so I gave her the series for Christmas.

The plot is so interesting and the characters are so well fleshed out and so deliciously cast in shades of gray. I don't know why more people aren't talking about this book. I'm screaming for the next one and I have been since the first page of this book.

C.S. Pacat is a phenomenonal writer and is the master of twisting characters to and then past their limits and seeing what they do next. There is a reason a book with their name written on it will always be an instabuy for me. Read this book. Don't read anything about it and go in blind but please read this book.

If you love slasher films and want something quick in that genre to read, this is perfect. It really captured the essence of the 80's slasher genre and was interesting and twisty enough to keep me on my toes, without dragging on unnecessarily long. I enjoyed this.

Like the rest of the fantasy and romantasy readers, I have done nothing in my spare time but read this book for the past few days and I have absolutely zero regrets. I absolutely loved Fourth Wing and had my issues with Iron Flame but this book completely turned the series back around for me.

The stakes were high but accurate to the tone of the novel. The tension was for important matters rather than the miscommunication trope of the second book. There were characters that we got to love even more and characters we lost that we truly felt the devastation of losing. There were so many moments when the reality of war was felt and I knew none of the characters would be safe.

My main issues with the previous book were that there was a disconnect between the interpersonal stakes and the world stakes, where the relationship drama was supposed to be seen as equally important to the impending war. But this book captured that balance perfectly. Yes the interpersonal relationships still held that same weight but now it was justified.

It it almost 2am and I am reeling from the last hundred pages of the book. Yarros clearly took the time this book needed to create a polished final print and I appreciate her for prioritising the story being told correctly over being released as soon as possible. Although, that being said, the speed at which she writes is insane and as a writer I commend her even more.

Genuinely, this is the new big hit for a reason and you should give it a read.

My best friend got me this book for Christmas and sold it with the pitch of 'this is terrible, but entertaining' which was an accurate description.

Was this book particularly well written or original? Absolutely not. But it was entertaining in how ridiculous the whole thing was. Having the heads up of knowing this book wasn't going to be the best thing I've ever read, or anywhere even close, allowed me the space to adjust my expectations accordingly and just enjoy it for the ridiculousness.

I'm not sure if the author wrote this with the intention of readers interpreting it as a comedic take on the dark fantasy romance genre but that was the way I read it, nonetheless. This greatly improved my reading experience and allowed me to separate the entertainment from the poor writing. The plot and characters were not very well fleshed out and came across very flat and repetitive but I was able to finish this in a couple of days and didn't have to wrap my head around the heavy burden of lore that comes with most fantasy novels so it was a nice break to read something like this.

While I'm not jumping to buy the sequel once it is published, I found myself enjoying this book more than I expected to and am glad that I didn't immediately DNF it.

If you just want something fun and a bit trashy (affectionate), try giving this a read.

While I loved Caraval and bought this book as soon as it was published, it took me a long time to pick this book up off my shelf and read it (almost seven years). I think this was mostly due to the fact that the end of Caraval, while interesting, was not quite as much of a cliff-hanger as other books that have had me squirming for the next book in the series.

That being said, I found myself enjoying this far more than I expected to and I deeply regret allowing it to collect dust on my shelves for as long as it did.

The glimpses of magic we caught in the first book were explored more deeply within this one, but still left enough mystery to keep me coming back for the rest of the series. The way the author spoon fed us bites of the lore of this world worked well to avoid overwhelming the reader with too much information.

I loved the way the Fates were introduced and explored in this text, especially with Jacks and the complex character he presented. I also loved the further exploration into Legend and the history of Caraval, which was hinted at but mostly disregarded in the first book in favour of more immediate actions.

Tella as a character was so interesting to read, especially when set up against the stark contrast of her sister. Where Scarlett was quiet and reserved and focused only on her sister, Tella is explosive in her desire for more. There is love for her sister there, sure, but Tella did not have the same burden placed upon her and was able to dream of a world outside the cycle of abuse they experienced, while Scarlett focused on enduring long enough to be saved by outside forces.

Caraval had Scarlett reacting to the plot and trying her best to stay afloat, while Legendary had Tella actively pushing the story forward herself. Although, I do love that we have begun to see Scarlett take more control of the narrative in this book and I look forward to seeing what comes of her new confidence in the next instalment.

I did find that the main mystery of this book was a bit too obvious but I am giving it leeway as a YA book. There were enough other twists to keep me interested without feeling let down by the predictability of the main plot and the end of the book promises more twists to come so I shall reserve judgement until I read the next book.

Overall, this was a fantastic sequel that kept the sense of magic, mystery and romance from the first book.