Reading With Tyler

Name: Finale
Series: Caraval #3
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks
Format: Paperback
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery
Noted Tropes: Games and Trials, Fake Dating, High Stakes
Steam or Spice: None

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Review:

Finale is the final book in the Caraval Trilogy, there may be spoilers below for the previous installments.

OH IT WAS CUTE! Was what I cheered as I finished Finale. Not an hour before this I said to my partner Finale feels kind of rushed and also like nothing is going on in the second half… and then I strapped in and went on a wild ride that had me satisfied!

After the ending of Legendary, we knew the Fates were going to be playing a big part in Finale but I’ll be honest they were the main reason for the 4 star rating… I felt like there were so many Fates (be it people/objects or places) that they needed to be shoe horned in and thrown in at every opportunity. It went from them feeling like they had a proper impact (like Jacks in Legendary) to well, everyone is a Fate I suppose in Finale! I was a bit let down by this as I think the same fear could have been created without throwing (what felt like) every single Fate at us…

Other than that, we spent mixed time with Tella and Scarlett and I am pleased to say Scarlett finally grew on me! I finally didn’t find her to be annoying (all the time) and actually enjoyed her chapters! Scarlett and Tella have very different involvements in Finale, and whilst I at first didn’t really like Scarlett’s I did like where it went. I am personally hoping that the novella, Spectacular, that is about to be released gives us more on the events after Finale because whilst I know there is not a full story there, I do feel like there is more there.

Julian and Dante were both in Finale, and I loved them both so much. I know things weren’t ideal for Dante but I do think in keeping with his character as Legend (sorry for the spoiler on his identity, but if you’re reading this without having read Legendary despite the warning! That’s on you!) he was exactly what he needed to be for the majority of the book. We eventually start seeing him crack and I loved it. Julian was as brilliant as ever, and such a perfect match for Scarlett. I have no complaints about him.

As I mentioned, Finale felt rushed. And that was my main take away whilst I was reading it. It felt, often, like leaps in judgements were being made to get to decisions and outcomes and I just didn’t understand how everyone got there so quickly. A few books suffer from this, in my opinion, but I’m never really sure if it’s an issue with me or if the book is actually rushed! But despite it being rushed, I still enjoyed it. I felt like the ending was a cute one, and everything felt very neatly tied up.

All in all, I am so glad I finally read this series. Caraval had been on my kindle for a while before I finally read it! And I do think I will likely pick up Stephanie Garbar’s other works because I enjoyed her writing style and found these books to be easy reads. The first two especially I think are reading slump killers! It was very easy to slip into this world and just enjoy the ride!

Thank you for the magic, Legend!

“Every story has four parts: the beginning, the middle, the almost-ending, and the true ending. Unfortunately, not everyone gets a true ending. Most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, when the situation feels hopeless, but that is where hope is needed most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.”