"Finale"

“Finale”

Written by Stephanie Garber

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

  

This book is the final in a series of three, written by Stephanie Garber. “Caraval” is the first, “Legendary” is the second”, and “Finale” is the conclusion. Centering around two sisters, a magical kingdom, quest-based competitions, mythology, and romance, this series has a large following and a gigantic level of buzz around it. I have to agree; I think this series is very well-written and brilliant. I think the world inside the story is very interesting, the characters are well-written, and the plot is very intriguing. Although the plots of all three are a bit different, themes of family, friendship, and sacrifice prevail through the series. I believe that “Caraval” is a fantastic book, but the last two books let me down a bit. I enjoyed reading through the main character, Scarlett’s perspective, but the other protagonist, Tella, was too wild and impulsive for my liking. Scarlett is more based on strength and love for her sister, but Tella takes more chances and puts herself in dangerous situations for love. Sacrifice is one of the main themes of the series, and it was pretty impressive in the full execution.

In the third novel, we catch Tella and Scarlett as they join forces with their romantic interests (who still are highly suspicious), enemies, and friends to battle higher, more evil forces: The Fates. Although Legend is one, he proves himself to overall be a fantastic anti-hero, as well as mysterious and slightly irritating Jacks.

Due to this being the final book in the series, there are just some things that I wish had been a little different. I really enjoyed the world in this story, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. There are really interesting magical elements, like items, tricks, and actions that have a magical motivation. I would have loved to see just a little more magic. I also would have loved to see more of the characters Jovan, Armando, Caspar, and Aiko. I felt that the books would have been more interesting if we saw more of them. Additionally, I felt the romance to be a bit lackluster in the entire series. The boys are cute but too shady for me to give my whole heart to. Also, there’s far too many love triangles. Also, I wouldn’t have minded a little more murder...

On the opposite side, I loved the inclusion of these specific Fates: The Fallen Star, The Murdered King, and the Undead Queen and her handmaids.

I felt this was a very worthy conclusion that kept my interest until the end. I also feel like the ending could possibly set up a spin-off series, which I would consider reading. Although the first book was easily my favorite in the series, I highly recommend this book to any lover of fantasy. In addition, although this is young adult aged, I still feel like this can be enjoyed by older audiences, like my 23-year-old self. I also have to mention that I enjoyed listening to this book as an audiobook. I listened to about 20% percent of the book in audio format and read about 80% in paper format, but the audiobook portions were very enjoyable, and I enjoyed the narrator.