"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.

"Life of the Party"

“Life of The Party”

Written by Olivia Gatwood

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

I’ve found it. A fantastic book of poetry that hit every expectation, that I found relatable, and that I found to be interesting and especially thought-provoking. Olivia Gatwood’s poetry is very feministic, showing the darker sides of being a woman and / or a female in today’s world. This poetry felt very realistic and absolutely challenged many of my conservative opinions. I also felt that Gatwood has a way of explaining something poetically, without stripping away the darker side of the content. Often, I read modern poetry that makes light of more serious topics by making the words sound lyrical and pretty. For example, Rupi Kaur is a very popular, feministic, modern poet who uses personification, allusions, similes, and metaphors to explain the harsher sides of abuse, mental disorder, and sex. In addition, Amanda Lovelace’s poetry is similar. Contrastingly, Gatwood uses realistic language and does not use literary devices often. Her harsh, honest poetry is refreshing and absolutely horrifying.

Additionally, Gatwood offers a very insightful foreword. She discusses how she has experienced and known of experiences that have occurred by men to women she knew. She speaks of violence with wisdom and solemnity. I find that poetry feels more meaningful, when drawn from experience. Olivia Gatwood’s poetry speaks about many important topics, such as, abuse, rape, sex, and murder. How men and women treat women. She discusses how it can be to grow up from childhood into adolescence and how that can change how men act. Her poems sometimes are inspired by true crimes, especially ones involving serial killers and murders, but they do not feel exploitative of the crimes and victims. They feel apologetic and sympathetic, rather than manipulative.

My favorite poems from her collection are:

“Girl”

“First Grade, 1998”

“The Sandias, 2008”

“Staying Small”

“When I Say That We Are All Teen Girls”

“Mans/laughter”

“The Lover as a Tapeworm”

“Sound Bites as We Ponder Death”

“She Lit Up Every Room She Walked Into”

“Ode to the Unpaid Electricity Bill”

In conclusion, I have absolutely found a new favorite modern poet. I always find myself struggling to enjoy the whole extent of a modern poetry collection, but I absolutely loved this one. I plan to read as much of Olivia Gatwood’s poetry as possible.

I received an advance review edition of this book through Netgalley in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Additionally, thank you to Dial Press.

"The Woman in the Window"

“The Woman in the Window”

Written by A.J. Finn

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

Sadly, “The Woman in the Window” absolutely did not live up to my expectations. The premise of this psychological thriller is that an agoraphobic woman, named Anna Fox, starts to notice suspicious behavior in her new neighbor’s home.

We are introduced to Anna, who shows us that she has had stalking patterns before. She has been watching many of her neighbors, even taking photographs of them. Anna has a strange past, leading us to suspect that her husband and daughter are hallucinations, right from the get go. Anna talks to herself, drinks too much, and will not leave her house.

Anna befriends Jane, the wife in the family who lives across the street. She also befriends her son, who likes to stop by and bring snacks. One night, Anna sees Jane outside, bleeding, with a large metal object in her chest? Anna runs outside and is taken to the hospital, after she suffers a major panic attack. At the hospital, she is told that Jane is fine, and she was never injured. Her husband brings himself and Jane into the room. This woman is unfamiliar and not the Jane that she expected. Anna begins to suspect everyone, but there is one person she does not...

One of my main problems with this book is the lack of interesting characters. Anna is an unreliable narrator. She is constantly complaining, acting strangely, and making weird decisions, like sleeping with her creepy tenant. She does not seem to really understand that she is her main problem. In addition, it felt very tedious to read all of the messages she sends to strangers in an agoraphobia chat room. It did not feel necessary; we did not receive any new information.

 Finn tries to pad his characters with snippets and familiar details. We notice that he clearly wants this book to be reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”. I am a massive Jimmy Stewart fan and a massive Alfred Hitchcock fan. However, references to this movie and most of his movies are on every single page. It feels a little too informative. This book feels a little too detailed in many circumstances.

I think, for the most part, I could enjoy this author, if he wrote a book with a different type of premise. His dialogue is still intriguing enough, the plot eventually built enough suspense, and I felt it was a worthwhile read. However, I know there is a massive scandal around the author, due to his deception about his healthcare, sources, and job experience. We’ll see if he’s been black-balled enough to never write another book. I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

"Legendary"

“Legendary”

Written by Stephanie Garber

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

Just as a quick forewarning, I highly suggest you do not read this review until you have read the first book in the series, “Caraval”. This will contain no spoilers for “Legendary” but will possibly spoil some aspects of “Caraval”, since this is a continuation in the series.

“Legendary” is the second book in a trilogy that follows two sisters in a magical world, as they experience magical competition, deception, and romance. Scarlett Dragna is mainly written about in the first book, as she tries to rescue her sister, Donatella, nicknamed Tella, who is caught up as a prize in a magical contest. Tella is profiled in the second book, as she tries to compete again, to find their mother. Scarlett stays in the background for much of “Legendary”, which was disappointing to me, but it also felt necessary, since she is not the only main character. Tella has a romance with Dante. Scarlett has a romance with Julian. Julian and Dante are brothers, and we know that one must be Legend, a crazy and impulsive villain. However, both of them seem very romantic and normal, but they are very deceptive.

In “Legendary”, we are also introduced to a new villain, Jacks, who has his own motivations for helping Tella. He is cool, calm, collected and always eating a different colored apple. He’s interesting and intriguing.

Unfortunately, I found this book to be less interesting as the first. The first set up all of the interesting aspects of the world and all of the characters, and the second continues the story. However, it lacked a bit for me, when the second story should be very bountiful. We are introduced to problems that will be either solved or ruin the characters, but those problems will be addressed in the third book, as with all trilogies. I felt we did not experience as much fun or intrigue with the Caraval competition. I found some interesting aspects of magic that were introduced, such as the Fates, hidden weaponry in clothing attire, and unlucky coins. Every character is still deceptive and still scheming, but I do appreciate that not every character is sinless. I am excited to see where the rest of the story goes, and if I will enjoy “Finale”.

Although I felt “Legendary” to be less satisfying, I still highly recommend this book series to anyone interested in magic and fantasy. There are elements that remind me of “The Hunger Games”, “Harry Potter”, “Enchantee”, and especially “Pirates of the Caribbean”. I will continue to read this author’s books, as long as she’s writing them.