Legendary (Caraval, #2) by Stephanie Garber

Synopsis (via Goodreads): A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun. 

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

God's teeth (one of Tella's favorite phrases) is an accurate description of my feelings regarding this book. I loved the world and the idea of Caraval, but I just could not get behind any of the characters and what they were trying to achieve. I doubt even they knew what they wanted the majority of the time. Their priorities and feelings changed every chapter. It was exhausting to keep up with.

Tella was more likable than Scarlett, but she was still incredibly frustrating. She based most of her decisions on how they would make someone else feel, or constantly worried what might happen if they found out she had done this or that. It seemed like she was always trying to make Dante jealous, or wanted to see how someone would react to something she said or did. A lot of the time she just didn't think something through at all. 

The ARC I received for review also gave away who Legend was before they were actually revealed in the story. A simple typo where the author referred to Legend as Legend instead of the person they were portraying in the game. 

I think my biggest issue is the many, many threads and side stories the author has created. It's almost impossible to keep up with everything. Everyone has secrets. Like, life-altering and world-shattering secrets, yet they choose to keep them to themselves. I wish we had been given more answers instead of piling all the questions on top of each other. I need a little more resolution within my stories, and this series resolves very little. A single answer only added more questions.

Despite everything... I still want to finish this series and see how it ends. My hope is that the final book will have more answers and finally tie everything together into one coherent story.