Caraval and Legendary by Stephanie Garber

It's only just a game... Caraval by Stephanie Garber

“Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.”

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

 Caraval by Stephanie Garber

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★★★★★, a game that every reader won't be able to get enough of.

This one has completely changed the way I view whimsy, and how suspense is written. I have never seen a book written like this, and I have completely fallen in love the Garber's characters and world. Ah, I just can't get enough! The ideas that inspired the characters, locations, and unique front are shocking to be coming from a debut author. Garber you are mind-blowing! 

Being a sister myself, I know how close a bond I have with them; and it was refreshing to see Garber capture this element beautifully throughout the book. Scarlett and Tella are one of my favorite sister-duos to date, they are very different form one another; which makes their bond more realistic, because most sisters are. I am more of a Tella, but my older sister is defiantly a Scarlett. I just love that while reading this I thought of her a lot, and I might just have to have her read this series too. Julian is... Julian. I love how devious and mysterious he is, but also cunning. He had to be my favorite character from this on, hands-down. I really loved how Garber wrote him too. There were many times throughout the book you could see his thought process, but at the same time question his motives; it was ingenious. But finally, WHO IS LEGEND?!?! I hope that later in the series we get the chance to meet who he is, because there are so many complex elements to Caraval; he must be a character who is the most devious of all. 

Garber's writing style blew me away. This is just her debut and I can't get enough of her! The way she writes sounds like she has been writing for ages. I loved that way she created this world, introduced characters, and made readers guess at every turn. She held my attention from the first words to the last pages. Her style makes her one of the most prominent voices I've ever read from. I love how she took betrayal and manipulation and made it into something beautiful and whimsical. I have never had an author do that before, and I have been swept too far away with no intentions of ever coming back. 

Caraval is one of my top read of this year, and one this I will be recommending for many to come. Garber has easily become an author that I will be coming back to again and again. Through her renowned writing style, and whimsical world and characters; Garber has created a show-stopper that many years will be tripping over themselves for the next installment. I can't wait to see what journey she will take us on, and what puzzles she'll have us decode next.

The games have only just begun... Legendary by Stephanie Garber

“Every good story needs a villain. But the best villains are the ones you secretly like."

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.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

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★★★★★, just when I thought Garber has done it all, remember the games have only just begun.

If I thought Caraval was amazing, Legendary his flipped me upside down. I love it. Just when I think think I've discovered Garber's plot, she pulls the rug out from underneath me. I couldn't help getting swept away again, in this dangerous world of whimsy, it's hard not to. I loved Garber's unique flip of perspectives, her unique character choice, and finally finding out who Legend is. With all these combined, I have fallen even more into this story, and I don't have any intention of coming out soon.

This one is told from Tella's perspective and I couldn't get enough! I loved her unique perspective and how it was her turn to play the games. At first, I was a little apprehensive to read from her perspective, but after this one, I love her so much as a character. She reminds me of myself; fearless and driven, it was really refreshing. Even with the perspective change, Garber kept her original style and voice. This is one of the most difficult things for an author to master, but Garber did it resiliently. I have never seen such a smooth transition from one perspective to another, and I really enjoyed seeing her challenge readers with Tella's perspective. With this one being the squeal to Caraval, I feel like Garber has shown readers her full writing potential; she has shown readers how prominent and versatile her voice is through her character and world development.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little shocked at how many new characters Garber add to the plot. I absolutely loved the Jack of Hearts; Jacks, well loved to hate. I love me some good villains, and he is one of my favorites. I loved his devious smile and mysterious motives, he had me at the first scene he was in. He's spicy cinnamon roll, with extra spice. I was really shocked at how close he grew with the original character line-up. But I am still at little apprehensive about his motivates, I am curious to see where he will end up in the nest installment. Now...it i time... WE FINALLY KNOW WHO LEGEND IS!!! All I'm gonna say is yes...yes, Yes, yEs, YES! I am so happy with who they end-up being, and it's so perfect. They my ultimate cinnamon roll, but I'm so frustrated with them. Oh, I cannot. I am hysterically laughing with Tella right now. I am so nervous to see where Garber is going to take us. I just don't what going to happen, I just want everyone to be happy, but I have a feeling we're going to have to sacrifice so much to get there. Garber, you kill me.

All in all, Legendary has set the stage. I haven't read a series this good in a long time and can't wait to see where Garber takes this next. With the impeccable writing style, original character choice, and vivid world; Legendary has readers on the edge of their seats. Through her unique writing style, Garber has guessing at what she has in-store next. I am anticipating the day I get Finale in my hands. So, until then Garber, I will be waiting...

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Fawkes by Nadine Brandes - A world re-imaged.

“Take a breath, Thomas. There has always been fear. There will always be fear. It's up to us to stand tall, even when the fear demands we bow to it.”

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

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★★★★★, I'm such a sucker for romance and treason, so I was excited to finally get my hands on Fawkes!

Before reading this one, I had no idea who Guy Fawkes was or anything about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. This whimsy tale swept me off my feet and I was blown away with this captivating retelling. I loved learning about the history of the Gunpowder Plot and read about characters that fascinated me. I can say now that I will never pass a November 5th the same way again. And I hope to have Fawkes close to me when the date passes from here on.

I still can't believe that history has made its way back to the Young Adult stage. It has been a long time since I've picked up a YA book that has inspired me to go and learn about the history. I loved seeing Brandes take a classic plot and giving it a new face. The romance and treason, magic, and finally Brandes style and perspective are what really made me love this one. I couldn't put this one down once I've started, and I hope you won't either.

On to the romance and treason, I loved how Brandes took this plot and gave it the face of Thomas. I feel that when reading history, most of us lose touch with what we read, but not the case with this one. I loved reading about Thomas and his struggles he faced with the plague and honor. He was a very reliable main character. And his romance with Emma really put into perspective how people of the 17th century persevered race and gender roles at the time. And when Thomas gets invited into the plot to kill the ling, it puts a lot a strain on them both. I like how Brandes choose to show how much this Plot effect not just the people within it, but also those outside surrounding the plotters. Whenever I see a treasonous plot, I can't resist picking it up, it always puts a flame in y reading behind it. 

The magic Brandes conjured in this one was vivid. The idea that colors could be the root of magic was so incredibly ingenious. I have never read or heard of anything of it's kind before and Barndes has blown me away. I liked that each color had a different ability, and whatever color one mastered, they could manipulate things within that color realm. If I had color magic, I don't know what I color origin I would have. Blue? Yellow? Maybe Brown? I don't know, I need a quiz! But I also liked the thought of white magic; magic that is powerful, hard to master, and combines the abilities of all other colors. It's dangerous, and I loved seeing how the story unfolded around white magic, and Thomas's battle with it. 

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was one of the biggest plots of the 17th centenary. I loved that Brandes took this plot and inspired a re-imaged world to tell its tale. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby. As a person who loves history, I could really appreciate Brandes's efforts to keep the original plot, but also creating new elements to keep readers' attention. With the original plot still upheld in this debut novel, Brandes has proven to be a unique story-teller and a credible writer.

Finally, I loved the message that Brandes sends readers; stand-up for what you believe in and educate yourself on why they are your beliefs. Through out this read Thomas had to go out and get answers for himself, and when he was curious about something, he would always have to find the proof. You don't come across a character that is as driven as he too often. And it was inspirational to know that when people read Fawkes, they can find the courage to go out and do that in their daily lives too. Through Brandes's creative retelling, readers everywhere will never forget the tale of a brave boy, his journey to find the truth, and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.