*this has been previously posted on my Goodreads account
Mama I made it! I made the painful trek through summer work (a trek so awful and long that it got me LITERALLY eight books behind on my challenge. I’m gonna pretend like I’m not at all to blame for this!), and I made it out alive. Cheers to the weekend! Thank goodness for a new, functioning laptop! I’m just happy to be here. And happy to talk about this book. Because it’s been a while and I’ve read like 16 pages of Legendary and have a new appreciation for this lush, magical story. So it doesn’t seem like things are going to fare well with Legendary, but that’s only because I loved so much of this book. And because, fight me on this, Scarlett is the superior sister and Tella really doesn’t even have a chance.
Rating: 5 Shells
IT’S A LOVE STORY, BABY JUST SAY YES.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS RELATIONSHIP!!!! I have not, in my seventeen years of living and reading, shipped a couple more than I have shipped Tris and Four (which is literally the most unfortunate thing. Because of course my literal OTP has to be given the single worst trilogy closer to ever exist. I’m not bitter.). Julian and Scarlett are no FourTris, but these two come pretty close. Their whole dynamic just works. Julian is strong and Scarlett is smart, and just try and tell me that his nickname for her (Crimson) isn’t the most charming thing? These two complement each other in the best way. It’s similar to FourTris’ dynamic, and one of my favorite relationship dynamics, when two people together bring out strength and confidence in each other. Tris is an independent woman who didn’t NEED a man. But Four truly sharpened her, made her stronger (emotionally and physically), and I like that about Scar and Julian too. Scarlett isn’t as independent as Tris, she definitely isn’t as inherently brave or adventurous, and she could really use some guidance in Caraval, but she could’ve done it on her own too. So Julian isn’t vital for Scar’s success, but he is welcome in that without their relationship, Scarlett never would have stepped outside her comfort zone or done anything for her own happiness. I loved, too, that Scarlett gave Julian a chance at living truthfully (which I realize is a weird and confusing statement to make, but I can’t really clarify without spoiling.). The romantic tension piled on top of the manipulative setting is the perfect combination for a high stakes romance or an intense heartbreak. I’ll let you read to see which ends up being true.
Welcome, welcome, to the most lush worldbuilding of the year.
Caraval is by far the best setting and the most developed of this story. And even though the majority of the story takes place in the game of Caraval, Garber still does a fantastic job of painting the rest of the world. I almost want to call this magical realism. Which is more accurately a testimony to the worldbuilding and the mysterious, magical tone and setting that Garber invokes more than it is to my sense of genre labeling. I want to call this magical realism because there is this constant paradox established that everything isn’t real, that magic isn’t real, that Caraval is a game and only a game, but then there is the added complexity of Tella’s disappearance, of a relationship and the question of it being a mirage of the game or true love, there is this idea of magical potion and time manipulation and fortune telling, and it all leaves the reader questioning everything. It’s such a masterful strategy on Garber’s end. The reader is told, along with Scarlett, that everything in the game is a lie, but Garber twists everything so that the reader still falls for the tricks of the game. And it’s a pleasure! It’s no easy thing to trick a reader, and I’m pleased that Garber could pull it off. Sometimes Garber goes too far in her attempt to twist magic and reality or to confuse the reader, particularly in Julian’s case, but most of the time Garber successfully leaves the reader questioning the reality and truth of every character and every situation. It’s confusing and maddening and masterful. I wouldn’t want to have to write it, but it was a complete joy to read.
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Circus.
I never tire of a good ole sibling dynamic. June and Metias, anyone? Prim and Katniss? The sibling bond is such a complex thing to write about. I feel like if you have siblings you’ll get what I’m about to say. Garber captures those moments of jealousy, love, and frustration in the truest way. I don’t love Tella’s character. I understand her character as the type to appear selfish but actually to have good intentions, and that is one of my more disliked character types. Tella sort of reminds me of Rachel from The Poisonwood Bible(though I actually have so much more appreciation for Rachel’s character than I do Tella). Or maybe Wren from Fangirl. She is the more outgoing sister, the more adventurous one, and by far the more reckless one. I loved the growth from Scarlett here, and I love that she got to experience things for herself rather than living to protect her sister or living in fear. Garber never got me to empathize with Tella, but I’m okay with that because I did care deeply for Scarlett’s character, and so I was still able to appreciate the sibling dynamic.
Caraval was enchanting and romantic and all my favorite parts of the fantasy genre combined. Garber has a certain skill for crafting unreliable characters and situations, and it makes for a thrilling read. It’s been about a month post-read now, but the one thing I remember most vividly is the romance. It was everything I want out of a relationship in my books. The sister dynamic is there and has one compelling scene, but Garber shines brightest in creating her unique game of Caraval and one of my favorite couples in a long time. It was enchanting and romantic but, at its most fascinating, possibly neither. After all, it is only a game, right?
Every person gets one impossible wish, if the person wants something more than anything, and they can find a bit of magic to help them along.
Books by the Water 