Young Adult Fiction: Finale by Stephanie Garber

Now we have come to the third week of YA Fest with Stephanie Garber's Finale, the third and final installment of her Caraval series. I started reading this series reluctantly, not sure of my chances of continuing after the first book. But I pressed forward and am glad I did. Finale brings everything back together in the dramatic whirlwind that is the adventures of the Dragna sisters. And of course, a massive spoiler alert must be issued for anyone who has not read the first two books in the series.

The Situation: It seems the impossible has happened, and the Dragna sisters have found their mother. When the Fates were released from the Deck of Destiny, they were able to take their mother with them, and now they only wait for her to wake up. Well, that is not entirely true. Scarlett, the elder sister, has been waiting to meet Nicolas, the man she was supposed to have married as arranged by her father, and Donatella, or Tella, waits every night for Legend to apologize for how he left things. Each have their own competing suitor who would rather have their attention and are not shy about showing it. Julian has been by Scarlett's side since the beginning of all of this, and absolutely refuses to leave it. Jacks, on the other hand, has alternated between villain and hero in Tella's story, and while he may be intriguing, he is not the one she waits for every night. Caraval may be over, and Legend has taken the throne, but the sisters still have loose ends that need tying.

The Problem: If the lives of the Dragna sisters were not complicated enough, they must now also deal with what it means to have the Fates freed from the Deck of Destiny. They are known to feed off of fear, and love to torture mortals. And when the most powerful among them decides it is now his time to assume the throne, matters go from complicated to deadly. Winning Legends' heart must take second place in Tella's list of priorities as she knows she must kill this new threat. With everything that has already been taken from her, it seems her sister could be next if they both do not find a way to defeat a power that only has one true weakness. Scarlett must play a dangerous game that will bring her closer to her mother than she has ever been, and Tella must make a decision that could give her the love of her life, while taking her own mortality.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fantasy novel that brings to a close the adventures of Scarlett and Donatella Dragna. Their story began in Caraval, the first novel and the series, and continued in Legendary. While the first book followed Scarlett, and the second focused on Tella, this one splits the attention between the two, though Tella gets a slightly larger portion of the adventure. And while there is plenty of the 'will they/won't they' for both sisters, Tella is the sister who has a harder time coming to the final decision as far as who she will ultimately give her heart to, and who is even worthy of receiving it. Their world is once again full of magic, color, and wonder, but also intense emotions, danger, despair, cruelty, and even death. This has all long stopped being a game to play, and now that the Fates are loose, everything takes on a darker reality. It may be true that not every Fate is cruel, but they are all certainly dangerous. It is a quest that requires the sisters to stick together, and for them to believe that love can do anything.

My Verdict: This is a satisfying conclusion to one crazy and dramatic series of events. There is so much that happens in this one book that it probably could be broken up into its own three-part movie or mini-series. After turning the last page, I could hardly believe how far Scarlett and Tella had come in less than 500 pages, much less over the entire trilogy. And maybe it took the perspectives of both sisters coming together, but all of the pieces finally started to fit together and makes sense for me. While reading Legendary, I felt like I was constantly accepting my own confusion and simply going along with the ride, which is not altogether a terrible thing. But with this book, the world was no longer some far off place too fantastic to be real. Even the characters began to take on a more realistic shape, including the ones who could do obviously supernatural and otherworldly things. This book felt more grounded, while still being full of a magic and danger and characters that could only come from the imagination.

Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* When Scarlett meets Nicolas and discovers that he is nothing more than a gentle giant with a big lovable dog.

Favorite Character: Julian comes through big time here, but I also loved the Assassin: one of the more dangerous of the Fates who I would have loved to see more of.

Recommended Reading: Definitely the Sea of Ink and Gold series by Traci Chee.