It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.
With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.
Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.
Welcome, welcome to Finale . . . all games must come to an end.
- Author: Stephanie Garber
- Release Date: May 7, 2019
- Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
- My Rating:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
- 🌶️: Not Spicy
Get Finale
Every story has four parts: the beginning, the middle, the almost-ending and the true ending. Unfortunately, not everyone gets a true ending. Most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, when the situation feels hopeless, but that is where hope is needed most. Only those who preserve can find their true ending
What a fantastic ending I didn’t see coming. Honestly most of the book I was in shock by the secrets revealed, the anticipation of what was going to happen next! Absolutely loved this book and series. One of my favorite parts was getting both Tella and Scarlett’s POVs in Finale, wrapping up the series in a nice little bow.
Spoilers head
A couple of months after saving their mother from the Deck of Destiny, and all the other Fates, Paloma still hasn’t woken up. Which is a good and bad thing, if she hasn’t woken up yet neither have all the Fates. Seeing as Dante-Legend is now the heir to the throne of the Empire, it was time for Tella and Scarlett to move out and find a place on their own. Too close to Legend for Tella’s comfort after what they went through.
I thought Legend was going to come around to opening his heart to love, but he seems to only care about the powers he has. He would rather offer Donatella immortality than living as a human with her. Tella used to run from the idea of love, it took Jacks trying to force her to love him for Tella to understand what or who she loved and what it really feels like.
“But I don’t want your immortality, Legend. I want your love.”
He took a step back. She didn’t even think he realized he was doing it. “I can’t give you that.”
“Yes, you can. You just refuse to choose love over immortality.”
Was it so hard for him to give up his long life to feel love once again? Julian even knew that his brother didn’t love him, but he knew he cared. But it wasn’t the same. To have someone love you feels, looks and is just different.
“You’ll feel differently if you let me change you.”
“But I don’t want to feel differently. I want to feel lovein its every form. I used to be so scared of it, but now I think love is another type of magic. It makes everything brighter, it makes people who have it stronger, it breaks rules that aren’t supposed to exist, it’s infinitely valuable. I can’t imagine my life without it. And if you felt any love in your heart, you would understand.”
“You’ll die, Donatella.”
“I already have.”
“But you won’t come back this time.”
“Most people don’t, but that’s not why you’re offering me this. This makes things easier for you. You don’t want to love me and lose your immortality.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to love you, Tella. I can’t love you.”
… I want to keep you
This whole scene screamed to me about what the Fate (I can’t remember her name) had said while she spotted Tella in Jacks’ bar. Is Legend just obsessed with Tella like Jacks is? Love and Immorality cannot coexist. We only feel obsession, fixation, lust and possession. If an immortal feels love for even a minute they become human for that minute. If the feeling lasts too long, their mortality becomes permanent. And most immortals would kill the object of their affection rather than become human
Well Legend and Tell aren’t the only ones trying to figure out what their hearts want. Scarlett still isn’t sure if Julian is really for her. Finding out she never actually met her former fiance, Scarlett reaches out to the Count to see if they do have a connection. His letters have always been so sweet. Thinking like her sister Scarlett sets up a little game of competition between Julian and the Count to see who she really cares for. But I think we all know Scarlett’s heart has always been with Julian even if she didn’t realize it.
“I didn’t want to wait.” he said, easily reading her thoughts on her face. “I knew that if I came back and things didn’t work out, I’d regret losing you, but I’d never regret having a reminder of you.”
‘I love you, Julian.”
His smile could have saved the world. “Thank the dead saints – I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.” His mouth crashed against hers, consuming her once again.
“I should have told you sooner.” she said, speaking the words in between kisses, unable to hold the rest back. “ I should have told you the minute we left Nicolas’s estate and I realized the game I’d made was a mistake. I choose you, Julian, and I promise I will always choose you, and I will always love you. I will love you with every bone in my body, so that even after my heart stops beating, a part of me will always love you.”
… “I’ve loved you since that night you showed up on the beach back in Trisda, thinking you could bribe me to run away with you. I could see how terrified you were when I showed up but you didn’t back down.”
Okay the one mind blowing thing was finding out about Scarlett’s true father – The Fallen Star. Making Scarlett a Fate? Nope, Scarlett wouldn’t give up love to be immortal. It’s not in her DNA. I also forgot that Scarlett could see people’s emotions in color. Garviel wants her to tap into her powers to help him take away the ability to love so he never turns human. Killing her mother, trapping Legend, imprisoning her and the Empire and making her force Julian to stop loving her. I don’t know how Scarlett can still be so passionate-caring about her father.
And Scarlett cried. She cried for the horrors he had been and she cried for the wonders that he could have been instead.
Oh and if that wasn’t crazy enough we find out that Paloma -Paradise the Lost was actually Elaintan’s daughter, making Scarlett the true heir of the Empire.
About time Legend came around
“I can’t say that I understand love, or that I’m very good at it, because I’ve never loved anyone before. But I love everything about you Donatella Dragna. Everything.” His hand dropped lower to stroke her jaw. “I love the secrets you haven’t told me, and the lies you’ve tried to get away with. I love your stubbornness and your persistence. I love the way you pretend not to care when I visit you in dreams. I love that you never stop fighting for what you want or the people you love, even when they don’t deserve it. I love you, I don’t intend to stop loving you, and I hope that somewhere deep inside, you still love me, too.”
Tropes
- ♥️Love Triangle
- 🤍Age Gap
- 😇Destructive Fates
- 👪Found Family
- 💬Miscommunication
- 👭🏻Multiple POV
- 🖤Forbidden Love
The Legacy Series
- Caraval
- Legendary
- Finale
Leave a Reply