Synopsis
A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.
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 not 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.
A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.
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 not 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.
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 not 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.
Loved
- The character development. I just love these characters, and I feel like they just keep getting better and better in each book. I loved how they all learned to be selfless and sacrificing in this last book. I especially love how Tella and Scarlett always fight for each other and are always willing to sacrifice for the other.
- The Fates. The Fates are SO cool in this book. We get a taste of them in Legendary, but I love how we get their histories in this story, and they play a much bigger role. I love their different abilities and personalities, and varying motives. They all just fascinate me and I love the idea of the Deck of Destiny coming to life and all the Fates being set free-so original and interesting. Oh, and Jacks. He's still a devastatingly gorgeous villain and I adore everything about him. That's all.
- The intensity. Although they weren't playing in the game of Caraval, this last book felt like a race because it was so fast-paced and intense. The stakes are higher than they've ever been, the uncertainty of motives and feelings is unnerving, and we have a new villain who is ruthless, brutal, and insanely powerful. The action definitely amped up, which made this even more breathtaking and fast-paced than the others, if possible!
- The new fantasy elements. I love the fantasy objects, appearing in dreams, new dimensions, all the Fates' powers, and the time travel! There are lots of exciting new fantasy elements introduced in this book that we don't get in the other two.
- The plot twists. There were some amazing twists in this story! One just about floored me and I'm still working on getting my jaw off the floor. Again, although we weren't running through the game of Caraval like in the other books, it felt just as twisty and turny as new discoveries happened and things changed so quickly.
- Dante and Tella. Ah, their relationship in this was so frustrating, but I still just ate it up. Every little crumb. Dante is so fascinating because we never know where he stands, and especially that ending of Legendary just leaves us devastated and confused, all while swooning over him. He is such an interesting character and I love that it takes much of the series to find out what his motives are and what he is really fighting for. And Tella is just awesome. So smart and sassy, yet compassionate, brave, and willing to give anything for those she cares about.
- Scarlett and Julian. Okay they are just the cutest. I love the constant sacrifices they make for each other throughout the series. I think it's adorable how Julian just completely turns to butter every time Scarlett is mentioned or she even looks at him. I also love how Scarlett shows some spunk in this one and decides she should provide competition and give her fiancé a chance, which amps up Julian's game :) They're perfect together and I love how their relationship is very selfless. Also, can we just appreciate this cover art of these two in this edition of Finale? Alllll the heart eyes!
Didn't Love
- I'll admit- after falling head over heels for the rest of this series, I was a little disappointed in Finale. I had huge expectations, which may have been part of the problem. But it felt like Stephanie Garber was writing this under a heavy deadline and it felt very rushed and not as well thought out as the others. I felt like the fantasy elements were underdeveloped and sortof just appeared with little explanation where they came from. I also felt like a lot of loose ends were left untied, such as meeting a character who seems extremely important, and then not hearing a single thing about them after meeting them. It still had the beautiful writing and I am still totally in love the characters, but the plot felt very rushed and half-formed, which was frustrating because the other two books have very thoughtful and complex plots.
Content
- Language:
- A few uses of "bastard," "damn," and "dirty hell."
- Sexual content:
- Lots of kisses shared by two different couples, most are not described in detail. No sexual encounters explicitly implied between the two main couples in this story.
- In one scene, a female character goes to a male character's room and sees him with just pants on and describes how attractive his body is. He jokes about her wanting to join him in bed. They kiss on the bed- mentions of tongue, hands exploring bare skin, shivering, "knowing where to touch and what to do." They stop before going further so they can figure out their relationship.
- A woman gets pregnant with a man's child in a secret relationship.
- Two characters kiss, though it is one-sided and used as a manipulation.
- A game of strip poker is started, and they remove a few items of clothing, but no nudity.
- Violence:
- Man and woman stab each other after kissing- the woman dies and the man lives.
- A character is tortured and hanging from the ceiling with blood dripping down.
- A character stabs another, but doesn't die.
- A character is kidnapped and imprisoned.
- A woman is killed right in front of Scarlett.
- A charred corpse is found- detailed descriptions of the smell and flesh.
- A family is found poisoned- they are stuck in the same position from when they are poisoned and cannot move. More disturbing than violent.
- Mentions of council members being killed and their heads being put on pikes (happened in the past).
- Characters die from their throat being slit or having their neck broken.
- A few uses of "bastard," "damn," and "dirty hell."
- Lots of kisses shared by two different couples, most are not described in detail. No sexual encounters explicitly implied between the two main couples in this story.
- In one scene, a female character goes to a male character's room and sees him with just pants on and describes how attractive his body is. He jokes about her wanting to join him in bed. They kiss on the bed- mentions of tongue, hands exploring bare skin, shivering, "knowing where to touch and what to do." They stop before going further so they can figure out their relationship.
- A woman gets pregnant with a man's child in a secret relationship.
- Two characters kiss, though it is one-sided and used as a manipulation.
- A game of strip poker is started, and they remove a few items of clothing, but no nudity.
- Man and woman stab each other after kissing- the woman dies and the man lives.
- A character is tortured and hanging from the ceiling with blood dripping down.
- A character stabs another, but doesn't die.
- A character is kidnapped and imprisoned.
- A woman is killed right in front of Scarlett.
- A charred corpse is found- detailed descriptions of the smell and flesh.
- A family is found poisoned- they are stuck in the same position from when they are poisoned and cannot move. More disturbing than violent.
- Mentions of council members being killed and their heads being put on pikes (happened in the past).
- Characters die from their throat being slit or having their neck broken.
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