So I finished my reread of Stephanie Garber’s Legendary, the second book in the Caraval trilogy, and I genuinely feel angry. Here is why. Warning: spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.

The quality of the writing is so much better in Legendary than it was in Caraval. There was something lacking about Scarlett’s perspective, as I mentioned in my blogpost about Caraval, but in Legendary the detail is so much clearer. We have a punchy plot, tension from the beginning and multiple layers of internal and external conflict to start us off with, of which more arise as the pages turn. We have pacing and tension in tandem with the significant plot points, whether they be plot or relationship points, and we have a situation we cannot take our eyes away from in the form of Donatella Dragna at the centre of a very dangerous love triangle.

Herein lies my first point I hold a lot of issues with. The perspective switch. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with a perspective switch in a second book if the third book includes the first protagonist’s perspective and the second protagonist’s perspective in the last book. This doesn’t happen in the Caraval Trilogy. We have a feature in Caraval which shows us that Donatella is the real main protagonist of this trilogy and in the second book we are shown that clear as day. Her perspective is far more colourful and sensory and immersive than Scarlett’s was in the first book and I remember when I first read Legendary that I DNFed it three times before I actually got to reading it because I did not like the perspective focus switch. I still don’t. It makes it feel like Scarlett’s perspective and Scarlett as a character is inferior and weak. Moreover, it makes it seem like the events of Caraval didn’t matter. You could read the last five chapters of Caraval and know enough to propel you into Legendary.

The character dynamics and interactions in Legendary are written in such an appealing, compelling way that the dialogue and scenes with a variety of character works so well. Tella and Scarlett. Tella and Julian. Tella and Dante. Tella and Jacks. Jacks and Scarlett. Tella and the Caraval employees. They are all able to interact with each other and not come across as cardboard cutouts waiting to be fed lines. You can feel the facades and the true emotion beneath the actions, the real intentions and wants of the characters, and it makes the second reason why I am angry about this book so much harder to deal with.

I’ve never been a fan of relationships in YA books where the underage protagonist, or any character for that matter, is in a relationship with someone older than them. I don’t just mean Romeo and Juliet laws one is a little older than eighteen while the other is still a child. I mean that the underage one, usually the girl, is in love with someone either much older or conveniently ageless/immortal. Donatella is sixteen for the duration of this book, turning seventeen in the last few pages (still a child). Dante/Legend is ageless. All the Caraval employees are so don’t think I’m okay with Scarlett and Julian’s relationship either because she is seventeen and he’s “ageless” too. We also know that the Caraval cast have been around for decades because there is reference to Nana Anna having gone to Caraval and had a fling with Legend. Let that sink in for a bit. Nana Anna had a fling with Legend. Donatella and Annalise look very similar – honey blond curls, hazel eyes, round face. Not only is Donatella in love with an ageless man who is old to have loved her grandmother, but she is essentially a carbon copy of her grandmother. The man has a type.

Do you see why I’m angry? As far as writing goes, Legendary is great. It has everything a YA fantasy should. There’s a perfect balance of elements going on and we still have an appetite for more with the third book. If I only had to look at the writing, this would easily be 4.5/5. But I cannot give it that high of a rating when I feel so passionately about two major parts of this trilogy. I can’t, in my right mind, give it higher than a 4/5 overall. If I tried to, I think I would haunt myself for the rest of my days because of such a decision. What do you think? Am I kind of right in this?