Review – Finale

From Goodreads:

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…all games must come to an end.

It’s been two months since the last Caraval concluded, two months since the Fates have been freed from an enchanted deck of cards, two months since Tella has seen Legend, and two months since Legend claimed the empire’s throne as his own. Now, Legend is preparing for his official coronation and Tella is determined to stop it. She believes her own mother, who still remains in an enchanted sleep, is the rightful heir to the throne.

Meanwhile, Scarlett has started a game of her own. She’s challenged Julian and her former fiancé, Count Nicolas d’Arcy, to a competition where the winner will receive her hand in marriage. Finaly, Scarlett feels as if she is in complete control over her life and future. She is unaware that her mother’s past has put her in the greatest danger of all.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun―with lives, empires, and hearts all at stake. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win…and those who will lose everything.

I am not going to go into this too much as it is the end of a series and I don’t want to spoil the series for anyone that has not read the other two. I have to admit I think I enjoyed this one the most out of all three. Caraval was intriguing but lacked the world building that I wanted. Legendary was a let down and had a predictable outcome. Finale, the only book not to take part during the game of Caraval, saw Garber finally getting into her stride. It had great pacing, reveals and we finally got to find out about the world!

I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of Garber’s writing style. I find it repetitive and overly descriptive of very specific objects while lacking in other areas. For example, we get minute detailed descriptions of Tella’s apparel but only a cursory glance at the city. The characterisation is still very superficial but that has been the same with the whole series. What made this shine brighter is we actually got information about the magic system and the world as a whole.

The plot line as also a lot clearer, there is a clear through line that wraps up a lot of the open ends (not all but enough to be satisfying). I enjoyed reading this instalment, its a fun series. It isn’t the best in the world but it is satisfying and enjoyable and that is just fine with me.