Book three of the Caraval series was action-packed and magical but ultimately left me with a few questions.
For someone who, before reading the Caraval trilogy, claimed not to enjoy book series I sure did power through this series in record time. It took me 20 days to read the entire Caraval trilogy and I am a slow reader so I think that says a lot about how much I enjoyed these books.
As much as I enjoyed this book, it did leave me feeling like the series deserved a fourth novel. There were just some things I felt needed exploring a little more and the ending didn’t completely satisfy me as I hoped it would. On the whole, I did enjoy this book and I did end up matching my rating for the previous two books when I took into consideration the series as a whole and my reading experience because I do think it’s hard to achieve the perfect ending in any series of novels.
What is Finale About?
Two months ago, Donatella Dragna found her mother’s cursed Deck of Destiny Cards. In doing so the Fates were freed and have slowly been regaining their strength. But as well as potentially changing the world forever, Tella has to face the loss of the boy she thought she loved. The boy who turned out to be the elusive Legend.
Now Legend sits on the throne of the Meridian Empire leaving Tella with a tough choice to make. Trust Legend or team up with her former enemy—the Prince of Hearts to stop the most powerful Fate of them all from taking over the Empire.
But it’s not just Tella facing life-altering decisions. Her sister Scarlett uncovers a secret that changes everything she thought she knew about herself. And Legend has a choice to make that could end his life as he knows it.
Meanwhile, the Fates are growing stronger every day and their presence can be felt all over Valenda as they instil fear into the city. But what is the reason for the terror they’re inflicting and who is really in control? The Fates or a higher power? Relishing in their freedom, they’re not quick to give up everything they’ve only just regained but soon they realise that if they ever want to be truly free then they just might have to turn against the person who created them.
The game of Caraval may be over but there’s one last game to play and this time it’s very real. Who will win and who will lose everything? Finale will be the game to end all games.
Book Review for Finale
In the context of the story, only two months have passed between Legendary ending and Finale beginning. That means we jump straight into the action and the dark and troubled times the characters now find themselves in.
I was really hoping for this book to be told from multiple viewpoints given that Caraval was Scarlett’s story and Legendary was Tella’s. Finale is split between both sisters which I appreciated though I think it does lean more toward Tella.
I have to say that I was firmly Team Jacks throughout this book. I mentioned in my Legendary review that I loved the character of Jacks so it made me very happy that there was a lot more of him in this book. Honestly, I think he might just well be my favourite character from the whole series which makes me very excited for the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. I definitely routed for Jacks way more than Legend in this book. If we’re being honest, I don’t think either guy was that great for Tella but Jacks had my heart so I could forgive him.
Unsurprisingly, seen as the Fates were back in this book, Finale felt like the instalment in the series where the magic system really kicked in. Each Fate had a different power but then it also introduced the idea of Fates becoming human momentarily if they experienced love with another human. We also met the witch who created the Fates alongside Gavriel aka The Fallen Star. I thought he was an interesting character considering that all the Fates are linked to him and what we later discover about Scarlett.
Much like Legendary there are a lot of threads to follow in this book but I wouldn’t say it ever becomes confusing. However, for me, this is where I felt like we needed a fourth book because some of those threads became a little rushed towards the end or didn’t really conclude.
Trying to keep this spoiler-free I do think the ending for Jacks and the Fates was very swift. Considering this book was about the return of the Fates I don’t think they got the ending they deserved and it was kind of all swept under the carpet rather than properly explored. I also think Paloma (Scarlett and Tella’s mum) needed more backstory. Her inclusion in the book was very brief given how much she could have potentially added to the story.
While the novel did ultimately wrap up the stories of Scarlett, Tella, Legend and Julian, which I suppose is what everyone would want there was definitely room to explore other things that had been mentioned but then never revisited. In a standalone novel, these shortcomings would more than likely lead me to shave some points off my rating so I do think that it’s only within the context of the Caraval trilogy that Finale deserves a full five stars.
On the whole, I’m gutted my Caraval reading journey has come to an end. The series absolutely blew me away and I never expected to fall in love with it the way that I have. The hype around this series did put me off initially but I can now say it’s totally deserved. I do still have Spectacular to read but I won’t be picking that up until November or December seeing as it’s a holiday novella. But that’s it, the main Caraval trilogy has come to an end.
Don’t forget to check out my other Caraval trilogy reviews:
Caraval Book Review
and
Legendary Book Review
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