Finale by Stephanie Garber | The Most Spectaculair End

I’m so excited to share my review of Finale with you today! To my absolute horror, it turns out I read the book in July 2019 and then never published this review. I need to right this wrong, you guys! I need to be 100% honest here that I don’t remember a whole lot of Finale anymore, but I had the review written and I’m happy with it, so that’s why I’m still sharing it today. This series holds such a special place in my heart, I can’t believe I’ve finished it! Anyway, let’s get into the review.

I also reviewed Caraval and Legendary, make sure to check them out!

“Occasionally, there are minutes that get extra seconds. Moments so precious the universe stretches to make additional room for them, and this was one of them. People don’t get pauses like these very often. Some people never receive them at all.”

My Review

From the very first page of Finale till the very end, I was reminded of just how much I adore Stephanie’s writing. It’s whimsical and magical and mysterious. It fits to perfectly well with the entire vibe of the Caraval series. It had been a while since I read both Caraval and Legendary and I genuinely couldn’t remember much of Legendary at all, oops! Thank goodness it wasn’t absolutely necessary to know everything. It probably would’ve made it easier (like, a whole lot less ‘huh, what?’), but I was fine without it either way. There were little explanations of the past throughout the book and it really helped me make sense of things.

I loved how Finale is told from both Scarlett’s and Tella’s perspectives. I didn’t really like Tella before Legendary but I genuinely loved her so much in Finale. Dual perspectives can be tricky, as lots of authors end chapters in the middle of something exciting for one character, only to jump to a less exciting different character for the next chapter. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case! First of all, both Scarlett’s and Tella’s stories were equally as fun to read. And chapters barely ever ended on an “OMG!!!” kind of cliffhanger. I can honestly say that makes me so incredibly happy. There’s nothing worse that having to leave an intense storyline, only to dive straight into a boring one! Finale is definitely action-packed and eventful from start to end.

Besides Scarlett and Tella, there’s a whole bunch of characters. Obviously there’s Legend, Julian and Jacks, but then there’s so many more. It sometimes confused me a little bit, but that’s mostly on me. I just couldn’t remember all of them from Caraval or Legendary… Whoops! We don’t really see a lot the minor characters, though. Which actually worked really well for me, hehe. Love and romance play quite a big part in the story (more than before, I think) and it made the story really beautiful and sometimes a bit sad. I think Finale makes you feel like every emotion out there and it makes for a wonderful experience.

Finale is such an incredible end to the Caraval trilogy. This series has such a special place in my heart and there’s quite a bunch of memories attached to these books, I hold them dear. Final books are always a bit tricky, will it leave me satisfied? Or will it leave a gaping hole in my heart? Finale was definitely an amazing finale. I can’t really say whether or not I expected it, but it’s just so, so, so satisfying. 

My Rating

Final books in series are always really tricky. Will they live up to the rest of the series and my expectations? I can happily tell you Finale definitely did! I will probably be rereading the Caraval trilogy time and time again. I miss the magic and the mystery already!

About Finale

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 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…

Hodder & Stoughton | Goodreads | Book Depository

Have you read the Caraval trilogy? What did you think of Finale? Was it your favourite book?