The Laughing Listener
Format: Paperback ARC
*I was graciously given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
MY VERY FIRST PHYSICAL ARC YOU GUYS!!! *Sobs uncontrollably*

Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars


*Starts singing* This is the greatest show!

To say I loved [b:Caraval|27883214|Caraval (Caraval, #1)|Stephanie Garber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465563623s/27883214.jpg|45697227] would be an understatement. Normally I try fight against overly hyped books and I thought for sure I would find it lackluster, but it turned out to be such a fun read!! The writing and setting were beautiful and I was so genuinely flabbergasted by the twisty plot that I couldn't help falling in love. Consequently I went into this sequel with high expectations that it didn't quite meet, but I still absolutely loved this beautiful book.

THE GOOD

It's funny because I had a completely different reading experience with this book than I did the last one. Instead of being a mere passenger that's swept away like I was during Caraval, I went into this with both eyes open and a heavy dose of skepticism. I noticed every character, every movement, every sentence and even flipped back to earlier parts of the book while I read to try and piece this crazy puzzle together.


Basically me reading every page of this book.

But that actually made this way more fun, like I was playing the game with Tella, and Garber does a great job dishing out little clues throughout the story. There were still some plot twists that I saw coming from miles away, but there were also a lot that I didn't, so it was still a fun journey.

I also really really loved the premise! In the last novel, Caravel didn't really have a theme—Scarlett just played the game as it had always been. But this is a special version of Caraval created specifically for the Empress's birthday and deals with the different fates. The fates are sort of like the divination, tarot card versions of the Greek gods??? Like if Greek mythology and Wicca got together and had a baby it would the fates. Am I even making sense anymore?? However you want to describe them, I absolutely LOOOOVED the different fates their dark magic! it was like a physical manifestation of tarot cards, which I thought was super clever.

Plus, Garber's writing is still gosh darn BEAUTIFUL. Her words completely transported and captivated me from the very beginning.

"...most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that's when hope is needed most."

And that ending!!! UGGGHHHHH!! My heart just about melted out of my body. I NEED THE NEXT ONE.

THE UGLY

The comment I've heard the most since finishing Caraval is that people found Scarlett annoying and in the throws of my post-reading high, I was genuinely surprised by this. Did I love her character? No, but I didn't really hate her either. Tella was the one that really got under my skin during the last novel because apparently it's okay to trick your family into making huge, life-altering decisions without consulting them at all. I'm not bitter.

But surprisingly, Legendary managed to improve my opinion of Tella and lower my opinion of Scarlett. I will never doubt you Scarlett haters again because MY GOD was she annoying in this.



Thankfully she doesn't have much page time and just flits in and out of the background, but DANG. Tella also has a few questionable moments, but not nearly as cringe-worthy as Crimson. It was't really enough to distract me from the story, but it did make my eye twitch a couple times.

FINAL WORD

I loved this!!! It was beautiful, magical fun just like the first one. If you enjoyed Caraval, you'll like this one too. I can't wait for whatever comes next!!!!!