Spectacular

This book was about 2.5 stars. I enjoyed all three Caraval books and rated them all 5 stars but this book I didn’t really enjoy.I liked how we got more story on Donatella and Legend. Once I read at the end that he was just fulfilling her wish I rated it 3 stars instead of only 2 starts but I have quite a few issues with this book.I’m just going to list the issues as follows.Donatella kissed the man unsure if he was really Legend. Legend didn’t explain why he was gone so much. Legend didn’t explain how he got the kidnapping to work or how Scarlett played her part in it. We barely got anything on Scarlett and Julian. We didn’t get a lot of Donatellas and Legends actual relationship the whole time it was just a game. Why does Donatella not call him Dante?? The whole book was giving reasons as to why Legend didn’t love Donatella and there wasn’t enough resolution.

❄️1 star.🎄EDIT: 1.5 stars (Reason: I didn't like the morals behind this book, but that aside, it wasn't a bad book at all.)Not sure what this book was trying to convey here. I honestly pretend this novella doesn't exist -- it's literally dead to me. Felt like a disappointment after the beautiful, beautiful piece of art that is Finale.🫰FAVOURITE: Loved seeing more of Scarlett, Julian, Tella and Legend.👍The art was so good! I forgot Julian had a ponytail.👍The writing was still Stephanie Garber, which meant it felt whimsical and made me realise how much I love her writing.👎The plot was kind of morally gray and lowkey questionable. It lacked explanations and even had sensitive topics like harassment (although this was later justified not to be, it seemed like it at the time). It felt a bit like Stockholm Syndrome. We seem to forget that this is a YA series, and I wouldn't encourage children and teenagers to be reading this.

The story was cute and fun, but somehow it almost felt childish. I know the books are YA but this one felt aimed at an even younger age group than the others.