Parents' Guide to Legendary: Caraval, Book 2

Readers who like to get carried away by dramatic romance, magic, and mystery will enjoy this sequel more than the first, despite some hiccups in the storytelling. We've got a new game, a new setting, and a new main character: Scarlett's more daring younger sister, Donatella. Tella's embroiled in all kinds of mischief before the Caraval team leaves one game and one island for another. She's to meet a benefactor who's demanding nearly impossible-to-obtain information in return for Tella's imprisoned mother. As this goal intertwines with the need to win the next Caraval game at all costs -- and the need to stay alive until then (tricky when her life force is slowly stolen in a huge mistake of a kiss) -- the story really gets intriguing.

Sometimes it feels like there's too much going on. It's clear that the information about the stars and the Fates sets up the remainder of the series, but too much setup detracts from Legendary. There's a bit too much explaining, too. Author Stephanie Garber, writing her first series, doesn't know when to trust readers to understand the stakes and how they shift with each new layer of complication. She often over-explains and resorts to straight telling instead of letting the action speak and her readers interpret and wonder for themselves. Still, there's much to wonder about at the end of Legendary, which promises exciting twists to come in Book 3.