#i love you donatella dragna

[onecalypso]

[animezinglife]

Tella: These streets are dangerous for girls! I shouldn't be out in them alone. Tella: [hitches a ride with a serial killer and tries to decide if he's hot or not]

[unhealthy-obessions]

“You were supposed to be my true love. You were supposed to want me, not him. You were supposed to be as obsessed with me as I am with you”

- Jacks from Finale -

Respectfully, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO NOT SHIP THEM EVEN A LITTLE AFTER THIS???

AGHFKEBDOWNFOALFJFOEPA

[xoxzso]

the fact that julian motherfucking santos had done this without prior knowledge and just out of his own free will AUGH i am SICK of them !!!!!!!!!!

[sheisntyouspam]

haha... so i know you all probably hate me by now but

MORE EVIDENCE (i am very sorry i am making this my whole personality)

okay okay

first quote:

"He's a Fate; you're a human and the object of his obsession."

the key part is 'object of his obsession'. cause to jacks tella is exactly that. an object. an obsession.

second quote:

"Tella had no doubts that Jacks wanted her, but wanting someone wasn't the same as loving them."

EVEN TELLA IS AWARE THAT JACKS DOESN'T LOVE LOVE HER. he just wants her cause what? obsession. fixation. lust. possession.

third quote (last one guys trust (for nowww)):

"You were supposed to be my true love. You were supposed to want me, not him. You were supposed to be as obsessed with me as I am with you."

ngl i actually started crying during this cause MY LOVE JACKS. WHYRE YOU HURTING HIM STEPHANIE GARBER. (at least he has eva yk?) ANYWHO POINT IS 'supposed to be' -> this isn't how his story was said to happen and this isn't how it should have gone down for him. 'obsessed with me as i am with you'. note he does not say 'LOVE ME LIKE I LOVE YOU' cause he don't love her. he wants her. like donatella even pointed out herself. and the middle sentence just shows the possession part.

(again, again, my opinion xx)

look i’m pretty sure the reason jacks ‘loved’ donatella (if you wanna call it that) because she was said to be his true love and the one thing he had been chasing and was his fate was the fact that he needed to find his one true love. and when she rejected him he wanted to go back to save her cause she was ‘his fate’.

evangeline though. jacks genuinely loved her even though he knew - or thought - that he couldn’t be with her cause of the curse.

(my opinion xx)

[reyreadersblog]

YK WHAT I HATE THE MOST?

Gender inequality. Even in the books.

Okay, so this might sound stuqid, but you'll get where i'm coming from..(if you don't then i'm an idiot and don't mind me)

As an exa

i'll use TIG book series as an example. I love all Hawthorne brothers, truly i do (and i wish they were real) and if i'm being honest they might be one of the best book bfs out there, my main problem is how overshadowed FMC, Avery Grambs, is by them. So you meant to tell me you find many flaws in her character but don't find any in the brotherss??? Hey i love them all, but they made mistakes, many mistakes too, starting from Xander (i'm not sure about him) and ending with Nash.

"Oh..Avery was boring.." "She shouldn't have donated that much money" "she doesn't listen to anyone" "Avery was dumb" "Avery was meanie" STFU. First of all she is one of the most intersting characters, it's her money and she can use it however she wants, she was naturally smart girl and EVEN THOUGH she made mistakes she is still the best character in the books. I HATE the way fandom ignores every mistakes the boys made, Like..let's take Jameson as an example..i love him, but he also made bad desicions, like..using Avery..hiding the truth..and more.

Avery Kylie Grambs is an icon and she's better than any Hawthorne brother. Here i said it.

Now let's move on to Alisa (you can not make me hate or dislike her) she made mistakes for sure, she was mean to Libby (on my previous posts i explained why i think she was rude to her..but anyway..) but that's the thing again.. GRAYSON? He is litearlly my favourite character but i can admit he definetley messed up in certian situations, if you're saying Alisa was mean to Libby...then Grayson's behaviour staight up deserves jail, bcs he litearlly threatened a heiress...

How i wish that to be his only mistake but he made tons, TONS of them and majority of the fandom chose to ignore, (bcs he's hot), but when it comes to Alisa..when she made a mistake, by being slight rude towards Libby, out of jealousy...fandom goes crazy, saying she's very bad character, a meanie, insicure. And why? Bcs she's not a hot male character, in fact she's a independent female characater..and of course she's going to get hate on her every move..

And the sad thing is this happens in almost evey fandom, female characters who are independent, headstrong..have their own mind and opinions, ALWAYS get hate, Avery Grambs, Alisa Ortega,Donatella Dragna, Pip fitz-Amobi, Annabeth Chase, Wren Greenwrock, Nina Zenik, America Singer..

this no hate post, i respect your opinion, and i do love Hawthorne brother, this is just something that needed to be said.

[wildesqdreams]

YAY JULIAN SANTOS MY HUSBAND

can we have a jealousy fic pleaseeeee?? where reader is jealous of julian and idk scarlett?? (scarlett not the villain though cause we love her)

not a game

pairing - julian santos x fem!reader.

summary - caraval is a place where you get swept away and lost. even though you may think you know what's going on, the game may surprise you. or a person.

warnings - spoilers for the first book!!! tiny bit of angst? julian freaking santos, fluff, and like a make out session?

navigation | masterlist | request | taglist

a/n: my first fic for our wonderful man, julian santos!!! i also think the first on tumblr??? anyway, i hope i did well and that you enjoy this, and i will be waiting for requests, heheheh

her eyes moved to the hidden door in scarlets room, body tensing. she quickly got up from the bed, ready to do something if it was needed because in this magical game, nothing and no one could be trusted.

when she saw the body enter the room, her shoulders relaxed, but the furor in her eyebrows just deepend, "julian?"

"where's scarlet?" he asked. the question came out a little raspy and breathy, and her eyes noticed that the boy did not look well.

pushing her emotions aside that yet again, it was her that was on his mind she replied, "she went off. wanted to look for clues, get more information about if someone has seen tella," the girl's eyes went to his head that seemed to be covered in blood, "are you oka-".

her words were cut off, "what are you doing here?"

y/n's gaze stayed on him as he moved across the room towards the bed, where she was standing beside it. julian placed something on the soft covers. earings. scarlets earings.

remebering his question, her face tinted, feeling a little embarrassed. was it bad that she was here? she had her own room, while scarlet and julian were forced to share, since they put on an act of being an engaged couple. even though they didn't stay in the same room (their decision because it wasn't real), right now, it felt private. like she was invading something.

she didn't like the heat on her face.

it was julian. the sailor boy who arrived a month ago to trisdas island. the boy that donatella introduced her with. her friend. so why on earth was she feeling like a no one in front of him?

since caraval it had been like that. the coldness. maybe y/n was overthinking it. she had a gift for it, but everything seemed to be around the dragnas sisters. it wasn't like she despised them. they were her adored friends, together since childhood. but why was the game suddenly about them? what was so special?

"well, umm," she cleared her throat, "i came here to see how scarlet was doing, but she was already leaving. she said that i should stay here just in case something happens while she's gone."

there was sufocating silence after that with plenty of distance between the young people.

her eyes returned to his wound.

"it's not that bad," the boy gave a light grin.

she met his eyes that had that playful and careless glint. after some seconds, she went to the bathroom to grab a towel and a basin, not believing him. when she returned, she asked him to sit on the bed.

while y/n was treating his head, julian stated, "remember, it's only a game." but the words went past her, as she continued to carefuly help him.

after a while, she cleaned and put away the things before returning in the room. julian was on his feet now, looking out the window at the beautiful city below. the girls chest filled up with warmth as she saw the boy in the moonlight, but it was pushed aside when his previous state came to mind, "so what happened? and, please, don't lie."

he turned around, still a little uneasy, "scarlet was fussing about those things," julian looked at the bed.

y/n's gaze went to the earrings, and before she could think the words already slipped out, "you know she's engaged, right?"

her cheeks burned, as she felt his eyes on her. after some silence, she heard him reply, 'i know." but the gaze was still burning on her.

"you don't have to hurt yourself for her. she has a count that would be happy to help her and give her everything she needs."

"just thought she would appreciate it."

of course she would! and she deserved all the brightest items! and those earings were very special to her - they were her mothers.

but y/n couldn't help the heavy, stinging feeling in heart. she loved scarlet dragna. yet, she did not love how much julian was thinking about her.

"yeah," she raised her eyes and met his, "i'm sure she will," it came out more tense than she intended.

julians lips curved into a more noticible smile, "no need to be jealous. for you, i would be delighted to do more than just bring back old jewelry."

"i am not jealous."

"lying is definitely not the best look on yo-" he suddenly swayed, and the girl rushed to his side.

her arms went to his shoulders, as she tried to help him stay up, "are you okay?"

"splendid," a whisper left his lips.

the girls cheeks were burning, as his beautiful caramel, brown eyes were still on her. their faces so close.

he looked at her like she was the one. like he needed her. wanted her. and it would have been a wonderful thing to get swepped in, but the recent events and the distance spiralled in her mind again, making her put distance between them, "you should lie down," y/n stepped back.

"stop running away," his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling the girl back.

her hands went back to his shoulders, steading her. her chest to his. and his hands burning through her dress. "i'm not," she breathed out.

a small grin formed on his face, "lying seems to be our new way of communicating, huh?"

"well, isn't that the purpose of the game?"

"if you're refering to caraval then yes," he leaned closer, as his hand traveled up her back, leaving goosebumps on her clothed skin, "but this certainly isn't a game for me."

she was barely able to stand on her feet. his hand went to the back of her neck, gently stroking her soft skin with his thumb. the touch made the butterflies light up in her stomach and her head to become heavy from all the sensations.

she opened her mouth, a whisper leaving her lips, "but-"

a soft chuckle escaped him, "it amazes me how other ladies are on your mind while i'm here with you. risking everything because it's impossible to stay away."

y/n didn't notice that her knuckles had turned white from the tight grip on his shoulders. aftaid that this was a fantasy. that he will disappear.

she breathed in when his hand slowly moved to the side of her neck, and his lips ghosted her temple, "i shouldn't be here."

her head was pulsing as his thumb lightly brushed her lips. "i'm gonna get in so much trouble for this."

the soft, tense whispers were going to be the death of the girl. her mind was clouded by his touch, so she couldn't quite grasp what he was saying. she knew the boy in front of her had his secrets, but that didn't make her not want him. she couldn't help but lean more into him, desprete for something.

julians hand was still on the side of her neck, "i don't want you to do something you will regret," he whispered, stroking her cheek.

her eyes met his, "i won't."

after the final stroke on her skin, he covered her mouth with his own. she felt like her body was about to burst in flames. his hand on her waist pulled her closer, like she was about to vanish and he didn't want to let go.

warmth spread from her chest to her fingertips. time seemed to pause, the world around them fading into a soft blur. the kiss was tentative at first, a gentle exploration filled with the sweet thrill of newness. but when his lips pressed harder, y/n let out a soft sound against his lips, tangling her hand in his hair.

she knew there were a lot of mysteries and questions waiting to be solved, but in that moment, everything else fell away; all that existed was the soft brush of his lips against hers.

the kiss tasted of pleasure. of desperateness. of something, neither y/n nor julian wanted to let go. she felt both vulnerable and invincible, as if they were the only two people in the universe. so they let their personal fights and the darkness disappear, as they both let the new beginning wash over themselves.

taglist: @xoxzso

[jessread-s]

TW: kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging, misogyny

✩🎁❄️Review:

If you are hoping for a fluffy, festive romance, this is not it. 

Set after the Caraval series, “Spectacular” follows Donatella Dragna as she embarks on the ultimate holiday adventure to find the perfect gift for Legend. 

I LOVED the first half of this book. It was a joy to return to Valenda and spend more time with Scarlett, Tella, Julian, and Legend. Rosie Fowinkle’s gorgeous illustrations truly bring them to life! The red accents Fowinkle added to her images paired with Garber’s whimsical writing definitely got me into the holiday spirit. 

Unfortunately, this book took a turn for the worst near the halfway point that left me feeling uncomfortable. Simply put, this book fails to take consent into consideration. 

🚨‼️SPOILER ALERT‼️🚨

To go into more detail, Tella is drugged and kidnapped at one point in the story. She wakes up in the Spice Quarter—a place riddled with gambling pits, drug dens, and brothels. Soon after, she is forced to change into an outfit that leaves her scantily clad so that she can show off her backside to a man whose identity is not known. She is then taken to his private room where she is blindfolded, gagged, and restrained. Once there, the man touches and kisses her without her consent. The reader ultimately finds out that the mystery man is Legend, but honestly, that did not make the whole series of events better in my eyes. Had she known it was him all along, what transpired would still be considered assault given that she did not consent to any of it. Readers fresh off of Finale might be able to connect what happened here to the letter Tella wrote in which she asked Legend to kidnap her. Why Legend thought this would be such a great holiday gift is lost on me. As someone who hasn’t read Finale in years, I did not make the connection. Neither did Tella, which is what made the whole thing icky. 

🚨‼️END OF SPOILERS‼️🚨

I was hoping for more ScarJulian content at the very least, but their presence is more akin to a cameo. I hope that the next one (which is alluded to in the epilogue) does not follow in its predecessor’s footsteps. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[rosesfox]

♡ my review on spectacular ♡

❥ i want to start by praising stephanie's writing. she is usually one of my favorites without a doubt. here, as always, stephanie takes us to a magical and enchanting world, with incredible settings and a delightful festive atmosphere.

❥ there is a very well-constructed story, and it was refreshing and nostalgic, for some reason, to remember how stephanie knows how to create tension and a good plot that holds our attention. i found myself unable to stop reading. besides, there are funny and light moments.

❥ donatella dragna! she is herself in this book. 😅 for those who love her, you will love her more, and for those who hate her, this is not the book for you. she continues to be very much herself in this, and i love her and how she loves legend.

❥ tellalegend! honestly, here stephanie gave me everything i wanted from both of them. there is a certain tension created, but since it is a novella, it is expected that it will not be something big and problematic. overall, i really loved their interactions and the plot that stephanie used to develop the story. i was smiling reading their interactions, swinging my feet and as in love with legend as tella!

❥ the illustrations are beautiful and i loved the idea of ​​making an illustrated book.

❥ finally, i conclude by saying that i finished reading with a warm heart and being reminded of how much I love the writing and the universe that Stephanie created in caraval. i give it 5 stars.

♡ Spoilers below for those who want to know about EvaJacks and ScarlettJulian ♡

❥ there are small interactions between scarlettjulian and some beautiful and romantic passages about them, and a pov from julian in which he talks more about legend than anything. there is one illustration of the two together, as far as i remember, but don't expect more than that.

❥ evajacks don't appear in this book. they may make an appearance in the special epilogues, but as for the book, there is none. there is a mention of jacks where it is said that he gave the deed to his casino to someone else and warned those people about scarlett, who wants to ban all kinds of illegal activity. he doesn't need that place anymore since he is living with evangeline in the hollow. 🥰

[hollowinmyheart]

Stephanie Garber surely has a great way of expressing love ,I couldn't help but make a post on some of my favorite quotes from SG's OUABH and Caraval series

-- “In the morning, you can forget it. You can go back to pretending you don’t like me, and I can pretend that I don’t care. But for tonight, let me pretend you’re mine.”“If it’s easier, you can pretend, too, You can pretend that I’m still Jacks of the Hollow and that you want to be mine.”- Jacks [TBONA]

-- “There is nothing of equal value to me.” -Jacks [TBONA]

-- "I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.” - Evangeline Fox [ ACFTL ]

-- "I will love you with every bone in my body, so that even after my heart stops beating, a part of me will remain to forever love you"- Scarllet Dragna [Finale]

-- "Most of my life, I’ve romanticized death. I used to love the idea of something being so tremendous that it was worth dying for. But I was wrong. I think the most magnificent things are worth living for" - Donatella Dragna [Finale]

-- " This is my choice, and I choose you, Donatella. I don’t need immortality. You’re my forever" - Legend [Finale]

-- "I’m not trying to win her hand. I’m offering her mine, and everything that comes with it, hoping she’ll take it and decide she wants to keep it" - Julian Santos [Finale]

-- "She was the moth and Jacks was still the flame "- Apollo Acadian [ACFTL]

-- "He held her so tightly it hurt, but this pain she didn’t mind. She’d let him crush her, let him break her, just as long as he never let her go" - Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "He held her with the type of intensity that only happens when a person wants something that isn’t quite theirs. But she was. She just needed to tell him she loved him" - Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "He’d never understood why someone would watch another person sleep . . . until her" -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds" -Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "She wasn’t nothing to him. That she was everything. That he’d turned back time to keep her alive, and he would make the same choice again." -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "He wanted to keep her pressed to the floor beneath him. He would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this." - Jacks [ACFTL]

-- “Yes, I am a murderer. I enjoy hurting people. I like blood. I like pain. I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evengeline" -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- “To foolish hearts and fire! May you and Jacks only ever burn with passion and desire.” - LaLa Merrywood [ACFTL]

-- "I am Jacks’s true love. I believe it with the same confidence that I believe that water fills the oceans and morning follows the night." - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- “I’m never going to let you out of my sight. This isn’t just for now, it’s for always, Little Fox.” - Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "I don’t care if fate is real—because I don’t need it to decide for me. I don’t need it to make this choice. I’ve made my decision, Jacks. It’s you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I’ll fight fate or anyone else who tries to tear us apart—including you. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine. And you are not going to be the end of me, Jacks" - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- “I’m broken. I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.”

“Then break me, Jacks.” - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- "He considered setting the room ablaze just so that he’d have a reason to pick her up and carry her out, to save her one last time" - Jacks [ACFTL]

[not-a-lady-irl]

One minute

Pairings: Armando x reader Summary: Armando and some actors from Lenda were going to present a play for Empress Elantine during dinner, so you, like a good girlfriend, helped him get ready Warnings: Insecurity, Terrible writing Author's Note: After reading this scene in Legendary I couldn't control myself, so I had to write something related. HELP THIS TURNED OUT BIGGER THAN I EXPECTED. Words: 3022

You were accompanying Tella through the long corridors of the empress's castle, listening to her laments as you thought of some way to help her (or not). As a Caraval actress, you knew Legend's identity and his desires, but you couldn't just go around telling her what you knew and what she wanted to hear. Legend wanted her to win and you would help her, but she would need to play the game. That means that she will have to uncover your tips for the next clues by hook or by crook.

Last Caraval you had a lot of fun with Scarlett while playing with the confusing tips you gave her. It was stronger than you, after all, it was your role to get closer to the players and discover their weaknesses and strengths, so that you could give some slightly wrong information. And in turn, your boyfriend Armando used the information and played the role of villain whenever he could.

Ah… Armando, always getting into trouble. You've lost count of how many times you've had to break up arguments your boyfriend was involved in. It was a terrible gift he possessed. You wondered where he was right now. You hadn't seen him since the beginning of Caraval. No matter how much you looked for him, you never found him. You came to think that maybe, for some reason, he was avoiding you…

"…and now I don't know what to do to help Julian win my sister back." - stuck in your thoughts, you end up listening to only part of Donatella's outbursts - "I think Julian deserved it after lying to Scarlett twice, but still… I see that he regrets it and cares a lot with her. In the end, I just wanted the two of them to understand each other again."

"I see, love is something really complicated, but I think it's better for you to let the two of them to resolve it" - You commented while observing her distressed look - "You getting involved might just make things more difficult. I think you should focus on the game at the moment, after all, the time is passing and you haven't even found the next clue yet!" - you laugh

"Scarlett already told me about your type, so I don't want any help from you!" - Donatella comments, directing a disdainful look at you

"Really? Your sister mentioned me? What a great honor! To have my name mentioned by none other than Scarlett Dragna!" - your typical mockery - "You know that every Caraval the roles change, right?"

"I don't know if I want to find out from you now, but if you're my last option, I'll look for you." - she looks at one of the several cuckoo clocks in the castle and her expression changes to astonishment - "It's almost dinner time! I promised I would have dinner with them today!" - she says in a hurried tone, increasing the pace of her steps

"Wait! They who??"

"Jacks and the empress! I promised I would meet with them NOW!" - unable to keep up with Donatella's speed, you couldn't get any more information from her and also decided not to bother her anymore - "We'll talk later!" - and then she disappears when turning into the long corridor on the right

"Talk to me? I thought she didn't want my information!" - you laugh at her last comment

In fact, in this Caraval Legend asked you to confuse her less, since for some reason he really wanted her to win. So orders are orders! If Donatella appears on your path again, you will help her. As you made your way back to the castle exit, trying to have fun with the other players, a voice ended up catching your attention.

"Psst! Here!"

When you turned around, you came face to face with an Aiko inside a hole in the ground, with only her head and part of her chest showing. She was wearing a wonderful white parchment dress. Why did Legend only give Aiko the prettiest clothes?

"Why do you only wear the best clothes?!?"

"Is it serious that of the whole scene that was what caught your attention the most?" - Aiko scoffs at your question

"Yes? I mean… I think seeing you having just emerged from an apparently plugged hole in the middle of one of the castle's many corridors was the least strange thing I've ever witnessed at Caraval" - your memories of the hundreds of times you've acted in Caraval start to appear - "As an actress, I don't expect much from this game"

"You actually have a point" - Aiko lets out a laugh at your comment - "But I came here at someone's request"

"Really? Who? Legend? Did I do something wrong?" - the fear of having done something wrong in Legend’s view tormented you

"No, silly, your boyfriend. Armando asked me to look for you" - she said, making a gesture with her hand that asked you to enter that hole and follow her - "But you need to be quick, we don't have much time"

"Armando? Did something serious happen??" - obeying Aiko, you enter the hole and start following her while thinking about all the worst situations that could have happened - "I haven't seen him since the beginning of the Caraval!"

"I think knowing too much about people is making you paranoid" - she comments with a worried look in your direction - "You should ask Legend to put you in another role"

"Not to show off, but I know I'm the best at what I do" - you let a smile appear on your face - "And my information is also great for all of you to fulfill your roles"

Aiko just rolls her eyes

"I think Armando really is a perfect match for you. I can't see anyone better than you" - Aiko then stops at a certain part of the route and tries to loosen the hole cover

"Do you really think so Aiko?" - your voice instantly became softer, her comment left your face red with embarrassment, as you had no idea that others saw your relationship that way

"I think so, and the change in the tone of your voice the moment I mentioned your relationship only makes it more evident" - she struggles to turn the cover which only resulted in a failed attempt to release it - "Damn" - she grumbles almost inaudible - "I won't be able to get there in time like this. Come here and help me remove this thing!"

You still didn't know why Aiko was in such a hurry, but being stuck in this corridor with her getting more and more stressed with each failed attempt scared you. Then you both tried hard to open the cover, but it seemed that the more and more you tried, the more it seemed like it wouldn't budge.

"Don't you think we better scream for help? I doubt this cover will open Aiko-"

And as if by magic, the cover simply comes off.

"Do the ladies need a little help?"

Your gaze finds Armando's smiling face. You wanted to jump out and hug him tightly, afraid he would disappear from you again. But it was okay, after all, he was there, looking and smiling at you. Your boyfriend.

"Why didn't you come sooner?!?!" - an irritated Aiko asks after being helped by Armando to get out of the hole - "I still need to get ready for the presentation which is in a few minutes Armando!"

"Calm down Aiko! I arrived in the room not even five minutes ago! It was when I entered that I started to hear some murmurs from inside the room and I started looking for where they were coming from, that's when I found you two!" - he replied showing his beautiful smile

Aiko rolled her eyes again

"Um… can someone help me…?" - you ask shyly

"You don't even need to ask, my love" - ​​Armando approaches you and pulls you by the arm, finally taking you out of that corridor - "I hope Aiko didn't bother you too much" - he responds, showing a mocking smile as he directs your gaze for Aiko

Sometimes you suspected that your boyfriend liked to play with death. But oddly enough, Aiko just returns her disdainful look and heads towards the door.

"Next time you ask me for something I will charge you 3 days of your life"

After Aiko left, the air in the room became considerably lighter. The walls painted with several stripes of different colors brought a lively and fun atmosphere to the room. Clothes and accessories scattered around the room along with various makeup tools welcomed you. A half-open closet with many of fallen clothes and several racks with different types of hats, scarves and actors' coats gave the final verdict that the place where you were was definitely a place where only the Legend actors had access.

The wooden floor and the ceiling painted in a light blue brought a certain peace to the place. But putting all these characteristics together, it was complete chaos. You wouldn't expect anything less from something related to the Caraval actors, each one with their own peculiarity. Your curiosity really wanted to know where you were and what it was all about.

A mirror leaning against one of the walls showed you and Armando in its reflection, he was still holding you, not with the same strength as before, but his touch was softer. You found yourself trapped in your boyfriend's reflection in the mirror, admiring everything your eyes could see, like his slightly messy black hair, his naturally vain expressions bringing out his elegance, his red lips forming a smile that awakened in you your most carnal desires and finally, his emerald green eyes that made you blush whenever they looked at you, but at this moment you were so lost in your daydreams that you didn't really notice that he was also looking at you through the reflection.

"You know, I don't mind being admired by you for long hours, but I think both you and I want more than just to settle for each other's reflections." - his voice finally brings you back to reality, leaving you embarrassed at how you were caught shamelessly admiring your boyfriend.

"I wasn't admiring you!" - you try to defend yourself

"Really? Then why did your face turn red out of nowhere?"

"He didn't turn red!"

"Well, okay, I can't waste time with this discussion, but know that you lost it" - he comments, letting go of your arm and walking towards a makeup bag that was on the floor - "I know you really want to kiss me and do other things, but unfortunately I don't have much time left" - he squats down and picks up an eyeshadow palette - "I thought maybe we could enjoy our last few minutes together with you helping me finish my makeup"

"Ah yes… of course" - you take the eyeshadow palette he held out to you and start using it on him - "I'm glad you thought of me"

"There isn't a minute that goes by without thinking about you my love" - ​​he replies while staring at you intensely - "I know you want to ask some questions, so you better take advantage while you can"

You wonder if you should spend these minutes clarifying the curiosity of your questions, but it didn't seem like Armando bothered answering them. So after a long minute, you decide to finally question him.

"Why have you disappeared since the beginning of Caraval?" - you stop putting on makeup and look at him - "I looked for you from the beginning and I didn't find you"

"I know, I'm sorry about that" - you would even be surprised that Armando had apologized, but you knew it was reserved just for you - "But Legend has placed a big burden on me this Caraval, I need to be everywhere at all times, that's why the underground tunnels, that's where we're moving and getting to places fairly quickly" - he responds, giving you a serene smile - "I wanted to see you and spend some time with you, but unfortunately I hadn't found any until now"

You didn't know how to react, you felt guilty for thinking that he didn't want to see you or that he was avoiding you. In the end, he spent all this time looking for some way to find you, even if it was just for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry honey, I thought you were avoiding me for some reason" - you put makeup on him again as a way to avoid his gaze - "But I'm glad we could finally have this little moment together" - you had already finished his makeup it´s been a while, but you couldn't think of doing anything other than that at that moment.

"Dear, look at me"

"One moment honey, I'm finishing your makeup-"

"Look at me" - abruptly, Armando removes the eyeshadow palette from your hand and with the other he holds your chin firmly, leaning you against the wall, forcing you to look at him

His breathing was now much closer than before, his emerald eyes moving from your gaze to your mouth. Your hands resting on his chest desperately yearned to touch him, to explore Armando's body again. Unconsciously your body wanted him to do the same to you, for him to touch you in different places, but you both knew that unfortunately you didn't have time, the minutes were numbered.

"Hey! Armando! It's almost time! We're going to introduce ourselves in 2 minutes! The only thing left is you! Get out of there before I send Aiko in and drag you out here!" - a voice coming from outside the door of the place where you were ends up waking you both up again to the commitment that Armando had to fulfill

"I'll be ready in 2 minutes!" - he shouts in response

You couldn't hide the disappointment in your eyes due to the interrupted atmosphere and the short time you had, you wanted Armando all to yourself, deep down you knew it was selfish of you, it was difficult for the two of you to make so much time for each other during Caraval, but perhaps the stress is greater because there have been two Caravals in less than a year, one after the other without rest.

"After all, what do you need to do in 2 minutes?" - you finally decide to ask

"We are going to present a little theater for the royal family's dinner" - he replies, also clearly disappointed by the intrusion

"I see, what theater exactly?"

"We will tell a little history about the Fates, after all, this is the theme of this year's Caraval"

"Of course, I forgot for a moment" - you let out a light laugh as you look at your hands on Armando's chest - "I think you should go, it must have been 2 minutes already and I honestly don't want to see an angry Aiko fighting with you and with me consequently"

Armando looks at one of the several cuckoo clocks that the castle had before looking back at you.

"It's only been a minute, and I said I'd be ready in two" - he responds, approaching you again - "I'm already ready for the theater, so we can take advantage of this one minute for ourselves"

A faint glimmer of hope appeared in your eyes after hearing your boyfriend's words.

"So let's take this one minute"

Without wasting another second, Armando takes your lips in a desperate kiss. Your arms wrap around his neck while your hands take the opportunity to caress his hair. Armando passes his hands around your waist and then enters your shirt, caressing your skin with his warm hands, causing you to shiver. The two of you just broke the kiss to get air, as each time you returned the kiss became more intense. Your tongues exploring each other's mouths more and more. Always yearning for more. You had lost control of your thoughts, you were no longer responsible for your actions, desire simply took over both of you. You definitely would have done more if it weren't for a cuckoo clock beeping and letting you know it was 7pm.

The remaining one minute had already passed

"Shit" - you heard your boyfriend swear - "It went by too fast" - he let go of you and went towards the mirror to quickly adjust himself

When you looked in the mirror, you saw your mouth covered in red lipstick, definitely the lipstick from Armando's costume. As you looked at the image of your boyfriend, you noticed his mouth was all blurry thanks to what the two of you had just done.

"Damn, I can't find the lipstick anywhere" - he says while desperately searching for the lipstick in the mess of the room

Before you can help him, an angry Aiko opens the door and walks towards Armando.

"I thought I asked Jovan to tell you that there were only two minutes left, Armando." - Aiko says furiously while handing him the red lipstick - "Next time, find time and a room" - this time she said looking in your direction - "You are lucky that the empress is a patient and kind woman" - after finally finishing fixing his lipstick, Aiko pulls Armando by the arm and takes him towards the exit - "I'm going to take him away from you now dear, enjoy your freedom in the rest of Caraval while you can!" - she finally responds and leaves, taking your boyfriend with her

Abandoned in the chaos of the actors' costume room, you finally let out a sigh and stared at the cover of the hole that leads to the corridors.

"I think it's time to look for Donatella Dragna"

[archerslittlefox]

opinions on donatella (i don’t like her (sorry 😞))

princess donatella’s very nice! <33 why don’t you like her? :(( i’d love to spend more time with the dragna sisters 🩷🩷

[moss-reads]

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Rating: 3.4⭐️

I originally started writing this review with 2 hours in the audiobook left, but decided to scrap it because it was much more generous then i'm going to be now

with all the praise ive heard for Once Upon a Broken Heart i'm so confused that this was written by the same author, and now i'm not sure if i'm as willing as i was to start that series, when i'm not even sure i'll even start Legendary or Finale

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Soler and i think her voices are quite good and its easy to forget she's just one person narrating all the characters, and i think thats why i continued with it till the end because the experience wasnt completely unenjoyable

I will say sometimes the performance was a bit dramatic, but i imagine that could be from the writing, which i think felt extremely basic and i think for this being the first in Stephanie Garbers at least well known books (considering i cant even find titles of what wikipedia says shes written before) that can happen and i try not to fault authors for that

the plot felt extremely muddled and confusing, and the pacing was extremely off in several paces but it didnt feel like anything mattered that much anyway, the twists and turns felt too high in quantity to really know what exactly was the truth, but not in a fun way like a book that keeps you guessing, it felt more like there was a full point you were supposed to get but it was so shoehorned in it was hard to grasp it fully

the romance wasnt bad,but it both didnt feel that necessary and felt too necessary, and it sort of took away from how we're suppossed to believe Scarlett loves her sister above all else, when her reunion with Julian had way more depth, and his character felt the most well written till the ending

donatella dragna is probably one of the most insufferable badly written characters ive ever read, and finding out she's supposed to be 15 makes some sense until you remember all the illusions to sex with her character and then you just get a bad taste in your mouth

i dont want to dunk completely on this book, because i did enjoy some of it especially around the middle point when they first arrive on the island, but as it got further on i just wanted it to be over, as i stated earlier i got to about 2 hours left and started to write this review because i wanted it to be over but i didnt even continue the book for several days because it just didnt draw me in enough

i might later continue the series out of curiosity, and because i would like to give Once Upon a Broken Heart a chance but i am so extremely disappointed since this has been on my tbr for a while, i even almost bought the physical copy a few months back but i am so glad i got three other books i thoroughly enjoyed instead because i had attempted originally to read the ebook from my library and could not get through it

tldr: i did not like caraval, i dont think it was the worst book ever written but i dont think it was very good either,and honestly i think the love interest was a better character then any of the rest of them, and only for about half the book

[megumiifushiiguro]

I LOVE YOU SM DONATELLA DRAGNA

[therubyreader]

My Review of The Caraval Series by Stephanie Garber

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 800 Review Word Count Total: 1,514

Hello. I am a little late on this review because I finished this series a couple of weeks ago and the motivation to sit down and write just wasn’t there, on top of that I read these books in quick succession, so I didn’t have time to write in between books. And that brings me to the point of this review of the whole series instead of just one book: the aforementioned reading times, which then caused all the books to become one long book in my head so, tada!  

A couple of things before we get into it: the spoiler part of my review will contain spoilers for the whole series so be warned, and also this review is going to be mostly negative, be warned massive Caraval fan base.  

Now that that’s out of the way, review time. 

Caraval follows a pair of sisters, Scarlet and Donatella “Tella” Dragna who long to escape their abusive home on an island in the middle of nowhere and dream about experiencing the elusive Caraval, a magical carnival run by a man known as Legend, that promises a once in a lifetime experience and a great prize for the winner of the game. The sisters get dragged into the magical world of Caraval where you don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Then the series follows the sisters learning about the magic outside of the game which threatens the existence of the entire world if they don’t find a way to stop it. 

I would first like you all to imagine the TikTok audio that goes along the lines of “what happened to the original plot of the story?” because that’s how I felt reading books two and three. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t bad, but genuinely how did we get from point A to point B? I loved the first book, this wasn’t my first time reading it, I read it first my senior (?) year of high school sometime before the release of the second book, but I didn’t finish the series until now due to life getting in the way and just forgetting the books existed until I saw someone talking about them online. I will say, the first book still holds up, it’s very entertaining and a great introduction to the world of Caraval within the scope of the game, the reader is essentially playing with Scarlett not really knowing what is real and what isn’t, so you’re fully immersed in the game. Then the other two books happened which take a sharp left turn into something so unrelated to the first book that you start to question if it’s even the same series. And the thing that makes me the most upset is how good of a concept Caraval is, it really could’ve been a standalone book or maybe had a sequel to tie up the loose ends from the end of the book but keeping everything within the same concept and not just shoeing in the concept of the Fates in the middle of the second book just because.  

Really my main complaint is that for a book series called Caraval there is only one book that deals with Caraval, one and half if you count the second book but I’m not because it didn’t feel like Caraval. Essentially Tella spent the whole second book jumping in and out of Caraval when the whole concept of it is that you’re supposed to be so fully immersed you start to forget what is real and what is the game to the point people have gone insane and died. I honestly at one point forgot what was part of the game and what was part of Tella’s strange side quest. The third book is even worse because we had deviated so far from the original plot that there was nothing about it even remotely related to Caraval except the characters. It honestly just felt like the author was writing fan fiction with her own characters in a random AU. This isn’t to say that the non-Caraval plot was bad, it just wasn’t what I signed up for, it could’ve been its own story independent of whatever was going on with Caraval and been very interesting and successful, but it honestly just felt like the author crammed as many plot lines into one trilogy as if she was running out of paper to write her stories.  

I think overall I would only recommend the first book of the trilogy if you’re interested in reading it, the rest is unnecessary and strange so you really could just google a plot summary to satisfy your curiosity instead of putting yourself through the second and third books. Definitely a got worse as the series went on like milk out of ten.    

Spoilers Below!!

I have so many things to complain about which all happen in books two and three but in order to not spend hours writing this and turning it into my own personal unnecessary work of literature I’m going to speed round a couple of things first. For starters, I have never met a not dumb love triangle and this book isn’t an exception by a long shot, the whole Tella x Legend x Jacks plot was so bad. Both guys sucked a lot for their own unique reasons, but I think the kicker was that they were both immortals incapable of love or else they would become mortal (aka the worst thing ever for both of them) and Tella so desperately wanted love yet she was asking for it from the last two men on earth who would give it to her. Also, the love triangles Scarlet had were all so pointless, sure her picking Julian over the duke (or whatever he was) was a moment of character development and growth that was crucial in the first book, but like beyond that, unnecessary. They really brought in the real duke in the last book just to create another love triangle only to kill him off immediately and then right at the very end allude to Poison being in love with Scarlet after looking at her like twice, for literally no reason.  

And do not get me started on the Fated Objects. They really had like half of the objects only to use them like twice and then never again, with the exception of the dress which like is never explained why Legend causally had a fated object and then casually gave it to essentially a rando. There’s the magical key which Scarlet and Julian use to go on an adventure off screen so I’m not counting it but in terms of the actual plot it’s used a handful of times despite being so beyond useful. Also, the magic book you can write with blood in was so cool, and yet it was used once and then never talked about again. Honestly just the number of things that were introduced only to be immediately written out or just never talked about again was disappointing. What do you mean Tella and Jacks were spiritually married and the spiritually un-married with little explanation as to why and how? How come their dad just gave up on getting them back home at the end of the first book? What was up with the alternate dimension witch and why didn’t we talk more about how she was in an alternate dimension and also a witch? Why was their mom in a deck of cards in a safe only she could unlock, like how did they put her in her safe without her key?  

Side note, now that I’m here and re-angry about this, the whole plot line of their mom disappearing one day and ending up trapped in a card is just blown over despite how much weight it holds in terms of the story. Why did she disappear? Who disappeared her? Why did they put her into the deck of cards? How did she manage to just exist for about a decade without anyone finding her despite her having enemies? Was she really the empress’ daughter? Did their dad know about her crime past and was he just cool with it? Did he know he wasn’t Scarlet’s real father? And before anyone dares to come into my house with “it was implied that...” and then you proceed to connect vaguely related dots, don’t, I will scream because those details should’ve been more explicitly written in.  

Cutting my rant short (unless you want to come into my asks and request more anger, I will be happy to oblige), I will just say I was disappointed with the direction the series went after the absolute chef’s kiss that was Caraval. This might also be a given but I’m not going to read the Jacks spin off series out of spite and just general dislike of him as a character. If reading any of this prompts you to come into my asks and send me angry messages please do, I love laughing and you won’t change my mind, God bless.  

[teartra]

Everytime Jacks was back with his Tella bullshit I was like… boy did you forget who her bf is???