The Bookworm's Feast

 Release Date: May 2019
 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
 Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
 Page Count: 468
 Goodreads Page
 Rating: ★★★★★ 

“He smelled of magic and heartbreak, and something about the combination made her think that despite what he claimed, he wanted to be her hero.”

Why is it over!? Sure, this is the first in the series I gave 5 stars, but I need more now!!! I love the direction the story and characters moved in over the course of this book. It feels like all the characters did a lot of growing – Scarlet comes to empathise with her mother and be a bit more daring, Julian becomes a bit more grounded, Tella starts to think about the larger picture before jumping in, and Legend is just heart wrenching.

We follow this part of the story from both sisters perspectives, and I found it so much more enjoyable. I preferred Tella before this book, but I have definitely come to love Scarlet too – although the boys are definitely ahead of them. I also loved seeing more of The Fates and about their history – but I do think I would have a liked a little more from this arc, as it still feels like we were only just beneath the surface them.

“He was a mess of gold hair, sea-salt blue eyes, and bitten lips, beautiful in a way only broken things could be.”

That description of Jacks is everything! The charming, misguided, and flawed characters are my favourite kind – and you bet I will fall for them; but I haven’t quite made up my mind about how I feel about him – I love his character but he’s so trickster-y, I feel like you get a bit of whiplash!

Another charming, misguided, and flawed character is Legend. I want to gush about Legend all day – you can tell he’s conflicted and it breaks my heart. We see glimpses of the softer side of his character – how deeply he cares despite his aloofness and cold shoulders. He is captivating! There isn’t a Caraval in this book, but you still get a sense that he’s playing a game with his sneaking around and dazzling illusions.

“Only those who persevere can find their true ending.”

Something I’m not sure on is the ending. I know with all the talk of finding true endings, it was going to be a ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ kind of deal; but I think it was all just a bit too neat – and sudden. But as I say, I feel the direction has been leading to this the whole time, so I can live with it quite happily!