Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Once Upon a Broken Heart

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

58 reviews

plsnotanotherdamselindistress's review against another edition

mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I am intrigued by the storyline and am considering reading the next book to see if I was right regarding my assumptions...BUT...I did feel like the characters lacked depth...
because even though the fMC is constantly described as a romantic and why she is that way she seems rather emotionless at times which may be because of the third person narrator who can make it hard to relate or feel with the MC...
on the topic of the third person narrator...
If this narrator has to be the choice don't give your fMC a name like Evangeline, beautiful name, but the min. 3 times per pages she is referred to as Evangeline absolutely destroys the reading flow. At least give her a nickname...honestly if the fMC would be referred to as Eve/Eva for at least half if the time it would cut down the number of pages to probably 350.

It also honestly felt like this book was only an introduction as we don't get much worldbuilding or explanations regarding anything geographical, political or societal in this fantasy world but for it simply being an introduction to the characters it lacks the deeply getting to know the characters.

Also what was that plottwist at the end? It felt completely forced the way it was constructed (there really were ways to make it not as frustrating or frustrating in a good way as in I want to continue reading)

What I did like:
- morally grey and imperfect(thus maybe less relatable) MCs
- a nice slowburn

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busra425's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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jlk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The beginning was promising, but then the story felt dragging, and all of a sudden there was this action-packed ending where too much happened yet it felt too convenient as most of the loose ends were given a little too perfect resolution. I really liked the world and its vibes, but I wish the story didn't read so much like a childrens' book — I do know that this is YA, it's not supposed to be as 'serious' as 'adult' books, but most of the YA I've read hasn't felt like this, even the first Harry Potter was way better in that sense and it's supposed to be for literal children.

I never understood why Evangeline was so deeply in love with Luc, their (past) relationship wasn't explained nearly as much as it should have. Also the 'unnecessary' guys (others than Jacks) were taken care of a little too conveniently — I mean, could you maybe have resolved the unspoken relationship issues by some other way than killing off Apollo and making Luc become a vampire? Yes, you don't have to think about a guy if he's a literal monster or doesn't exist anymore, but having them discuss things deeply with Evangeline would have helped this book reach the (emotional) maturity it so desperately needed.

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hq_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was great - I loved Jacks in the Caraval series so I’m so excited to continue this series. This was really fast-paced, like Garber's other novels, the plot kicks in really early and it's all systems go! Once again, she's created a really magical atmosphere throughout the storyline and worldbuilding.

This has great enemies to lovers potential. The sexual tension between Jacks and Evangeline built up slowly throughout the book and I cannot wait to see what happens next. I'm also intrigued to see if Chaos plays more of a role as I felt there was something significant between him and Evangeline as well.

Every time I picked up the book I kept wanting to read the next chapter. The plot is not predictable either - I genuinely have no idea what to expect in the next book. It did end on a cliffhanger so as soon as it's pay day, I will be purchasing the next book!

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