Reviews with content warning for Violence - Once Upon a Broken Heart

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

55 reviews

hylian_narwhal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

I haven't read Caraval, but I enjoyed this! Very fairytale-esque with an interesting storytline. Kind of makes me want to go back and read Caraval because the world building in this was great! Plus, the characters make the book overall easy to read.

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elderflower's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Stephanie Garber is one of my absolute favorite authors and this was one of my most highly anticipated read this year. It did not disappoint!

Likes:

JACKS JACKS JACKS!!! He was my favorite character from the Caraval series and I’m desperately in love with him. The only complaint I have here is that there wasn’t enough Jacks for me even though he was a main character; I just can’t get enough of him.
Extremely hard to put down
So romantic and swoony and perfect and just Aghhhhh!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Appearance from Scarlett and Tella! Glad to see my girls again.
Plot twist and betrayal and secrets that kept me on the edge of my seat 🗡🩸
Gorgeous writing and rich language as to be expected from a Stephanie Garber book
Got me very emotionally invested
VAMPIRES!!!!! 🧛‍♂️!!!!! I was not expecting this but I ended up loving it; it added so much tension and danger to the plot. I think I might’ve just recovered from Twilight with this vampire storyline.

Dislikes:

The cover :( Sorry but that cover is just not doing it for me
Really wish there was a significant queer character (there was a gay coded couple mentioned once but they weren’t even named)

Songs:

Don’t Blame Me by Taylor Swift- this is my song to Jacks ;)
Actually, now that I think about it 🤔 the whole reputation album would go well with this book. Maybe on a re-read I’ll listen to it while reading 📖

Sooooooo yeah, go read this book now or else… and listen to reputation (reputation Taylor’s Version if you’re from the future and it’s out)

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headinthepages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Thanks to the publisher for my gifted copy! This was a light fantasy read and was really enjoyable and easy to read.
At times the characters/writing felt quite immature but I really enjoyed the story.

I loved the range of personalities in this book and the world building was great! Top marks for sexual tension too!

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foreverbookwandering's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I have to say I loved being back in the Caraval universe again!

It took a while to warm to Evangeline as a character. She didn't immediately standout to me like Donatella and Scarlett did in the Caraval series, so I wasn't really rooting for her. At the start of the novel I felt like she lacked that gumption that the Dragna sisters had which is weird because her actions reflect a strong female character. I am not sure why but I just couldn't get on board with it so I wasn't rooting for her at the start - though I do love the fact that she has rose gold hair! Equally it took me a little while to get into the storyline, maybe because I wasn't warming to Evangeline; I would say that it wasn't till about halfway to two thirds of the way through where the pace really picks up and the mystery starts unravelling. Everything starts getting more interesting and at that point I couldn't put it down, I wanted to know how it would all play out. And then the ending -OH MY GOD- I need the sequel now please!

I think Stephanie Garber has done a brilliant job of expanding the Caraval world. Her writing makes it so easy to imagine yourself in the story watching it all play out. I loved all the magic weaved in and Evangeline's interpretation of it. And of course Jacks. What can I say about Jacks except he is the same ol' loveable fate that we saw in Finale, still keeping his cards close to his chest and leaving the reader to try and figure out just what his plan is.

Overall, whilst it took me a while to get into the story (and I think I ultimately still prefer Scarlett and Tella as protagonists), this was a great foray into a new branch of the Caraval world and I will still read everything Stephanie Garber writes.

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