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boba_n_books's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spice Rating: š« / 5 š¶ļø
Will all of Stephanie Garber's books be 5 star reads for me?? Only time will tell.
Evangeline Fox thought her first love would be her forever love until she finds out that he is engaged to her step-sister. After the death of both of her parents, Evangeline cannot take any more heartbreak, so she goes to the one person who might understand: the Prince of Hearts. Evangeline decides to strike a deal with this immortal to stop the wedding. But Evangeline soon learns that bargains with immortals are more dangerous than they let on. This simple heartbreak sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that will alter Evangeline's life forever. Does she have enough hope to go on searching for her happily ever after?
Once Upon a Broken Heart can easily be described in a couple of words: magical and whimsical. This fairytale of a novel questions how stories are passed down, who is trustworthy, and whether endings are as clear-cut as happily ever afters and tragedies.
I'm so glad I read the Caraval trilogy prior to this book and would suggest that reading order to anyone looking to start their Stephanie Garber journey, since these books have interconnecting worlds and characters. They happen within a short time period of each other, too.
I loved seeing some of my favorite characters from the Caraval trilogy make appearances in this novel. In the case of the Prince of Hearts, I always appreciate his antics and the way his character fluctuates--he always keeps you guessing. Evangeline is a great new heroine who didn't choose this life but was forced into it. I love a reluctant protagonist who is just as strong as any other.
Stephanie Garber's writing is nothing short of magnificent. The way she weaves these magical tales and settings while masterfully developing her characters should be studied. Sometimes Young Adult (YA) books can feel a bit too immature for an adult audience, but Garber's books do not. They are just as enjoyable to an adult audience as they would be for teens.
Thank you for this wonderful world, Ms. Garber. I can't wait to read more of it.
Will all of Stephanie Garber's books be 5 star reads for me?? Only time will tell.
Evangeline Fox thought her first love would be her forever love until she finds out that he is engaged to her step-sister. After the death of both of her parents, Evangeline cannot take any more heartbreak, so she goes to the one person who might understand: the Prince of Hearts. Evangeline decides to strike a deal with this immortal to stop the wedding. But Evangeline soon learns that bargains with immortals are more dangerous than they let on. This simple heartbreak sets off a cataclysmic chain of events that will alter Evangeline's life forever. Does she have enough hope to go on searching for her happily ever after?
Once Upon a Broken Heart can easily be described in a couple of words: magical and whimsical. This fairytale of a novel questions how stories are passed down, who is trustworthy, and whether endings are as clear-cut as happily ever afters and tragedies.
I'm so glad I read the Caraval trilogy prior to this book and would suggest that reading order to anyone looking to start their Stephanie Garber journey, since these books have interconnecting worlds and characters. They happen within a short time period of each other, too.
I loved seeing some of my favorite characters from the Caraval trilogy make appearances in this novel. In the case of the Prince of Hearts, I always appreciate his antics and the way his character fluctuates--he always keeps you guessing. Evangeline is a great new heroine who didn't choose this life but was forced into it. I love a reluctant protagonist who is just as strong as any other.
Stephanie Garber's writing is nothing short of magnificent. The way she weaves these magical tales and settings while masterfully developing her characters should be studied. Sometimes Young Adult (YA) books can feel a bit too immature for an adult audience, but Garber's books do not. They are just as enjoyable to an adult audience as they would be for teens.
Thank you for this wonderful world, Ms. Garber. I can't wait to read more of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
serene_the_pity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
alaskachan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
If you read my reviews and/or saw how I rated the Caraval series this will come as a surprise to see this book so high but, as with the Caraval series, I have some issues I want to address.
1. Is Evangeline really just that naive? I mean this in the nicest way possible.... Evangeline is stupid. Her constant back and forth with herself OVER EVERYTHING was tiresome. "Apollo isn't cursed. He actually loves me I swear!" "Jacks cursed Apollo to love me. This isn't real" "But it could be real! I believe it could be real!" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! If she hadn't been so trusting of Jacks literally none of this would've happened. You can't ask the Fates for things without consequences and she couldn't sus out literally any of the lies that Jack was telling her DESPITE EVERYONE, EVEN JACKS HIMSELF, saying she shouldn't trust him.
2. I still can't get over what Jacks did to Tella in Finale... he was wonderful in Legendary but in Finale he was written so badly that I fell out of love with him. I almost didn't want to read this series because of it. How could I root for a character who had FORCED SOMEONE with magic to love them by MANIPULATING AND REMOVING THEIR FREE WILL. He didn't do anything nearly as bad as that in this novel (he felt like the same character I fell in love with in Legendary) but I kept thinking back to those horrible disgusting feelings I had as I read what he did in Finale.
3. Again... Stephanie doesn't seem to want to kill off characters. (or in the case of Finale, killing of people at random for no reason). This is like the third (fourth? it's hard to keep track) time that someone's "died" only for her to say "SIKE!" and suddenly they're not dead. It's honestly annoying at this point.
4. .... Vampires.... seriously? This was a problem I also had in the Caraval series where lore was sometimes introduced so carelessly, like an afterthought and I'm somehow meant to believe it's been true this whole time? Evangeline was CONSTANTLY going on about stories from the North at the beginning, dragons and mermaids, etc. But she'd NEVER heard of vampires being real in this story she never even mentioned hearing a story about them from her mother! But Jacks made it sound like EVERY HUMAN has a fascination with vampires and knows about them. If that was true why did it surprise Evangeline so much??
1. Is Evangeline really just that naive? I mean this in the nicest way possible.... Evangeline is stupid. Her constant back and forth with herself OVER EVERYTHING was tiresome. "Apollo isn't cursed. He actually loves me I swear!" "Jacks cursed Apollo to love me. This isn't real" "But it could be real! I believe it could be real!" WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! If she hadn't been so trusting of Jacks literally none of this would've happened. You can't ask the Fates for things without consequences and she couldn't sus out literally any of the lies that Jack was telling her DESPITE EVERYONE, EVEN JACKS HIMSELF, saying she shouldn't trust him.
2. I still can't get over what Jacks did to Tella in Finale... he was wonderful in Legendary but in Finale he was written so badly that I fell out of love with him. I almost didn't want to read this series because of it. How could I root for a character who had FORCED SOMEONE with magic to love them by MANIPULATING AND REMOVING THEIR FREE WILL. He didn't do anything nearly as bad as that in this novel (he felt like the same character I fell in love with in Legendary) but I kept thinking back to those horrible disgusting feelings I had as I read what he did in Finale.
3. Again... Stephanie doesn't seem to want to kill off characters. (or in the case of Finale, killing of people at random for no reason). This is like the third (fourth? it's hard to keep track) time that someone's "died" only for her to say "SIKE!" and suddenly they're not dead. It's honestly annoying at this point.
4. .... Vampires.... seriously? This was a problem I also had in the Caraval series where lore was sometimes introduced so carelessly, like an afterthought and I'm somehow meant to believe it's been true this whole time? Evangeline was CONSTANTLY going on about stories from the North at the beginning, dragons and mermaids, etc. But she'd NEVER heard of vampires being real in this story she never even mentioned hearing a story about them from her mother! But Jacks made it sound like EVERY HUMAN has a fascination with vampires and knows about them. If that was true why did it surprise Evangeline so much??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
emmieanna's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Objectively, this is not the best written book I have ever read, the world building is pretty basic and I do wish that certain aspects were more elaborate. This is definitely a plot over anything else kind of book (which are my faves I will say) but character development is a consequence of the plot, not what drives the plot.
However, I was HOOKED. I was making notes on my kindle like nobodyās business and was really rooting for the characters. I am so undecided with who my favourite is at this point, (LaLa is winning so far, then probably Apollo) and I will definitely be continuing the series.
However, I was HOOKED. I was making notes on my kindle like nobodyās business and was really rooting for the characters. I am so undecided with who my favourite is at this point, (LaLa is winning so far, then probably Apollo) and I will definitely be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and Murder
klsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
mary_do_12's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
iāve heard so many good things about this book, and that was the problem.
i think if i wouldāve gone into this story unbiased, i couldāve enjoyed it a lot more. however, by hearing all about the greatness of this book, i set out with expectations way too high. and that probably has influenced my reading experience a lot. so keep that in mind for this review.
the characters for this book looked very promising ā i knew jacks from caraval already; you know, hot, handsome, haunting or something like that (i just made that shit up). the world building we donāt even have to talk about; great, gorgeous, going above (idk what is happening to me, alliterations have gotten the best of me).
and with it, (most of) the characters in the story were just bound to be amazing and unique.
however, i found myself unable to connect to evangeline for most parts. iām a fan of strong fmcās and even though they displayed her as brave ā which iām not arguing with ā she just wasnāt giving me the energy i wanted. i wanted powerful, passionate, period. i got sweet, sincere, senseless. know not every character can be strong and independent, but i feel like in this universe such a character wouldāve fit better, especially paired with jacks. but then again, who am i to judge.
the plot felt very random and senseless at points ā a fact that iāve pointed out for caraval as well. i suppose itās just the charme of stephanieās stories and world, but it made it hard for me to have something to cling on to and create tension. that is why especially the first two parts of the book, i just wasnāt hooked to the story.
now i have to say, about the last fourth of the book or so, i finally was able to feel something for the characters and plot. every since thevampire stuff , things started to connect and make sense a little bit more. also, the scene in which jacks was bitten ?? top tier.
iāve debated a long time on how many stars i should give this, but in the end i couldnāt spare more than 3. i had to remind myself that iām rating my reading experience and not necessarily the book itself (sorry). i feel like as a re-read this could maybe get a little more from me.
or maybe the real problem with me and this book is IāM CONFUSED and itās making me throw things (i have issues).
i think if i wouldāve gone into this story unbiased, i couldāve enjoyed it a lot more. however, by hearing all about the greatness of this book, i set out with expectations way too high. and that probably has influenced my reading experience a lot. so keep that in mind for this review.
the characters for this book looked very promising ā i knew jacks from caraval already; you know, hot, handsome, haunting or something like that (i just made that shit up). the world building we donāt even have to talk about; great, gorgeous, going above (idk what is happening to me, alliterations have gotten the best of me).
and with it, (most of) the characters in the story were just bound to be amazing and unique.
however, i found myself unable to connect to evangeline for most parts. iām a fan of strong fmcās and even though they displayed her as brave ā which iām not arguing with ā she just wasnāt giving me the energy i wanted. i wanted powerful, passionate, period. i got sweet, sincere, senseless. know not every character can be strong and independent, but i feel like in this universe such a character wouldāve fit better, especially paired with jacks. but then again, who am i to judge.
the plot felt very random and senseless at points ā a fact that iāve pointed out for caraval as well. i suppose itās just the charme of stephanieās stories and world, but it made it hard for me to have something to cling on to and create tension. that is why especially the first two parts of the book, i just wasnāt hooked to the story.
now i have to say, about the last fourth of the book or so, i finally was able to feel something for the characters and plot. every since the
iāve debated a long time on how many stars i should give this, but in the end i couldnāt spare more than 3. i had to remind myself that iām rating my reading experience and not necessarily the book itself (sorry). i feel like as a re-read this could maybe get a little more from me.
or maybe the real problem with me and this book is IāM CONFUSED and itās making me throw things (i have issues).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Blood
nahyaqina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i think the start of the book is too slow. a lot of the chapters are fillers. and this in turn led to the revelations and plot twists to be very unexpected, and not much emotions are spent on those plot twists/revelations (in the later parts). but the book is really interesting, and it has a good cliffhanger to make you want to read the second book!
and jacks definitely did not betray her imo. he just has this strong desire to do what he wants without caring abt other people, but soon he started caring a lot abt evangeline during the execution of his plan. im sure he is attracted to her and will continue to do so. evngeline is just hurt that she was used by him initially when he couldnt care less about her.
itās quite a good book to stir your brain engines and the plot twists are pretty great too!
and jacks definitely did not betray her imo. he just has this strong desire to do what he wants without caring abt other people, but soon he started caring a lot abt evangeline during the execution of his plan. im sure he is attracted to her and will continue to do so. evngeline is just hurt that she was used by him initially when he couldnt care less about her.
itās quite a good book to stir your brain engines and the plot twists are pretty great too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Evangeline Fox makes a deal with the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding of her first love, but all is not what it appears.
I am such a fan of this book! I absolutely LOVE Jacks (not sure what that says about me) and really enjoyed Evangeline as a leading lady. This continued to build upon the world-building from the CARAVAL trilogy but I enjoyed it moreāI felt like a had a clearer handle on what was going on and how things worked. I also have theories about whatās coming next and I really hope Iām right.
Also, vampires? Iāll never complain about a book with vampires. Canāt wait to read book two!
CW: Violence/blood/death; mentions of death of parent
Evangeline Fox makes a deal with the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding of her first love, but all is not what it appears.
I am such a fan of this book! I absolutely LOVE Jacks (not sure what that says about me) and really enjoyed Evangeline as a leading lady. This continued to build upon the world-building from the CARAVAL trilogy but I enjoyed it moreāI felt like a had a clearer handle on what was going on and how things worked. I also have theories about whatās coming next and I really hope Iām right.
Also, vampires? Iāll never complain about a book with vampires. Canāt wait to read book two!
CW: Violence/blood/death; mentions of death of parent
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Blood
tashtasher's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Blood, and Grief