Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

130 reviews

skokalis's review against another edition

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

5.0

This book is not for those who like relaxed plots, it felt like every page I turned something was waiting that would change everything. Filled with surprising plot twists, interesting girls and hot/attractive men!
The scenes where Evangeline is alone with Fates and her lovers left me absolutely dying in awe! But it gets a bit descriptive/intense so I wouldn't read it if you can't handle "spicy" scenes.
I loved how you can never guess what will happen next, I couldn't put this book down. Plus the cliffhangers this book leaves you on left me scrambling to get my hands on the next book in the series "The Ballad of Never After" Stephanie Garber really did an amazing job when writing these. 
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carlyjoann's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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plsnotanotherdamselindistress's review against another edition

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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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c_l_ara's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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krystalframe's review against another edition

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4.0

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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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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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

4.5

Evangaline and Jacks present a promising start to a trilogy. With twists and turns in the most unexpected of places, this fairytale of fairytales presents the question of who to trust and when? The best part of the story so far seems to be that Evangeline is immune to Jacks charms literally and can hold her own in a sticky situation. The part that prevents this from being 5 stars however is the fact that shes so desperate to be loved that shes vulnerable to manipulation and is easily won over by pretty much any man who gives her affection. This was annoying in the beginning with Luc and continued throughout the remainder of the book. Hopefully she is less susceptible to this in the following two books. 
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undercovertidalwave'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? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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wookiebear's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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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