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irb0red's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death
Minor: Emotional abuse
bookfilledcottage's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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? Yes
4.0
This was my very first Steohanie Garber and I think I love her!
The book had a beautiful, vivid and whimsical setting that came to life with her descriptions and the characters’ voices.
The main cast was both adorable, and felt really humane: like someone you could have met in real life, put into a world filled with magic.
I found Evangeline very realistic and easy to relate to: someone lovely and brave, who gets pushed ariund by her own feelings, but wants to always see the good in people even though it’s proving increasingly difficult as her circumstances change.
I knew Jacks was big on the bookish sphere and I do understand he has a certain magnetism and charm that jump out of the book to you, which makes it hard not to fall for him.
I felt like the plot was pretty well-crafted, and like it was an exciting and sweet start to a very promising trilogy.
The book had a beautiful, vivid and whimsical setting that came to life with her descriptions and the characters’ voices.
The main cast was both adorable, and felt really humane: like someone you could have met in real life, put into a world filled with magic.
I found Evangeline very realistic and easy to relate to: someone lovely and brave, who gets pushed ariund by her own feelings, but wants to always see the good in people even though it’s proving increasingly difficult as her circumstances change.
I knew Jacks was big on the bookish sphere and I do understand he has a certain magnetism and charm that jump out of the book to you, which makes it hard not to fall for him.
I felt like the plot was pretty well-crafted, and like it was an exciting and sweet start to a very promising trilogy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Blood, and Child abuse
madalina0_0's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content
prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
3.0
“But hope is a difficult thing to kill, just a spark of it can start a fire.”
Okay, I really liked the dedication!
“For anyone who has ever made a bad decision because of a broken heart.”
Overall, I liked how this book is written. I learned a lot of new words from it. It’s easy to read mainly due to the short chapters and the writing style. The characters are entertaining most of the time. It mainly focuses on Evangeline, Jacks AKA The Prince of Hearts, and Apollo. Evangeline is a heart-broken and naive girl. As she’s also a little insecure, her thoughts are everywhere which kind of frustrated me. Anyway, she goes to the Prince of Hearts to strike a deal to stop her ex from marrying her step-sister. But dealing with a Fate is tricky and in return Jacks wants Evangeline to kiss three people of his choosing and when he says so. Jacks is a very mysterious and quite selfish it seems. One thing that annoyed me was that Jacks’ nickname for Evangeline was ‘pet’. Later on, fortunately, he starts calling her Little Fox which was so much better!
At first, I didn’t understand where this story was going. Some characters get introduced, such as Marisol and Evangeline’s stepmother, and I expected them to have a bigger role in the story but that was not the case. I also feel like the story had some continuity problems which made it hard for me to visualise the story. For example, how can Apollo go on one knee and then take Evangeline’s hands after which he looks down on her? Perhaps Apollo is the tallest guy in the universe? This book is clearly a romance book set in a fantasy world. But I don’t feel like I’ve learned a lot about the background of this magical world, so the worldbuilding could have been better. For example, we don’t get an explanation on how one becomes a Fate. I’m not sure if this will be explained later on or if this was already explained in the ‘Caraval’ series.
It looks like Evangeline’s moving towards her happily ever after, fairy tale love story. But Fate seems to have other plans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Blood
kal517's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
zoeelora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Confinement
elodiethefangirl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
vj_thompson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Solid start to the series. The writing is BEAUTIFUL and magical. The beginning scene about the bell being described with humanistic concerns is a good example. The ending was a lot to process. Wow wow wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Torture, Alcohol, and Confinement
britwalsh16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wait… that’s it? My exact thought when I finished this book. Usually I’m keeping track of & keep looking at the time I have left in a book when I’m on my kindle. But this book… it got to a point where I just forgot to look… and when I turned the last page I was like wait what?
I love me a morally grey villain, but jacks is something else, & I am here for it! Marisol annoys me, but Evangeline is *chefs kiss*, just amazing! I can’t believe it took me this long to read this book! But also I’m glad cause I won’t have to wait long to read the 3rd book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to start the 2nd book now. 😁
I love me a morally grey villain, but jacks is something else, & I am here for it! Marisol annoys me, but Evangeline is *chefs kiss*, just amazing! I can’t believe it took me this long to read this book! But also I’m glad cause I won’t have to wait long to read the 3rd book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to start the 2nd book now. 😁
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Torture and Gaslighting
Minor: Confinement and Stalking
skokalis's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing