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A review by tourmaline1703
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
I very much enjoyed revisiting this world as it has been a while since I read Once Upon a Broken Heart. I loved the setting of the book and getting to explore more of the North and delving deeper into the magic system and noble houses. The worldbuilding felt very intricate and it was nice to explore more corners of it.
The writing is simple yet elegant and it's so easy to get lost in I find. I loved the descriptions of the various settings and outfits which make you wish you could be a part of the glamorous balls. I also loved the structure of the chapters towards the end of the novel, I feel it really accentuated the plot and helped underline certain characters' choices.
I felt the book was well paced and very interesting to read. I love a classic 'go on a quest' in fantasy and this book did it very well, whilst adding some twists and turns. There were a few twists I did not see coming and I certainly did not see the ending coming. The ending has confused me slightly and I think once I've read the sequel, I will understand it better but for now, the confusion is what has stopped this being a 5 star read. Whilst the story was brilliant, I don't know why parts of the ending happened as they did and exactly how it's all going to work.
I loved meeting new characters and spending more time with Evangeline, who I like a lot more than I did at first. Jacks I think I will forever have mixed feelings on. I think he is an amazingly written character and I love reading about him but I don't think I feel as much sympathy for him as others do. I think that's probably the best way I can explain it.
All this said, I absolutely adored reading this book and I have devoured about 60% in the past two days so it is a definite page-turner.
The writing is simple yet elegant and it's so easy to get lost in I find. I loved the descriptions of the various settings and outfits which make you wish you could be a part of the glamorous balls. I also loved the structure of the chapters towards the end of the novel, I feel it really accentuated the plot and helped underline certain characters' choices.
I felt the book was well paced and very interesting to read. I love a classic 'go on a quest' in fantasy and this book did it very well, whilst adding some twists and turns. There were a few twists I did not see coming and I certainly did not see the ending coming. The ending has confused me slightly and I think once I've read the sequel, I will understand it better but for now, the confusion is what has stopped this being a 5 star read. Whilst the story was brilliant, I don't know why parts of the ending happened as they did and exactly how it's all going to work.
I loved meeting new characters and spending more time with Evangeline, who I like a lot more than I did at first. Jacks I think I will forever have mixed feelings on. I think he is an amazingly written character and I love reading about him but I don't think I feel as much sympathy for him as others do. I think that's probably the best way I can explain it.
All this said, I absolutely adored reading this book and I have devoured about 60% in the past two days so it is a definite page-turner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Infidelity, Blood, Murder, and Medical content