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A review by courtneyreadss_
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
3.0
2.5/5
This book was ok :/ it had all of the components of a fantasy novel, but it didn’t feel like a fantasy novel. A lot of the writing felt like the author was checking off a box versus organically, incorporating themes and plot devices that could elevate the story. Unfortunately, this book suffers from a lot of telling and not showing. I won’t get into spoilers, but the relationship between Jack and Evangelica genuinely feel so undeveloped.
Even Angelica comes across as so naïve and foolish and while she does have “girl boss moments “it doesn’t change the fact that the writing is poor, and her character is not flushed out very well. And while we do know that there is going to be some relationship that develops between Evangelica and Jack’s, it just feels underwhelming.
I hate to say it, but this book suffers from being a jack of all trades and master of none. All of the popular book talk tropes can be found from fated love, destined lov es, friends to enemies, enemies to lovers morally grey and sunshine etc. there are definitely parts of the book that are enjoyable, but for the most part, this book is all over the place, and after finishing both books in the series, I can say that I do not recommend this book to anyone, and it was a waste of time :(
My biggest critique is the fact that I felt like I was reading several books within one, and the author failed to connect the stories together in a way that captivated my attention and made it worth getting through 400 pages. Not to mention there are parts of the story that are extremely repetitive or certain things are brought up and never touched upon again I guess the easiest way to describe this book is when you have to write a paper for class and you have 300 words left and he don’t know what to say so you just start making up a ton of stuff or finding really convoluted ways to say simple things that’s essentially what this book did. TLDR: this book was far longer than it needed to be extremely repetitive, and most importantly, a hot mess that liked any real guidance. if I’m being honest, three stars is being a little too generous.
This book was ok :/ it had all of the components of a fantasy novel, but it didn’t feel like a fantasy novel. A lot of the writing felt like the author was checking off a box versus organically, incorporating themes and plot devices that could elevate the story. Unfortunately, this book suffers from a lot of telling and not showing. I won’t get into spoilers, but the relationship between Jack and Evangelica genuinely feel so undeveloped.
Even Angelica comes across as so naïve and foolish and while she does have “girl boss moments “it doesn’t change the fact that the writing is poor, and her character is not flushed out very well. And while we do know that there is going to be some relationship that develops between Evangelica and Jack’s, it just feels underwhelming.
I hate to say it, but this book suffers from being a jack of all trades and master of none. All of the popular book talk tropes can be found from fated love, destined lov es, friends to enemies, enemies to lovers morally grey and sunshine etc. there are definitely parts of the book that are enjoyable, but for the most part, this book is all over the place, and after finishing both books in the series, I can say that I do not recommend this book to anyone, and it was a waste of time :(
My biggest critique is the fact that I felt like I was reading several books within one, and the author failed to connect the stories together in a way that captivated my attention and made it worth getting through 400 pages. Not to mention there are parts of the story that are extremely repetitive or certain things are brought up and never touched upon again I guess the easiest way to describe this book is when you have to write a paper for class and you have 300 words left and he don’t know what to say so you just start making up a ton of stuff or finding really convoluted ways to say simple things that’s essentially what this book did. TLDR: this book was far longer than it needed to be extremely repetitive, and most importantly, a hot mess that liked any real guidance. if I’m being honest, three stars is being a little too generous.