Book Review: Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber

Faith

February 1

And this is another series I started because of a pretty cover. I think it's fair to say you should all expect me to occasionally read novels because of the pretty covers and this series is another example of it.

So, I know that Stephanie Garber's debut series was Caraval and it is a series that is on my TBR but my TBR list is long. Very long. The whole reason why I started to read the Once Upon A Broken Heart series was that, back in 2022, I saw that the UK version of The Ballad of Never After had four alternative limited edition covers and I LOVED the variant covers. Whether it was capitalism, consumerism or my love for books, I pre-ordered the UK version of The Ballad of Never After. I then quickly realised I just bought the second novel in the series so I bought myself a copy of Once Upon A Broken Heart and after being on my TBR pile for a while, I've gotten around to finally reading it.

So, here's my review:

But you have to have a working heart for it to break

Once Upon A Broken Heart

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Exclusive UK Waterstones Edition

In the first novel, Once Upon A Broken Heart, we are introduced to Evangeline Fox. She believes in true love and happily ever afters and has always dreamed of experiencing true love. But then, she hears that her lover, Luc, will be marrying her step-sister Marisol.

UK Exclusive Edition

Determined to stop the wedding, Evangeline seeks the help of the Prince of Hearts, a Fate, named Jacks. He agrees to help her but in return, he asks for three kisses. Evangeline agrees but quickly discovers that Jacks is playing a very dangerous game to undo an ancient curse and that she is somehow the key for his grand plans to succeed.

In the second novel, The Ballad of Never After, Evangeline discovers Jacks deceit and is determined to never trust him again. After a heartbreak with Luc and then her almost-husband, Prince Apollo, Evangeline is using her newfound magic to help him awake from his sleep stasis.

UK Exclusive Edition, Hardcover Foil

Not long after Evangeline promises herself to never trust Jacks again, Jacks comes tumbling back into her life. He is determined to fulfil a dreadful prophecy and needs Evangeline's help. And, when things get complicated, Evangeline quickly realises that Jacks could be the only one she could truly trust.

In the third and final novel, A Curse for True Love, Evangeline's dreams are coming true. Her life with Apollo in a magical and legendary castle in the North is almost everything she had always wanted. Almost. Apollo plans on killing Jacks and is trying to keep it from Evangeline. And Evangeline doesn't realise what she's lost to get her almost happily ever after.

At the time I'm writing this, I've just started reading The Ballad of Never After and A Curse for True Love hasn't even been published yet. So, my review will mainly be about Once Upon a Broken Heart.

Now, Once Upon a Broken Heart and from what I've read of The Ballad of Never After, I did find myself enjoying these books. In saying so, I do have a few critiques and they're mainly related to the world-building and plot. The writing and beautiful. I love the way Stephanie Garber writes, it's a quick and easy read. For the most part, the world-building is beautiful and magical as well. However, there are some important details that were not included in regard to world-building. My first issue was that I had no idea which time period we were in. Evangeline wears corsets and dresses and gloves but she doesn't need a chaperone and she dyes her hair pink. I don't mind these inconsistencies but I would have loved more clarity of the time period.

I have a few critiques of the plot as well (again, mainly for Once Upon a Broken Heart). Generally, I like the plot. It's easy to follow and it's fun as well. My only issue is that the stakes felt low. We know that Jacks is somewhat untrustworthy. We are told this over and over and over again throughout the novel. So, when we get to the end, the cliffhanger is underwhelming. It's not shocking, it didn't make me want to reach for the second novel, it was so obvious and predictable and expected. Evangeline is shocked when she realises that Jacks is not to be trusted but as readers, we've known this since the beginning. I'm hoping that the stakes in the second and third novels will be higher but for now, I'm not sold on the plot.

The characters were great though. I read reviews praising Evangeline because she's super feminine and girly and believes in true love. I will DEFEND characters like this for the following reason: women often get ridiculed for being extremely feminine and conforming to feminine gender expectations, yet we also get criticised for being too boyish and not feminine enough. So, while I LOVE my Katniss Everdeen and Rin-type characters, I also love characters that are extremely girly like Evangeline. My general requirement for a good character is to just have depth and complexity or some sort. Evangeline has this (although I admit it is to a lesser extent); she has so much hope and love in her, she assumes the best of everyone and is trusting. She has this depth and she's allowed to be like this and I like her for it as well.

Overall, it's a fairytale-like series. It's happy and loveable and is very romantic. It's perfect for those hopeless romantics who just want to read a story of a girl and her sweet happy ever after with some complications. I'm currently 1/3 through the second novel and I am enjoying it (although my above criticism seems to apply to the second novel as well, so far). I don't have my hands on the third novel YET but I am excited to read it. Just note that I most likely will not write a detailed review of the second and third novels.

That is all for my book review! Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a lovely day.