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Once Upon a Broken Heart

Book 1 in the series:Once Upon a Broken Heart

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Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a magical and bewitching story that takes readers into a fantasy world filled with fascinating characters, dazzling world-building, and intriguing plot twists. The narrative revolves around Evangeline, a young girl with rose gold hair, and Jacks, the brooding immortal, whose lives become entwined in a spellbinding dark fairy tale. As the story unfolds, readers are taken on a journey of danger, mystery, and romance, with elements of fantasy and fairy tale retellings woven seamlessly into the plot.

The book follows Evangeline's journey as she navigates through a world steeped in magic, curses, and complex relationships. With themes of love, sacrifice, and the consequences of tampering with fate, Once Upon a Broken Heart immerses readers in a tale of intrigue, suspense, and unexpected twists. The writing style is vivid, enchanting, and filled with vivid imagery, teasing dialogue, and an unforgettable retelling of a Cinderella-type fairy tale, making it a captivating read for fans of fantasies and fairy tales.

Characters:

The characters include Evangeline, a naive but good-hearted heroine, and Jacks, a morally ambiguous antihero, alongside a supporting cast that adds complexity to their relationships.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is whimsical and poetic, characterized by vivid imagery that enhances the enchanting atmosphere, though there are moments of redundancy.

Plot/Storyline:

The story centers on Evangeline Fox who makes a deal with Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, to halt her sister's wedding. This leads her through a series of magical twists and turns, including an important festival and unexpected events that test her resolve and relationships.

Setting:

The setting is a magical and whimsical world, integrating fantasy elements and fairy tale inspirations, creating a vibrant backdrop for the story.

Pacing:

The pacing is dynamic with short chapters that maintain engagement, though it occasionally includes predictable elements and introspective moments.
The door to the Prince of Hearts’ church has disappeared. Painted the deep bloodred of broken hearts, the iconic entry simply vanished from one of the Temple District’s most visited churches sometime ...

Notes:

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the first book in a new series by Stephanie Garber, set in the same world as the Caraval series.
The main character, Evangeline Fox, makes a deal with Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, to stop her sister's wedding.
Jacks is one of the Fates, adding magical intrigue to the story.
The narrative style is described as beautifully written, with a magical and whimsical atmosphere.
Many readers appreciated the morally gray characters, particularly the complexity of Jacks and Evangeline's actions.
Evangeline's character is compared to Cinderella, facing challenges from her unpleasant family situation.
The story features a unique festival called Nocte Neverending, though some readers felt it was underutilized in the plot.
The book includes themes of sacrifice, dark magic, and emotional tension in relationships, especially in the enemies-to-lovers trope.
Several reviews state that while readers new to Garber's work can enjoy this book, familiarity with Caraval offers richer context and enjoyment.
A key plot point involves magical kisses that lead to unexpected consequences, demonstrating the deal's trickiness.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of heartbreak, sacrifice, and potential emotional distress related to family dynamics.

Has Romance?

There is a high presence of romance throughout the story, characterized by tension and emotional depth.

From The Publisher:

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Once Upon a Broken Heart marks the launch of a new series from beloved author Stephanie Garber about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings…until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline's first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game - and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she'd pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy...

Ratings (241)

Incredible (82)
Loved It (77)
Liked It (40)
It Was OK (24)
Did Not Like (14)
Hated It (4)

Reader Stats (547):

Read It (247)
Currently Reading (10)
Want To Read (240)
Did Not Finish (13)
Not Interested (37)

11 comment(s)

1 month

4.5⭐️ this book was a good surprise for me as I didn’t expect liking it… now I want to finds this series… love this main male character… added to my favs list :)

 
Loved It
2 months

i love my manipulative, obsessed, jealous, cunning, murderous, apple-eating, blond villain

 
It Was OK
2 months

Too Much fantasy for my type

 
Incredible
3 months

YES YES YES THE PRINCE OF HEARTS!!!!!!! Watch me reading this book without reading the last one in the caraval trilogy

 
It Was OK
3 months

The book is slow paced and it doesn't give me that exciting feeling I felt when reading the Caraval. Evageline is naive and annoying and honestly I don't feel like she lives up to Scarlet and Tella. It's kind of funny, everyone was trashing on the first book of the Carval Trilogy and I loved that book the most and this book is raved about so much and this is my least favorite Stephanei Garber's book I've read so far.

 
Loved It
4 months

The characters were amazing, the plot was great. The series, as a whole, was spectacular.

 
Incredible
5 months

I love The Fairytale Aspect :D

 
Did Not Like
9 months

Wow, I hate everything about

Once Upon a Broken Heart. This is basically cringey romance for Disney adults.

 
Did Not Like
9 months

Welp, this was a bummer.

I'm pretty reserved when it comes to purchasing new books. I usually prefer to read them through my library, then buy them if I like them enough to own. I made an exception here for two reasons: the intriguing synopsis and the gorgeous UK cover (let's be honest—the US cover is, er, less eye-catching, if we're being kind). I waited for ages for my copy to arrive from the UK and began reading with excitement! Perhaps I should've been a little less excited because this book was not as I expected.

I've only read one of Garber's books before; her most well-known, Caraval. I rated it rather averagely (3 stars), but there was enough promise in that book to make me confident I would enjoy this one. As evident by my rating of this one, I didn't. My rating is vastly different from the majority, which makes me think this book wasn't bad—I just wasn't the right reader for it.

I wasn't a fan of Evangeline. I would even go so far as to say that I disliked her. She struck me as foolish, and rash, and utterly ridiculous. That may be my cynicism (I'm not even cynical) speaking against her optimism but, I've read optimistic characters before that I loved and believed in—Evangeline was not near any of those. Her mind was a painful place to be. The rest of the characters weren't as infuriating, mainly because I didn't care about them at all. I've seen many people talk about Jacks, as well as his chemistry with Evangeline, but I must be blind as a bat because the only thing I saw between them was an unnatural and forced sense of "connection."

I felt that every aspect of this book went too far and not far enough (how is that even possible???). Example of too far: Evangeline bargains with an otherworldly creature to keep her cheating ex from getting married. Example of not far enough: We never see anything of Luc and Evangeline's relationship before that moment, so I really couldn't care at all whether he cheated, died, or turned into a monster—I would get the same emotional expression from Evangeline regardless (which is to say, none).

Now owning this book and not liking it, I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. If it had warranted even one star higher, I wouldn't mind keeping it for the beautiful cover alone. Maybe I need to look at my purchase through the lens of having bought some art, unattached to a story. Thinking like that, $20-odd dollars isn't so bad a price!

 
Incredible
10 months

Fans of Heartless by Marrissa Meyer and The Cruel Prince by Holly Blackwell will love it!

 
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About the Author:

Stephanie Garber loves Disneyland because it's the one place on earth where she feels as if the fantastical stories she loves to write about could actually come to life. She is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Caraval series and Once Upon a Broken Heart. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

 
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