Tag: once upon a broken heart

Book Review: A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart #3) by Stephanie Garber

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Flatiron
Release Date: October 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

THOUGHTS.

I have seen reviews ALLLLL over the place for this finale, let’s throw mine into the ring.

The first have was a bit of a struggle, with the addition of two more POV’s I don’t think it worked as well as I hoped in the context of a short book (9 hours audio time). ESPECIALLY when you’re dealing with a love triangle we all know has only one ending. I was tired of wasting my time with the other guy when he was handing out red flags to everyone who walked by him.

BUT. Jacks was next level. I looooved the protection he provided, the way he was always there and how he cared for Evangeline every step of the way. The second half was incredible and I loved how things worked out. The confessions of love was IMMACULATE and I was losing my cool in the middle of Costco because of the emotions.

A bit of an up and down journey but ultimately one I was a fan of. I mean, I binged this book because I needed more more more, just wish there were a few more Jacks moments to really bring it home.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate-high

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ARC Book Review: The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: September 13th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The fiercely-anticipated sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Once Upon a Broken Heart, starring Evangeline Fox and the Prince of Hearts on a new journey of magic, mystery, and heartbreak.

Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she’ll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my early audio copy!

DEVASTATION.

The way I gasped at a particular scene near the end. Holy wow. Gotta give it up to Stephanie Garber. I wasn’t super on board with this series after the first book (but still enjoyed). I took a bit more convincing here and then realized just how attached I had become to these characters.

Jacks and Evangeline have great snarky banter. I love the give and take and that they got a lot more softer moments here. There’s an intense and undeniable pull between them that I can’t wait to learn more about. I think Jacks is too much of a hidden character, even after two books. I want a few more layers peeled back on him so we can get the raw intensity of his past that I know is coming. Evangeline bothered me a whole lot less too and I think it’s kind of fun to be apart of her mindset as she handles all of the fates and prophecies.

Things occasionally felt bogged down by the tangents of story telling. Gratefully they did actually connect back into the main plot so I didn’t feel lost for long. The audio was fantastic! I loved the narrator and it made for a great listen.

I’m of course, very much curious where this series is going to continue onwards to. There’s plenty left open and I adore Garber’s writing and her passion for love conquers all mentality. I’m going to be sitting in a puddle of anxiety until I get my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: med/high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, near death experiences, kidnapping, magical weaponry

Book Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart #1) by Stephanie Garber

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 408 pages
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Flatiron
Release Date: September 28th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

How far would you go 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.

A GOOD START.

I admittedly let myself hype this one up because I love Garber’s Caraval series. It did let me down a little, but not enough to even suggest I won’t pick up the next book.

Who did I miss most? JACKS. I felt that he wasn’t in it as much as he should have been as the supposed main love interest. He popped in and out until the second half where I finally saw more of him. There wasn’t enough active chemistry between Jacks and Eva for me to fully be on board. I’m interested, I’m testing the waters, but I’m not convinced they are a romantic duo. A lot remains to be seen.

A bit of a wild story moving all over the Northern lands of the Caraval world. I liked that it was in a different location so that things didn’t overlap with previous characters too much and that this could be its own series. There’s A LOT of lore and little stories throughout to tell the background of what’s happening around Eva and what Jacks is trying to accomplish. It was easy to follow and I love Garber’s writing style. While it wasn’t everything I hoped for, I’m excited to see the story continue. JUST GIVE ME MORE JACKS.

Eva has a lot of growth to hopefully look forward to as well. She just seemed to naïve and trusting of every single person. I’m actually hoping she becomes a bit more bitter and gray to see another side of her.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: physical altercations, magical attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, blood depiction

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