After falling in love with the Caraval series, how could I not read a series about Jacks! The villainous Fate is back and better (I mean worse) than ever.

First thing I will say is that you don’t have to have read the Caraval series to enjoy this book. There is some cross over but nothing you couldn’t manage without, so don’t let that stop you.

The second thing is that Stephanie Garber brings magical worlds to life in a way not many other writers can. You cannot help but be immersed in the fantastic imagery she creates and although it’s set in the same world as Caraval it felt different.

The book started slower than I was expecting but it soon picked up and I loved the story. Our protagonist, Evangeline Fox, discovers that the love of her life is about to marry someone else and in her desperation she makes a deal with the Prince of Hearts - 3 kisses in exchange for him stopping the wedding. Although she knows she shouldn’t, Evangeline agrees to the deal and quickly realises that the price she will pay is much steeper than 3 kisses…

I really liked Evangeline. She was strong but vulnerable and relatable in so many ways. She made some foolish decisions but with the best of intentions. She was a great leading lady and her relationship with Jacks in particular was entertaining. Jacks as always was untrustworthy, selfish and horrible… and I love him all the more for it. I can’t help it, I’m so eager to see him find his true love. He is despicable at times but it’s clear there is more to him than he wants people to see and I’m clearly a sucker for a bad boy villain haha!

Great start to the series and I can’t wait for book two.

Thank you so so much netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc for this honest review!

I’m giving this book a solid 3.5 stars, not a rating I wanted to give this book as really want to give this book at least 4 stars, but I can’t bring myself to do so. I might have been overhyping this book too much as it was not what I expected but there still are some elements of the book which I really enjoyed.

What I liked; the vibe and ambience of the book really spoke to me. I loved the whimsical writing and the little details which corresponded with fairy tales. Stephanie Garber has a way with world building and it’s amazing to see it in this book. Jacks is another element of the book I really enjoyed. He was the main reason I really wanted to pick up this book, and also the main reason I continued reading this book. Although personally he is a little different than I remembered, I really enjoyed the mysterious aura around him.

What I didn’t like; I wan’t to start this of by saying that I would have probably really liked this book if I had just started YA but now the writing style for the dialogues seem childish to me. Another issue I had with this book was the pacing, one minute its incredibly fast paced, and at other times it feels like it’s going nowhere. The writing is also really elaborate and descriptive at one point then really skimmed over the next, which made reading it awkward. Lastly Evangeline is not a character I can relate, respect or appreciate or at least not yet. I really am looking forward to a wonderful character arc but right now she isn’t the best mc for me.

This book is great for a lot of ya reader but not for me. However Stephanie Garber is still an amazing writer with immense talent and I hope to read more of her books in the future!!!!

This book is pure magic and I was so frustrated when it ended. It might be about to become my new favourite Stephanie Garner books. No one does magical details like her, and the world building and magic system is this book is a prime example of that. It’s set in the same world as the Caraval series and features a few cameos from the cast, but it’s mostly brand new characters and exploring a new part of the world.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC. I absolutely loved this book. And I literally devoured it. And I can't wait to read the second book: I need answers. Now. And more of Jacks. And of Evangeline. They both are amazing and interesting characters. The story is magical and the writing is beautiful. And the humour. Brilliant. And although it's a spin-off you can read it without having read the Caraval books first. There are some minor spoilers but the book does not give away much. As Evangeline has no idea what happened exactly I can only recommend this book.. The author did a phenomenal job.

Once Upon a Broken Heart continues from where we left off in the last book in the Caraval series, only this time it’s a much anticipated spin-off about Jacks and his soon-to-be love interest. I really loved Jacks in the Caraval series and so upon hearing that he was going to have a series of his own, I was extremely excited. After the tragedy that happened to him, I wanted to see him happy and with someone who loves him equally.

OUABH is told from the perspective of Evangeline Fox, a young lady who wishes nothing more than to see the sites her mother used to tell her in stories. Evangeline is someone who believes in the power of magic, and wants nothing more than for others to be happy...until something negatively affects her to the point in which she was unable to let it go. From there, she meets Jacks and after a few mishaps, she finds herself unwillingly working with Jacks to solve a mystery. She has to decide whether to trust him, or be wary of his wicked ways.

I have to say that although I was really excited for this book, it left me quite an unfortunate bitter taste in my mouth. First off, I felt like Evangeline was a downgrade from Donatella in Caraval. There were times when I wanted to knock my head against the wall because of how dense she is. It’s not wrong to believe in fairy tales and myths, but when they interfere with real life...well, Evangeline you need a knock on the head instead. I have to admit that there were times when she put her skills and mind to use, but most of the time I found her perspective very dull because of how simple-minded she is.

Because of this, I really wished that it had a dual perspective because I wanted to read from Jacks’ POV more than anything. Unfortunately, I also couldn’t feel the chemistry or tension between them and if there were, it was too little to notice. There is a weird progression in their romance and I thought it was slightly quick at times, considering how little they interacted with each other.

Although this book really disappointed me, I must say that I’m still looking forward to the rest of the series mainly because I love Jacks too much. I hope Evangeline portrays herself as a stronger and wiser person in the next few books because if I have to deal with her wishy-washiness again, I might take Jacks up on that offer to kiss me so that I collapse.

When Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry her step-sister, she becomes desperate enough to make a deal with the Prince of Hearts. The tragic Fate will stop the wedding from happening, in exchange for three kisses. But what seems at first like a worthwhile bargain quickly develops into something far darker, and Evangeline finds herself right in the middle of the Prince of Hearts’ wicked plans.

While I did enjoy this book, I have to say that a lot of it was very similar to Caraval. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because Caraval is a really good book, but it’s kind of a shame that Stephanie Garber didn’t really have anything new to bring. Yes, the characters and the plot are obviously different, but not that different.

Other aspects of this book did feel a bit mediocre to me, and definitely didn’t impress me as much as Caraval did. The writing style was a little bit basic, and the main character, Evangeline, was unbelievably naïve. However, I loved Jacks, LaLa and the other Fates. The romance thread was also a little bit too obvious and predictable.

Having said that, Once Upon a Broken Heart was still a fun fantasy novel, with plenty of magic and romance, and a well thought-out plot.

When I first read Caraval, the last book in the trilogy had just been released. So I didn't have to wait to read them all. So I binged it and immediately after Stephanie Garber became one of my auto-buy authors. Caraval captured me in such a way that it was very hard for me to let go after finishing the books.
So when she announced that she was writing a spin off for Jacks, I was all on board. I was eagerly waiting for her next book, anticipating what she would write, what kind of story would she weave this time?
I think you can imagine my excitement and happiness when I saw that Hodder and Stoughton had approved my request to read the e-ARC of the book from NetGalley.
You guys are the best.. Thank you so much!

I was really happy. I might have done a little happy dance.

Enough with this rant. I'll start my rant about the book.

If you guys have read Caraval then you'll know the line "Never trust a fate" . It's the iconic line of the series and this book is the embodiment of that line.

The book follows Evangeline. It's her story where Jacks plays a very important role.

The story begins with our beautiful Evangeline making a deal with Jacks. In this deal she asks Jacks to stop a wedding of the guy she loves, Luc, who's getting married to her sister. In return Jacks wants Evangeline to kiss three people of his choosing. Yeah.. that got my attention alright. I wasn't able to stop after this honestly.
Of course Evangeline didn't really get what she wanted.

Ok so moving forward. I don't want to give away too much because almost every single thing feels like a spoiler.

Jumping to a few weeks later, The Empress, our Scarlet, I was so happy to see Scarlet and Tella again even though they had very little page time. Scarlet invites Evangeline to go to a royal ball being held in The North as a representative from their side. The Prince of the North, Appollo, is throwing this ball in search of his future bride. Evangeline agrees to accept only if she could bring her sister Merisol along with her.
That's where she meets Jacks again and he has three kisses to collect.

Ohh the things that happen after the first kiss..

one word: wow..

yeah… I'm not gonna say anything else. That would be too spoilery.

I loved Evangeline's character. With her rose gold hair and her sweet, courageous temperament. I love how much she is filled with hope and believes that something good will always happen. She is so brave and selfless, always trying to do the right thing.

Jacks's character is a bit complicated because you don't really know what he's feeling or on which side he is. Most definitely it's a side where he gets his way but there is another agenda at play here. He's definitely an amazing morally grey character who has underlying feelings that are not shown much but are evidently there. So I am really looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Just like Caraval, the world here is immensely captivating. The world Stephanie Garber has built is beautifully designed. Come on, it has tiny colourful dragons. What's more to say? Then there are also spells and curses and prophecies, magical books, arches and of course how can I forget the gowns.

One of the biggest mistakes I made was that I thought that this was going to be a standalone book. So when that ending happened, small but enough to make your jaw drop, cliffhanger; I was speechless, I was in deep shit. I want the next book. I need the next book.

Once again Stephanie Garber has written a beautiful book which has a fairytale-esque feel to it. The thing that attracted me to her books in the first place was how whimsical they are. All of her books, including Once Upon a Broken Heart, pours whimsy and magic by the gallon. It feels so real; it's right there in your mind playing a game of colours and sparkles.

I simply cannot wait to read the next book.

Oh dear. I've had a complicated relationship with Garber's first book Caraval which can be best summarized by: fantastic concept, interesting plot points, but characters that are so bland that they annoy me to no end and thus make me not want to pick the book up and finish it.
Ironically enough, I've had the same issue with Once Upon a Broken Heart. While I loved the premise and thought this was a great chance to give Garber a second chance with a story that is set in the Caraval universe BUT not with the same characters, the same thing ended up happening. I really enjoyed the story but the characters just were not it for me. I wish they were more fleshed out, less one-dimensional and above all, would make decisions that I could either understand or respect, but mostly, they just annoy me.
I think Garber's writing just isn't for me, which is completely fine because I can see why so many people love the Caraval series and will undoubtedly devour this new book as well!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this story was a DNF @ 30% for me as the story wasn't compelling enough with bland characters. The cover is the only thing that I liked overall. It's such a shame that I couldn't enjoy it as much as I hoped.

I picked up Once Upon A Broken Heart without reading Stephanie Garber’s immensely popular Caraval series and was instantly drawn into the story. I really appreciated that even though I had a sense that some characters had backstories that I wasn’t aware of, it didn’t detract from the book at hand.

We meet our heroine Evangeline Fox seeking magical help from the Prince of Hearts after she’s been jilted by her love for her stepsister. Unfortunately, the bargain comes with a heavy cost and Evangeline becomes swept up in deadly intrigue across the seas in a magical land.

I really loved the world building in this book as it not only has a strong fairytale sensibility, but also because the author subverts the usual themes and tropes from classic fairytales. The story was action packed as we raced through a more mundane land to a magical world seething with scheming and conspiracy. I was a little confused at times as was our heroine but that uncertainty had me turning the pages to racing to find out what’s next.

I also really enjoyed Evangeline as a character. Even though she fumbled in the dark for most of the story due to all the secrets and shenanigans, I got the sense that she was trying her best and trying to make the best choices she can. However, the standout character for me was Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. I have a huge weakness for sneaky villainous anti-heroes and Jacks’ apparent lack of any sort of scruple or shred of conscience apart from occasional flashes of deep emotion was simply thrilling to read. I absolutely cannot wait to get to know him more. Jacks’ occasional befuddlement because of Evangeline was also delicious 😂

This was a really strong first in a series and I can’t wait to read the next book! I’m off to check out Caraval to sate my thirst during the wait!


Thank you to the publishers for the arc.

Release: 30 September


#stephaniegarber #onceuponabrokenheart #caraval #princeofhearts #yafantasy #fantasyromance #bookmages

Another winner by Stephanie Garber! I think this one is my favorite - each book gets better. I cannot wait for the next one.

So while it's not the worst book, I found it very boring.
It brought nothing new to the fantasy genre, and was full of YA tropes we have seen for the past 15 years of YA fantasy. The characters were bland, the plot was...just boring? I wish I had more to say, but I was just bored.

The formatting of the e-arc was also AWFUL.

World: Nothing can top Caraval

Stephanie Garber: Hold my drink...

It feels like I've been waiting forever for this eagerly anticipated Stephanie Garber novel. If you were enchanted by the Caraval series then I promise you this is just as mesmerising. We immerse ourselves in the world of The Fates again, particularly Jacks. Forget Rhysand from ACOTAR, Jacks is where it's at now. Evangeline's character is fascinating too, there's so much going on and so much left to be discovered. I don't want to give too much away but I really, really need the next installment!

Once Upon A Broken Heart is out on 30th September 2021 and it is worth the wait. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC, it's made my year.

In exchange for three kisses, the Prince of Hearts will stop the wedding of the love of her life. Changing the course of fate demanded more from Evangeline than she expected. The Prince of Hearts isn’t as lovelorn as in the stories Evangeline grew up hearing. Growing up with the magical tales of the immortal Fates and her parents’s love at first sight story, Evangeline yearns for someone who will love her wholeheartedly. Out of desperation, she was willing to do anything including praying to the Fate with deadly kisses.

Set after the events of Finale in the Caraval trilogy, Once Upon a Broken Heart has references to the characters in the predecessor series. Although I still need to read Finale, I wasn’t too spoiled by starting this book. It’s nice to catch a glimpse of familiar characters, and whatever I read from Once Upon a Broken Heart is making me curious about what had happened in Finale. You don’t have to read Caraval to read Once Upon a Broken Heart. Though the book starts in the south, Evangeline gradually made her way towards the Magnificent North that has its own magic and history to unfold.

While helping Evangeline, Jacks has his own motives surrounding the mysterious prophecy of the Valors. He’s sarcastic, enigmatic, calculating, and distant. As the Fate that we know from the previous series, Jacks’s kisses are poisonous, and the only person who can kiss him and live is his one true love. There was no knowing whether he genuinely cared for Evangeline or using her as a pawn. I’m hoping it’s the former. Somehow, I just want him to finally have his happiness. Sometimes he feels more and more human than an immortal.

Though Evangeline entirely believes in love, she doesn’t view everything with rose-tinted glasses. Living under her stepmother’s roof has proven that some people can be bad but she still entirely believes in happily ever afters and one true loves. This characteristic of her is what propelled Evangeline’s future decision-making.

The Magnificent North was a splendid place. Magic surrounds the area with secrets. With dangerous kisses, mysterious whispering doors, and prophecies to fulfil, Once Upon a Broken Heart drew my attention right from the start. Whimsical and enchanting, Stephanie Garber layered the plot with a history that has multiple endings, a story with no proper resolution, and a fairytale-like setting. I absolutely fell in love with Stephanie Garber’s writing once again.

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is about a girl called Evangeline who asks the Prince of Hearts to help her stop the wedding of the man she loves to her step sister, This then starts Evangeline on her journey full of magic, curses and intrigue. I liked the character of Evangeline and I found Jacks the Prince of Hearts suitably mysterious. I really liked the world of The North that the author has created and I have to admit I expected the story to go one way when it would go another. While I enjoyed this book my biggest frustration is that the book just abruptly ends. Instead of being a complete story in it's own right, it has clearly been left open for another book or maybe even two. I found this disappointing and off putting, so I don't know whether I'll bother with the next book.

Stephanie Garber just has this incredible way of building a world that I want to jump into! I highly recommend reading her Caraval series before this book as it truly made this a dream to read. I think if you loved the caraval series you will love this book, with some appearances from previous characters in that series and seeing more of the world it takes the world of Caraval and develops it even more. Evangaline Fox was an amazing main protagonist and felt very familiar in a way that made you want to route for her the whole time. I enjoyed seeing more of Jacks in this book and really loved learning more about him and his perspective after the events of caraval. I think the plot of this book was interesting although I did find it to be a little predictable towards the end.
I just truly love this world and Stephanie Garbers writing style just suits me and fills me with that warm happy bookish feeling.
5 out of 5 stars.

Having read and enjoyed the Caraval trilogy, I couldn't wait to be thrown back into the same world for this first book in a new series. Everyone's favourite Fate, the Prince of Hearts, is back alongside a new leading lady, Evangeline Fox.

We're thrown straight into the action with one of the first scenes showing Evangeline seeking out Jacks for his assistance when her heart is broken. Everyone knows it's a bad idea to make a deal with a Fate, but heartache makes people make bad choices, which is basically the theme of the novel. Evangeline's choice kickstarts the events of the novel and we follow her and Jacks through a web of intrigue, double-crossing and death.

The novel is very well paced and exquisitely plotted, leading the reader deeper and deeper into this world and leaving you wanting more. It ends on a delicious cliffhanger and with the reader having just enough information to be able to make a guess at what might be about to happen. I can't wait until the next installment is released to see if I'm right!

My only criticism is in the formatting. As with the Caraval trilogy before it, the letters which are shown as handwriting on parchment are not readable on a Kindle. I got around this with the original trilogy by switching to the phone app. With this ARC, that workaround failed and I had to download the Netgalley app to be able to read these and also the newspaper articles, which were jumbled on Kindle. Hopefully this will be sorted by the publisher before publication.

4,5★

Once Upon A Broken Heart is a stunning gateway back to the Caraval universe. By exploring the fabulous North, Stephanie Garber has created an entertaining story that is easy to devour, and finally put Jacks, one of her most brilliant characters, at the center of the stage.

From the beginning, the book sucks the reader in: the premise of having the main character asking Jacks not to make someone fall in love with her, but instead to break a marriage, is definitely a unique choice, and it’s very interesting how this concept is used as the starting point to develop the rest of the plot.
While there is truly a lot happening throughout the course of Once Upon A Broken Heart, all the little events are deeply connected and so it reads as a very flowing narrative, especially thanks to Stephanie Garber’s easy prose (that has definitely improved from the first trilogy), with some plot twists and revelations that contributes to create a truly intriguing world-building. There is also a sort of fairytail-ish vibe coating the whole book, and it’s impossible to not be a least fascinated by its descriptions.

Evengeline is a pretty interesting main characters. In a way, she starts as the “villain”, but it becomes evident almost immediately that in truth she is extremely selfless and has such a positive attitude to life, bringing her to believe always the best in people and dream of happy endings all the time. And even if this makes her appear slightly naïve, Evangeline is never annoying or boring: she fits just perfectly in the world of Once Upon A Broken Heart.

A key element that is truly impossible not to love is the relationship between Evangeline and Jacks (it was so nice seeing him again, and I can’t wait to know more about the motives that guided his actions in this book- there is definitely something interesting going on): reading them bickering or just being insufferable to the other was the funniest thing, but they also have some heartwarming scenes worthy of any good romance.

With an ending that left me speechless and also partially worried, I’m really curious to see how everything that happened in Once Upon A Broken Heart will be exploited in the next book- I can see so much potential in the story, the world-building and the characters, and I’m excited to read more of Jacks and Evangeline.
I recommend it to readers looking for a quick and enjoyable fantasy book, ready to immerse themselves in a new world, and who obviously don’t mind the company of a morally gray character with an obsession for eating apples. Once Upon A Broken Heart is a stunning gateway back to the Caraval universe. By exploring the fabulous North, Stephanie Garber created an entertaining story that is easy to devour, and finally put Jacks, one of her most brilliant characters, at center of the stage.

From the beginning, the book sucks the reader in: the premise of having the main character asking Jacks not to make someone fall in love with her, but instead to break a marriage, is definitely a unique choice, and it’s very interesting how this concept is used as the starting point to develop the rest of the plot.
While there is truly a lot happening throughout the course of Once Upon A Broken Heart, all the little events are deeply connected and so it reads as a very flowing narrative, especially thanks to Stephanie Garber’s easy prose (that has definitely improved from the first trilogy), with some plot twists and revelations that contributes to create a truly intriguing world-building. There is also a sort of fairytail-ish vibe coating the whole book, and it’s impossible to not be a least fascinated by its descriptions.

Evengeline is a pretty interesting main characters. In a way, she starts as the “villain”, but it becomes evident almost immediately that in truth she is extremely selfless and has such a positive attitude to life, bringing her to believe always the best in people and dream of happy endings all the time. And even if this makes her appear slightly naïve, Evangeline is never annoying or boring: she fits just perfectly in the world of Once Upon A Broken Heart.

A key element that is truly impossible not to love is the relationship between Evangeline and Jacks (it was so nice seeing him again, and I can’t wait to know more about the motives that guided his actions in this book- there is definitely something interesting going on): reading them bickering or just being insufferable to the other was the funniest thing, but they also have some heartwarming scenes worthy of any good romance.

With an ending that left me speechless and also partially worried, I’m really curious to see how everything that happened in Once Upon A Broken Heart will be exploited in the next book- I can see so much potential in the story, the world-building and the characters, and I’m excited to read more of Jacks and Evangeline.
I recommend it to readers looking for a quick and enjoyable fantasy book, ready to immerse themselves in a new world, and who obviously don’t mind the company of a morally gray character with an obsession for eating apples.

After reading the Caravale series I was over the moon when I was given the opportunity to read this book.

This book had so much potential to be an incredible adult fairy tale filled with mystery, romance and comedy unfortunately I was a little disappointed. While Stéphanie Garner succeeded in creating a magic world with interesting characters I felt that the story lacked that intrigue that urges you to keep reading, making it impossible to put a book down.

I loved Evangeline and Jacks' relationship, but I would have liked more time to have been spent developing their connection further rather than going round and round in circles with Evangeline’s other love interests.

I also found it difficult to connect with Evangeline, there was not enough character development. It felt like Evangeline spent the whole time complaining about her love life or doing as others told her to instead of being the strong female lead she could have been.

Once upon a broken heart has a lot of potential and is written well it just felt like Stephanie Garbers' heart wasn’t quite in it. Although this book wasn’t for me, I would still recommend it and I will certainly keep an eye out for the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC is exchange for an honest review.

Evangeline Fox has now lost both her mother & her father, left alone except for a scheming stepmother & stepsister she longs for true love & thinks she has found it with Luc. She is, therefore, aghast to discover that Luc has agreed to marry her stepsister, Marisol. Heartbroken, Evangeline searches for the Prince of Hearts aka Jacks, & in exchange for his help, she agrees to give three kisses when & with whom he chooses. Evangeline soon regrets her choice when she returns home to find the wedding party turned to stone, & she tries to save them by drinking the potion herself. Evangeline awakens a few weeks later to find that not only has Luc disappeared, but her stepmother plans to marry her off. So when she is offered the chance to travel to the North, to represent the Empress at an important occasion, Evangeline goes & takes Marisol with her, but when she sees Jacks, she realises her agreement has become due.

When I first requested this ARC, I hadn't realised it was about Jacks who appears in the Caravel trilogy by the same author. I thought Jacks was an intriguing character, & although I was a little lukewarm about the original books, I really enjoyed this one. The world-building is detailed, & the chemistry between Evangeline & Jacks slowly builds. If I had one criticism, it would be that the main character second guesses herself far too much, but it's a minor quibble. I can't wait for the second book. 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to read an ARC.