Once Upon a Broken Heart
- Downloads：7465
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-06 11:21:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Stephanie Garber
- ISBN：1250818338
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Amani
，
3。5
tay （taylor reads）
，
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS😭 A BOOK ABOUT JACKS AHHHHH😩
Kat
，
#OnceUponaBrokenHeart#NetGalley #EdelweissStephanie Garber has another captivating and beautifully written book under her belt。 I cannot recommend this book and author enough to readers。
Amani
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I was in a bit of a reading slump which is why it took me awhile to finish this but this book is SO good！ I had a feeling it was about Jacks and Stephanie Garber is one of my favorite writers so I had high expectations for this one。 :）
Ellie （Princess of Ink）
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To put it simply， Once Upon a Broken Heart is a hot mess。 The premise promises a fairytale， but what Garber delivers is a confused nightmare。 With an annoyingly-naïve protagonist， a one-dimensional cast of supporting characters and a truly “what the fuck”-inducing plot， this book’s only saving graces are the short chapters and fast pacing， which at times can too be a hindrance to your enjoyment and desire to rate this book higher than you actually will。The beginning chapters of this book are the To put it simply， Once Upon a Broken Heart is a hot mess。 The premise promises a fairytale， but what Garber delivers is a confused nightmare。 With an annoyingly-naïve protagonist， a one-dimensional cast of supporting characters and a truly “what the fuck”-inducing plot， this book’s only saving graces are the short chapters and fast pacing， which at times can too be a hindrance to your enjoyment and desire to rate this book higher than you actually will。The beginning chapters of this book are the only thing that delivers on the premise。 With vivid imagery， they instantly drew me in and I could see the improvement in Garber’s writing from the six （boring） chapters I had read of Caraval。 （As you can guess， that didn’t last very long）。 Once Upon a Broken Heart follows rose gold-haired Evangeline Fox， whose stepsister is set to marry Luc， her one true love。 Believing Luc to be cursed and desperate to stop the wedding， she enlists the help of Jacks， a Fate and the Prince of Hearts。 He agrees to do so under the condition that Evangeline will kiss 3 people of his choosing， but doesn’t say any more than that。 Willing to do whatever it takes to stop Luc marrying Marisol， she agrees to the deal but the wedding is stopped by Jacks turning everyone to stone。 It is here that Evangeline first displays her wishy-washy personality， as she regrets her actions and drinks the poison that turned the bride， groom and wedding guests to stone – thereby taking their place。 Evangeline， as a protagonist and narrator， frustrated me endlessly。 She’s insanely naïve， always trusting people she shouldn’t and wanting to help Marisol （her stepsister） when it’s very obvious that a） her sister is shady and up to no good and b） she generally has no reason to。 The two of them have next to no relationship， but because Evangeline is so Wonderful and Perfect and Special Because She Has Pink Hair， of course she has to want to help。 She’s also a very passive character: things happen to her， not because of her。 Now， I know what you’re probably thinking: “Characters are allowed to be naïve！ It’s part of their growth！” or “Characters are allowed to be nice！ They don’t all have to be sword-wielding assassins or （insert other character trope here）”。 Trust me， I hear you， but there’s a difference between those characters and Evangeline Fox。 The side characters – yes， including Jacks – in this book are no better。 They’re all one-dimensional and flat， having one ‘unique’ aspect about them… and that’s it。 I could tell you hardly anything about them。 Jacks’ past with Donatella is briefly mentioned， but I wouldn’t really class that as him having personality， and I think it’s more fanservice for existing Caraval fans than anything。 I can separate this book into two parts: Before Evangeline Drinks the Poison and After Evangeline Drinks the Poison。 I enjoyed the Before part， as After Evangeline Drinks the Poison is where Stephanie Garber seems to have forgotten the novel she promised to readers， and began writing something else entirely。 Ergo， the plot had gone haywire。 The book’s plot follows no clear structure; it’s all over the place。 Sure， there’s a little bit of “action” but that does nothing to redeem a story that is 99% Boring and 1% Interesting Scenes。 There were numerous attempts at romantic scenes throughout the book， but Evangeline has no real chemistry with either of her potential love interests （one of them is literally cursed to be in love with her， so there’s that）， so it did nothing for me and I skimmed read most of them。Once Upon a Broken Heart took an extremely bizarre turn after the introduction of vampires。 Yes， you read that correctly。 Vampires。 What the fuck are vampires doing in this book？ It was so completely and utterly random， I was honestly thinking ‘what was Stephanie Garber on when she wrote this？’ while reading。 We were given no real explanation as to why vampires were included either。 It was like a complete abuse of authorial power on Garber’s part: she thought vampires were cool， so she just put them in the book， with no real thought as to the sense （or lack thereof） it would make。 And trust me， it made zero sense。 Unfortunately， around the last third of the book and its “plot” hinges on vampires， so there wasn’t any escaping them。There was also a prophecy subplot， because of course there was。 The prophecy in this book centres around the Valory Arch， a mysterious archway in The North which contains either treasure and secrets or deadly monsters （no one is really sure which）。 Evangeline， having such Main Character Energy， is the key to unlocking this arch/doorway （I get she literally IS the main character， but just roll with the punches here）。 I say it’s a subplot， but I honestly couldn’t tell you what was the main plot and what were subplots in this book。 Garber weaved a lot of threads throughout Once Upon a Broken Heart， and they got tangled up at times。 As a ‘minor’ complaint， a lot is told to readers and not shown。 For instance， after Evangeline has just woken up from being poisoned， she is told of a Week of Terrors that unfolded after the cancelled wedding， but we’re not given any information about it。 Later， through dialogue， Evangeline learns of information she needs to know to progress the plot， but it’s done in quite a heavy-handed manner。 There’s a lot of it， and wasn’t done subtlety or in small pieces， like you might see elsewhere in other novels。 To give myself something positive to say about this book， I did like its short chapters and relatively fast pacing。 As a slow reader， I appreciated being able to get through this book super quickly。 Yes， that’s all I have to say。 Moving on！The book ends on a cliffhanger。 It’s somewhat intriguing， but I certainly won’t be reading the sequel。 If for whatever reason， after reading this review， you’re still inclined to read Once Upon a Broken Heart， you might want to hold off on doing so until the sequel is out， as this will leave you with too many loose plot threads and unanswered questions – more than any book should。Edit: Just to say that the ONLY reason this book gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because， having just ripped this book to shreds， I'd like to be nice to it。 Also， I did genuinely enjoy the beginning of the book。 It's just a shame it all went to shit from there。I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for this review， which is honest and unbiased。 Thank you to Kate Keehan at Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book prior to publication。 。。。more
Hayley
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DNF at 30%I went into this really hoping it was not going to be as bad as Caraval。。。 I was wrong it's equally as bad if not worse since I was able to finish Caraval。I'm just not a fan of Stephanie Garber's writing- the dialogue is horrible， the characters are bad and overall despite having more mature content it reads like middle grade in my opinion。 Just can't suffer through this like I did with Caraval。。。 DNF at 30%I went into this really hoping it was not going to be as bad as Caraval。。。 I was wrong it's equally as bad if not worse since I was able to finish Caraval。I'm just not a fan of Stephanie Garber's writing- the dialogue is horrible， the characters are bad and overall despite having more mature content it reads like middle grade in my opinion。 Just can't suffer through this like I did with Caraval。。。 。。。more
Luca B。
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LO VOGLIO！！！TRA DUE MESI SARA' MIOE POI CHE TRAMA STUPENDA😍 LO VOGLIO！！！TRA DUE MESI SARA' MIOE POI CHE TRAMA STUPENDA😍 。。。more
mari
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 first of all thanks to netgalley for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for a review。once upon a heart is about a pink-haired girl who’s been deemed a hero after the week of terror that seeks help to our beloved prince of hearts and strikes a deal with him that will be the incentive to the strange turn of events in eva’s life as she adventures into a new kingdom with the company of her stepsister。 a poor summary i know。 but let’s dive straight into my thoughts:first of all， i would li first of all thanks to netgalley for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for a review。once upon a heart is about a pink-haired girl who’s been deemed a hero after the week of terror that seeks help to our beloved prince of hearts and strikes a deal with him that will be the incentive to the strange turn of events in eva’s life as she adventures into a new kingdom with the company of her stepsister。 a poor summary i know。 but let’s dive straight into my thoughts:first of all， i would like to say that i was let’s say pretty curious about jacks’s new storyline and how he’s dealing with everything after the events that took place in finale。 i was， i’m not going to lie， quite excited to read about him once again because he literally stole my heart in the other books but this story was quite a shock。to begin with， it really took me quire a long time to read this due to the horrible format of the arc。 i missed so many parts and so many and probably important things to the plot due to missing words or misplacing characters that i had to skim through it because it was pretty impossible to keep reading。 but i finally finished so all good。 i guess。what i mean with “shock” is that the entire book felt as if the author didn’t know what to do with this new characters and all。 the book had me incredibly confused at so many points and honestly i still don’t understand where vampires come from？ it feels as if stephanie garber didn’t know what to do and was really indecisive with every choice that each character made。 i know this is a story of magic and powers but if i remember correctly this world is basically fates and powers， and all of the sudden， vampires are introduced。 what’s up next？ werewolves？ zombies？ regarding the characters， i don’t hate anyone so far。 guess that’ll change when the probably following book to this new series comes out but we’ll see then。so， i don’t know what to say。 the writing was super confusing i had to reread some parts twice and then check if i had gotten things correctly and if i hadn’t misunderstood some parts。 the format made it incredibly difficult to read and at some point i’d considered dnf-ing this。all in all， i just give once upon a broken heart a rating of 2 solid stars。 i don’t really know what to expect from the possible sequel to this one。 。。。more
Christine Manzari
，
Stephanie writes such magical worlds ✨
Katy
，
"All stories are made of both truths and lies， she used to say。 What matters is the way that we believe them。"Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review。 Stephanie Garber does not disappoint when it comes to building intricate and beautiful worlds you cannot help but get immersed into。 Her writing is a masterpiece in terms of atmosphere， and Once Upon a Broken Heart has showed this yet again。 Whilst this story is linked t "All stories are made of both truths and lies， she used to say。 What matters is the way that we believe them。"Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review。 Stephanie Garber does not disappoint when it comes to building intricate and beautiful worlds you cannot help but get immersed into。 Her writing is a masterpiece in terms of atmosphere， and Once Upon a Broken Heart has showed this yet again。 Whilst this story is linked to the Caraval world and we see characters reintroduced in this book， I would not say it is completely necessary to read that before this one， however it does give a fair bit of insight and there are some spoilers if you intend to go back and read the previous trilogy。 The magic and wonder that we see in this book has got to be my favourite part of this book。 I loved exploring a new part of this world， with all the fairytale esque influences。 I was sucked in from the first page， and couldn't put it down （I finished the whole book in under a day） such addictive writing and storyline that keeps you on your toes as much as the main character。 Such a fun and enjoyable read， and I will definitely continue to read anything this author puts out， even if they aren't stand out favourites they never cease to make me smile。 I am intrigued to see where the story will go， and hopefully I will become even more attached to these characters and we get some more emotional moments。 Rated: 4。5 Stars 。。。more
Ashleigh
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*I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*A book filled with all the magic that I’ve come to expect from Stephanie Garber！ An enchanting fairytale filled with whimsy， characters you won’t soon forget， and twists and turns you won’t be expecting。 This book had me enthralled from start to finish。Evangeline Fox grew up in her father’s curiosity shop where she learned about fairytales and wishes and the immortals， including the unfortunate Prince of Hearts。 She knows tha *I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*A book filled with all the magic that I’ve come to expect from Stephanie Garber！ An enchanting fairytale filled with whimsy， characters you won’t soon forget， and twists and turns you won’t be expecting。 This book had me enthralled from start to finish。Evangeline Fox grew up in her father’s curiosity shop where she learned about fairytales and wishes and the immortals， including the unfortunate Prince of Hearts。 She knows that he has powers， that his kiss is worth dying for， and that making a bargain with him probably won’t end very well。When Evangeline finds out that the love of her life is set to marry another， out of desperation， she pays a visit to the Prince of Hearts。 She offers him whatever he wants， if only he’ll stop the wedding。 The prince asks for Evangeline to collect three kisses as payment， and she acquiesces。 After Evangeline’s first vowed kiss， she learns that the Prince of Hearts wants a lot more from her than she has promised。 He has much bigger plans for Evangeline that could end in either her ultimate happily ever after， or her most delicious tragedy。Evangeline has become a new favorite character of mine！ She has such tenacity， and I admire her so much for it。 Despite her mistakes， you can’t help but root for her！ Jacks （The Prince of Hearts） is his delectably wicked and utterly charming self。 He’s definitely everything you want in a villain。 He’s both cold and calculating， and witty and full of snark。 I also enjoyed seeing a vulnerable side to him that I hadn’t seen as much of before。The glittering and entrancing Once Upon A Broken Heart is the perfect story for fantasy and fairytale loving fans！ This series can be read without reading the Caraval series， but I feel that reading it first definitely adds to the experience。 Prepare yourself for an otherworldly adventure， that just may take a piece of your heart！ 。。。more
Gabby
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A big thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in return for an honest review。 Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a return to her previous Caraval universe， although it is not necessary to read Caraval at all to read her latest novel。 However， this book does end on a big cliffhanger！ So， if you are like me and don't like waiting to find out more， rather wait for the other books in the series。 Or don't。 Where's the fun in that anyway？Once Upon A Broken Heart follows t A big thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in return for an honest review。 Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a return to her previous Caraval universe， although it is not necessary to read Caraval at all to read her latest novel。 However， this book does end on a big cliffhanger！ So， if you are like me and don't like waiting to find out more， rather wait for the other books in the series。 Or don't。 Where's the fun in that anyway？Once Upon A Broken Heart follows the main character Evangeline Fox， who early on gets her heart broken and devises a plan to get her true love back。 This plan involves our favourite rogue the Prince of Hearts。 As anyone can guess， this gets all the more out of control， until Evangeline is given the chance for her own fairytale。 She is given the chance to travel to the North and attend a ball where the prince will choose his future bride。 But some bargains don't go away when you cross the border to another kingdom。。。I've always loved Stephanie Garber's writing， and this transported me right back to what I loved about Caraval。 It feels like a fairytale and reads easily and makes you want to know more。 Some characters are written to represent evil intentions but you still root for them。 All the while adding up the puzzle pieces in an ancient prophecy。 This is definitely YA， but has potential for anyone looking for a story about broken hearts and promises。 I would gladly recommend this book as much， if not more than Caraval。 And I cannot wait for it to release in our store！ 。。。more
Sophie
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oh。 my。 god。 i loved this book so much😭 once it’s been out for a while， i’ll talk more specifically about the things i liked but for now， here’s a completely spoiler free （rubbish） review hehethe EXACT same vibes as caraval （so… incredible）。 garber has the most whimsical and fairytale-y writing ever and it’s just such a pleasure to read her books。 this book was so so easy to read， i absolutely glided through it & everything was super easy to picture and imagine， the world building is *chef’s kis oh。 my。 god。 i loved this book so much😭 once it’s been out for a while， i’ll talk more specifically about the things i liked but for now， here’s a completely spoiler free （rubbish） review hehethe EXACT same vibes as caraval （so… incredible）。 garber has the most whimsical and fairytale-y writing ever and it’s just such a pleasure to read her books。 this book was so so easy to read， i absolutely glided through it & everything was super easy to picture and imagine， the world building is *chef’s kiss*the romance :）））））））））））））） teehee （my flatmate had to endure me literally screeching about it so let that just be that）tHE PLOT ？？？ omg this book never once lost pace - something was ALWAYS happening and i was never bored。 it was so so intriguing and had so many little plot points that i got invested in。 i genuinely don’t understand how so much happened in quite a short book without it being confusing？？ amazingevangeline is a great， flawed & learning main character and if you didnt think jacks could get any better… think again :） and i found myself thinking about them both & the world multiple times when i wasnt reading… the sign of a good book！okay fine， if i was being suuuupperrrrr critical about things， this book may not have been 5⭐️ but… it had too much of a 5⭐️ feel for me not to give it that 🤪side note: you don’t have to read caraval to read this series but i do think it would help understand some parts a bit more and would just elevate the experience as a whole！！ （i kinda compared it to the whole shadow & bone/six of crows situ…！） （but i also wouldn’t read this BEFORE reading caraval… so if you wanna read caraval， read it before OUABH x） thank you so much to hodder & stoughton for the eARC of this book， you’ve made my year x 。。。more
Steffi （WynnieReadsAndPlans）
，
OH my goodness。 As a huge Caraval fan， I was mega excited to jump right back into the wonderful world that Stephanie Garber created， and I'm so glad that I was lucky enough to recieve an arc of this book。 I will admit that I was skeptical at first; would this live up to the hype I'd built around it given my love for Caraval？ The answer is yes。 I absolutely loved this book。 It was so much fun going back into the rich world that Garber created in her first trilogy。 Evangeline was， refreshingly， no OH my goodness。 As a huge Caraval fan， I was mega excited to jump right back into the wonderful world that Stephanie Garber created， and I'm so glad that I was lucky enough to recieve an arc of this book。 I will admit that I was skeptical at first; would this live up to the hype I'd built around it given my love for Caraval？ The answer is yes。 I absolutely loved this book。 It was so much fun going back into the rich world that Garber created in her first trilogy。 Evangeline was， refreshingly， nothing like Donatella and Scarlett。 I had been slightly worried that she would just be a carbon copy， but I shouldn't have worried at all。 She was a character of her own。 I was really happy about Jacks being back too， as he was such an interesting character in the Caraval series so I'm really excited to see where this series takes him and Evangeline too。 。。。more
Cady Wieck
，
I can’t believe it’s over！ I did not want this book to end。 I loved diving back into the world of Caraval and being able to explore the Magnificent North！ Being able to follow Jacks again and get more of some Fates was a treat。 I love the way the Caraval universe makes me feel。 It’s so magical and makes me so happy。 This book was a different feel than the original trilogy and a lot was going on。 I felt that I was getting whiplash at times from all the ways the story went （but in the best way）。 I I can’t believe it’s over！ I did not want this book to end。 I loved diving back into the world of Caraval and being able to explore the Magnificent North！ Being able to follow Jacks again and get more of some Fates was a treat。 I love the way the Caraval universe makes me feel。 It’s so magical and makes me so happy。 This book was a different feel than the original trilogy and a lot was going on。 I felt that I was getting whiplash at times from all the ways the story went （but in the best way）。 I am so glad this is going to be a series because I NEED more。 I missed this world so much and am so incandescently happy to return to it 💔🍎 I received an ARC from Flatiron books and will be dying for the next one and can’t believe I have to wait at least a year if nothing more 🥺 。。。more
julie
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Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest opinion。The way i couldn’t stop reading it says a lot about this book！！！ I couldn’t think of a better story for my favorite character Jacks， everything was so perfect， the plot， the characters， the development。 Evangeline is the sweetest， kindest and most lovely character ever， i fell in love with her immediately and nothing in the book made me fall out。 The cliffhangers were mind blowing， i didn’t see them coming really im Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest opinion。The way i couldn’t stop reading it says a lot about this book！！！ I couldn’t think of a better story for my favorite character Jacks， everything was so perfect， the plot， the characters， the development。 Evangeline is the sweetest， kindest and most lovely character ever， i fell in love with her immediately and nothing in the book made me fall out。 The cliffhangers were mind blowing， i didn’t see them coming really impressed with that。 Also the way Jacks evolves throughout this book makes my heart melt i’m obsessed， can’t wait to see more of it！ 。。。more
Emily Brown （Candlelightreads）
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Stephanie Garbers ‘Once upon a Broken Heart’ is just as alluring and delightfully wicked as the fates we encountered in the Caraval series。 This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and BOY DID IT DELIVER！ I was over the moon when I was sent an ARC！ So once again thank you @hoderscape！ Stephanie has spoiled us with a beautiful & intricate magic system， action and a ‘steamy’ romance （there is a particular budding romance that I need to happen in this book with two MC’s…。just saying！） Stephanie Garbers ‘Once upon a Broken Heart’ is just as alluring and delightfully wicked as the fates we encountered in the Caraval series。 This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and BOY DID IT DELIVER！ I was over the moon when I was sent an ARC！ So once again thank you @hoderscape！ Stephanie has spoiled us with a beautiful & intricate magic system， action and a ‘steamy’ romance （there is a particular budding romance that I need to happen in this book with two MC’s…。just saying！） that will have your toes curling and you smirking to yourself behind your book。 Most importantly we are introduced to a new diverse set of characters that are just as engaging and entertaining as the O。G Caraval characters。 OUABH follows Evangeline Fox， a fierce and optimistic young woman who believes in love at first sight and wishes to find her happily ever after。 Well guys ‘fate’ certainly has something in store for Evangeline after she makes a deal with our infamous Prince of Hearts， Jacks。 This sets the story on motion and setting it on a different and new path than what we were used too。 Now。。let’s talk Jacks。 I have been team Jacks from day one and I have missed him ！ He is still the deviously charming and conniving character we knew and I love how Stephanie has matched these two main characters perfectly。 That’s all I am saying as I will spill the beans otherwise。 For those who have not read the Caraval series， you can pick up this book and appreciate it but be warned you might come across some spoilers。 Do you might want to read the other books first。 This book left me on an absolute high and already craving the sequel。 I cannot wait to see Evangeline and Jacks develop in the next book and see where the story takes us。 I 。。。more
Megan （Bookish_Raider）
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"Always promise less than you can give， for Fates always take more。 Do not make bargains with more than one Fate。 And， above all， never fall in love with a Fate。" In one word: Magical。 If you know me， it is no secret that I loved the Caraval series。。。 and one major reason is Stephanie's writing。 You can tell that her mind is full of vibrant colors and romance。 "Evangline has a gift when it came to believing in things that others considered myths -like the immortal Fates。" While this is set in "Always promise less than you can give， for Fates always take more。 Do not make bargains with more than one Fate。 And， above all， never fall in love with a Fate。" In one word: Magical。 If you know me， it is no secret that I loved the Caraval series。。。 and one major reason is Stephanie's writing。 You can tell that her mind is full of vibrant colors and romance。 "Evangline has a gift when it came to believing in things that others considered myths -like the immortal Fates。" While this is set in the Caraval world， it is true that you definitely do NOT need to read that series prior。 I highly recommend you do because it is fantastic。 It will give a bit of a spoiler where two characters end up but you do not need to know much else。 Caraval was a bit of a dark romantic game， this book is pure fairytale。 Evangeline is a hopeFUL romantic and I loved her。 She definitely makes some super optimistic but slightly bad choices， you cannot help but route for her。 "People who don't like me call me Jacks。" Then there is Jacks。 This guy。 If you are unsure if he was a gray character in Caraval， then do not look to this book for answers。 Just when you want to route for him as an unlikely hero， he shows he may not be。 He has his own agenda and you can never understand what are his motivations for anything he says or does。。。 but that is why we LOVE him。 The setting was also wonderful。。。 and actually my own personal fairytale。 Wintery castles and lots of magic。 Adorable white fully animals， sweet delicious desserts， and seasonal balls。 Magic is more prominent in the North and I absolutely loved the bit of "history" that we learn。。。 one aspect that particularly intrigued me is that history and stories are cursed in the North， so the end is never the same。。。 and you never know how it truly does end。If there is one thing I wish it had more of， it is REAL romance。 You will see what I mean when you read。 However， this is totally in line with the plot and character motivations。。。 so I accept it！ "Hope is a difficult things to kill， just a spark of it can start a fire。" This book was SO quotable and I cannot wait to see some of my favorites all over the bookish community。 Overall， this book was just as magical as I hoped for and I CANNOT wait for the sequel！ 。。。more
Leslie
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This was definitely a whimsical read with Alice in Wonderland vibes。 I definitely liked all the quirks of the story。 My opinion will most likely be an un popular one since so many people are excited about this book。 I will start off by saying that I liked it， but I didn't love it。 It just didn't wow me。 I will say it is appropriate for YA readers and if I were 14， I may have liked this more。 But being an adult， I just didn't read anything new and exciting from this book。 So I knocked off stars f This was definitely a whimsical read with Alice in Wonderland vibes。 I definitely liked all the quirks of the story。 My opinion will most likely be an un popular one since so many people are excited about this book。 I will start off by saying that I liked it， but I didn't love it。 It just didn't wow me。 I will say it is appropriate for YA readers and if I were 14， I may have liked this more。 But being an adult， I just didn't read anything new and exciting from this book。 So I knocked off stars for slow pacing and underwhelming plot。 I read that this is being presented as a standalone。 There were way too many loose ends for that to be true so I am thinking this will be a series instead。 Unlike many YA books， I am excited that this is actually appropriate for young readers and I can see my kids enjoying this story when they are older。 3。5 stars 。。。more
Salma Mattar
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Magical review to comeThanks for hodder and Katie for sending my an arc 💕
Lou Moriarty
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Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC。 i will read and review this book as soon as possible。
Karen Barber
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Due for release in September 2021， I have to thank the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest thoughts。I adored the first two books in the Caraval series， and though the final brought some closure it didn’t work as successfully for me。 This book features some of the characters that will be familiar to readers of Caraval （and though I think this could standalone， it offers more insight into the actions of some of the characters） a Due for release in September 2021， I have to thank the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest thoughts。I adored the first two books in the Caraval series， and though the final brought some closure it didn’t work as successfully for me。 This book features some of the characters that will be familiar to readers of Caraval （and though I think this could standalone， it offers more insight into the actions of some of the characters） and immerses us in another magical world where characters are pushed to their limits in order to define themselves。Our main character is Evangeline Fox， who believes herself to be in love with childhood friend Luc。 She is reeling from the sudden change of heart he appears to have had， and now he is about to marry her stepsister Evangeline wants to find a way to stop events that she believes shouldn’t be happening。 So she strikes a bargain with Jacks…Things do not go as expected。 Suddenly the wedding party is turned to stone and Evangeline finds herself in a rather unusual situation。 Without hesitation she sacrifices herself， so this is the kind of world that rewards selflessness…and then pitches her into the kind of scenario straight from fairytales。We learn that Evangeline is sent up North， where she becomes betrothed to Prince Apollo。 We know early on that manipulations are at play， but we’re not told the full extent。 What we do learn is that many - Jacks included - believe Evangeline to be a crucial part of a long-believed prophesy。 The story focuses on the magic and machinations of those who desire something。 Few are exactly as they seem， and it becomes a puzzle for Evangeline to work through。 There’s plenty of hints as to what could happen， and we end on a sweet high…happy that some elements have been resolved， but sensing that Evangeline’s ordeal is far from over。 。。。more
Rachel
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Loved the magic component of this book。 It’s a fun， quick read and the ending is spectacular。
Paige
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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC of Once Upon A Broken Heart by the lovely Stephanie Garber！ Although I have been gifted this ARC for free， my opinion will be purely my own。I loved Caraval （Garber's previous series） and going back unto this world with Jacks and our protagonist Evangeline Fox was an absolute dream come true。 From the beautiful title cards for each parts to the perfect quotes， I fell in love with Garber's writing all over again。 Jacks is perfect Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC of Once Upon A Broken Heart by the lovely Stephanie Garber！ Although I have been gifted this ARC for free， my opinion will be purely my own。I loved Caraval （Garber's previous series） and going back unto this world with Jacks and our protagonist Evangeline Fox was an absolute dream come true。 From the beautiful title cards for each parts to the perfect quotes， I fell in love with Garber's writing all over again。 Jacks is perfect and he's exactly the same as he always was and it's so comforting。 I absolutely loved this book and I am so excited for the rest of the series to come out once Garber has finished。 Thank you again for letting me read this ARC， this is the greatest gift a girl could ever have。 。。。more
AbookishFantasy
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I remain as Jacks' number 1 fan I remain as Jacks' number 1 fan 。。。more
Isla
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Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC。This is the first Stephanie Garber book that I have read and I enjoyed it。 I liked that I did not have to read the previous books in order to read this， however as I enjoyed this I might just have to go and read the Caraval series！ I liked all the characters and the world building was so gorgeously done， I was really swept into the world。 The twists are turns were definitely intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat。 I am very excite Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC。This is the first Stephanie Garber book that I have read and I enjoyed it。 I liked that I did not have to read the previous books in order to read this， however as I enjoyed this I might just have to go and read the Caraval series！ I liked all the characters and the world building was so gorgeously done， I was really swept into the world。 The twists are turns were definitely intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat。 I am very excited for the next book。 I have already pre ordered and cannot wait for it to arrive！ 。。。more
Tamara
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DNF pg 135。
Rune
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I was given this as an early review copy via Netgalley。 I was excited when I read the Blurb and when I requested it and received it I was totally bouncing。Give me something that sounds like it could be a fairy tale and I am sold 。 I was totally pulled into this story from page one。Evangeline is a wonderful character。 She starts out slightly unaware of the world and maybe a bit to trusting in the ide that magick must be real。Watching her grow and really understand that she has her own magic is br I was given this as an early review copy via Netgalley。 I was excited when I read the Blurb and when I requested it and received it I was totally bouncing。Give me something that sounds like it could be a fairy tale and I am sold 。 I was totally pulled into this story from page one。Evangeline is a wonderful character。 She starts out slightly unaware of the world and maybe a bit to trusting in the ide that magick must be real。Watching her grow and really understand that she has her own magic is brilliant。However her interactions with Jacks and the other fates are also amazing。Totally amazing read。 。。。more
Abby
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Okay Y’all THIS BOOK！ It was both what I expected and happily unexpected in many ways as well！ Disclaimer I’ve been obsessed with Jack’s since Legendary so I might be biased about this book😂For some reason I thought this was a standalone but found out it wasn’t right before getting to the end thankfully because I was thinking “so many things aren’t getting resolved？！” I love Stephanie Garber’s magical world building and of course her intricate beautiful outfit descriptions 💜 I felt that we reall Okay Y’all THIS BOOK！ It was both what I expected and happily unexpected in many ways as well！ Disclaimer I’ve been obsessed with Jack’s since Legendary so I might be biased about this book😂For some reason I thought this was a standalone but found out it wasn’t right before getting to the end thankfully because I was thinking “so many things aren’t getting resolved？！” I love Stephanie Garber’s magical world building and of course her intricate beautiful outfit descriptions 💜 I felt that we really got to know the main characters very well and also got to see them grow a lot through the story I’m excited to see what they do in the next book！ So much action and a decent amount of mystery and discovers kept me engaged during the whole story。 The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was Jacks blue hair 😂 I think mostly bc he is a rare blonde fictional bf of mind and I was really attached to that color but his character and getting to just see more of him after Caraval was enough for me 💔I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved Caraval or is looking for a fun， quick， magical read！ Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of the book！ I’ll be purchasing this book for my students to read in the school library。 。。。more
Siân PJ
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Once Upon A Broken Heart quickly envelopes you into this new world and I did not feel like I did not understand things about this universe due to my lack of Caraval knowledge。 I absolutely loved how like Evangeline the reader was kept guessing about who was Good or Evil and also that blurry area in between right until the very end of the book。 The end of the book nearly had me begging Stephanie Garber to hurry up and write a sequel。https://pjsandbooks。wordpress。com/onc。。。 Once Upon A Broken Heart quickly envelopes you into this new world and I did not feel like I did not understand things about this universe due to my lack of Caraval knowledge。 I absolutely loved how like Evangeline the reader was kept guessing about who was Good or Evil and also that blurry area in between right until the very end of the book。 The end of the book nearly had me begging Stephanie Garber to hurry up and write a sequel。https://pjsandbooks。wordpress。com/onc。。。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Once Upon a Broken Heart
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Once Upon a Broken Heart&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft