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 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 itÂ’s a subplot, but I honestly couldnÂ’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, you might see elsewhere in other novels.

To give myself something positive to say about this book, I did its short chapters and relatively fast pacing. As a slow reader, I appreciated being able to get through this book super quickly. Yes, thatÂ’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.

Thank you to Kate Keehan and Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC!

? 1 star

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23/3/22: I'm way too late in adding this, but if you've made it this far and are looking for a book/series that will actually be worth your time, may I direct your attention to The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae instead! It's got morally grey characters, a heroine corruption arc and enemies to lovers, among many other Awesome Things. GO READ IT! NOW!2021-release fantasy read-in-20211,238 s38 comments Stephanie GarberAuthor 14 books52.7k

Hi friends!

Update, April 15: If you've been waiting for a signed US edition, Barnes and Noble has just announced their exclusive edition--it has bonus material, a secret cover printed on the hardcover case, and it's PINK!

Update, March 11: I'm so excited to share that Once Upon A Broken Heart has a US cover! It was revealed today Frolic, along with an interview and a sneak peek of the prologue. Here's a link:

https://frolic.media/exclusive-once-u...

I hope you all love the cover as much as I do!

P.S. The UK will have a separate and very different cover, which will be revealed at a later date. xo

I'm so excited to share that Once Upon a Broken Heart has a full description:

The first book in a new series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after.
 
Evangeline Fox was raised in her beloved father’s curiosity shop, where she grew up on legends about immortals, the tragic Prince of Hearts. She knows his powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and that bargains with him rarely end well. 

But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to offer the Prince of Hearts whatever he wants in exchange for his help to stop the wedding. The prince only asks for three kisses. But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. And he has plans for Evangeline that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy… 

That's all for now, but I can't wait to share more soon! xo1,643 s5 comments jessica2,566 42.9k

this book made me remember that my answer to the age old question, “if you could live in any fictional world, which one would it be?” is the world of caraval.

it was honestly so good to be back and revisit some old, beloved characters. it was nice to see a glimpse of what scarlett and donatella were getting up to, but i also loved the focus on jacks. the fate has been through it. so it was interesting to see how he bounces back and the different kinds of mischief he gets into. i also think evangeline is a great new character and her chemistry with jacks is amazing.

i love that the plot is very magic-focused, particularly on a new kind of magic that hasnt been explored yet in the world of caraval (which is surprising because there is so much). i enjoyed reading about the old royal family, the arches, the prophecy and how jacks has made evangeline the center of it all.

this is a pretty successful start to a companion series and i am genuinely looking forward to how the story will play out!

? 4.5 stars898 s8 comments Ayman252 107k

the way i read this in one sitting because i was immediately HOOKED in! i get what thr girlies are hyped up about. iÂ’m obsessed to a concerning level. put me in an asylum at this point.
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