Book Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garbar (Book 1 in the series)
Blurb for the book (on Goodreads):
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 love story ever told, or the most exquisite tragedy.
My Summary:
Evangeline Fox is a hopeless romantic who believes in fairy tale endings. That is, until her childhood love decides to marry her stepsister. Heartbroken and desperate, she makes a deal with one of the most dangerous Fates in existence: the Prince of Hearts.
The deal seems simple: three kisses in exchange for stopping the wedding. But nothing involving Fates is ever simple, and Evangeline quickly discovers that the Prince of Hearts has been playing a much longer, more dangerous game than she ever imagined.
Between magical curses, deadly bargains, and a romance that might literally kill her, Evangeline must navigate a world where fairy tales are real, and far more twisted than she ever dreamed.
If you love lush fantasy worlds, morally gray love interests who might actually be villains, this book will be your true love.
TL;DR Section:
Once Upon a Broken Heart follows Evangeline Fox, a hopeless romantic who makes a dangerous deal with the Prince of Hearts (a powerful Fate) to stop her true love from marrying her stepsister. The deal requires three kisses, but the Prince has much darker plans.
This YA fantasy features character development, amazing fairy tale tropes, and a morally gray love interest who might actually be a villain. While the romance focuses more on Evangeline and Apollo than Evangeline and the Prince of Hearts, the book delivers magical worldbuilding, perfect pacing, and devastating plot twists. Set in the same world as the Caraval series but can be read standalone. Recommended for ages 13+ due to mature themes. Rating: 5/5 🐾
My Review (Non-Spoiler):
Note: I personally recommend this book to ages 13 and up because it contains some mature themes, violence, and romantic content that might be intense for younger readers.
I have been putting off reading this book for way too long, and I'm honestly mad at myself for waiting. Stephanie Garbar has created something absolutely magical here, and I'm completely obsessed.
Let's give you some context if you haven't read the book yet (you should! it's amazing). After the main character, Evangeline Fox, finds out her stepsister wants to marry her true love, she makes a dangerous deal with the Prince of Hearts, an immortal Fate, to stop their wedding. The plan kind of backfires, and her deal with the Prince forces her on an adventure filled with magic, secrets, curses, and the possibility of betrayal from someone in her inner circle.
Let's talk about Evangeline first. She starts as this sweet, naive girl who believes in true love and happy endings, but watching her grow throughout this book was incredible. She's someone who leads with her heart, even when her head is screaming warnings. Overall, she's an amazing character, but she also has flaws (hers being that she is too trusting), and that makes her more realistic and relatable.
Now, the Prince of Hearts. If you thought you had a type before reading this book, prepare to have that completely destroyed. The way the author writes him makes it clear he's bad news, yet somehow you're still drawn to him. It's masterful character writing. The way he's introduced as this dangerous, morally questionable character, and then you slowly realize there might be something more to him? The revelation about his curse, about how he still has hope was structured flawlessly.
What I absolutely loved was how this book takes fairy tale tropes and completely subverts them. You think you know where the story is going, and then the rug is pulled out from under you in the most intriguing way possible. It's familiar enough to feel cozy, but twisted enough to keep you on edge.
Here's a little heads up: this book does not focus on Evangeline and Jacks' romance, however, it focuses more on Evangeline and Apollo, however, it is still 100% amazing.
This book was an absolute perfect for me, and I loved reading it.
The pacing was perfect for me. The book gave enough action without overwhelming me with information and things going on. I could NOT put this book down.
What pushed this to a full 5 🐾s was how Garbar never sacrificed character development for plot twists. Every reveal felt earned, every romantic moment was built on genuine connection (even when that connection was dangerous), and every twist made me want to immediately reread the book to catch what I missed.
The fact that this is book one and it's already this devastating? I'm both excited and terrified for what's coming next.
Quick note: This is the first book in the series, but it's set in the same world as the Caraval series. You don't need to read Caraval first, but there are some fun easter eggs if you have!
5/5 pawprints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
You can find the book on Goodreads here!
Happy reading!!
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