Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber (ARC Review)

Title: Once Upon a Broken Heart
Author: Stephanie Garber
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher:Flatiron Books
Date published: September 28, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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…

⤖ My Review ⬻

I hadn’t realized how much I missed the world of Caraval until Stephanie Garber took me back with Once Upon a Broken Heart. I’d also forgotten how much I loved Garber’s imagination and the way she builds her world, lore, and characters. I seem to be transitioning more into adult books these days, but this is a YA book that was definitely still to my taste!

The world of Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart is simply magical. I have no other way to put it. It’s quite literally a place that is magical, and the descriptions and thoughts that went into building this location were pure magic as well. I almost saw the location as a character itself and I miss it just as much as I do the actual characters.

The lore was great was well and tied in very well with the Caraval series—there is definitely continuation there rather than a disconnect. The history and stories told in Once Upon a Broken Heart were as much fun for me to read about as the actual events happening in Once Upon a Broken Heart itself!

Lastly, the characters. It was nice to revisit some past characters and get to know them better and where they are now, and it was also nice to meet some new ones! And I think they all interacted together very nicely. I also enjoyed how they developed throughout Once Upon a Broken Heart and look forward to what Garber has in store for them in the next book!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CARAVAL SERIES, which has been translated in over 25 languages. Her newest book, ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART, releases September 28, 2021. When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading or watching television shows with vampires. Now that her dream of becoming a published author has come true, her new dream is to visit Club 33 at Disneyland.