Once Upon a Broken Heart
Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart #1
Author: Stephanie Garber
Published September 30th 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton

Goodreads Synopsis
From Stephanie Garber, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval, Once Upon a Broken Heart is 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, like 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’s pledged. And he has plans for Evangeline that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy…
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Evangeline Fox has always been aware of magic and curiosities, and hoped that she had found love in the wake of her father's death. But when her secret fiance becomes engaged to her step sister, she begs Jacks, the Prince of Hearts to do anything to stop that wedding, in return for three kisses. Soon though, it's clear that she's underestimated Jacks, and her mother's northern heritage and tales may be more realistic that she thought.

I'm going to admit, this was a little of an impulse request on NetGalley, and I hadn't realised that you needed to have read the whole Caraval series at first. So when I learnt that, I had to get copies of those books, and wait a little longer. I'll start by saying that if you loved Caraval, and especially Jacks, this will be a book for you. Once Upon a Broken Heart had a solid plot, and I was definitely more invested in this than I had been in Garber's previous series, but it wasn't really until the half way mark that I was that hooked into the plot. I mean, I liked Evangeline, and Jacks has definitely made some improvement from his previous appearances, but that start of the book was too wishy washy. Once we learnt more about Jacks' goals, and what Evangeline could do, the story definitely took a turn for me. I really loved the ending, and will definitely want to read The Ballad of Never After.

Dates Read:
January 26-30 2022

Rating
4 Stars