Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodderscape for giving me this arc in return for an honest review.

A twisted tale of mischief, love and betrayal. Utterly bewitching!

It will come as no surprise to anyone that Once Upon A Broken Heart absolutely had to receive a five star rating. Stephanie Garber is a wonderful author but she truly excelled herself with this novel.

Set in the same world as Caraval only a few short months after Finale takes place, we are introduced to the character Evangeline. With rose gold hair and a quirky personality, she is destined to stand out. When her beloved is cursed and she can’t find a cure, Evangeline turns to the final option; praying to the Fated Prince of Hearts for help. And Jacks, being the mischievous little devil that he is, is all too willing to strike a bargain. Evangeline really should have trusted all the warnings to never trust a Fate.

After finishing the Caraval trilogy, I was left wanting more Jacks than ever. Being given a book devoted to him and his roguish exploits was a dream come true. I loved that we were able to delve way deeper into his character and were introduced to parts of his past. It was also extremely interesting to see how the events of Finale (and what happened with Donatella) influenced his decisions in OUABH.

It is evident that Garber’s writing only ever gets better with time because she absolutely excelled in this book. The pace and writing style were much improved - which didn’t seem possible after the excellence of Caraval - and it was far more engaging from start to finish.

I wholeheartedly loved this book and five stars doesn’t seem like high enough a rating to suffice.

I love the Caraval series & was so looking forward to reading what the author wrote next & this didn’t disappoint, saturated with the same magic & romance, I enjoyed this read immensely.

Firstly, thanks for Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a e-arc of this title.

Right off the bat, I will admit - prior to reading this book I had not finished the Caraval series.

And if you've not read it or haven't finished it - don't let that deter you from picking up this book. It is set in the same universe, with characters that make an appearance and minor references to the previous series. But nothing that would leave you confused or spoilt.

Overall, Stephanie Garber does an amazing job at creating such intricate and magical worlds. While the Caraval series was large and boisterous, this series was more whimsical, finding the magic in the small corners of the world instead.

The recent trend of moral gray love interests shines bright in this book with a enemies to lovers slow burn romance thrown in for good measure. Filled with mystery, prophecy and deception this book is set up for a good time.

However, I did find the book fell flat a little. Plot elements felt predictable, the character didn't feel fully developed and the romance wasn't exciting. This book definitely falls in the suitable for YA category but most probably won't appeal to an older audience.

But despite this, it was a fun read, something light and fluffy with fantastical elements and magic wound into the story and an entertaining read.

I loved this!

I have never read anything by Stephanie Garber before but based on the hype of Caraval and the blurb of this, I knew I needed to read this book. I was not disappointed. I absolutely loved this and read it all in one day. I don't know how I'm going to wait for book two.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!

This is a non-spoiler review.

Wow. Once Upon A Broken Heart was unexpectedly enchanting and interesting. This story felt like it had been plucked out from a fairytale anthology. Absolutely magical.

I went into this story with little knowledge of what this book was about and what to expect, but let me tell you it surprised me in the best way possible. The plot was compelling and entertaining. The character dynamics were pretty fascinating to read about. There was an air of suspense to the story that kept me enraptured from the beginning right up to the end.

You’re probably wondering if you can read this without having read the Caraval series - and my answer is a grey area between maybe and yes. I will say this, though: Once Upon A Broken Heart is a new story set in the same world with familiar characters making appearances. I would highly recommend finishing the series before picking this book up as it contains spoilers from that series and, not to mention, makes this read all the more exciting.

Overall, I’m stoked to see where this story goes and I can’t wait for the second book!

As soon as I read the premise of Once Upon a Broken Heart I was hooked and that's why I immediately requested it. This is my first Stephanie Garber's book and overall it was an enjoyable read that I flew through, but I also expected more from it. I won't go into the details of the plot because I don't wanna give spoilers away, but the general plot was pretty predictable and I was expecting more romance from the story. However I'm happy to say that I did find the whimsical elements I was looking for, some were more subtle than others, but in the end I truly appreciated them.
I will definitely keep an eye out for the second book in this series.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

I hate it when I turn a page expecting there to be more and the Acknowledgements section is what greets me. This felt way too short and I want more. No, I need more.

I absolutely love being back in this world! Caraval was one of the best books I read way back 2017 and ever since then Stephanie Garber’s words and imaginative stories have carved their way into my heart. The author does so well in bringing whimsical stories to life and characters to root for.

Fans of Jacks will surely rejoice in this new series starter. I absolutely love reading more about him. You never really know where you stand with Jacks, and I think it’s part of the appeal. He’s charming, a bit (a lot?) untrustworthy yes but I feel like there’s so much more to him that will surprise readers. And whatever that might be, I can’t wait to find out. (Is it too much to hope for dual POVs from Evangeline and Jacks in the sequel?)

I love Evangeline’s unrelenting belief in love, fairy tales and happily ever afters. She’s such a genuinely likable character who is unapologetically hopeful, steadfast, wildly optimistic and brave. She follows her own heart, and I love her for it. She’s a ray of sunshine. She’s so refreshingly precious. And considering she’s a hopeless romantic I think we’d get along nicely.

Once Upon a Broken Heart boasts a wonderfully captivating story with magic, betrayal, heartbreak, curses and romance. I also enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book and the hints of danger, which I didn’t expect. What made the book even more exciting for me is the overall feeling of not knowing who to trust, of not knowing who the real heroes or villains are. I’m afraid to label a character a favorite because of this.

I honestly don’t know how the author does it but OUABH feels so magical and whimsical and like a perfect, wonderful dream I wouldn’t want to wake up from. The cliffhanger ending will haunt me ’til the next book comes out.

I received an ARC to read and review. Quoted excerpt/s may change in the final print.

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the first in a brand-new series that takes place in the Caraval world! This time, we follow Evangeline after she strikes a deal with Jacks. It is a story about bad decisions, broken hearts and unrequired love.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Caraval series, so when I heard about more books in the same world, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Bonus: we follow one of my favourite characters!
The magical atmosphere that I loved so much in the Caraval series really shown through! With the world expanding to the North there was so much room for more, and it definitely delivered! I think this might be my favourite book out of the four! I just didn’t want this story to end, and especially with the ending that was written! It left me gasping for more pages which weren’t there!
Evangeline is an amazing character who I fell for from the very first page! She is kind and brave. Her imagination and her love and believe in fairy tales are just amazing albeit a bit naïve in the beginning. I also loved how she interacted with Jacks. Jacks has been a favourite of mine for a long time. I just love a good villain/morally-grey character like him. He’s everything and more; shady, secretive, wicked and just has this vibe that makes me love him and root for him and everything! I don’t care if he’s bad, I want him to have it all haha.
The twists and turns in this story were all done so extremely well! You don’t really see the twist coming, other than that you get a feeling something is about to happen. They left me gasping and in shock in the best ways.
I would’ve liked to see what more the story could’ve brought me as a reader if it wasn’t classed as YA but NA. I can understand the Caraval series being YA, but Jacks feels more intense and maybe NA would suit him and the story a bit better.
Overall, it was an amazing book that I enjoyed from start to finish! I can’t wait to see what more the world and the characters will bring.

Did I read this book in a day. Yes, yes I did.

I completely blasted through this book (being on a plane without anything else to do definitely helped with that). To start off, the main character is called Evangeline which as that is my middle name already was a selling point.
I found this highly addictive and compulsively readable in the same vein as the Caraval series. It is set in the same world as Caraval with a few cameos from those characters. I found this a lot of fun. I would say if you enjoyed Caraval then you will enjoy this as it follows in the same writing style and feel.
What I didn't realise before diving in was that this is the start of a series! I was in a bubble expecting a standalone until that ending! Which is a cliff and most definitely not wrapped up.
Will definitely continue when the next books are released and would recommend if you are after a fun, gripping YA read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

First of all the formatting was really bad which made it hard to read this e-arc well.
In the past, I’ve read Caraval by the same author, which to be honest I didn’t like. When I requested this e-arc I didn’t know the story takes place in the same world, if I did know it I wouldn’t have requested this e-arc.

Evangeline, the main character felt really flat to me, I couldn’t get a connection with her and because of that, I couldn’t bond with her.
The writing style made the story feel very childish and hard for me to keep on reading. I think that if you liked the Caraval series, you will like this book as well. For me however, it didn’t work.

The Caraval series was an up and down for me. I liked Caraval, loved Legendary. Finale ruined the series a bit for me. So I hoped that with a new setting and new characters, I would feel about Once Upon a Broken Heart as I felt about Legendary. Spoiler: I didn't.
Did I like the book? Yep. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't what I hoped it would be/some things weren't working for me. But I can also already tell that I am very excited for the second book in the series because as usual, Stephanie Garber is just brilliant at writing plot twists and last-minute cliffhangers.

The good thing about Once Upon A Broken Heart was that it was fast-paced. There's always something going on. The plot is always moving forward, even if I sometimes didn't know where we were headed. But that's what's making these books so special and different and I kinda love that I absolutely can't predict what happens, but I also felt a little bit lost sometimes. Though I have to say, that Once Upon A Broken Heart was less confusing than the Caraval series. There were still lots of twists and turns but overall the theme was clearer I think and easier to follow sometimes. It didn't have this "wait, is this real?" feeling, that I got while reading Caraval. This felt a bit more like family drama and political intrigues and oh boy, am I here for that. I kinda wish we got a bit more court drama, that would have been fun.

As I said, the book was fast-paced but my biggest problem with Once Upon A Broken Heart was actually, that the pacing felt a bit weird to me. The stakes were high and low at such weird moments in the story, it was very unpredictable when something big would happen. I don't know, it felt weird to me while reading and I don't know if I explained it properly.

Apart from that, I sadly couldn't connect to the main characters that much. It's not that I disliked Evangeline, she was such a sweet character, very self-aware, and such a romantic - but she made some questionable decisions. Honestly, I had to stop reading because I couldn't believe she'd done that. And maybe because this book is written in third person, her emotions weren't really hitting home for me. That's probably why I found some of her decisions so frustrating. I just didn't get her sometimes.

All in all, I did like Once Upon a Broken Heart. Stephanie Garber creates the most magical worlds, I love how unpredictable her stories are and this one wasn't any different. It's beautifully written and lots of fun to follow Evangeline's and Jack's story in the North, even though there is some room for improvement in my opinion in the second book. But this was altogether a good start to this new series. I loved to see some of the characters from the Caraval series again and some more of the Fates.

Oh my Fates, this book!! I really loved Stephanie Garber’s writing and world-building. OUABH felt so much like I’m inside a fairytale because of how whimsical and magical it is. This has been the first book I’ve read from Garber, but I definitely have to read Caraval after this. Another thing I also loved about this book is how distinct the voices of the characters are, especially the tone of the scandal sheets that I definitely enjoyed reading.

Once Upon A Broken Heart tells the story of Evangeline Fox who strikes a bargain with the Prince of Hearts after learning about her lover’s sudden engagement to her stepsister, convinced that her lover is under a curse. It is full of twists and turns that would make you believe you got everything figured out, but, boy, you are wrong! I enjoyed every part of this story. I literally flew through it, and I have been struggling through a slump for weeks so that’s saying something.

And also, Jacks. That’s it.

So I have never read any Stephanie Garber books, however I kept seeing the hype for Caraval and then I saw this book on netgalley and so I thought I would give it a go. Now I am wondering why I didn’t pick up Caraval because Once Upon a Broken Dream is everything. This book has made my top 10 of 2021 and has brought me out of a book slump I could feel coming.

First lets start with the plot, it never stopped. It was incredible. It was fast paced and well thought out. I loved how detailed the plot was and how it kept you on your toes as to what was going to happen next. One thing I will say about the plot is that although you don’t need of read Caraval to understand what is going on, it will spoil the trilogy if you read this book first. You meet some characters that are in Caraval and you see where they are after the events of Caraval. I don’t mind being spoiled but if you are intending to read Caraval, read that first if you don’t want spoilers. Although this is a companion series I never felt lost of like I was missing any details that you can only get from Caraval.

The characters are everything and I want to learn more about them and where they are from and what there back story is (I am going to have to pick up Carval to try find out). This story follows Evangeline and her struggle for love, which I totally get, and her dealings with a Fate called Jacks. I fell in love with Jacks and then out of it by the end, he gives me so many mixed emotions (in a good way).

I have seen around the internet that this is a cinderella retelling, and in parts I can see that, it has a ball, a prince, a step mother and step sister (and kind of a fairy godmother). However, that is where the similarities end, this isn’t a classic retelling at all, it is a brand new story. And I love it.

First of all a massive thank you for the Publisher and NetGalley that I was able to read this book prior to publication.

As someone who read the Caraval trilogy I have to say this was better. At least I've enjoyed this book a lot more.

As per usual Stephanie Garber built a lush world and spun a beautiful story of love and darkness. I loved both of the main characters. They had layers upon layers and their relationship kept me captivated throughout the book. The side characters, well not so much. I felt they fulfilled their purpose but apart from that were not as memorable as the characters of the Caraval trilogy.

I also felt that in this book the writer found a very great balance of the dark/evil elements and the lighter/love ones.

The covers look so good. I personally prefer the US cover but am also very interested to see what other editions will look like.

We all know Stephanie Garber from her bestselling series Caraval and when I heard she was writing a new book in the same world I just knew I had to read and own it. So when I was approved to read an ARC I was so honored. I downloaded it immediately and started to read. Unfortunately I couldn’t read it on my kindle because there was something wrong with the file. But after some communication with the publisher and netgalley I was able to read it through the Netgalley Shelf app and I was finally able to read and judge the book fairly.

Like I said Once Upon a Broken Heart is set in the same world and takes place after the events in the Caraval Trilogy. So if you haven’t read the caraval trilogy I would definitely recommend reading that before starting OUABH because there will be some minor spoilers. Beside the minor spoilers OUABH is separate from the Caraval series and you could read it without reading the trilogy.

Stephanie provided us with two different covers (US and UK) and for the first time I’m more in love with the UK cover than the US cover and for me it’s more fitting. In the books there are portals to a magical kind of place (sorry for the bad explanation but I don’t want to spoil anything) and the UK cover shows a portal like described in the book and this portal definitely takes you to a magic place.

Stephanie has a beautiful style of story telling that’s lyrical, romantic and fast paced. She captured me from the first word and I finished the book in 24 hours.

Evangeline is the main character and is an easy character to fall in love with. She also believes in happy endings, but when her happy ending is taken away she makes some bad decisions. These bad decisions have some dire consequences but Evangeline is prepared to bear these consequences and I loved her personal growth.

Although Evangeline is the main character, we also get a lot of Jacks. We already met him in Caraval and he was one of my favorite characters. So I was glad to see he got a more important role in OUABH. We got more of his background story and I fell even more in love with him.

Like Caraval the story is full of twists and turns and leaves you on the edge of your seat and keeps you there after the last word on the last page.

I’ve rated this book ★★★★★ (5 stars).

„I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after or tragedy. Every story has the potential for infinite endings.“✨

Short synopsis:
Our heroine Evangeline finds herself making a deal with the Fate Jacks in order to stop the wedding of her first love whom she believes to be under a curse. Of course, things do not turn out the way she would have hoped and once fate gets its hands on her, her life really begins.

The positives:
↣ If I would rate books solely based on the writing style, this would be a five star. Stephanie Garber‘s way with words is enchanting. It feels like you‘re reading a fairytale, it‘s so magical.
↣ The author made me interested in Jacks. I do not like him, but I do not dislike him either and that is quite something when you consider that I actually could not have cared less about him in the original trilogy. He is still pretty mysterious, but he got a lot more depth than he had previously. He is swaying back and forth between being the hero and the villain of the story and I‘m interested to see where his character arc will lead.

The negatives:
↣ I know many people didn‘t enjoy the original Caraval series because they did not like the main character and while I didn‘t feel that way, I understand the criticism now. This main character Evangeline really grated on my nerves. Not only does she not realize the most obvious things happening around her, but her blind trust in people she should not in a million years put her belief in and her constantly changing her mind about literally anything and everything got really tedious after a while. I really hope that she matures over the course of this series because right now I find her pretty annoying.
↣ The romance in this book was a bit wishy-washy. It seems to me that the author is once again preparing to set up a love triangle and I am already not a fan. It‘s just so unnecessary considering who the protagonists of the story are and that none of the other characters were fleshed-out at all.

While this wasn‘t my perfect book, I am definitely going to continue this series and I am already excited for all of you Caraval stans to read and love it.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an ARC for this book.

Incredibly fun read.

Once Upon A Broken Heart follows Evangeline Fox, who has unintentionally cursed herself by asking a favour from Jacks, aka the Prince of Hearts. She makes a deal with him and the cost sounds slight enough to begin with - just three kisses. Unfortunately there's more to each kiss than meets the eye, and Evangeline is quickly in the midst of a new city trying to learn its secrets and history while also trying to figure out exactly what Jacks' plan is and what part she's supposed to play.

Stories from the North don't travel well outside the North, they tend to become cursed on the way.
The game played at every ball is kissing chess, it's exactly what it sounds like.
This is light fun fantasy with added intrigue.
4/5 stars, highly recommend!

I was completely bowled over by this book. The prose was simple and elegant, but beautiful throughout; the characters captured my heart in unexpected ways; and the plot was lovingly crafted, with depth in surprising places. It’s been a long time since I walked away from a book desperate to read the sequel, but that’s how I feel about ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART.

Evangeline was the perfect character to guide us through this magical world. Her background in magical curiosities makes her not quite an expert, but certainly a connoisseur of oddities—and fairytales. This knowledge guides her through a story that somehow weaves pastel fantasy with heartbreaking tragedy. I was left gasping for more at the end of this one! I loved the various character dynamics—distrust, love, betrayal, friendship. It’s hard to know who to trust in this world, which is so beautiful on the surface, but which has a secretly dark underbelly.

Garber has done something really interesting with the ‘one true love’ trope and the idea of fairytales altogether, and frankly I can’t wait to see where this goes next. This is a book I’ll be recommending to anyone who wants something quick and twisty and full of light romance, all wrapped up with a mystery bow. One of my favourite reads of the year, for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Stephanie Garber for my arc of Once Upon a Broken Heart in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing 30th September

Please note this is a spin off series of Stephanie’s other series Caraval. In my opinion you could probably read this without reading the Caraval Series but I would recommend doing so in order to understand some parts of it.

The story centres on Evangeline Fox raised by her father in his curiosity shop and fed on fairytales. So when she discovers the love of her life is about to marry another she turns to the fates for help. More specifically to one fate in particular; the Prince of Hearts. In exchange for stopping the wedding he asks only for three kisses in return. But after the first kiss is claimed Evangeline becomes embroiled in a fairytale of her own. But not perhaps with a happy ending.

I loved this so so much! I wasn’t sure what to expect because I wasn’t a huge fan of Caraval, I then enjoyed Legendary and didn’t like Finale but I wanted to try this one out and I’m glad I did.

Evangeline is a great character I adore that she has rose gold hair and also that she doesn’t take any rubbish from anyone. Despite the things she has to overcome she has a good sense of right and wrong. Don’t get me wrong she makes the occasional daft mistake but far less than other heroines.

The Prince of Hearts was perfection of course he was great character in this series and I loved the dry banter between him and Evangeline.

The story was exciting and enjoyable and I can’t wait for the next one especially after the cliffhanger!

Once Upon a Broken Heart is a magical read that I read one night.

Jacks was a character I enjoyed in the Caraval series, so I was happy to see him up to mischief and mayhem in Once a Broken Heart. Although I wouldn't make a deal Jacks.

The leading lady in Once a Broken Heart is Evangeline Fox a character who I have hair envy over. I love that she has hope and believes in fairytales. That even when she makes mistakes she trys to do the right things to make up for them.

There are moments in Once a Broken Heart that gave me Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty feels. With the evil Stepmother and the fates magic.

Overall I loved the story and the way it ended. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

My rating for Once Upon a Broken Heart is 4.8 out of 5.