Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, 1) Paperback – March 28, 2023

Brilliant! I almost put it down in the first few chapters because the writing style was a tad more juvenile than I anticipated, but I think the author was just warming up and I couldn’t be happier that I didn’t put the book down! Honestly it was a lovely read, a true slow burn, unpredictable, and I couldn’t pull myself away. I love the clean romance and this is the first series I’ve read in a while that actually made me pumped to read the next in the series. Love love love!

Evangeline Fox has a broken heart. The boy she loves is set to wed her stepsister. She seeks out the Prince of Hearts to strike a deal to stop the wedding. In exchange for his help, she must give three kisses, each at the time of his choosing and to whomever he chooses. Evangeline quickly learns that making a deal with a Fate could be the best or most dangerous choice she has made.I liked this story. I tend to be a fan of YA books anyway, because I like stories that are simple and whimsical, and that evoke the memories of what it was like to be young and constantly have your heart on your sleeve. This is how I feel about Evangeline Fox. She is a likeable character, a young woman heart broken over the first boy she ever loved so she makes a mistake. She strikes a deal with the Prince of Hearts, Jax, whom at first seems to just be a sarcastic and rude jerk but you grow to like as the book goes on. The story sticks to the premise, which itself is a unique story and has enough twists and turns to keep the pacing moving forward. The side characters have just enough development that you can form opinions on their personalities. The story wrapped up one mystery but left another open, clearly paving the way for a sequel (we know there is one of course).This was an easy read and a good pallet cleanser. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

Evangeline's heart is broken when her true love, Luc, decides to marry Evangeline's step-sister. She can't believe it's happening and enlists the help of Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, to stop the wedding. Jacks, however, creates more problems when he stops the wedding and sets Evangeline on a path of destruction with more than her heart at stake.Once Upon a Broken Heart is a spin-off of the Caraval series. Scarlett and Tella make brief appearances, but Jacks is the real star from Caraval. Is this Jacks' redemption story? That question will be answered in books 2 and 3. So far all he's done is cause mayhem for Evangeline, but you can see some feelings developing. Stephanie Garber's books are classic "be careful what you wish for" stories. However, Tella and Scarlett did get their happily ever afters, and eventually Evangeline should too. This is a young adult book so there is a very low-key romance that will be built on as the series advances. It also has a lot of similarities to the Caraval series, which could be good or bad depending on your POV; however, for now, this one is 5 stars!

The plot is interesting and unique. The internal dialogue of the main character is painful. But it’s enough slow burn to keep me reading.

“For anyone who has ever made a bad decision because of a broken heart”I felt that dedication in my soul. No really though this book delivers incredibly well on its premise, that you can make terrible choices chasing the idea of love while missing out on the real thing.I adore the slow-burn with Evangeline and Jacks, they remind me so much of Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle (the Ghibli film not the book). His light teasing of her while actually saying what she needed to hear and would help her was such a good way to keep him from being the usual abusive mmc dressed up as sexy brooding aloof guy. And while I get some people’s take that Evangeline is weak, I don’t agree. Even she comes to realize she’s chasing the wrong thing, idealism and not reality and her hopefulness is a sweet characteristic if wrongly placed at times. She’s endearing and I like that she embraces her femininity and love for fairytales and romanticism instead of shunning it like so many fmcs in today’s genres.Is this the best written book I’ve ever read? Probably not. Are there some holes here or there? Sure and yes there’s convenient plot points that put characters in situations that seem forced (the poisonings to get proximity for EvaJacks) but honestly this is simply a good book to read and not analyze too much. It’s cotton candy fantasy. It’s like reading through lots of your favorite fairytales all jumbled together and seeing what it would be like to actually live in that world. For me it was entertaining enough and I’m excited to see what the next book has in store.