Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, 1)

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! Once Upon a Broken Heart marks the launch of a new series from beloved author Stephanie Garber about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to 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...

Editorial Reviews

#1 New York Times bestseller
#1 Publishers Weekly bestseller
USA Today bestseller
Indie Next Pick

"An explosively rich fairy tale that takes place inside an intricate world that's weaved with fast-paced plot and intriguing twists. Garber continues to show up with lush, atmospheric writing and charming characters that we can't help but want to journey with until their final scene." ―BuzzFeed

"A magical confectionery mix of love, messy choices, and dreams of happy endings . . . There are lots full of great options for fantasy lovers, but Once Upon a Broken Heart is one of the most appealing, thanks to its constantly churning plot, its real sense of adventure, and the lovely heroine at the center of the story. Here's to seeing where Evangeline's journey takes her next!" ―Culturess

"A sugar-crusted, poison-spiked romp through a vibrant world of fairy tale intrigue, tangled romance, and forbidden magic." ―Cassandra Clare, author of Chain of Gold

"Shimmering with magic, Once Upon a Broken Heart is a wondrous story about my favorite thing: kissing. Not only is Jacks the swoony villain you've always dreamed about, but the decadent world will leave you breathless." ―Isabel Ibañez, author of Woven in Moonlight

'"Enchanting, intriguing, and delightfully whimsical, Once Upon a Broken Heart grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. Evangeline is a cunning heroine, and Jacks never stopped surprising me. I couldn't put it down." ―Brigid Kemmerer, author of the Cursebreakers series

"It's hard not to be enchanted by any tale Stephanie Garber chooses to write, with her masterful storytelling and her infuriating way of fooling with our pulse rates. A guileless, heartbroken heroine plays with fate incarnate―the bad boy Jacks―in the dreamy, topsy-turvy world of the Magnificent North. Once Upon a Broken Heart casts a spell that you won't soon want to be broken." ―Stacey Lee, author of Luck of the Titanic

"A wildly imaginative, romantic story where true love and deadly kisses collide and bargains with the Prince of Hearts come with a steep price. Once Upon A Broken Heart is an unputdownable fairy tale where Garber's imagination sparkles like the magnificent North. Readers will delight in each whimsical and thrilling page." ―Kerri Maniscalco, author of Kingdom of the Wicked

"A dazzling mix of mystery, romance, and magic." ―Karen M. McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying

"Once Upon a Broken Heart confirms that Stephanie Garber is the queen of fairy tales. I stepped into her world and got happily lost in the delicious magic, deceit, and passion." ―Mary E. Pears...

Readers Top Reviews

NarahKindle helen

I love this book! From the opening line - "The bell hanging outside the curiosity shop knew the human was trouble from the way he moved through the door." - to the ending that snuck up on me and left me eager for more, Once Upon a Broken Heart is an absolute delight. I could talk a lot about Evangeline (adorable, unsure, brave and foolish - in all the best ways!)and Jacks (brooding, dangerous, obviously bad for you - but since when did you listen!) and Marisol (kind and sweet despite her mothers best efforts...but that streak, ooof!), oddities and curses and magic and fates, but honestly, just read it! Don't come looking for spoilers in the reviews, buy the book, read the book, love the book. That is all! 5 ⭐'s

Sammy

Blown away. That's all i can say! Thank you so much to @HODDERBOOKS and @netgalley for the chance to read this book in advance of its release. I had preordered this title long before I saw it on NetGalley and was intrigued. Once upon a broken heart is filled with twists and turns that I never saw coming and that not sure I'll recover from anytime soon! My first foray into the world created by @stephanie_garber was an incredibly successful one and I have a feeling that she has just jumped her way into the category of one of my favourite authors. Her writing style is witty and beautifully descriptive, pulling together the image in your head with ease. The ending has floored me and I legitimately face palmed when I realised it was the end, I wasn't ready for it! I need more Jacks in my life! 🍏

Ryan and Stephanie C

NO SPOILERS—I wanted to love this book so bad! Like other reviews, it does have twists and turns more-so than her previous books, however, this was geared more towards the tween audience. The addictive magical feelings from Caraval were lacking and almost replaced by drama from a high school love story. The narrative around “kissing”/“being a good kisser” felt pretty young. I get this *is* a YA book, but I really enjoyed the Caraval trilogy where romance was balanced by adventure and dazzling magic. Some of her descriptions in OUABH still made me “ooh and ah”, but overall it just read a lot younger than I anticipated. …Still a Garber fan though and appreciate her previous work!

Jessica S.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. Stephanie Garber returns to the magic world of Caraval with a brand new story, Once Upon A Broken Heart. As we all know by now, this story will involve our favorite Fate, Jacks, and new heroine Evangeline. This story takes place after the events of Finale, so new readers can happily read this one without prior knowledge of the original series, but as a fan of the series, I’d still recommend them! As you probably know by now I am HUGE fan of Stephanie Garber's Caraval series! Returning to this world was a little like returning home. There is just something so magically wonderful about this series, I can't really explain it in words at times. There's just this happy feeling I get when I am reading the words and living the story with Evangeline! This story held me captivated from the very first lines and didn't let me go until I closed the back cover. We open the story to meeting Evangeline in a state of tears. She had officially became an orphan and now her stepsister was marrying the boy she loves most. She is willing to make a deal with the Prince of Hearts in order to stop the wedding, but of course any deal with Jacks isn’t going to turn out well for anyone other than Jacks. Jacks agrees to her request, but she must kiss three people of his choosing when and where he tells her and Evangeline agrees to his terms. When Evangeline sees the results of her wish come true, and sees her beloved, stepsister and the entire wedding party turned into stone, she takes their place and frees them. Evangeline wakes up six weeks later with the help of the Fate, Poison, and sees that a lot of things have changed in that time. Luc, her beloved was injured once again and sequestered himself off to heal and refuses to see her or even her stepsister, Marisol. Evangeline and Marisol have a fragile relationship. Evangeline has a somewhat trusting nature and doesn’t believe that Marisol did anything to actually hurt Evangeline, she believes that was more her stepmother’s ideas. We do get a happy encounter with Evangeline meeting Scarlett and Donatella, no boys sadly. Scarlett was amazed to hear about Evangeline’s sacrifice. She wants Evangeline to attend the Nocte Neverending, a celebration of sorts where the prince in the north, Apollo, will try to find a bride at a series of balls. Evangeline asks for Marisol to join her, for she feels sorry for his stepsister and the way her mother treats her and with what the gossip columns have been saying about her. Then naturally at the first ball, Evangeline runs into Jacks. The moody, post-Finale Jacks…who now has blue hair! I was a bit curious about the how and why of the color change but since it’s Evangeline’s point of view, we don’t really get that r...

Monkey

I can't believe I have to wait a year+ to continue this story!😭 Honestly, I almost gave this a four star simply because I expected WAY more Jacks than I got. He was hardly in the first half of the book, just a few mentions and appearances here and there. And second reason would be that the ending.....just let me hanging. Soooo many questions left unanswered and now Evangeline is thinking the absolute worst of Jacks. But, regardless of these two things, the book deserves 5 stars. It was hard to put down, it was super interesting and Stephanie Garber kept throwing plot twists my way faster than I could keep up with haha I can't wait to read more! I want to know Evangeline's past, about the Valors and how much Jacks has to do with all of it. Also, if she saves Apollo....is she technically still taken? Ahhh! How could you leave me like this Stephanie Garber?!😫 lol

Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, 1)

Editorial Reviews

Readers Top Reviews

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