Magical Realms and Broken Hearts | A Review of 'Once Upon a Broken Heart' by Stephanie Garber

Hi there...this is my first blog post of 2024. Happy New Year to everyone... I hope this year brings good things to all of my readers. So today I will be talking about Once Upon a Broken Heart. I have been wanting to read this series since I started reading. Finally, I got my hands on the books and dived head-first into it.

GENRE
Romantasy, Fantasy, Magic Mystery,
THEME AND TONE
Beautiful, Whimsical, and Magical, the kind that sucks you in.
LANGUAGE AND WRITING STYLE
Easy to read and Gripping
CHARACTERS

Oh, all the characters are amazingly portrayed. Simply perfection.

TROPES
☙ Enemies to Lovers

☙ Magical Curses

☙ Trying to Find Love

☙ Deal with the Fates

☙ Magical Mystery

☙ Fall in love with the wrong person

☙ Forced proximity

☙ Slow Burn

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MY REVIEW

This book was🤌🏻. All the elements of a Romantasy are present in the book without an ounce of cringe or spice. Okay listen I might like books with a little bit of spice but I do not like cringy spice. Stephanie Garber has been my favorite for like forever. Caraval was one of the first books I read when I started reading English novels. She is one of the best authors of all time.

Ouabh is a story of the Prince of Hearts (Jacks) and Evangeline who is also referred to as Little Fox in the book. She makes a deal with the prime of Hearts and everything goes sideways. this is the crux of the book.

I like Evangeline's character because she is so into stories and fate and love. She only wants to find love just like her parents had and the boy she loves doesn't love her as he should. I mean I knew something was off when the marriage between her sister and that boy was arranged. He doesn't love her that is why he was marrying her sister. Jack pointed out that little fact when she was trying to make a deal with him and she ignored it. But I cannot put the blame on Evangeline. She is the most level-headed and not a damsel kind of girl. I liked her confidence, her resolve, the way her mind thinks, and the way she tries to see good in people even if there is no good to see. there are many characteristics a girl like me can relate with her.

Jacka is a slightly complicated character. One would say that he is morally grey. But as I went deep into the book I uncovered more layers to his character. he is after something. Maybe something to break his curse, maybe something to free himself of the hell he is living in. He is very much goal-oriented and he doesn't care how he gets what he needs. Although his ways are a little twisted he never for once intended for Evangeline to get hurt. He always saves her but I later found out it's because she is a key to something big. Still, I am giving Jack the benefit of the doubt.

There is another interesting character..Apollo. This book hasn't focused on him much but I feel he will be a much more important character in Evangeline's life in the next books. Another interesting character is Evangeline's sister. I already forgot her name. There is something off about her too. I do not trust her. I believe she is jealous of Evangeline and she wants to be her. Although she does confess some things at the end of the book. She is evil I believe.

The book ended on a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the next book. Until then.....Happy Reading!!!