Once Upon a Broken Heart

In this first installment of the folow-up series to the Caraval series, Evangeline thinks her true love has been put under a curse by her stepmother. All of a sudden, he wanted to marry Evangeline's stepsister and stopped talking to Evangeline. Evangeline ends up making a deal with the fate, Jacks, to stop this wedding from happening. But of course, making a deal with the Fates is never a good idea, and everyone at this wedding turns to stone. From there, Evangeline must reluctantly work with Jacks to figure out the politics of the North, all while trying to protect herself from all of the machinations going on around her.

I love a good fairy tale story. I love the whimsical, fantastical setting that quickly turns dark and malevolent. Stephanie Garber is incredible at this type of story, as shown in the Caraval series. The plot was ever-changing, full of plot twists and betrayals. The characters were all complex with hidden motivations. This all combined to create a fast paced, wonderful story. The naivete of Evangeline would normally be annoying to a reader, but because Garber employs the fairy tale devices, it just adds to the fantastical nature of the story. Jacks is the perfect broody anti-hero/villain (depending how you look at him) who keeps the story interesting. He is constantly being pushed and pulled to and from Evangeline in ways that make the reader want to scream (in a good way). I can't believe I have to wait for the sequel for who knows how long!

TW: attempted murder, blood, bones, cults, death, emotional abuse, hostages, murder, poisoning, violence, questionable consent