Carpe Diem Society

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the first book in a three-book series by the bestseller, accomplished author Stephanie Garber. Deeply immersive tragic romance fantasy about the search for one true love. You re-live the fairytales of your childhood but in a much more different setting and mature way.

At the very first pages we learn that Evangeline, the main female character, had her heart broken by her one love — Luc, and in search of the missing door of the Prince of Heart’s church. Despite her belief, or rather disbelief, in the need of such help. Evangeline found herself in a grieve situation where Luc is marrying her step-sister and it’s her only way to stop the wedding from happening.

Evangeline believes that her heartbreak is cursed. Someone has definitely bewitched him and changed his heart. And there is no one to help her in this darned situation but herself. Her father has passed away and she can’t trust her step-mother. She knows Marisol, her step-sister is innocent of all of this since she’s heavily controlled by her mother and has little-to-no knowledge in potions and all things magic.

The Prince of Hearts was her last resort. Evangeline knows better to trust Fates. They are mischievous and self-serving demigods who care about nothing but what’s good for them. And she knows the Fate she’s seeking for help is no different. But she can’t stop the wedding by herself. She also can’t break the curse on her own either. There was nothing worse that can happen than the deep wound left deep within her heart.

The state of mind Evangeline is in at the very beginning and confusion of all happening to her is palpable. This book said it’s for those with broken hearts. I found myself enjoying the mystery of it thoroughly from start to end. What I liked the most about this specific topic being discussed in this novel is that it did not feel cheesy at all. It’s really well-balanced with the magical world we’re striding in and the characters we’re interacting with. Beautifully put and wonderful.

The feeling Evangeline gives me is the familiar strong female protagonist without her being, again, cheesy and repetitive. She has her weak moments but never letting her guard down. Evangeline is also very loving and understanding for those around her, like Marisol. Even when Marisol is caught between her and her love, she sympathizes with her situation. Her character is very thought-through and well-rounded.

I loved the touch of mystery surrounding the other characters. This might be different for each person but I don’t enjoy knowing too much about every single character. I like having to find out through-out the pages. We don’t get to know Luc and Marisol right-of-the-bat and for the most part of the novel. We know them for what they show to us —Evangeline’s cursed ex-lover and her helpless and sad step-sister.

Now for The Prince of Hearts, Jacks. He’s a mischievous and playful one, as you would expect from a Fate. There is plenty of mystery surrounding him. His back story is forgotten and wedged deep inside him. We get the sense that he doesn’t have the intention to reveal it, in fact. And it makes both the reader and Evangeline ever more curious.

I would describe the relationship between him and Evangeline as enemies-to-lovers. With a parentheses question mark for “lovers”. They tease each other so much. —And throw dirty jokes and insults which ultimately makes the novel not suitable for the young audience— For the most part, Jacks seems unaffected by Evangeline. Not in the way that he’s ‘disinterested in her’ but in a ‘would I even be interested?’

While Evangeline shows that her heart been broken and she’s deliberately searching for a cure. Jacks, on the other hand, shows that his heart has been broken beyond repair. Which gave him the curse of a deathly kiss. Unless the kiss was with his true love.

The book did a wonderful job of telling a romance fairy-tale without being corny. I think, even if I wasn’t into fantasy and only romance I would have still loved it. Once Upon a Broken Heart feels like a good start for romance readers who would like to get into fantasy but don’t know where to begin.

I haven’t gotten into many fantasy enemies-to-lovers but so far, this could be my favourite in the genre. the pacing of the plot and the relationship between the characters was beyond perfect. I’m looking very forward to starting The Ballad of Never After being the most popular and talked about of the series.