FantasyBookRecs

Once Upon a Broken Heart

Stephanie Garber

Book 1 in Once Upon a Broken Heart

4.0/ 5(132,000 ratings)

Heat Level

🌶 mild

Genre

Romantasy
Fairy Tale Fantasy
Young Adult

Published

2021

Pages

416

About Once Upon a Broken Heart

Once Upon a Broken Heart is the first romantasy novel in Stephanie Garber's magical and myth-soaked trilogy of the same name, returning to the world of Caraval with a darker, more seductive tone. Evangeline Fox wants nothing more than to stop her first love from marrying another woman, and when she hears that the Fate known as the Prince of Hearts grants wishes for a price, she seeks him out. Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, agrees to help her, but his price is three kisses to be bestowed on people of his choosing at times of his design. What follows is a story of bargains, betrayal, and escalating magic that pulls Evangeline deeper into a world of ancient Fates and deadly prophecies. Garber's prose is saturated with atmosphere—lush, fairytale-dark, and emotionally textured—and the romantic tension between Evangeline and Jacks is immediately compelling. The reader is never quite sure whether Jacks is ally, villain, or something more dangerous than either. For fans of Caraval who want more of Garber's world with higher stakes and a more complex romantic dynamic, Once Upon a Broken Heart is the natural next step—and the beginning of an even more ambitious story. Beautifully strange and wholly addictive romantasy.

Tropes & Themes

Romantasy
Fairy Tale Fantasy
Young Adult

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