Skip to content

Once Upon a Broken Heart

Once Upon a Broken Heart

FantasyRomantasy
Pages
408
Published
2021
Language
English

Synopsis

Evangeline Fox has always believed in true love and happy endings — until she learns that the boy she loves is about to marry her stepsister. Desperate to stop the wedding, she turns to the one person legend says can help: Jacks, the beautiful and dangerous Prince of Hearts. He agrees, on a single condition — three kisses, to be claimed at the time and place of his choosing.

The bargain works, but not at all the way Evangeline hoped. Swept from her small town into the glittering, treacherous world of the Magnificent North, she discovers that deals with immortals always cost more than they promise, and that Jacks wants something from her far greater than a stopped wedding. Caught among wicked princes, cursed fairy tales, and her own stubborn hope, Evangeline must decide who to trust in a place where every happily ever after seems to come with a catch.

Set in the world of Caraval, Once Upon a Broken Heart is a lush, romantic fantasy about heartbreak, dangerous bargains, and the fine line between a fairy tale and a curse.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

RomanticMysteriousAtmosphericDreamyWhimsical
Morally GreyEnemies to LoversSlow BurnBetrayalForbidden Love

Genres

Fantasy Romantasy Young Adult YA Fantasy Dark Fantasy Fairy Tales Romance

About the author

S
Stephanie Garber

Stephanie Garber is an American novelist, best known for the interconnected young adult fantasy series Caraval (2017-2019) and Once Upon a Broken Heart (2021-2023). She grew up in Northern California. A #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author, her books have been published in around thirty languages. She has since returned to the same world in the novellas Spectacular (2024) and The Mirror of Infinite Endings (2026), and made her adult debut with Alchemy of Secrets (Flatiron Boo...

Characters

Evangeline FoxProtagonist

A seventeen-year-old raised in her father's curiosity shop on legends of the immortals, who bargains with the Prince of Hearts to stop her stepsister's wedding.

JacksProtagonist

The Prince of Hearts, an immortal Fate whose kiss is deadly; he stops the wedding in exchange for three kisses of his choosing, and wants far more than he says.

Apollo AcadianSupporting

Prince of the Magnificent North, whose search for a bride draws Evangeline to Valorfell.

Luc NavarroSupporting

The boy Evangeline loves, who unexpectedly proposes to her stepsister.

Marisol TourmalineSupporting

Evangeline's stepsister, whose sudden engagement to Luc Navarro sets the bargain in motion; she travels north with Evangeline.

All characters in Once Upon a Broken Heart

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I need to read the Caraval trilogy before starting this book?

    While this book is a spin-off set in the same universe and features a major character from the Caraval trilogy, it is written to stand on its own. Reading Caraval first is not required, though doing so provides helpful backstory on the Prince of Hearts and prevents minor spoilers for the original trilogy's ending.

  • Does this book end on a cliffhanger?

    The story concludes with a major plot twist and an unresolved ending that directly sets up the events of the sequel, The Ballad of Never After.

Read all 15 reviews