Weekly Wrap-Up: 10/23 – 10/29

Last week was crazy. I read a lot, and I got a bunch of stuff done around the house. So, lots of different kinds of progress.

I can’t believe that Halloween is tomorrow. These past four weeks have gone by so fast. Soon enough I’ll be posting October’s monthly wrap-up!

But that’s for another time. Let’s get into this part week’s wrap-up.

Tuesday 10/24: Tasteful Tuesday

Last Tuesday I brought back Majestic Mondays – but now under a new name! I’ve also moved the day of the week that I do the post – hence why I’m now calling it Tasteful Tuesday!

Tasteful Tuesday, if you aren’t aware, is when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.

Tasteful Tuesday #1

Wednesday 10/25: A Curse for True Love Review

On Wednesday, I posted another book review. It was one of my anticipated reads of October 2023, and I devoured it within a day.

Yup, it’s the last novel in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber – A Curse for True Love. I gave it ★★★✫☆.

My review of A Curse for True Love

Friday 10/27: Reading Update

For my Friday post, I did something a little different. I wasn’t feeling a First Line Friday or anything like that, but I was having a time of figuring out what to do.

I eventually decided to give the blog a reading update. As of Friday of last week, I’d read 52 books within 43 weeks. I’ve never done that before (and I’ve read even more now!). I’m not gonna gush about it here, cuz I’ve already done so in the actual post.

52 Books in 43 Weeks

Sunday 10/29: Hounded Review

Yesterday I posted another book review – the second of two last week. It was a book (and series) that I was actually excited to read, but was ultimately disappointed by, unfortunately.

Hounded was simply not for me. I don’t think it was necessarily poorly written or anything – I just think it just wasn’t my type of book. I ended up giving it ★★✯☆☆.

My review of Hounded

Books I Read Last Week

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

🎁💖 Wrapping It All Up 🎁💖

I know I’ve been talking a lot during this section of the post lately, but I’m going to cut it a little short this time. I’m tired and I haven’t been feeling well since last night.

This coming week I’m definitely going to post my review for The Graveyard Book. I’ve actually been saving it for tomorrow, since it’s Halloween and all – I wanted to do a spooky book review!

Aside from that, I’m gonna post my monthly reading wrap-up for October, and probably Spell the Month in Books. But I’m not sure about anything else.

But yeah, I don’t really have anything else to say. So this is the end… of this post.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

“A Curse for True Love” by Stephanie Garber | Book Review

Evangeline Fox always believed she’d find herself inside of a fairytale one day.

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

SERIES: Once Upon a Broken Heart (Book #3)

LENGTH: 385 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Flatiron

RELEASE DATE: 24 October 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after…

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle.

But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out.

But first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test.

My Review

The air crackled with something that made Evangeline think of little sparks. Then she felt a tingling on her wrist in the shape of her broken heart scar.

Jacks had arrived.

A Curse for True Love was… okay. I don’t know, maybe I’ve just kind of gotten tired of this trilogy, but it didn’t do too much for me.

Then again, I’ve had a lot of time to ruminate on the first two books. And I gotta say – I think a few of my opinions have shifted a little. That, and I just can’t with the stuff about this series that has been annoying me, anymore.

I honestly don’t have a lot to say here. Let’s get on with this review.

Pros

“This is a very bad idea,” Jacks murmured.

“I would have thought you liked bad ideas.”

“Only when they’re mine.”

• The setting ▼

The thing that I’ve always enjoyed the most about OUABH and its sequels has definitely been the setting. I love the way that Garber describes the world that she’s created. It just sounds so beautiful and mystical. Like a fairytale (which is almost certainly what she was going for, judging by her main character).

I still love the Magnificent North. It’s still one of my favorite new worlds that I’ve read about in the last few years. I love how it just reeks of magic, and I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface with this mystical land in this trilogy.

• The pacing ▼

The pacing of A Curse for True Love and its predecessors has always been nice and brisk, which has always been one of my favorite things about them. I love a good fast-paced book. It’s just so… fast. Which makes it a pretty quick read – I’ve never taken more than like three hours to read any of the OUABH novels.

Cons

She needed to back away, to call her for guards, to tell him to leave. Her heart pounded impossibly fast.

But she found herself saying, “You’re not here to hurt me.” “You don’t know that.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “This morning I nearly tossed you over the side of a bridge.”

“You also just killed someone to save my life.”

“Maybe I just enjoy killing people.”

• The characters ▼

Even though I enjoyed a few of the characters a lot in the first book, and even a little bit in the second, I’m kind of just done with them now. My irritation has reached a crescendo.

Evangeline Fox has always annoyed me somewhat, but I’m just tired of her. She was essentially reset at the end of the last book (spoilers?) and I hate that trope. Ironically enough though, she actually seemed to be more proactive than she’s ever been before, which is something that I found hilarious. But yeah, she’s probably in the bottom half of my protagonist rankings.

Jacks was interesting to me at first, and I still find him to be entertaining at times. But even his character has worn me down. I also don’t really understand why Evangeline is so into him – he’s such an ass. Like, he’s flirty and a douchy kind of charming to read about, but if he was a real life romantic prospect… ugh. No thank you.

Apollo also had a very interesting character assassination at the end of TBONA (book two). And now he was a total piece of work here – an even bigger a-hole than Jacks. But he was entirely devoid of personality, and frankly, a actual character the first two books, so it didn’t feel like I got ripped off or anything.

• The plot ▼

The plot has always been a little bit nonsensical and convoluted, but I found it to be the most noticable here. It also brought more attention to the storytelling flaws retroactively in the books one and two.

Even though the novels in this trilogy are very fast-paced, the plot ebbs and flows strangely. So there are parts where nothing happens, and then suddenly too many things are happening too fast. And nothing really has time to breathe.

Also, the OUABH books have a problem with major plot threads being ultimately pointless. For example, many of the events of book two. These problems continue in A Curse for True Love.

• The romance ▼

The romance in this trilogy has always been slightly ick to me. Jacks has never read like a healthy romantic partner, and there has never been any chemistry between Evangeline and Apollo.

And that has not changed in book three, believe me. If anything, the relationships are even more toxic. Jacks seems excessively unhealthy at a few points here, and Apollo is straight up Tamlin on steroids. Seriously, if you thought Tamlin from ACOTAR was bad and you hated him, you will absolutely despise Apollo here.

Final Thoughts

She remembered telling herself that night not to turn around. Not to look. And when she had looked at him, she’d tried to glance for only a second.

But it had been impossible. Jacks had been the moon and she’d been the tide, controlled by his impossible force. That much had not changed.

Even though the list of stuff I didn’t like is longer than the things I did like, I still found myself rating this kinda high. I think it’s because I loved the Stuff I Liked, combined with some nostalgia. All in all, A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber is an okay book.

If you liked the Caraval trilogy and the first two books in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Also, if you like whimsical, mystical fairytale-like stories, you might like this too.

Have you read A Curse for True Love yet? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Stephanie Garber’s other novels? What did you think of them?

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you have a whimsical day/night!

See ya ~Mar

My Links:

Goodreads

Instagram

My review for Once Upon a Broken Heart

My review for The Ballad of Never After

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: “A Curse for True Love”

Good morning/afternoon/any other time of day everyone! It’s been over a month – again – since the last time I made it for Can’t-Wait Wednesday. And there’s a few books coming out in the next several weeks, so I thought it was more than time to do it again.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.

This week’s book is:

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. On the one hand, they’re very fast reads and have a very potentially interesting world and magic. On the other hand, many of the characters are annoying and just get pushed along by the plot, and a good chunk of the world building is wasted potential.

But yeah, despite the grievances I’ve been kinda venting about here, I really am looking forward to the final book in this trilogy. Next Tuesday can’t come soon enough!

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

SERIES: Once Upon a Broken Heart (Book #3)

LENGTH: 448 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Flatiron

RELEASE DATE: 24 October 2023

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after…

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle.

But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out.

But first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test.

Are you looking forward to A Curse for True Love? Have you read the other OUABH books, or the Caraval trilogy? What books are you excited for coming out in the near future?

As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I really hope that you have a awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Majestic Monday #15

Ugh, it’s been waaayy too long since I’ve last done this post. I’m sorry – things have just been kind of nuts over the past few weeks.

Anyway, for anyone who is not aware, Majestic Mondays are a (supposedly) weekly meme I created, wherein I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it. And that’s pretty much it.

This week the novel art I’ll be gushing over is The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber. It’s the sequel to Once Upon a Broken Heart, another cover that I’ve admired in a prior Majestic Monday post.

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

SERIES: Once Upon a Broken Heart #2

LENGTH: 416 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books

RELEASE DATE: 13 September 2022

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can…

Book Cover Rating: 💔💔💔💔 • 4 broken hearts

Much like the first book in this series, I really love the cover here. However, I honestly think I prefer the lavender to the rose gold used on OUABH’s. It’s for no reason in particular, though – I simply like purple covers, as people who’ve seen this post before may be aware.

I love how the black background appears to be a starry night sky. It makes me think of constellations – even more so with the beautiful purple arrow that takes center stage on the cover. It makes me think of Sagittarius a little, especially when a mythical figure known as the Archer exists in this series’ universe, and has a significant part to play in this book especially.

But yeah, Stephanie Garber’s publisher has a knack for choosing some very gorgeous cover art. And I mean all the cover art. The bindings are also lovely pastel colors, and the back covers are both pretty starry skies, similar to their fronts.

So yeah, sorry again for not doing this post for over a month. I promise that it’s never intended – stuff always seems to happen, and weekly wrap-ups were beginning to take a toll on me, so (double) posting on Mondays was hard. I’ve missed doing this post, though, so since Weekly Wrap-Ups are currently on a hiatus of sorts, you’ll probably see more of these.

And as always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a stupendous day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 2/13 – 2/19

It’s another Monday, so, as the start of a new week, it’s time to wrap up the last one.

This past week had a lot, Valentine’s Day probably being the standout. But as for the blog… I managed to post a few times.

So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Tuesday 2/14: The Ballad of Never After Review / Valentine’s Day

On Tuesday, incidentally Valentine’s Day, I posted my book review of The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber. It’s the sequel to Once Upon a Broken Heart, and it has just as much of a banger ending. But it doesn’t have the most banger characters. More on that in the review – which you can read here if you want.

And also: Happy Valentine’s Day!! 💖🌹💌🍫

Wednesday 2/15: Shelf Control #10, WWW Wednesday #5

Shelf Control (graphic from BookshelfFantasies.com)

Last Wednesday, I actually managed to double post! Yay! First, I did a Shelf Control, a weekly feature I participate in, hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Later on, I posted for another meme I participate in, WWW Wednesdays, hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

You can check out the Shelf Control here, and you can read the WWW Wednesday post here.

Thursday 2/16: Birthstone Book Covers February 2023

Thursday, I finally posted my Birthstone Book Covers post for the month of February. Birthstone Book Covers is a fun thing hosted by Books Are the New Black. You can read my post here and see how to join in if you’re interested.

Friday 2/17: First Line Fridays #4

For Friday, I participated in yet another weekly meme that I like, First Line Fridays. It’s not really hosted anywhere anymore (to my knowledge) but I saw it over at One Book More.

For more info on the meme, and if you missed my post and wanna check it out, you can read it here.

Saturday 2/18 & Sunday 2/19: Error 404 – Not Found

Uhhhh… So this weekend I didn’t do anything. Sorry – was doing some family stuff and taking a bit of a break. It felt good at the time, but now I’m a little disappointed in myself for not doing at least one more post. Whoops. Hope this coming week goes better.

Goals for 2/20 – 2/26

So, like, I wish I posted at least a bit more. And I want to rectify that this coming week. Other than that, here’s the particular posting goals I’d like to do:

Majestic Monday
Shelf Control
WWW Wednesday
First Line Friday
at least two book reviews
…idk what else at the top of my head right now

So that’s it for this past week’s Weekly Wrap-Up! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday #5

You guys can probably tell by now, but I double post on Wednesdays a lot. But that’s just cuz there’s so many fun weekly features to take part in. Like WWW Wednesday.

WWW Wednesday is a meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) by V.E. Schwab

Current Status: 44%

Current Feels: 🫤 (still meh)

Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.

THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.

WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?

WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.

The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber

My Rating: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

Read My Review

Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can…

The Thing I Might Read Next

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

What books have you been reading lately? What are your 3 Ws of the week?

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

The Sequel That Will Break Your Heart | The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber [Book Review]

Conceived in the north, and born in the south, you will know this key, because she will be crowned in rose gold.

She will be both peasant and princess, a fugitive wrongly accused, and only her willing blood with open this arch.

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

★★★★☆ • 4 / 5 stars

Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can…

You can read my review for the first book in the series here:
Once Upon a Broken Heart Review

Oh my stars. This book was like a hurricane – whipping around sharp and fast, spinning me around almost until I felt dizzy.

The Ballad of Never After is the sequel to Once Upon a Broken Heart (and the second in the eponymous series) written by Stephanie Garber. It was first published in September 2022 by Flatiron Books, and features the genres of fantasy, YA, and of course, romance. TBONA and OUABH are also spin-offs of Garber’s previous Caraval trilogy, and are set in the same universe around the same time period, but following different characters.

This book evoked the whole spectrum of emotions from me. As with the first book, I was constantly lurching from side to side on how I felt about this book. Yes, those two opposing sides were love and hate, how did you guess? But I’ll make it easy on you guys, and split that stuff up and talk about it separately.

Stuff I Liked

Once upon a time, there was a girl with a furry tail that twitched whenever snow was coming. And, Once there was a house where laughter constantly curled from the chimney instead of smoke.

Much like its predecessor, I really enjoyed a lot of the descriptions that Garber cooked up. They were unique and surreal. I also liked the weird magic and magical artifacts and stuff. They kind of made me feel put off, and I really liked that.

I also very much enjoyed the world building of the Magnificent North, once again, but even more so this time, as there was a significant amount of background revealed about it (and some of the characters, to a degree at least) in The Ballad of Never After. This was something that I felt was kind of missing in Once Upon a Broken Heart, but at the time I thought it was because I hadn’t read any of the Caraval trilogy. (That’s right, I totally went in blind!)

Stephanie Garber’s writing style is also frequently eloquent and beautiful. I just like how flowery the prose feels sometimes. It’s… nice.

Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away

This was also a very fast-paced novel, and that’s honestly the last thing that I enjoyed, to some degree, about this book aside from the ending. And let me tell you: Stephanie knocked the ending to this book completely out of the park and into the next city. It was that good. Like, the book wasn’t doing too much for me, but that ending made me bump it up a star. A whole star! But I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t say too much about it.

All I’ll say is that if you love romance books, the ending is gonna kick you in the feels. Hard. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: I read some spoiler free reviews after this came out and they warned me about this. But at the time, Stephanie hadn’t announced Once Upon a Broken Heart as a trilogy yet, so those poor bastards were left hanging, hoping against hope for one more book.

And then she announced another book with a title and a cover and the future looked a bit brighter. So I finally decided to commit and put it on my TBR and eventually read it. And read it I did. (And it broke my heart. In the best way possible.)

Stuff I Didn’t Like

The truth is never what you want it to be.

I’m gonna be real with you: I kind of feel like there was more that I didn’t enjoy here than I did enjoy. But Mar, you ask, how did this get four stars?

(It’s cuz of the ending guys. We just talked about this.)

The characters were once again kinda insufferable. Like, I kind of liked a few in OUABH, but they all kind of tanked in The Ballad of Never After.

Evangeline Fox, our protagonist, is still annoying. I mentioned in my other review that I thought she was starting to improve near the ending of the first book. That was, unfortunately, not true. She’s just as bad as in OUABH. Whiny and stupid. Seriously, this girl makes the worst decisions that I’ve ever seen an MC make. And they all immediately end up biting her in the butt, and she never seems to learn from them.

Not to mention, Eva doesn’t seem to have any agency. Oh sure, there’s the illusion of agency, but it’s not real. It’s never real. She’s always either being manipulated like a chess piece by someone ten steps ahead, or she’s running into the arms of various (obviously) untrustworthy people every other chapter.

Evangeline, please. Run far, far away from here.

Next on the character roster is Jacks. (Yes, his name is spelled correctly.) He’s the sexy, “bad boy” type of live interest that all the girls fall for. And he’s the most homicidal one that I’ve ever seen. Eva literally had to tell him not to murder a bunch of people more than once. Honestly, I actually thought it was really funny because I hated most of the other characters, but I didn’t understand how Eva was still falling in love with him because of this. It went against her entire character and personality.

“You give people too much credit,” Jacks grumbled. “And you should have told me this right away.”

“Why, so you could kill him?”

“Yes.”

“No, Jacks. You can’t go around murdering people because they’re a problem.”

There’s a lot more characters here, too. Far too many to go over, here in my little review, so we’re doing a lightning round.

Apollo was a mid character, up until he wasn’t. I’ve never cared for him, personally, but that’s because I understood his role of being a plot device so that Stephanie could have a love triangle. But I underestimated him. He somehow went from mid to terrible.

LaLa was a character that kind of annoyed me in Once Upon a Broken Heart, but she was also kind of okay. But, lo and behold, she got more annoying in The Ballad of Never After, and she did a ton of stuff that I really hate her for.

Chaos was one of the lesser annoyances. Or at least, one of the lesser annoyances at first. I actually thought he was the only semi-decent guy for a while, despite being a vampire. (Shocking, I know.) But then he did that thing, and it makes me really mad, so he goes in the pile of dirty socks with the others.

Annnd that’s all the characters that I’m gonna talk about. 1) Because they’re the only ones that really matter, and 2) because this section is getting way too long.

Before I conclude this review, I also want to mention that this book has the same problem as the first one, in that it moves too fast sometimes. Like, I love a fast-paced novel as much as the next bibliophile, but characters need time to reflect and to breathe in books, and the plot was going too fast for any of that kind of stuff. Which is unfortunate, because I think TBONA could have benefitted from that.

Final Thoughts

“This isn’t a bedtime story, Little Fox.”

“Most fairytales aren’t.”

The Ballad of Never After was kind of a mid fantasy-romance with a heart wrenching ending that was so good I added a star to my rating. (An entire star guys!) Fans of Stephanie Garber’s other novels will definitely enjoy this one, as well as fans of fantasy-romance (and just romance) in general.

(And also, for those who were wondering, of course I’m going to read the last book in the trilogy, The Curse of True Love. I gotta know how it ends – especially after the ending of this book!)

Thank you so much for reading, and have an amazing day/night!

And also: Happy Valentine’s Day!! 💖🍫🌹💌

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday #4

I’ve really made a habit of this, haven’t I? It’s a good thing, I hope. WWW Wednesday post number four, here we go!

WWW Wednesday is a meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday are…

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing(s) I’m Currently Reading:

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Current Status: 60% complete!

Current Feels: 😀 (excited)

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters? Fans will not want to miss this thrilling conclusion to Marissa Meyer’s national bestselling Lunar Chronicles series.

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) by V.E. Schwab

Current Status: 44% complete

Current Feels: 🫤 (so-so, apathetic, burned-out) (Taking a break – I will finish this though!)

Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.

THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.

WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?

WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.

The Thing I (Most) Recently Finished Reading:

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Star Rating: ★★★★☆ • 4 / 5

Read My Review

The #1 New York Times Bestselling Series

In this third book in Marissa Meyer’s bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from invading Earth.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s being forced to work for Queen Levana, and she’s just received orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is splintered. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price than she’d ever expected. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai, especially the cyborg mechanic. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

The Thing I Most Want to Read Next:

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber

Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can…

What books have you been reading recently? How’ve you been liking your reads? Any correlation between our lists?

Thank you for reading, and have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

LINKS: Goodreads | Instagram

Magic and Mystery and (Quite Possibly) Romance | A Review of Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

“Do you know what you’re about to step into? Nothing but heartbreak will come from this.”

Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart

Length: 416 pages

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Book Description: For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings… until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy…

My Review

Star Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 – 4 / 5 stars!

This book was fast-paced – just the way I like it. 😁

It was probably the best thing about it for me, if I’m being honest. I also absolutely adored the Magnificent North – the main setting of the story – and the way that Garber described it made it sound so mystical. A whimsical, winter wonderland, if you will. I also loved all of the magical items and creatures in the book too: cute little baby dragons, snowy spirit foxes, and the magical “recipe” books that show up every once in a while.

Confession: I haven’t read the Caraval trilogy. And I have no plans to, as of right now. I just thought the premise of this novel sounded interesting, and kind of up Guilty Pleasure Alley for me. So I picked it up and gave it a shot. And I loved it.

It was super easy to get into Once Upon a Broken Heart though, and I think it was a great spinoff in that respect. (I consider the best types of spinoffs to be those where no required reading of the original material that inspired them is necessary to understand the new stuff. I might be biased though, because those are my favorite types of same-universe-based-books.)

Anyway, even though I liked how fast this book moved, this book almost seemed to move a little too fast, sometimes. Like, things were literally happening one after another, and it felt like the characters never had the time to breathe or grow properly. I get that plot-driven storytelling is a thing, but this was almost too much plot slapped into one novel.

“People who don’t like me call me Jacks.”

Jacks 🃏 was absolutely the star of the novel, and it’s a crime that he wasn’t in it more. He wasn’t the protagonist, but I think he would’ve been a better one than we actually got. (Then again, he was a major character in the Caraval books, so he would’ve had too much baggage in his POV for new readers to understand.) Sassy, intentionally incorrigible, and drop-dead gorgeous (and most importantly, interesting). As well as the kind of guy that I’d never date in real life, as he’s mildly toxic and completely untrustworthy. And hey, he had blue hair for most of the book, and who doesn’t like blue hair? Do you know how many brunet protagonists I’ve had to read about over the years?

And speaking of characters with unusual hair…

Once Upon a Broken Heart’s actual protagonist is Evangeline Fox 🦊, who is crowned in rose gold. Straight up, I gotta say that I loved her last name and its connections to the little stories she talks about throughout the book. I also gotta say, though, she was kind of… pretty annoying. She was meant to be seventeen years old, but I felt that her maturity level was closer to thirteen. She was almost comically naive, and made some pretty dumb decisions, particularly early on. She’d also flip-flop between very extreme opinions over and over again, and it threw me off with how unrealistic it could be sometimes. But she had drive, and was a fairly active protagonist with goals, so I won’t begrudge her too much. (And she got far less annoying in the second half of the novel, so there’s that, too.)

The Fates were also very interesting, though they seemed to show up for no apparent reason, as of the end of this novel. I expect to see more of them in the sequel, since that’s what they’re for. I also expect to see more of Marisol, Eva’s stepsister, who was a big “is she or isn’t she evil” type of character. The book was deliberately confusing on the state of Eva and Marisol’s relationship, and it still wasn’t defined by the ending. But, I guess that’s what sequels are for.

And yes, even before I saw that there was a sequel announced, (I read this a bit ago, btw) I knew this book was gonna have one. There were just too many plot and character threads left undone, not to mention the cliffhanger, and the fact that Evangeline didn’t open the [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS].

“I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after and tragedies. Every story has the potential for infinite endings.”

There’s one last thing I’d like to mention before I conclude this review. I loved the vampires in this book so much. (Yes, there were vampires in this book.) They weren’t sparkly, immortal, angst-y, teenage hunks. They were really vampires; the kind that attack humans and suck their blood and are absolute predators, who don’t care about making out with teenage girls.

Oh! You were wondering whether I recommend this or not? Well, the answer is… a resounding yes! Go ahead and read this if you like fantasy books with weird and creative world building and romance. Well, go on.