No. 20 – A book with a body part in the title
Once upon a broken heart / Stephanie Garber
This book is YA fantasy and that’s a combination of two genres I don’t typically gravitate towards. And after the disappointment of my previous read, I was a bit hesitant to start this but I was pleasantly surprised by what a palate cleanser this turned out to be!
The book is the first in a trilogy and sets the scene really well. The story contains all the elements of a classic fairy tale: orphaned pretty girl, wicked step-family, curses, love, and a morale.
Evangeline Fox is the heroine. She believes in happily ever afters, is a tad naïve, and only dreams about marrying her one true love.
When Evangeline finds out that the guy she loves is about to marry her step-sister, she is utterly heartbroken. She’s so desperate to stop the wedding that she goes to a church and begs the Prince of Hearts to intervene.
The Prince of Hearts is called Jacks and he is an immortal, a Fate. Once upon a time there was an incident and all the Fates were captured in a deck of cards. Jacks has escapted the deck.
Jacks is charismatic and eager to answer Evangeline’s request, in return for only three kisses, to be given at a time and place of his choice (the kisses don’t even have to be for him). This deal seems too good to be true but Evangeline is eager and gives her word. Evangeline quickly learns that striking a deal with a Fate requires reading the fine print, because Jacks’ solution to stop the wedding, nearly causes her demise. The event makes Evangeline realise that Jacks must have an agenda of his own but she is stuck to him due to their deal.
The adventures that follow see Evangeline travel to The North, where she meets a prince, and more Fates that escaped the deck of cards. There are vampires, potions and spells, and there is murder.
Evangeline’s naïveté borders on annoying: she makes some silly mistakes causing unnecessary drama. In the beginning she is also very much apathetic and has stuff happening to her (she has people decide on her outfits, is practically married off to someone she doesn’t like), rather than be involved in any way herself.
But, she does show growth and three-quarters into the story, finally starts to show a bit of an edge.
On the opposite end of the spectrum Jacks is nothing but edge. He’s very broody and mysterious and doesn’t let anyone get close. He holds his cards close to his chest (ha) and doesn’t want anyone involved in his personal business (whatever that might be).
The book ends with Evangeline finally realizing that and making a decision purely for herself. The door that she opens is connected to another door in the castle and that’s where the story ends. What’s the door of Evangelines chosing? What’s the deal with that other door? How is Jacks going to react to Evangeline’s action? It’s a to be continued!
I liked this book enough to borrow the other titles if ever bumped into them, but I’m not that eager that I’ll bother with a reservation or a run to the library.
The other titles in this series:
Book 2: The Ballad of Never After
Book 3: A Curse for True Love
Note: I’ve seen different versions of cover art for this title (series) so be aware when you purchase! (so annoying when one of the books of a series you have is in a different edition than the others)
Bookworm in the City 