Hello Readers!

This is a blog post that I have been dying to write for quite awhile! Some of you may remember last year that I was included in a Blog Tour supporting Stephanie Garber’s new book / series, Once Upon A Broken Heart. It was a great opportunity for me, I got an advanced copy of the book and even got to interview Stephanie for my blog (she’s great)! Well Flatiron Books decided to do another blog tour to support the continuous of this story and asked me to join back in on the fun! I obviously jumped at this opportunity. Garber’s Caraval series is one of my absolute favorites – I loved the magical game of Caraval, the cast of characters plus the unique twists and turns. Once Upon A Broken Heart takes place in the same world as Caraval, so I recommend that you read (enjoy) that series before diving into this one. Once Upon A Broken Heart follows Evangeline Fox – an orphaned, hopeless romantic who will do almost anything to save her fiancé and get her happily ever after. I devoured this book last year and it ended with quite the cliffhanger. So… what did I think of The Ballad Of Never After?

I. LOVED. IT. To keep this review spoiler free, I won’t be discussing book 1 or any of the major plot points, so you can read this review without fear! Ballad picks up almost immediately after the events of Broken Heart. Many of our favorite characters return for an encore performance including Jacks, Lala and Chaos. Right from the start, there’s an interesting new plot that’s the main driver of the story. Evangeline soon finds herself not only on a new quest but with a dangerous new curse to contend with. The action starts from the beginning and does not let up until the final page. I found the chapters to be rather short which kept me turning the pages and saying “Ohhhh, just one more chapter!” a little too frequently. Garber has always had descriptive and flowery writing but I found there to be a lot more similes in this book than most of her others (as the book progressed they seemed to even out though). I’m not a big romance fan but I felt like the relationships in this one were well done and very fairytale-esque. I especially loved the ending of the book – there were some very unique and creative ideas used to really wrap everything up. I was worried how this was going to end since Garber has been very coy about whether this is a duopoly or a trilogy (and if you came here looking for that answer, I’m sorry, you’ll have to read the book to find out! If you’re a fantasy fan, who likes a dash of romance and a whole lot of action, I can confidently say this book will be RIGHT up your alley!

Once Upon A Broken Heart is out now and sold by all major book stores like Amazon. The Ballad Of Never After is out Tuesday, September 13, 2022! Preorder your copy today at all major book store or Amazon. A huge thank you to Flatiron Books for including me in their Blog Tour and for the ARC of The Ballad Of Never After.

As always, don’t forget to subscribe and make sure to stop back with your feedback after you’ve finished this one. I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on the ending!

Until We Meet Again,
Mr Geek