Reviews with content warning for Self harm - The Ballad of Never After

I very much enjoyed revisiting this world as it has been a while since I read Once Upon a Broken Heart. I loved the setting of the book and getting to explore more of the North and delving deeper into the magic system and noble houses. The worldbuilding felt very intricate and it was nice to explore more corners of it.
The writing is simple yet elegant and it's so easy to get lost in I find. I loved the descriptions of the various settings and outfits which make you wish you could be a part of the glamorous balls. I also loved the structure of the chapters towards the end of the novel, I feel it really accentuated the plot and helped underline certain characters' choices.
I felt the book was well paced and very interesting to read. I love a classic 'go on a quest' in fantasy and this book did it very well, whilst adding some twists and turns. There were a few twists I did not see coming and I certainly did not see the ending coming. The ending has confused me slightly and I think once I've read the sequel, I will understand it better but for now, the confusion is what has stopped this being a 5 star read. Whilst the story was brilliant, I don't know why parts of the ending happened as they did and exactly how it's all going to work.
I loved meeting new characters and spending more time with Evangeline, who I like a lot more than I did at first. Jacks I think I will forever have mixed feelings on. I think he is an amazingly written character and I love reading about him but I don't think I feel as much sympathy for him as others do. I think that's probably the best way I can explain it.
All this said, I absolutely adored reading this book and I have devoured about 60% in the past two days so it is a definite page-turner.

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tays_books's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bel017's review

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adventurous

Diverse cast of characters? No

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maresuju's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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anton13's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Like always Stephanie manages to deliver a magical, gut wrenching, heartbreaking, heart warming and plot twist full story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. I absolutely love how she writes and this is another stunning example of how amazing her writing is. I love that you get to know more about Jacks in this book and that you see the relationship between him and Evangeline evolve. The ending had me on the edge of my seat. I did not see any of it coming and I was shook. Idk how I’ll survive not knowing what happens till the third book comes out…

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