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savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
The second book in the ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART trilogy, continuing the story of Evangeline Fox and Jacks the Prince of Hearts.
I LOVED this book. I read the majority in a single day and had the best time. Jacks is EVERYTHING I want in a morally grey YA fantasy hero (villain?) and there were lines in here so good I literally stopped breathing for a second when I read them (“There is nothing of equal value to me.”)
I can’t say too much more without spoilers, but I cannot WAIT to read book three. Highly recommend this trilogy!
CW: Violence/blood/injury; mentions of torture
The second book in the ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART trilogy, continuing the story of Evangeline Fox and Jacks the Prince of Hearts.
I LOVED this book. I read the majority in a single day and had the best time. Jacks is EVERYTHING I want in a morally grey YA fantasy hero (villain?) and there were lines in here so good I literally stopped breathing for a second when I read them (“There is nothing of equal value to me.”)
I can’t say too much more without spoilers, but I cannot WAIT to read book three. Highly recommend this trilogy!
CW: Violence/blood/injury; mentions of torture
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Torture
manaledi's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Feeling very mixed here. I was impressed with large parts of the middle of the book in making us care even without fully remembering who everyone was from book one. The story curse is very clever but it also limited the possibilities of information. I didn't like the ending though which threw me off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
booksandstardust's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
bunky_jones's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Toxic relationship
bookish_hollyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Blood
teabrewer's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Most of the book was mediocre and cliché (not like the previous book where tropes are used to inhence the story but in the lazy sense, like the fourth season of a tv show that should have ended already.) Some scenes were good and some dialogue lines get my attention but generally I just kept asking myself why Jacks personality was so inconsistent and why every character just ignored that Evangeline was cheating on her husband. From the middle to the end the writting started to improve but just at the very end that I actually felt like I wanted to read this book. But I did love the end. I tend to not like stories where vampires are too predominant but in this book I understand their role and why they were nescessary. I loved the detail of the chapter numbers repeating after Jacks went back in time, the little moment where Evangeline explained normal communication to Jack and the revelation of what was in the other side of the arch. The very final scene was amazingly written, horrifyingly symbolic, I loved it. To be transparent, I'm reading the next book mostly because the cover is beautiful and I did really like the first one.
Ps:I didn't like what the author did with Luc in this book. He is absent of any motivation, personality or brain cells, and not like a classic himbo, but like the most offesive definition of a non-character.
Ps:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
anni_swanilda's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Torture, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
irb0red's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood
rubyroses's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Holy mother of god. This is my first book of the year and I absolutely devoured it. I thought the first book in the trilogy was good but this topped it easily. I’m excited to see what the conclusion has in store for us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Minor: Death of parent
tourmaline1703's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Infidelity, Blood, Murder, and Medical content