Spoiler-Free Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

September 14, 2026

Overall Rating: 🔮🔮🔮

Vibes: Magic • Bargains • Enemies to Lovers • Fairytale Fantasy

Action: Mild

Spice: 🚫 None

Age Group: YA

⚠️ Warnings

Abuse • Mental health themes • Grief • Death of parents

A Taste of the Writing

"She shook him again. He needed to move. He needed to breathe. He needed to be alive. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead. If he was dead—"

My Thoughts

Before picking up Once Upon a Broken Heart, I had already read Stephanie Garber's Caraval series. While I don't remember every detail, I did remember Jacks—and one thing became immediately clear while reading this book: Stephanie Garber has a very distinct writing voice.

For some readers that's comforting, but I found myself hoping this series would feel a little more different from Caraval. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it—I did—but I noticed several familiar storytelling patterns that made the two series feel closely related.

The story follows Evangeline, a teenage girl who loses both of her parents and is left living with her stepmother and stepsister. If you're getting Cinderella vibes, you're not alone—but this isn't a Cinderella retelling.

When Evangeline learns the boy she loves is about to marry her stepsister, she does the one thing everyone warns against: she prays to Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, for help.

Jacks agrees...for a price.

In exchange for stopping the wedding, Evangeline owes him three kisses to be collected whenever he chooses. One desperate decision throws her into a magical conflict far older and much bigger than herself, where bargains rarely end the way people expect.

One element I really enjoyed was the newspaper excerpts scattered throughout the novel. They reminded me of how real-world media can shape public opinion, presenting events through the perspective—or agenda—of the person telling the story rather than sticking strictly to the facts. It added an extra layer to the worldbuilding that I thought was clever.

The biggest thing I struggled with was Evangeline herself.

Outside of working in her father's curiosity shop and desperately wanting to be loved, I never felt like I truly got to know who she was as a person.

By the end of the book, I could tell you she wears pink, she's incredibly stubborn, and she's searching for love—but that's about it.

What are her hobbies? What's her favorite food? What does she enjoy doing when she's not chasing the plot? What makes Evangeline who she is outside of her romantic interests?

Those are the kinds of details that make characters feel like real people, and I never felt like I got them here. She often came across as one-dimensional because nearly everything about her revolved around wanting someone to love her.

I understand this is a romantasy, and romance is naturally a major focus of the story. But I still like my protagonists to have dreams, interests, quirks, and passions outside of the romance. Those little details make me care about a character long before they fall in love, and I was left wishing Evangeline had been given more substance beyond her search for love.

I also found the repeated emphasis on everything she wore being pink a little distracting. I understand it's meant to reflect her personality and match her pink hair, but after a while it started to feel repetitive. A favorite color is one thing—building nearly every outfit around it made her come across younger than I think the story intended.

Final Take

If you enjoy whimsical fairy tales, magical bargains, and morally gray characters, there's a good chance you'll enjoy Once Upon a Broken Heart. Stephanie Garber creates imaginative worlds, and Jacks continues to be one of the most compelling characters in her books.

While I had a few issues with the main character and wished this series felt more distinct from Caraval, I still found it to be an enjoyable read.