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What’s the series about? Is it worth reading? In which order should I read the series?
Once Upon a Broken Heart (OUABH) series by Stephanie Garber is a trilogy (#1 Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2 The Ballard of Never After, #3 The Curse For True Love) that I personally loved and wish I had read earlier. The author has depicted a captivating world with just as interesting characters that I’m sure many readers can relate to.
This series is definitely one to consider if you’re in a reading slump or just getting back into the reading world! I dived right into the book without knowing anything… it was a mistake, so I’m here to tell you if this book is right for you and you’re going to read it soon take a look at the suggested reading method.
Contents
- What is the series all about?
- Would I enjoy reading it?
- Is it worth reading?
- Things about the series that is worth noting
- In which order should I read the series?
- My opinions
This series is predominantly about Evangeline Fox (Female lead) finding her “love at first”.
The story begins with Evangeline broken hearted as the boy she loves is marrying her step-sister. Disappointed, angry and in disbelief, she makes a deal with a Fate, The Prince of Hearts. Diving head first into the magic from the fairytales her parents would so often warn her about, unforeseen events cascade into disaster. A prophecy to be fulfilled, but at what cost? The tighter her grasp on her “love at first” wish, the further she is entangled with wishes, deals and prophecies.
Would I enjoy reading it?
I would recommend this series for you if your interested in reading about:
- Fantasy
- Magic
- Curses
- Royalty
- Prophesies
- Finding love
- Falling for the villain
- Enemies to lovers
Or if you loved these books:
- Shatter Me
- Cruel Prince
- Throne of Glass
- Red Queen
- The Selection
Is it worth reading?
Yes! It is worth your time to read if you are interested in the list above. Honestly I’m not one to read much fantasy however reading this did not disappoint!
For the readers interested in the enemies to lovers trope here are some quotes I loved while reading 😉:
“you still owe me one more kiss, and until I collect it, you’re mine, and I do not like to share.”
“Stop flashing your fangs. I’m the only one who gets to bite her.”
“Glad to know you’re thinking about me when you kiss your husband.”
“I hurt everyone, Little Fox. But you have to be alive to hate me.”
Things about the series that is worth noting
Speed: Fast Paced
Spice: None
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️ (Thats my rating of the series)
I think something worth mentioning is the second novel of the series, The Ballard of Never After. As with most trilogies the second book usually bore the readers to death (metaphorically), however I found that The Ballard of Never After was the best novel in the series despite being the second book.
In which order should I read the series?
This series is a trilogy so the order to read is:
HOWEVER, a mistake I made when reading was not realising that this series takes place in the same world as the Caraval series by the same author. Thus, I would suggest to read the Caraval series first then Once Upon a Broken Heart series.
Upon further research Kaylee suggested:
- Caraval
- Legendary
- Finale – up to chapter 16
- OUABH – up to chapter 5
- Finale – finish it
- OUABH – finish it
- The Ballard of Never After
- A Curse for True Love
Once Upon a Broken Heart can be read independent from the Caraval series for those who don’t want to read that series. If you would like to read about Caraval, here is a blog post.
My opinions
This series took me 3 days to read (or three sittings) I could not have put the book down even if I tried, every twist and turn got me sitting on the edge of my seat (or standing up to cheer, we will never know 😄). The author crafted each character so well I ended up hating some characters and fell heads over heels for the villain.
The last few pages of the story I felt as though I could not read fast enough, however finishing the last page really made me wish the series didn’t end there. One critique I have for this novel is the ending. It felt as though the story shouldn’t have ended there and it kind of just fell off leaving us readers to contemplate life and figure out what’s next.
Overall, if I could turn back time I would tell myself about the series earlier because it is an amazing fast paced series. I would definitely re-read this series a million times again. However, I did think that the ending of the final book was a bit dull, though it did not take away from the book and added more to the reader impact. Another thing I would have done differently is to find a playlist on Spotify to listen to, there are so many to choose from if you search “Once Upon a Broken Heart”!
For the cherry on top the covers of these books are amazing! With some of the covers there are alternate endings to the novel as well… ones that I’ve yet to get my hands on. If you know where to get the books or please let me know.
If you would like the kindle versions of the novel, you can click the below affiliate links to amazon kindle.
I hope this review helps you with your reading journey, remember to always stay curious!
Here are some review blog posts you might want to check out, perhaps you’ll be able to find another reading treasure.
One response to “Dive into the ‘Once Upon a Broken Heart’ Series: Review, Recommendations, and Reading Guide”
Going to read the book now!