Once Upon a Broken Heart

August 2, 2021
First in a series spun off from her Caraval trilogy, Garber’s dreamy fantasy follows 17-year-old Evangeline Fox, whose boyfriend, Luc Navarro, unexpectedly proposes to her stepsister, Marisol Tourmaline. Luc and Marisol are virtual strangers, and Luc won’t explain, so Evangeline assumes her stepmother bewitched them both and strikes a deal with a cunning, immortal Fate known as Jacks and the Prince of Hearts, to stop the wedding; in exchange, Evangeline must later kiss three people of his choosing. Jacks halts the ceremony, but after his methods cause misery for everyone involved, Evangeline and Marisol journey from the Meridian Empire to the magical Magnificent North. Hoping for a fresh start, they’ll attend festivities designed to find Prince Apollo a bride. Upon arriving, however, Evangeline encounters Jacks and realizes that their trip is somehow part of his plan. Evangeline, Marisol, and Jacks are cued white; several supporting characters have brown or olive skin. Despite some frothy plotting, Garber enchants readers with exquisitely imagined worldbuilding and her trademark heady romance. Evocative if occasionally overwrought prose adds to the tale’s dreamlike feel. Ages 13–up.

August 15, 2021
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic. When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother's homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love--and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world. A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)

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September 1, 2021
Grades 9-12 Teenage Evangeline, who's lost both her parents in a year and been subject to the whims of her stepfamily, is in love. The problem is that she's in love with Luc, who is preparing to marry her stepsister. Evangeline seeks out one of the 16 Fates, the Prince of Broken Hearts, and strikes a bargain: he will stop the wedding if she gives him three kisses. But Evangeline's relief is short-lived once she discovers how the Prince has stopped the wedding and the aftermath of his actions: the immortal Fates return to the world and wreak havoc. Evangeline herself seems to have escaped the Prince's notice--for the moment. Garber, best known for her lush and poetic Caraval series, will no doubt have readers flocking to this new series. The potential for the coming installments is huge, as the glimmers of a larger world introduced in this volume are sure to stoke reader curiosity.

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Starred review from December 1, 2021

Gr 8 Up-Evangeline thinks she has found true love with Luc, until he betrays her and abruptly proposes to her stepsister Marisol. Her anger and hurt cause her to do the unthinkable-pray to Jacks, a Fate known as the Prince of Hearts, who has a reputation for being untrustworthy. He grants her request to stop the wedding in exchange for three kisses. But the stories about Jacks were right, and while Jacks does stop the wedding, Evangeline finds herself in quite a predicament. The lush worldbuilding Garber is known for is on full display here. While there is a modern edge to the characters, they're dressed in corsets and other 19th-century garb, while dealing with magical spell books, curses, and vampires. Evangeline, with her rose-gold hair, is a feisty but sweet heroine. The pacing is dynamic-it's hard to put this one down. The cliff-hanger ending is a clear setup for a sequel, but no one will be complaining about the opportunity to revisit this intricately imagined world. Most of the main characters are cued white with the exception of Luc, who is described as having brown skin. Fans of the "Caraval" series will no doubt be happy to see Jacks in his own leading role, but this spin-off series opener can be enjoyed without knowledge of that story. VERDICT Garber already has a following, so expect this to circulate well.-Mandy Laferriere, Fowler M.S., Frisco, TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2021
After her stepsister steals her beau, Evangeline seeks out supernatural intervention to stop their wedding. The Prince of Hearts (Jacks, a charismatic Fate whose kiss is deadly to all but his true love) agrees, demanding as payment that Evangeline kiss three people of his choosing. At the ball where Crown Prince Apollo will choose his bride, Jacks assigns the first kiss, and it's with the prince himself. Instantly Prince Apollo is -- magically? -- smitten. But where do all these strings Jacks is pulling ultimately lead? Garber's (Caraval, rev. 3/17, and sequels) take on a fairy-tale setting is fresh and vigorous, with lush atmospherics, a protagonist who believes in impossible endings, and a magnetic Prince of Hearts whose connection to Evangeline becomes more compelling the more they see of each other, even as she grows to doubt his trustworthiness. Political intrigue (both mortal and immortal) adds a swirl of exhilaration to the plot. Anita L. Burkam

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021
After her stepsister steals her beau, Evangeline seeks out supernatural intervention to stop their wedding. The Prince of Hearts (Jacks, a charismatic Fate whose kiss is deadly to all but his true love) agrees, demanding as payment that Evangeline kiss three people of his choosing. At the ball where Crown Prince Apollo will choose his bride, Jacks assigns the first kiss, and it's with the prince himself. Instantly Prince Apollo is -- magically? -- smitten. But where do all these strings Jacks is pulling ultimately lead? Garber's (Caraval, rev. 3/17, and sequels) take on a fairy-tale setting is fresh and vigorous, with lush atmospherics, a protagonist who believes in impossible endings, and a magnetic Prince of Hearts whose connection to Evangeline becomes more compelling the more they see of each other, even as she grows to doubt his trustworthiness. Political intrigue (both mortal and immortal) adds a swirl of exhilaration to the plot.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)