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Once Upon a Broken Heart #3
A Curse for True Love
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2023)
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.
386 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2023
About the author
Stephanie Garber
14 books53.9k followersHi! Thanks so much for stopping by this page. I’m only on this site occasionally, so if you’d like to send me a message, please use the contact form on my website: http://stephaniegarberauthor.com.
I can also be found on Instagram, and I love connecting with readers. If you're looking for more information about my books, the most up to date news can be found on Instagram, but I also try to update my website on a regular basis.
I can also be found on Instagram, and I love connecting with readers. If you're looking for more information about my books, the most up to date news can be found on Instagram, but I also try to update my website on a regular basis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 28,879 reviews
November 9, 2023
“I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.”
y'allll when I tell you this line made me-
ALEXA PLAY LITERALLY ANY LOVE SONG BY TAYLOR SWIFT BECAUSE EVAJACKS ARE EVERYTHING AND SO IS TAYLOR SWIFT.
(there will be spoilers if you haven't read this book so be wary!)
Ok so here we finally are. The book we finally deserve after that HORRENDOUS ending to The Ballad of Never After (I loved that ending so much despite how much pain it caused me) and it is finally here. And so is my review which I have been DYING to write ever since the book got announced, and ever since I finished this book.
I have so many thoughts but I don't even know how to say them. As you can see, I rated this book 4 stars. It's gonna be more than 4 stars, but personally, it's not a 5 star book for me.
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Plot
Hm...where to begin. I'll just start from the beginning. Obviously. But anyways, the beginning of this book was actually a little slow. Mainly because Evangline was relearning everything after her memories were taken, and while I was lowkey stressed out, everything was jumping along pretty smoothly.
When Apollo's first chapter came around, I literally rolled my eyes because I forgot that he even had chapters in this book. BUT. I was thankfully gifted a Jacks chapter a few chapters later, and that completely lifted my mood. In said chapter, we get THIS absolute gem of a quote that made me choke: “He'd never understood why someone would watch another person sleep...until her.”
screaming.
Things started to pick back up literally right after Jacks's chapter, which I cannot find as a coincidence, because Jacks just makes literally everything better. I was freaking out and hyperventilating for literally no reason at all for like the rest of the book, and let's just say, that's definitely an experience.
After going back through my updates, let's just say, I got more and more unhinged as the book continued on and that's true, because the book got crazier and crazier.
BUT. based on comments I keep getting, I'm pretty sure I know why Jacks uses his apples but now I know! All is well.
Speaking of which, the epilogue killed me. Not because it's cute, because it wasn't, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LAST LINE. "Other stories were brewing in the Magnificent North." WHAT OTHER STORIES STEPHANIE?? I will need them asap thank you. it did feel a little bittersweet though, because the next stories probably won't be connected to any of the main characters from this series and Caraval. I'm still bitter that Tella didn't pop up in a cameo.
I just realized I have so much more to say on the plot, but I've already written so much so here's my final comment on the plot: this book felt a lot more romance heavy than the others. There was just this super weird vibe around the book, as if it had lost all the magic. Don't get me wrong, I loved the romance, EvaJacks are my babies, but one of the reasons I love Caraval and OUABH so much was because of the magic, and this book just seemed to lack it.
“She was the moth and Jacks was still the flame.”
🤭
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Characters
My beloveds. My babies. My world. My everything.
Ok, so with Evangeline, she's a really good main character, but the thing is, I hate her because I want to be her. I have issues, thank you, I know. Pushing that aside, she is a really good main character, because she makes....semi-rational decisions? Who am I kidding, Evangeline is such an idiot sometimes. There, I said it. She wasn't as much of an idiot in this book as she was in the last one, but she kept taking unnecessary risks that had me smacking my forehead because she could literally die. Her main character role saved her though. Other than that, I really like her.
Jacks. Prince of Hearts. Archer. Jacks of the Hollow. I will be the Fox to his Archer any day, where can I find the sign up sheet? In all seriousness, I love Jacks so much. I used to hate him in the Caraval series when I first read it (LOOK it was only because I liked Tella and Legend together, all right?) but Jacks is now my bae and I am so sad that we won't get to read anything more about him. Jacks is the king of morally grey characters, though I will be honest: I liked him more when he was mean to Evangeline than in the end and they were all lovey dovey. I'm messed up like that, I like the enemies before the lovers 😭 In my review of The Ballad of Never After, I did a section where I listed some gems that came out of the Prince of Hearts's mouth so I will do that again, the ACFTL EDITION:
“Please, Little Fox, remember.”
hehe I think I cried at this part.
“How can I make you understand,” he growled, “you and I together don't end well. We just end.”
Preeetty sure I cried here too. Jacks sure knows how to make me cry.
“This isn’t just for now, it’s for always, Little Fox.”
We love a lovesick Jacks
Anyways, the other characters were pretty good too:
Apollo deserved every single last thing that happened to him 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
LaLa and Chaos happening WHEN??? That one scene had me giggling so bad. Oh my gosh I NEED A BOOK ABOUT THEM
Aurora can go eat rocks 🫸 ⛰🤸🏼♀
As usual, if I forgot any side characters, they don't matter or aren't important or relevant enough for me to try and remember them 🫶
“Once upon a time, a girl who believed in fairytales stole the heart of a prince who had sworn to never love.”
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Relationship
We have finally reached this point.
As I said before, this book was super romance heavy, with so much denial, pining, angst, and longing. Despite all of this, I still wish there was more magic.
But anywho, Evangeline and Jacks's story is so good, I can't even. Like the forbidden/enemies to lovers was so well done. Every time Jacks kept denying her out of love for her made me die and then buried me underground and put a headstone above my grave.
The ending brought me back to life though, so I'm all good now.
I talked about a few plot holes I thought I saw here, but apparently I wasn't paying much attention, sooo when I'm less occupied I will talk much more about EvaJacks because they are perfection.
Anyways, I had to rant about that, but I love Evangeline and Jacks so much, and WHEN THEY FINALLY KISSED I LITERALLY SCREAMED BECAUSE I'D WAITED SINCE BOOK ONE FOR THAT MOMENT. Though I'm ngl that kiss was PATHETIC, I need more.
“He gritted his teeth. “Being yours does not make you mine.”
I distinctly remember opening my mouth in shock, closing the book dramatically, and then proceeded to roll around on my couch after hearing that.
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
Overall, this book was as good as I expected it to be, I just wish it had exceeded my expectations though!
EvaJacks for life until the day I die.
4.3 stars
“He wanted her to look at him, just once, and know him the way she had before.”
<><><><><><>
update: y'all i just read the bonus epilogue in the barnes and noble one and i'm gonna cry, i'm literally gonna buy the book just for that
what. i don't even....the ending tho (for reference, this is the normal epilogue, i have NO idea what the epilogues are for the other copies, like the barnes and noble exclusive and whatever the other ones are but if y'all know them feel free to tell me). it made me mad but also made me SO excited at the same time.
rtc!!
<><><><><><>
edit 10/24: happy release day! i initially thought my book was coming in november, but now that it's shipped it might be coming tomorrow! <3
EDIT ON THE SAME DAY AS THE LAST EDIT: I JUST REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A SYNOPSIS I'M SO OBLIVIOUS. I'm going to die when this comes out. I'm already preparing myself for a death or sad ending, because I know there is going to be some sort of heartbreaking and I'm going to cry
EDIT: THE COVER IS HERE OH MY GOD. Honestly unsure how I feel about it....like the title placement looks odd, but I do like the idea and concept of the tree.
"Two villains do battle for the heart of one girl" and the winner BETTER BE JACKS
Edit: A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE??? OMG PLEASE GIVE ME EVAJACKS PLEASE. I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG, WE ALL DESERVE THIS AFTER THE END OF TBONA
*sobs violently into a pillow* After the heartbreak that The Ballad of Never After did to me, I NEED EVAJACKS ENDGAME PLEASE ISTG IF I DON'T GET ONE I'M GOING TO RIOT
(Also, I won't mind if Apollo *ahem* doesn't make it out of this book alive. Just saying)
y'allll when I tell you this line made me-
ALEXA PLAY LITERALLY ANY LOVE SONG BY TAYLOR SWIFT BECAUSE EVAJACKS ARE EVERYTHING AND SO IS TAYLOR SWIFT.
(there will be spoilers if you haven't read this book so be wary!)
Ok so here we finally are. The book we finally deserve after that HORRENDOUS ending to The Ballad of Never After (I loved that ending so much despite how much pain it caused me) and it is finally here. And so is my review which I have been DYING to write ever since the book got announced, and ever since I finished this book.
I have so many thoughts but I don't even know how to say them. As you can see, I rated this book 4 stars. It's gonna be more than 4 stars, but personally, it's not a 5 star book for me.
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Plot
Hm...where to begin. I'll just start from the beginning. Obviously. But anyways, the beginning of this book was actually a little slow. Mainly because Evangline was relearning everything after her memories were taken, and while I was lowkey stressed out, everything was jumping along pretty smoothly.
When Apollo's first chapter came around, I literally rolled my eyes because I forgot that he even had chapters in this book. BUT. I was thankfully gifted a Jacks chapter a few chapters later, and that completely lifted my mood. In said chapter, we get THIS absolute gem of a quote that made me choke: “He'd never understood why someone would watch another person sleep...until her.”
screaming.
Things started to pick back up literally right after Jacks's chapter, which I cannot find as a coincidence, because Jacks just makes literally everything better. I was freaking out and hyperventilating for literally no reason at all for like the rest of the book, and let's just say, that's definitely an experience.
After going back through my updates, let's just say, I got more and more unhinged as the book continued on and that's true, because the book got crazier and crazier.
BUT. based on comments I keep getting, I'm pretty sure I know why Jacks uses his apples but now I know! All is well.
Speaking of which, the epilogue killed me. Not because it's cute, because it wasn't, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LAST LINE. "Other stories were brewing in the Magnificent North." WHAT OTHER STORIES STEPHANIE?? I will need them asap thank you. it did feel a little bittersweet though, because the next stories probably won't be connected to any of the main characters from this series and Caraval. I'm still bitter that Tella didn't pop up in a cameo.
I just realized I have so much more to say on the plot, but I've already written so much so here's my final comment on the plot: this book felt a lot more romance heavy than the others. There was just this super weird vibe around the book, as if it had lost all the magic. Don't get me wrong, I loved the romance, EvaJacks are my babies, but one of the reasons I love Caraval and OUABH so much was because of the magic, and this book just seemed to lack it.
“She was the moth and Jacks was still the flame.”
🤭
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Characters
My beloveds. My babies. My world. My everything.
Ok, so with Evangeline, she's a really good main character, but the thing is, I hate her because I want to be her. I have issues, thank you, I know. Pushing that aside, she is a really good main character, because she makes....semi-rational decisions? Who am I kidding, Evangeline is such an idiot sometimes. There, I said it. She wasn't as much of an idiot in this book as she was in the last one, but she kept taking unnecessary risks that had me smacking my forehead because she could literally die. Her main character role saved her though. Other than that, I really like her.
Jacks. Prince of Hearts. Archer. Jacks of the Hollow. I will be the Fox to his Archer any day, where can I find the sign up sheet? In all seriousness, I love Jacks so much. I used to hate him in the Caraval series when I first read it (LOOK it was only because I liked Tella and Legend together, all right?) but Jacks is now my bae and I am so sad that we won't get to read anything more about him. Jacks is the king of morally grey characters, though I will be honest: I liked him more when he was mean to Evangeline than in the end and they were all lovey dovey. I'm messed up like that, I like the enemies before the lovers 😭 In my review of The Ballad of Never After, I did a section where I listed some gems that came out of the Prince of Hearts's mouth so I will do that again, the ACFTL EDITION:
“Please, Little Fox, remember.”
hehe I think I cried at this part.
“How can I make you understand,” he growled, “you and I together don't end well. We just end.”
Preeetty sure I cried here too. Jacks sure knows how to make me cry.
“This isn’t just for now, it’s for always, Little Fox.”
We love a lovesick Jacks
Anyways, the other characters were pretty good too:
Apollo deserved every single last thing that happened to him 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
LaLa and Chaos happening WHEN??? That one scene had me giggling so bad. Oh my gosh I NEED A BOOK ABOUT THEM
Aurora can go eat rocks 🫸 ⛰🤸🏼♀
As usual, if I forgot any side characters, they don't matter or aren't important or relevant enough for me to try and remember them 🫶
“Once upon a time, a girl who believed in fairytales stole the heart of a prince who had sworn to never love.”
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
The Relationship
We have finally reached this point.
As I said before, this book was super romance heavy, with so much denial, pining, angst, and longing. Despite all of this, I still wish there was more magic.
But anywho, Evangeline and Jacks's story is so good, I can't even. Like the forbidden/enemies to lovers was so well done. Every time Jacks kept denying her out of love for her made me die and then buried me underground and put a headstone above my grave.
The ending brought me back to life though, so I'm all good now.
I talked about a few plot holes I thought I saw here, but apparently I wasn't paying much attention, sooo when I'm less occupied I will talk much more about EvaJacks because they are perfection.
Anyways, I had to rant about that, but I love Evangeline and Jacks so much, and WHEN THEY FINALLY KISSED I LITERALLY SCREAMED BECAUSE I'D WAITED SINCE BOOK ONE FOR THAT MOMENT. Though I'm ngl that kiss was PATHETIC, I need more.
“He gritted his teeth. “Being yours does not make you mine.”
I distinctly remember opening my mouth in shock, closing the book dramatically, and then proceeded to roll around on my couch after hearing that.
｡.｡:∞♡♥｡.｡
Overall, this book was as good as I expected it to be, I just wish it had exceeded my expectations though!
EvaJacks for life until the day I die.
4.3 stars
“He wanted her to look at him, just once, and know him the way she had before.”
<><><><><><>
update: y'all i just read the bonus epilogue in the barnes and noble one and i'm gonna cry, i'm literally gonna buy the book just for that
what. i don't even....the ending tho (for reference, this is the normal epilogue, i have NO idea what the epilogues are for the other copies, like the barnes and noble exclusive and whatever the other ones are but if y'all know them feel free to tell me). it made me mad but also made me SO excited at the same time.
rtc!!
<><><><><><>
edit 10/24: happy release day! i initially thought my book was coming in november, but now that it's shipped it might be coming tomorrow! <3
EDIT ON THE SAME DAY AS THE LAST EDIT: I JUST REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A SYNOPSIS I'M SO OBLIVIOUS. I'm going to die when this comes out. I'm already preparing myself for a death or sad ending, because I know there is going to be some sort of heartbreaking and I'm going to cry
EDIT: THE COVER IS HERE OH MY GOD. Honestly unsure how I feel about it....like the title placement looks odd, but I do like the idea and concept of the tree.
"Two villains do battle for the heart of one girl" and the winner BETTER BE JACKS
Edit: A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE??? OMG PLEASE GIVE ME EVAJACKS PLEASE. I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG, WE ALL DESERVE THIS AFTER THE END OF TBONA
*sobs violently into a pillow* After the heartbreak that The Ballad of Never After did to me, I NEED EVAJACKS ENDGAME PLEASE ISTG IF I DON'T GET ONE I'M GOING TO RIOT
(Also, I won't mind if Apollo *ahem* doesn't make it out of this book alive. Just saying)
April 19, 2024
This was easily my most anticipated book of the year along with Dark Heir.
This was good but maybe my expectations were too high because it wasn't as good as I expected. The Ballad of Never After was much better than this. But still, I enjoyed this a lot.
This was just as engrossing as the previous books but it lacked the magic and hopefulness of previous books.
There wasn't much plot. Also, why did the characters just disappear? Where is Luc? Where is Marisol? Are they alive? Are they dead?
Jacks and Eva's scenes were good. But strangely enough, I feel like there weren't enough of them. They had much more interactions in the previous books. I expected more scenes.
Apollo just ruins everything. He's such a one-dimensional character. Even after reading his POV, I couldn't connect with his character at all. He was sooo boring.
This also felt quite underwhelming and rushed. I don't know, there was just something off about it.
I felt like Jacks' personality completely changed in this book.
Jacks used to be a very mercurial character. He could be both cruel and kind at the same time. He was also very flirtatious and charismatic. He stopped being mischievous and teasing. Like his interactions with Eva completely changed. He was more sober and honest in this book which honestly gave me a whiplash.
He lacked the magnetic charisma that was so apparent in the previous books.
I wanted so much more angst. I wanted to see some pining. I wanted to see some unrequited love. I wanted drama.
I wanted Jacks to realise his mistakes and grovel for Eva.
I wanted Jacks to change for the better, that's true, but I still wanted him to remain the same at the core. I could sometimes see flashes of the old Jacks in this book but that's it. I fell in love with the old Jacks who was a moody bastard.
Also, I have to say I'm disappointed by Jacks' role in this book. He was hardly present and mostly stayed in the background. He felt like a side character. I wish we learned more about his backstory.
I think Jacks' pov wasn't needed at all because it ruined the mystery and enigma of his character. It could have been good had it even been written properly.
Apollo and Aurora took way too much space. That space should have been given to exploring more of Jacks and Eva's dynamic.
Everything wasn't explained and some loose ends were left untied. The ending too felt rushed and anti-climactic.
1) Why does Jacks eat apples? What does the colour of the apple signify?
2) How is Jacks able to talk telepathically to Eva?
3) Eva still owes Jacks a third kiss according to their bargain. What about that?
And so many more questions remain.
I think the main reason this book felt so weak is because The Ballad of Never After was just perfect. The pacing, plot and romance were done perfectly. And reading this book has only increased my appreciation for The Ballad of Never After.
Ratings-
1) Once Upon a Broken Heart- 3.5/5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2) The Ballad of Never After- 5/5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3) Curse for True Love-2/5
Pre-release thoughts-
"I'm your monster".
Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I'm dead. I will literally evaporate when I read this quote in the book.
I was worried that there would not be a third book. Imagine my sadness and anxiety. I mean, Jacks and Eva deserved a happy ending.
Anyway, I'm really excited about this. I can't wait till September! It's too far away.
I need an ARC like right now.
Edit- The summary and cover are here! The cover is gorgeous. All I can say is that Eva deserves better. The poor girl has suffered enough. Just let her live her life happily.
Edit 2- The first 4 chapters have been released, including an Apollo pov. No sighting of Jacks.
This was good but maybe my expectations were too high because it wasn't as good as I expected. The Ballad of Never After was much better than this. But still, I enjoyed this a lot.
This was just as engrossing as the previous books but it lacked the magic and hopefulness of previous books.
There wasn't much plot. Also, why did the characters just disappear? Where is Luc? Where is Marisol? Are they alive? Are they dead?
Jacks and Eva's scenes were good. But strangely enough, I feel like there weren't enough of them. They had much more interactions in the previous books. I expected more scenes.
Apollo just ruins everything. He's such a one-dimensional character. Even after reading his POV, I couldn't connect with his character at all. He was sooo boring.
This also felt quite underwhelming and rushed. I don't know, there was just something off about it.
I felt like Jacks' personality completely changed in this book.
Jacks used to be a very mercurial character. He could be both cruel and kind at the same time. He was also very flirtatious and charismatic. He stopped being mischievous and teasing. Like his interactions with Eva completely changed. He was more sober and honest in this book which honestly gave me a whiplash.
He lacked the magnetic charisma that was so apparent in the previous books.
I wanted so much more angst. I wanted to see some pining. I wanted to see some unrequited love. I wanted drama.
I wanted Jacks to realise his mistakes and grovel for Eva.
I wanted Jacks to change for the better, that's true, but I still wanted him to remain the same at the core. I could sometimes see flashes of the old Jacks in this book but that's it. I fell in love with the old Jacks who was a moody bastard.
Also, I have to say I'm disappointed by Jacks' role in this book. He was hardly present and mostly stayed in the background. He felt like a side character. I wish we learned more about his backstory.
I think Jacks' pov wasn't needed at all because it ruined the mystery and enigma of his character. It could have been good had it even been written properly.
Apollo and Aurora took way too much space. That space should have been given to exploring more of Jacks and Eva's dynamic.
Everything wasn't explained and some loose ends were left untied. The ending too felt rushed and anti-climactic.
1) Why does Jacks eat apples? What does the colour of the apple signify?
2) How is Jacks able to talk telepathically to Eva?
3) Eva still owes Jacks a third kiss according to their bargain. What about that?
And so many more questions remain.
I think the main reason this book felt so weak is because The Ballad of Never After was just perfect. The pacing, plot and romance were done perfectly. And reading this book has only increased my appreciation for The Ballad of Never After.
Ratings-
1) Once Upon a Broken Heart- 3.5/5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2) The Ballad of Never After- 5/5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3) Curse for True Love-2/5
Pre-release thoughts-
"I'm your monster".
Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I'm dead. I will literally evaporate when I read this quote in the book.
I was worried that there would not be a third book. Imagine my sadness and anxiety. I mean, Jacks and Eva deserved a happy ending.
Anyway, I'm really excited about this. I can't wait till September! It's too far away.
I need an ARC like right now.
Edit- The summary and cover are here! The cover is gorgeous. All I can say is that Eva deserves better. The poor girl has suffered enough. Just let her live her life happily.
Edit 2- The first 4 chapters have been released, including an Apollo pov. No sighting of Jacks.
January 23, 2024
“he wasn’t hers to think about, and yet she kept picturing the way he’d looked in the hall, and how for a second, he’d seemed almost shy, almost scared, and almost hers”
me the second i saw jacks’ pov in chapter 11:
what a stunning conclusion to this magical, whimsical series!!
THIS BOOK WILL NEVER TOP TBONA, BUT IT WAS STILL SO PERFECT TO ME. WE GOT JACKS' POV AND SO MANY SCENES HAD ME GOING FERAL. MY HEART IS SO FULL AND I FEEL SO CONTENT RN!! EVAJACKS YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS AND LOVED BY ME. there has been no other characters who have made me feel so much before. no one does angst, longing, pining and yearning better than evajacks. THEY ARE SO FAVOURITE CRIME CODED <33 i can’t believe we’ve reached the end, i want to DIE. wdym no more evajacks?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BREATHE, BREATHE? how am i supposed to move on, the evajacks brainrot is crippling. i will never be able to move on from them i fear, they mean so much to me!! ❤️🩹
BUT OMG IM SPIRALLING OUT OF CONTROL RN. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW? I HATE THAT WE’VE REACHED THE END OF THEIR STORY, GIVE ME 10 MORE BOOKS PLS AND THANK U. EVAJACKS INVENTED ROMANCE. this book was everything n more. i loved how it was clearly made that it was always going to be eva for jacks and when he closed his eyes all he ever saw was her!! like how jacks kept the letter eva wrote to herself abt him close to his heart even tho it wasn't romantic?? jacks' happy place being when he was at the hollow with eva?? the way jacks couldn't physically stay away from eva?? how he constantly tucks her hair behind her ear?? pls his love language is physical touch. the continuous pining between eva and jacks?? the way they kept fighting for each other?? one bed?? the sexual tension in that one scene??
“he would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this.”
spoiler
— i needed so much more tho, i feel satisfied but to an extent i feel like so many things were missing and idk how to feel about the ending. i still have so many unanswered questions - like what happened to the third broken heart scar? where was my silly lil vampire boy luc? i need to know what kind of ending he had. the apple theory? it was open ended. what happened to marisol? she wasn't even mentioned lmao. how did jacks become a fate? everything ended so abruptly and it did weaken the story. i wanted MORE jacks, everything was subdued by apollo.. no but honestly, WHY WAS there so much apollo (gag) he was taking the main focus off of evajacks and he was ruining my buzz. i needed more relationship development, we didn’t get enough evajacks content imo. i can literally count on my hands the scenes we got of them.. we needed more fluff, more cuddles, more kisses and evajacks domestic scenes at the hollow. like why is life so unfair?? WE WERE ROBBED OUT OF SO MANY DETAILS. i never ask for much, that is all i ever wanted 🥲 stephanie garber PLS give us an evajacks novella that is just fluffy w domestic scenes.
“i’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
okay i just read the b&n alternate epilogue and omg?? stephanie why didn’t you make that alternative epilogue canon!! it gave me the closure i so desperately needed 😭
───♡─────────────
update 17/10: ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL EVAJACKS COME BACK HOME TO US
update 1/10: HAPPY EVAJACKS MONTH!! 23 days until they come home to us
update 17/9: the reason why this was pushed back to oct was bc stephanie changed the plot and the ending.. oh she’s going to make me crazy!! now i’m curious what the original storyline and ending was 🫣
update 03/05: ”this is where you break free” he said softly ”i don’t want to” she said. - what if die huh?? WHAT THEN
update 20/04: “remember, little fox.” STEPHANIE, WHY DONT YOU JUST PUT A GUN TO MY HEAD AND END IT ALL RN
update 04/04: ACFTL release has been pushed back to october 24th — in a state of denial and shock rn the september wait was already killing us NOW WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL OCTOBER?? NO ONE TALK TO ME
update: OMG SHES FINISHED WRITING ACFTL NOW IM SCARED, RELEASE IT NOW!! also wdym it broke you?! miss thing if we don’t get evajacks HEA i’ll be showing up at your door, why do you hate us 😭
i don’t want to wait 6 more months for jacks’ pov, i need it NOW
October 29, 2023
“how do i make this the most unpredictable series finale of all time? LESS EVAJACKS 😍😈” -stephanie garber
After 24 hours of processing my many many feelings, I have decided that I am in mourning until further notice. Not only over the end of Evajacks (unless SG wants to bless us with bonus content 👀🙏), but also because—as much as it pains me to admit—I really don’t feel like this was the epic conclusion that they deserved.
The most devastating issue here was the lack of attention given to the romance. I do not and will not ever understand what the purpose of writing a slow burn romantic fantasy trilogy is if the final book in the series isn’t going to deliver THE MOST on the romance.
After two books of building on the angst and tension and pining, this should have been explosive. TBONAx1000000. Whether or not we got our happy ending, it makes no sense why SG would deliberately choose to tone down the romance when that has been the primary focus of this entire series.
The few romantic moments we were given were… okay? I know I sound ungrateful and pessimistic but having just reread TBONA before starting this, the emotional build-up and detail and ✨magic✨ was just not there. Many of their moments were rushed and underwritten and I remember specifically cringing at a few lines of dialogue between them because it felt so cardboard and very unlike the Evajacks we know and love.
And the decision to tone down the romance in favor of putting a spotlight on APOLLO?? C’mon now. You really cannot tell me that anyone was desperately hoping for a finale in which Jacks is MIA for 2/3rds of the book and Apollo gets 11 POV CHAPTERS.
The only way this book makes sense to me is if the theories are true and there’s going to be a spinoff series about Apollo? I didn't think that could possibly be true until I read the Waterstones bonus epilogue, so check that out if you haven't.
That would explain the emphasis on his character and why so many random things were introduced. It also might help explain why there were so many plot holes and unanswered questions.
Doesn’t make it right. I’m just saying it would help make sense of things.
Because the glaring number of plot holes and unanswered questions this series leaves us with is unacceptable. I don’t want to include spoilers but here’s a review (🚨 warning: major spoilers in linked review 🚨) that sums up many of biggest issues I had.
I’m all here for including crumbs for future series but that cannot come at the expense of tying up all the loose strings in a set trilogy. I shouldn’t have to read another series to answer the questions I had in the previous one. It sounds like this happened with Caraval and it definitely seems like that’s what’s happening here.
At the end of the day, I think Stephanie Garber simply tried to do SO MUCH with this final book that she lost the heart and soul of what made the series so lovable in the first place.
Which was… EVAJACKS and the twisted but magical world around them 💖🐉🪄🦄
I’m not saying she owed us the book of our dreams or anything. This is her brainchild, her story to tell. But the decisions made here honestly confound me. And I wonder if she would’ve had an easier time trying to write this had she stopped trying to overcomplicate a good thing.
So, yeah. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this being the end. In a lot of ways this definitely delivered. But I also feel like I’m going to be grieving my very high and probably unrealistic expectations for a long time to come.
__
pre-review
... 😐
I am both very happy and very disappointed and I don't know quite yet what to do with this array of emotions
After 24 hours of processing my many many feelings, I have decided that I am in mourning until further notice. Not only over the end of Evajacks (unless SG wants to bless us with bonus content 👀🙏), but also because—as much as it pains me to admit—I really don’t feel like this was the epic conclusion that they deserved.
The most devastating issue here was the lack of attention given to the romance. I do not and will not ever understand what the purpose of writing a slow burn romantic fantasy trilogy is if the final book in the series isn’t going to deliver THE MOST on the romance.
After two books of building on the angst and tension and pining, this should have been explosive. TBONAx1000000. Whether or not we got our happy ending, it makes no sense why SG would deliberately choose to tone down the romance when that has been the primary focus of this entire series.
The few romantic moments we were given were… okay? I know I sound ungrateful and pessimistic but having just reread TBONA before starting this, the emotional build-up and detail and ✨magic✨ was just not there. Many of their moments were rushed and underwritten and I remember specifically cringing at a few lines of dialogue between them because it felt so cardboard and very unlike the Evajacks we know and love.
And the decision to tone down the romance in favor of putting a spotlight on APOLLO?? C’mon now. You really cannot tell me that anyone was desperately hoping for a finale in which Jacks is MIA for 2/3rds of the book and Apollo gets 11 POV CHAPTERS.
The only way this book makes sense to me is if the theories are true and there’s going to be a spinoff series about Apollo? I didn't think that could possibly be true until I read the Waterstones bonus epilogue, so check that out if you haven't.
That would explain the emphasis on his character and why so many random things were introduced. It also might help explain why there were so many plot holes and unanswered questions.
Doesn’t make it right. I’m just saying it would help make sense of things.
Because the glaring number of plot holes and unanswered questions this series leaves us with is unacceptable. I don’t want to include spoilers but here’s a review (🚨 warning: major spoilers in linked review 🚨) that sums up many of biggest issues I had.
I’m all here for including crumbs for future series but that cannot come at the expense of tying up all the loose strings in a set trilogy. I shouldn’t have to read another series to answer the questions I had in the previous one. It sounds like this happened with Caraval and it definitely seems like that’s what’s happening here.
At the end of the day, I think Stephanie Garber simply tried to do SO MUCH with this final book that she lost the heart and soul of what made the series so lovable in the first place.
Which was… EVAJACKS and the twisted but magical world around them 💖🐉🪄🦄
I’m not saying she owed us the book of our dreams or anything. This is her brainchild, her story to tell. But the decisions made here honestly confound me. And I wonder if she would’ve had an easier time trying to write this had she stopped trying to overcomplicate a good thing.
So, yeah. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this being the end. In a lot of ways this definitely delivered. But I also feel like I’m going to be grieving my very high and probably unrealistic expectations for a long time to come.
__
pre-review
... 😐
I am both very happy and very disappointed and I don't know quite yet what to do with this array of emotions
November 6, 2023
24/10/22
If Jacks doesn't kill Apollo in this book, I think I will 🙂
(I guess I'm the tree of souls then lmao)
°•°•°•°•°
24/10/23
I'm happy, thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon, excited, joyous, exuberant, tickled pink, merry and delighted that EvaJacks are together 💖 (God I love them so much 😩💖)
BUT... I'm also disappointed. Acftl felt rushed and anticlimactic which is so ironic because I feel it was supposed to be the longest in the series and the most informative because there was stuff to unpack from ouabh and tbona.
It also felt very different compared to the first 2 and the pacing was off- It was slow to start and then too quick to end.
Where was the flirtiness? The banter? Why didn't he fight harder?? He was so quick to let her be with Apollo. He's said time and time again that fates are jealous and obsessive. Where was the jealousy?? The obsessiveness?? I wanted UNHINGED behaviour 😭
I needed MORE. SO MUCH MORE.
More:
• Jacks chapters (He feels like a side character tbh. Even after everything, I still don't fully understand him)
• EvaJacks content
• Pining
• Anger (I needed Jacks to set things on FIRE. I needed HIM to kill Apollo not some tree. Thank you tree of souls but I would've preferred Jacks)
• PAGES (I could read 1000 pages of EvaJacks and not get bored or tired )
°•°•°•°•°
°• Where were Marisol, Luc and Tiberius?? They all have significant roles in ouabh and tbona. Why were they excluded entirely?
°• Lala and Chaos do y'all need a room? Cuz damn. I NEED a book about that right now. Lala brushing off Eva's question about Dane was suspicious as well.
°• The Valors... I'm not even gonna talk about them (except Castor)I don't like any of them. Let me just say Aurora, you'll get what's coming for you... with your dusty ass ugly purple hair and your stupid face. You MANIPULATIVE BITC- *takes deep breath*
°• The quotes were BEAUTIFULLY written and something that made me scream (like actually SCREAM OUT LOUD) was when Eva called Jacks my love OH MY GOD 😩💖
°• Stephanie was tryna be cheeky at the end with the apples question but he has Eva for that now 🌚
°• The bonus epilogue in the B&N version was so cute 🤭💖
°• The one in the Waterstones version was cute too but Eva... Apollo doesn't deserve your kindness 😔
°• Owlcrate - Why? Why does it have to be in HER pov and also who is that man???
For anyone who wants to read them
B&N https://www.tumblr.com/hollowinmyhear...
Waterstones https://www.tumblr.com/hollowinmyhear...
Owlcrate https://www.tumblr.com/cindereckless/...
°•°•°•°•°
Stephanie Garber...
I do hope you're planning to write 200 novellas because we need them. I NEED THEM, OK?? PLEASE...I SIMPLY CANNOT SURVIVE🥺😩💖💖
°•°•°•°•°
Overall it was a good book - not as good as it could've been - but I'm partial for my EvaJacks 💖💖
3.75 ⭐
If I were to rate based on plot, 2⭐.
If Jacks doesn't kill Apollo in this book, I think I will 🙂
(I guess I'm the tree of souls then lmao)
°•°•°•°•°
24/10/23
I'm happy, thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon, excited, joyous, exuberant, tickled pink, merry and delighted that EvaJacks are together 💖 (God I love them so much 😩💖)
BUT... I'm also disappointed. Acftl felt rushed and anticlimactic which is so ironic because I feel it was supposed to be the longest in the series and the most informative because there was stuff to unpack from ouabh and tbona.
It also felt very different compared to the first 2 and the pacing was off- It was slow to start and then too quick to end.
Where was the flirtiness? The banter? Why didn't he fight harder?? He was so quick to let her be with Apollo. He's said time and time again that fates are jealous and obsessive. Where was the jealousy?? The obsessiveness?? I wanted UNHINGED behaviour 😭
I needed MORE. SO MUCH MORE.
More:
• Jacks chapters (He feels like a side character tbh. Even after everything, I still don't fully understand him)
• EvaJacks content
• Pining
• Anger (I needed Jacks to set things on FIRE. I needed HIM to kill Apollo not some tree. Thank you tree of souls but I would've preferred Jacks)
• PAGES (I could read 1000 pages of EvaJacks and not get bored or tired )
°•°•°•°•°
°• Where were Marisol, Luc and Tiberius?? They all have significant roles in ouabh and tbona. Why were they excluded entirely?
°• Lala and Chaos do y'all need a room? Cuz damn. I NEED a book about that right now. Lala brushing off Eva's question about Dane was suspicious as well.
°• The Valors... I'm not even gonna talk about them (except Castor)I don't like any of them. Let me just say Aurora, you'll get what's coming for you... with your dusty ass ugly purple hair and your stupid face. You MANIPULATIVE BITC- *takes deep breath*
°• The quotes were BEAUTIFULLY written and something that made me scream (like actually SCREAM OUT LOUD) was when Eva called Jacks my love OH MY GOD 😩💖
°• Stephanie was tryna be cheeky at the end with the apples question but he has Eva for that now 🌚
°• The bonus epilogue in the B&N version was so cute 🤭💖
°• The one in the Waterstones version was cute too but Eva... Apollo doesn't deserve your kindness 😔
°• Owlcrate - Why? Why does it have to be in HER pov and also who is that man???
For anyone who wants to read them
B&N https://www.tumblr.com/hollowinmyhear...
Waterstones https://www.tumblr.com/hollowinmyhear...
Owlcrate https://www.tumblr.com/cindereckless/...
°•°•°•°•°
Stephanie Garber...
I do hope you're planning to write 200 novellas because we need them. I NEED THEM, OK?? PLEASE...I SIMPLY CANNOT SURVIVE🥺😩💖💖
°•°•°•°•°
Overall it was a good book - not as good as it could've been - but I'm partial for my EvaJacks 💖💖
3.75 ⭐
If I were to rate based on plot, 2⭐.
October 27, 2023
i wanna live in this book. i want every moment etched into my mind forever. i want every quote tattooed on my body. i never wanna let this book go. how did i breathe without them in my life.
there was actual crack in this book because i did not want it parted from me the entire time. i needed another hit as soon as i even thought of putting it down. i would break doors and scale walls and climb mountains to get back to them.
”jacks had been protecting her. he was always protecting her. and she needed to protect him.”
”he would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this.”
evajacks - they are my everything. every moment between them was so special. whether it was them bantering back and forth or their more intimate moments filled with subtle touches and pure tension and angst, i was truly and utterly entranced by them.
i was constantly making silent prayers and holding my breath they wouldn’t leave each other heartbroken. i shed countless tears for them out of pure fear and love for the two of them. they have bewitched me for real.
”i’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
eva - she’s grown so much as a character since the first book, and you actively see her learning from her mistakes and correcting them. she’s become such a strong character. i love that she never loses her faith or hope despite everything and everyone telling her to. she has her flaws but it’s what makes her human, and i would never fault her for anything. all the choices she makes are realistic and she puts so much heart into everything she does it’s incredible. going through this journey with her has been absolutely beautiful.
”i am a monster, but i’m your monster, evangeline.”
jacks - getting jacks’s pov was my one wish and its been granted. but i wanted more of it. he didn’t have nearly enough povs, but you best believe i cherished every moment inside his head.
he’s so tortured and my heart was constantly aching for him. he has such a heartbreaking backstory. he’s just so terrified of things going wrong because they always do. he knows nothing but tragedy. he wouldn’t even let himself believe things can go right for once that he sabotages any chance at happiness he could get. i love his character so much words cannot even describe it. his charm, his aura, his essence is so intoxicating i could never get tired of him.
”love was more than a feeling. and it didn’t have to be the safe choice, because love was also more powerful than fear. it was the ultimate form of hope.”
this series was breathtaking. it has given me so much. i felt like a little kid again reading these books with wonder in my eyes and so much hope in my heart. i cried, i smiled, i laughed, and i longed for more time with them. i can’t move on from these books i will simply embrace them and hold them close to my heart forevermore.
—
this is the only thing that matters to me atm 🦊🍎
i miss u jacks, my apple-eating scoundrel
there was actual crack in this book because i did not want it parted from me the entire time. i needed another hit as soon as i even thought of putting it down. i would break doors and scale walls and climb mountains to get back to them.
”jacks had been protecting her. he was always protecting her. and she needed to protect him.”
”he would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this.”
evajacks - they are my everything. every moment between them was so special. whether it was them bantering back and forth or their more intimate moments filled with subtle touches and pure tension and angst, i was truly and utterly entranced by them.
i was constantly making silent prayers and holding my breath they wouldn’t leave each other heartbroken. i shed countless tears for them out of pure fear and love for the two of them. they have bewitched me for real.
”i’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
eva - she’s grown so much as a character since the first book, and you actively see her learning from her mistakes and correcting them. she’s become such a strong character. i love that she never loses her faith or hope despite everything and everyone telling her to. she has her flaws but it’s what makes her human, and i would never fault her for anything. all the choices she makes are realistic and she puts so much heart into everything she does it’s incredible. going through this journey with her has been absolutely beautiful.
”i am a monster, but i’m your monster, evangeline.”
jacks - getting jacks’s pov was my one wish and its been granted. but i wanted more of it. he didn’t have nearly enough povs, but you best believe i cherished every moment inside his head.
he’s so tortured and my heart was constantly aching for him. he has such a heartbreaking backstory. he’s just so terrified of things going wrong because they always do. he knows nothing but tragedy. he wouldn’t even let himself believe things can go right for once that he sabotages any chance at happiness he could get. i love his character so much words cannot even describe it. his charm, his aura, his essence is so intoxicating i could never get tired of him.
”love was more than a feeling. and it didn’t have to be the safe choice, because love was also more powerful than fear. it was the ultimate form of hope.”
this series was breathtaking. it has given me so much. i felt like a little kid again reading these books with wonder in my eyes and so much hope in my heart. i cried, i smiled, i laughed, and i longed for more time with them. i can’t move on from these books i will simply embrace them and hold them close to my heart forevermore.
—
this is the only thing that matters to me atm 🦊🍎
i miss u jacks, my apple-eating scoundrel
October 25, 2023
i told myself i was just gonna pick this up from the bookstore, read a 100 pages max, and savor the rest when i get home. tell me why as soon as my transaction clears, i sat my ass down at a table and proceeded to read the whole thing right before closing?!? no regrets but i do have a raging headache…😞
this is EVERYTHING! everything i could’ve wanted, and asked for, and hoped for. this was explosive, devastating, and spiked like there was poison in it ?!? Jacks & Evangeline are my world. no one is doing it out here like them! 😫
Evangeline my gawwwwd why was she pulling my heart like that?! she was giving bad bitch. giving “get tf out of my way, this is my fairytale.” giving “idgaf who you are realness.” she really said: these hands are rated E for everyone! no one loves as passionate as she does. 🥹
Jacks…be MINE! damn i wonder if bleach is poisonous ?because MY LORD i wasn’t ready for this emotional breakdown. no one is out here doing it like my babygirl. every move he made was so poetic and skilled. jacks has that DAWG in him for his behavior in this book. had me bricked. y’all think that hollow scene was something??? wait till you read the inn scene…. jacks is the type to set the world on fire for evangeline and that he does 🤩
part of me does wish some scenes were flushed out a little bit more. I still have some questions that weren’t exactly answered just loosely riddled. which honestly was disappointing because this is the last book in the series. but i will say reading the b&n bonus scene upped this rating.
i can’t even register that this series is over. like tf do you mean i’m going to wake up tomorrow? i wanna die
4.5 ⭐️
this is EVERYTHING! everything i could’ve wanted, and asked for, and hoped for. this was explosive, devastating, and spiked like there was poison in it ?!? Jacks & Evangeline are my world. no one is doing it out here like them! 😫
Evangeline my gawwwwd why was she pulling my heart like that?! she was giving bad bitch. giving “get tf out of my way, this is my fairytale.” giving “idgaf who you are realness.” she really said: these hands are rated E for everyone! no one loves as passionate as she does. 🥹
Jacks…be MINE! damn i wonder if bleach is poisonous ?because MY LORD i wasn’t ready for this emotional breakdown. no one is out here doing it like my babygirl. every move he made was so poetic and skilled. jacks has that DAWG in him for his behavior in this book. had me bricked. y’all think that hollow scene was something??? wait till you read the inn scene…. jacks is the type to set the world on fire for evangeline and that he does 🤩
part of me does wish some scenes were flushed out a little bit more. I still have some questions that weren’t exactly answered just loosely riddled. which honestly was disappointing because this is the last book in the series. but i will say reading the b&n bonus scene upped this rating.
i can’t even register that this series is over. like tf do you mean i’m going to wake up tomorrow? i wanna die
4.5 ⭐️
Want to read
October 24, 2023ITS OUT?????!!!! today is the day & i have to wait until it arrives 😭😭😭
update october 21st: THREE DAYS TO GO WTF WTF WTF
update october 14th: we’re 10 days away and the quote SG posted today is going to be the end of me…
“[…] before he left her for good.” omg ???
update august 24th: two more months to go 🥲🥲
update june 7th: stephanie garber posting quotes for this book is my last straw, stopppp i need this booook
update may 4th: WE’LL GET A JACKS POV
update may 3rd: “this is where you break free” 😭 give me more quotes, pls i’m begging
update april 27th: y’all seen her IG story?? “the longest epilogue she’s ever written” and she’s not even done yet. give us a well deserved hea 😔
update april 20th: she signed a book with "remember, little fox" 👀 this scene is going to hurt
update april 9th: stephanie described this book as "heart-stealing, emotionally-devastating, and painfully-romantic" i don’t even know how to process this information
update april 6th: did y‘all see what stephanie garber posted on her story 😭 she said "sometimes when i‘m […] revising, i just want to add little footnotes that say, i promise i‘m a nicer person than this scene might have you believe" AND IVE NEVER BEEN MORE SCARED
update april 4th: we have to wait until october?? omg i might die
this will be my villain arc if i don’t get a HEA
update october 21st: THREE DAYS TO GO WTF WTF WTF
update october 14th: we’re 10 days away and the quote SG posted today is going to be the end of me…
“[…] before he left her for good.” omg ???
update august 24th: two more months to go 🥲🥲
update june 7th: stephanie garber posting quotes for this book is my last straw, stopppp i need this booook
update may 4th: WE’LL GET A JACKS POV
update may 3rd: “this is where you break free” 😭 give me more quotes, pls i’m begging
update april 27th: y’all seen her IG story?? “the longest epilogue she’s ever written” and she’s not even done yet. give us a well deserved hea 😔
update april 20th: she signed a book with "remember, little fox" 👀 this scene is going to hurt
update april 9th: stephanie described this book as "heart-stealing, emotionally-devastating, and painfully-romantic" i don’t even know how to process this information
update april 6th: did y‘all see what stephanie garber posted on her story 😭 she said "sometimes when i‘m […] revising, i just want to add little footnotes that say, i promise i‘m a nicer person than this scene might have you believe" AND IVE NEVER BEEN MORE SCARED
update april 4th: we have to wait until october?? omg i might die
this will be my villain arc if i don’t get a HEA
October 28, 2023
Having to wait an entire year for Jacks to punch Apollo is already killing me.
Update: 28th October 23
*chef’s kiss* It feels damn good to be right.
This book is exquisite. Magical. Enchanting. Heartbreaking. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life now that Jacks’s and Evangeline’s story is over. I’m just so glad I was part of the hype surrounding this trilogy because it lived up to every single expectation.
I wish I could give this all the stars in the universe. Stephanie has quickly become a favourite author of mine since picking up OUABH when it came out. I was so enthralled by Jacks I read Caraval after. But Stephanie’s writing truly is something else. For example: ‘It never snowed in Valenda, and never as thick as this, as if the world were a cake and the snow was dollops of thick white frosting,’ and ‘Happiness swirled through the air like pollen,’ and all the elaborate descriptions of gowns and forests and castles. Her writing draws you in and I can’t get enough of it.
I am so lost now. I’m having that end-of-series withdrawal. All through reading I couldn’t wait to find out what happened but I so wasn’t ready to let go of this story. I’m still not.
This book broke me in so many ways. It made me feel absolutely everything.
A moment that had me crying screaming throwing up?
‘Then break me, Jacks.’
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
ALL THE STARS
Update: 28th October 23
*chef’s kiss* It feels damn good to be right.
This book is exquisite. Magical. Enchanting. Heartbreaking. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life now that Jacks’s and Evangeline’s story is over. I’m just so glad I was part of the hype surrounding this trilogy because it lived up to every single expectation.
I wish I could give this all the stars in the universe. Stephanie has quickly become a favourite author of mine since picking up OUABH when it came out. I was so enthralled by Jacks I read Caraval after. But Stephanie’s writing truly is something else. For example: ‘It never snowed in Valenda, and never as thick as this, as if the world were a cake and the snow was dollops of thick white frosting,’ and ‘Happiness swirled through the air like pollen,’ and all the elaborate descriptions of gowns and forests and castles. Her writing draws you in and I can’t get enough of it.
I am so lost now. I’m having that end-of-series withdrawal. All through reading I couldn’t wait to find out what happened but I so wasn’t ready to let go of this story. I’m still not.
This book broke me in so many ways. It made me feel absolutely everything.
A moment that had me crying screaming throwing up?
‘Then break me, Jacks.’
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
ALL THE STARS
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
January 23, 2023Update (January 23, 2023): Cosmopolitan has just revealed the US cover for CURSE along with the official book summary and an exclusive interview, where I might spill a few secrets. Here's think link for everyone interested: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertai...
Update (Dec 12, 2022): This book has a title--A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE is the title of the third (and final) book in the One Upon A Broken Heart series. I hope you all love this title as much as I do. I'm so excited that I was finally able to share it today, and I look forward to sharing more news about this book in the upcoming months!
Hey friends! I'm so excited to share that there will be a third book in the Broken Heart series. I've already started writing and I'm having so much fun with this story. I can't say more about it just yet, but I promise to share updates as I have them. :)
Update (Dec 12, 2022): This book has a title--A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE is the title of the third (and final) book in the One Upon A Broken Heart series. I hope you all love this title as much as I do. I'm so excited that I was finally able to share it today, and I look forward to sharing more news about this book in the upcoming months!
Hey friends! I'm so excited to share that there will be a third book in the Broken Heart series. I've already started writing and I'm having so much fun with this story. I can't say more about it just yet, but I promise to share updates as I have them. :)
November 1, 2023
✨ SO, LORD JACKS, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF A WHOLE SAGA ON YOUR (GORGEOUS) SHOULDERS? ✨
(Ps: Currently rioting)
***
Update 25/10: Currently reading, but the comments I'm getting suggest that I'll be rioting soon.
Update 18/10: Well, I guess in a week we'll know if I'm gonna riot or not 👀
✨I SWEAR, IF WE DON'T FIND OUT WHAT JACK'S APPLES ARE FOR I'LL RIOT✨
(Ps: Currently rioting)
***
Update 25/10: Currently reading, but the comments I'm getting suggest that I'll be rioting soon.
Update 18/10: Well, I guess in a week we'll know if I'm gonna riot or not 👀
✨I SWEAR, IF WE DON'T FIND OUT WHAT JACK'S APPLES ARE FOR I'LL RIOT✨
December 22, 2023
taylor swift didn’t write the great war for evajacks to not be endgame
update: THEY SURVIVED THE GREAT WAR 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 your honour i would die for evajacks… they have altered my brain chemistry forever i’ll never ever recover from this series
update: THEY SURVIVED THE GREAT WAR 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 your honour i would die for evajacks… they have altered my brain chemistry forever i’ll never ever recover from this series
September 28, 2022
"there is nothing of equal value to me" than this book 😭💞🦊🍎
October 27, 2023
DNF @ pg 324
I literally don't care about this story anymore
*SIGHS*
⚠️INCOMING RANT⚠️
tbh, I knew I wasn't going to love this book because I really enjoyed the Caraval series but I did not love OUABH(I rated 4🌟) and TBOTNA(I rated 3🌟) but I didn't expect to feel so drained after this read
also, I thought I wasn't going to write a review but I took painkillers for the headache this book gave me and I'm recovering as I type this, so here I am with what I'm hoping is a coherent review 😭
ok, so this book was just fine and really wanted answers to the apple-eatingcurse habit... nothing special magical so why did I dnf? ☹️ in a single word? Evangeline, in a bullet point detailed list?
~ it was obvious this story was going nowhere. every plot/storyline goes in circles ⭕ and I was over it and I just dgaf anymore
~ don't even get me started with our pick-me, dumb af, delulu and desperate fmc 🤦🏽♀️ I never want to read about a fmc like Evangeline ever again. there was nothing interesting about her character or inner monologues, it's just her not thinking and doing everything that questions her interest in self-preservation and then running away from Jacks then chasing Jacks all on the same page 🙄
~ I don't know what happened but the magic in book 3 makes zero sense from how things ended with Apollo to Jacks' long dead lover returning and playing around with some curses to Evangeline's prophesy which amounted to nothing
~ I was not having fun, I was over it all, I wasn't impressed with Jacks and his mixed signals- it kept interrupting "their moments". even Jacks' villainous actions didn't make sense at some point. if you ask me what anyone in this book was trying to achieve, I won't be able to tell you because the answer is trying to prevent Eva from getting herself killed as a result of her own actions or nothing 😒 how very
Elena Gilbert
disappointing
***
I hope this book finally explains where Jacks is getting all those white apples from 🍏🤍
I literally don't care about this story anymore
*SIGHS*
⚠️INCOMING RANT⚠️
tbh, I knew I wasn't going to love this book because I really enjoyed the Caraval series but I did not love OUABH(I rated 4🌟) and TBOTNA(I rated 3🌟) but I didn't expect to feel so drained after this read
also, I thought I wasn't going to write a review but I took painkillers for the headache this book gave me and I'm recovering as I type this, so here I am with what I'm hoping is a coherent review 😭
ok, so this book was just fine and really wanted answers to the apple-eating
~ it was obvious this story was going nowhere. every plot/storyline goes in circles ⭕ and I was over it and I just dgaf anymore
~ don't even get me started with our pick-me, dumb af, delulu and desperate fmc 🤦🏽♀️ I never want to read about a fmc like Evangeline ever again. there was nothing interesting about her character or inner monologues, it's just her not thinking and doing everything that questions her interest in self-preservation and then running away from Jacks then chasing Jacks all on the same page 🙄
~ I don't know what happened but the magic in book 3 makes zero sense from how things ended with Apollo to Jacks' long dead lover returning and playing around with some curses to Evangeline's prophesy which amounted to nothing
~ I was not having fun, I was over it all, I wasn't impressed with Jacks and his mixed signals- it kept interrupting "their moments". even Jacks' villainous actions didn't make sense at some point. if you ask me what anyone in this book was trying to achieve, I won't be able to tell you because the answer is trying to prevent Eva from getting herself killed as a result of her own actions or nothing 😒 how very
***
I hope this book finally explains where Jacks is getting all those white apples from 🍏🤍
December 19, 2023
tengo DEMASIADO que decir.
November 12, 2023
I can’t believe I’m done in this world 🥲
pre-review:
Jacks if you don’t go get your girl I will sue
pre-review:
Jacks if you don’t go get your girl I will sue
November 13, 2023
4.5⭐️s! I didn't realize how much I missed this series & these characters. It was sooo nice to be back in this world.
The fact that Jacks is so protective of Evangeline 🥵 but also so self-destructive at the same time, had me on the edge of my seat, crossing all my fingers and toes that they'd get a happy ending. AND WE GOT MULTI-POV in this book which was so cool!! I do wish we got more scenes with Jacks though.
I overall just reallyyyy love how magical and fairytale vibes this whole series is. One little critique is that there were some side plots that didn't seem to get a fully fleshed-out conclusion. Particularly one with two side characters that seemed like it was set up to go somewhere but then just didn't? Maybe I'm delusional, but it's making me think we might get a spin-off series with these side characters🤔
Anyway 5⭐️ series overall!! I'm gonna miss Jacks & Evangeline so much
The fact that Jacks is so protective of Evangeline 🥵 but also so self-destructive at the same time, had me on the edge of my seat, crossing all my fingers and toes that they'd get a happy ending. AND WE GOT MULTI-POV in this book which was so cool!! I do wish we got more scenes with Jacks though.
I overall just reallyyyy love how magical and fairytale vibes this whole series is. One little critique is that there were some side plots that didn't seem to get a fully fleshed-out conclusion. Particularly one with two side characters that seemed like it was set up to go somewhere but then just didn't? Maybe I'm delusional, but it's making me think we might get a spin-off series with these side characters🤔
Anyway 5⭐️ series overall!! I'm gonna miss Jacks & Evangeline so much
October 25, 2023
3.5 stars ✨
"...It's you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I'll fight fate or anyone who tries to tear us apart- including you. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine..."
I didn't want it to end 🥲🥲🥲 I needed more. I needed more of Jacks😭😭❤
Am satisfied with the way it ended and so glad I read this series. I stand by my words that this is far better than Caraval. The world building, the characters, the plot and romance work so brilliantly in OUABH comparatively.
Not saying this was a perfect book, but am so happy I read it. The emotions I felt especially in the last few chapters will have me thinking about it for daysss.
I believe while the series was carried by Jacks. This book in particular was carried by Apollo, especially in the first half. The first half was slowish compared to the second. The rush, the romance I felt in the second half made me wonder if I missed out on something in the first 50%.
As Evangeline is trying to figure out her reality and to gain her memories back (which she should have been more concerned about) we see Apollo come to terms with what and who he really is. I loved his dark twisted persona. Sure he annoyed me a lot but to see how deluded one can be or what all crazy things obsession can make one do, was so interesting to read.
Evangeline seemed incomplete without Jacks. Maybe it was intentional or it's just my perception but before Jacks came into the picture, she was so lost. Also, bestie could have put in more effort into gaining her memories back lol.
Jacks... Where do I even start? I felt the lack of him. Firstly, he made an appearance after 10 chapters and when he did it came across as cameo appearances for the whole first half. I missed him, terribly. Maybe that is why the first half seemed slow to me. His charm, his love for his little fox is EVERYTHING! The angst he feels was so well written. I needed more of him. His character had so much to say, so much to explore and I believe it kinda got lost in the rush.
"You shouldn't stare at me like that."
"Then how should I stare?"
"You shouldn't stare at me at all."
The romance deserved more pages. I feel like the majority of the time was left exploring how bad Apollo got, that he stole the limelight from the two main characters. The romance at the end came across as rushed. But those few moments that we got, I LOVED it. Absolutely adored it. I won't be forgetting about it, believe me.
The reasons why this is not a 5 star read for me-
1. Am not sure how I feel about the multi pov. Sure it was interesting but it didn't really do anything writing wise. It still came across as I was reading the book from Eva's pov. Apollo's pov was interesting at first, but soon grew old. I got he was dark and was doing his dark business but at the most it should have been like eight chapters. Had the book had more of Jacks pov I would have preferred it more. Jacks pov was also written similarly to Eva's. And did I mention I felt the lack of Jacks? Cause I truly did.
2. The last 20% of the book was rushed. I would have enjoyed it even more had there been 50-70 pages more. Like the slow burn had been going on for two books and was eating me alive and to rush past it as if we're all on a sugar high was not an ideal decision imo. The action sequences could also have used a little more time considering how Apollo went in his lunatic mode.
The ending was sweet. I know I said it was rushed but only cause I wanted more. I don't think I'll be over Eva Jacks anytime soon. And correct me if I am wrong but it seems like we might get another spin off? I hope it's Chaos' turn this time 🤭
"Once upon a time, there was nothing but kissing, and everything was perfect. And then there was even more kissing."
~•~•~
IT'S HEREEEEE 🤩🤩
~•~•~
*waits impatiently for this to release* *puts the rest of my tbr on hold*
AHH I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS ONE 😩😩😩 I need EvaJacks to happen or else am gonna lose my sanity
"...It's you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I'll fight fate or anyone who tries to tear us apart- including you. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine..."
I didn't want it to end 🥲🥲🥲 I needed more. I needed more of Jacks😭😭❤
Am satisfied with the way it ended and so glad I read this series. I stand by my words that this is far better than Caraval. The world building, the characters, the plot and romance work so brilliantly in OUABH comparatively.
Not saying this was a perfect book, but am so happy I read it. The emotions I felt especially in the last few chapters will have me thinking about it for daysss.
I believe while the series was carried by Jacks. This book in particular was carried by Apollo, especially in the first half. The first half was slowish compared to the second. The rush, the romance I felt in the second half made me wonder if I missed out on something in the first 50%.
As Evangeline is trying to figure out her reality and to gain her memories back (which she should have been more concerned about) we see Apollo come to terms with what and who he really is. I loved his dark twisted persona. Sure he annoyed me a lot but to see how deluded one can be or what all crazy things obsession can make one do, was so interesting to read.
Evangeline seemed incomplete without Jacks. Maybe it was intentional or it's just my perception but before Jacks came into the picture, she was so lost. Also, bestie could have put in more effort into gaining her memories back lol.
Jacks... Where do I even start? I felt the lack of him. Firstly, he made an appearance after 10 chapters and when he did it came across as cameo appearances for the whole first half. I missed him, terribly. Maybe that is why the first half seemed slow to me. His charm, his love for his little fox is EVERYTHING! The angst he feels was so well written. I needed more of him. His character had so much to say, so much to explore and I believe it kinda got lost in the rush.
"You shouldn't stare at me like that."
"Then how should I stare?"
"You shouldn't stare at me at all."
The romance deserved more pages. I feel like the majority of the time was left exploring how bad Apollo got, that he stole the limelight from the two main characters. The romance at the end came across as rushed. But those few moments that we got, I LOVED it. Absolutely adored it. I won't be forgetting about it, believe me.
The reasons why this is not a 5 star read for me-
1. Am not sure how I feel about the multi pov. Sure it was interesting but it didn't really do anything writing wise. It still came across as I was reading the book from Eva's pov. Apollo's pov was interesting at first, but soon grew old. I got he was dark and was doing his dark business but at the most it should have been like eight chapters. Had the book had more of Jacks pov I would have preferred it more. Jacks pov was also written similarly to Eva's. And did I mention I felt the lack of Jacks? Cause I truly did.
2. The last 20% of the book was rushed. I would have enjoyed it even more had there been 50-70 pages more. Like the slow burn had been going on for two books and was eating me alive and to rush past it as if we're all on a sugar high was not an ideal decision imo. The action sequences could also have used a little more time considering how Apollo went in his lunatic mode.
The ending was sweet. I know I said it was rushed but only cause I wanted more. I don't think I'll be over Eva Jacks anytime soon. And correct me if I am wrong but it seems like we might get another spin off? I hope it's Chaos' turn this time 🤭
"Once upon a time, there was nothing but kissing, and everything was perfect. And then there was even more kissing."
~•~•~
IT'S HEREEEEE 🤩🤩
~•~•~
*waits impatiently for this to release* *puts the rest of my tbr on hold*
AHH I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS ONE 😩😩😩 I need EvaJacks to happen or else am gonna lose my sanity
December 23, 2023
3.5/5.0 stars
jacks is the leader of the sassy men epidemic and i’m living for it. and him wearing olive green trousers and a plain white shirt half-buttoned with his sleeves rolled up.. that man has style & he’s just perfect 💘💓💝💞💓💖💕
warning: this review is going to be super long. i cannot truly express in words how sad i am to give this book this rating.
okay i’ve heard a lot of takes about this book and i’m gonna be so fucking honest this was disappointing in a lot of aspects with the plot. the ending was so open ended, which i didn’t mind, but there were so many plot holes. that being said, i still liked this book but i truly wanted more from it. i saw the same problem with finale, so i don’t know if stephanie garber genuinely doesn’t know how to wrap everything up or she left everything open on purpose. (i’ve heard that take and i can’t bring myself to accept it, there’s a limit for how much u can leave open ended and there was A LOT in this book.)
spoiler alert !!
let me elaborate on this take - i saw this tiktok talking about how there were so many questions bc it’s metaphorically supposed to represent the story curse and how no one truly knows what happened, in the case of the valley arch and what happened to the valors themselves. however, i feel like it would’ve been suitable had it not been the last book in this series. this is very conflicting to rate bc on one hand i feel like the romance delivered but on the other hand it feels like the plot wasn’t completely thought out. and i did expect so much more from the romance still. jacks loved evangeline so much that he rewrote history but we still can’t get a love confession out of him? 😭😭
end of spoilers
i’m not gonna be the first to admit i love stephanie garber’s writing. i’ve been very vocal about it ever since i first read her other series ‘caraval’ earlier this year. i don’t have a problem with her writing, i think that it can be very magical and i’m glad it hasn’t changed much. one thing that has changed is the plots of her books. when i read the caraval series, the romance stayed a subplot but with this series, everyone fixates on the romance and i think stephanie garber did the same. at the end she doesn’t clear anything up and i think it might be a way to appeal to the audience bc let’s admit - a lot of ppl read fantasy for the sprinkle of romance.
i had a few problems with caraval, but overall i loved it and it was very magical. i will stand by this - i love caraval for the magical world building, where the world goes more into depth and is much more magical, and i love ouabh for the romance. don’t get me wrong, the romance in caraval was almost impeccable. however the characters and their background in this series varied very differently. there was so much depth to these characters and jacks was so much more mysterious. his backstory and everything had me bawling. this is why i truly wanted a better ending for evajacks. i feel very conflicted about this book bc i love the characters so much.
unfortunately there are going to be spoilers for the rest of this review. i cannot express a lot of my thoughts without mentioning spoilers
the 2 main villains in this book were aurora and apollo. and like i mentioned before, there was no clarification for the other “villains” in the previous books. i am so confused why we never find out what happens to all the other villains in the other books. marisol and tiberius had absolutely no role. she leaves it open ended in the other book about tiberius and we never find out what happens to him but apparently in this book we don’t find out either!! even luc was mentioned once but he never once appeared. it felt as if stephanie garber thought it would be good if she introduced a new villain rather than addressing the previous ones but no!! i expected tiberius to make his comeback but he was only mentioned a few times in the beginning. the fact that he was pretty much all talk no action is prominent in this book lmaoo. and marisol wasn’t even mentioned. does she just rot in jail..? either way i have hope for stephanie garber. she is still one of my favorite authors and even though i didnt like this book as much, her writing shows promise and i hope that it only improves from now.
my thoughts:
i’m ngl i have mixed feelings about chaos, or castor. i felt so sad after that ending with evangeline last book (like everyone else ofc) but i wonder how chaos would’ve reacted if he found out he killed eva. he seemed apologetic in the last book but he ran away (probably bc of fear). but this book he’s helping eva bc he believed jacks is going to make a huge mistake. i think chaos is overall a good person (even if he went on a whole mf blood rampage 😭😭) but i don’t blame him after he was forced to wear a helm.
jacks has my whole heart. don’t u dare try and start with him not deserving a happy ending he has been through so much and he deserves the world. he’s been through so much pain, and when he talked about how he felt whenever he thought about how evangeline died i lowkey teared up 😭💘 and when he told her oh my god i was dying. that entire scene is engraved into my brain now. HE ALSO KEPT HER NOTE ABOUT HIM CLOSE TO HIS HEART everything he does is just perfect and amazing<33 every single little detail is forever engraved in my heart.
evangeline has been everything throughout this entire series. her dumb decisions kept the book entertaining i’m not even gonna lie. but also her love confession to jacks had me sobbing my eyes out it was so sweet. she has been through so much and i’m so so happy she ended up with jacks. she has been through so much and i love how she learned not to be as naive for the most part. she also learned to be more sassy and stand up for herself her character development has been everything. and her slapping apollo after she got her memories back was QUEEN SHIT 👏👏 eva is my girl 4eva and i absolutely love her. even if she was delulu at times but who isn’t? honestly i love how she still had so much hope but didn’t feel like it was enough like omg girl 😭😭 i felt so bad for her.
i feel like this book went completely off script. it introduced new villains (besides apollo), didn’t even clarify anything in the previous books, and the ratio of romance changed drastically. i wanted more angst, more JACKS (!!), and a much more deserved ending. i feel as though she just forgot about the other books and decided to change it up. there was so much angst in the previous books and i thought that it would build up in this book into a huge love confession of jacks part but nope. this does not mean i like jacks any less. these characters mean so much to me and i’m happy that they ended up together.
there are spoilers for the caraval series mentioned in this paragraph!!
the least disappointing aspect was the romance. but that’s not to say there was no disappointment bc my expectations were through the roof after tbona. there were sprinkles of it which i didn’t mind bc it’s a fantasy book, it’s not always going to focus on the romance aspects. but i still don’t understand how their relationship is gonna work with jacks being immortal and evangeline being a human. i mean dante gave up his immortality for donatella 🥹 i rlly expected a grand gesture from jacks, or anything. the best we got was an “i love you” and even though im happy he said it, it was the bare. fucking. minimum. and it hurts me to say that, trust me. the romance was through the roof with this series, but it drastically changed in this book. their love expanded to every universe and we couldn’t even get a love confession out of jacks? i will never get over that.
the plot twist about the truth of jacks curse? i’m ngl my heart broke a little after hearing donatella never loved him which was why she survived his kiss. this is not me in any saying i ship them. but when you think about their history and how it applies then knowing the info now, it makes me feel for jacks. he dyed his hair dark blue, it was clear he was heartbroken. and to learn she never had any feelings for him made me feel a bit of nostalgia. also i have another question - does jacks ever find out the truth of his kisses and how they’re only deadly if someone who will never love him kisses him..?
the ending with apollo becoming part of the tree actually made me laugh. another thing that has me laughing was how stephanie garber talked in an interview about how the tree on the cover is important in the book AND ITS LITERALLY THE TREE APOLLO GOT TRAPPED IN 😭😭 she rlly knows us!! i’m so glad he got what was coming to him. that scene frustrated me so much and I’M SO GLAD JACKS GAVE HIM WHAT HE DESERVED!! i waited 2 books for jacks to finally punch apollo and it happened, and i’m so satisfied with that !! and him cursing at apollo had my entertainment reaching its peak. i will say she had me in the first few chapters feeling sympathy for apollo but that quickly went away after everything happened. i’m still upset he killed the guards that only followed his command ☹️
—the rest of this review is going to be talking about things that were mentioned/i still had questions about after the ending.
would you guys believe me if i said this book was going to previously by 4.5 stars? maybe u won’t, but it’s true. during the beginning, it was rlly slow bc apollo made so many appearances and i was bored out of my mind. but every time jacks showed up it made everything better. at one point, i was contemplating on giving it 4.75 stars. can u imagine my disappointment at giving it the rating i’m giving it now?probably not but the ending was disappointing. maybe it was just me idk but it isn’t even about the apples as much.
speaking of the apples, i didnt mind that as much simply bc she explicitly stated that we would know, and even addressed it which was what i wanted the entire time. if she addressed any of the plot holes, i would’ve been happy. the point of a finale is to wrap everything up and maybe if she wrote another book in this series i’d be happy but this is the end of THIS series so i don’t get why so many things were alluded. the fan theories for the apples have me squealing, i’m kinda glad she didn’t explicitly state it simply bc letting us gather our own conclusion lets us be delulu.
another thing - the broken heart scar? i don’t understand why it was never used. was it just a way for eva to sense whenever jacks was nearby since it glowed? i expected more from that. i read the bonus epilogues, and it’s clear that stephanie hasn’t forgotten about it. she mentions it but doesn’t even tell us what’s gonna happen. i really expected something when it was first mentioned in the beginning while i was reading this book. i thought the mention of the scar was going to be foreshadowing but i was disappointed to find out it wasn’t. it’s basically used as a tell tale sign that jacks is nearby.
something i’m curious about is how evangeline didn’t die when she kissed jacks. i think the obstacle of apollo helped show how he would meet his end eventually but also i think it helped show that there were other forms of consequences? idk i can’t wrap my head around the fact that it was so easy for them to finally kiss after not kissing for over 2 books. there’s no confirmation, just guesses evangeline has made which makes it all the more confusing. she talks about how his love might help break the curse but i wish stephanie garber confirmed at least something. i finished reading and i honest to god had to think about this book for a long time. it was so bittersweet finishing this series. but the scene where jacks had a scare and he was scared she was dying but she just forgot to breath was so cute i was laughing through my tears at that 🥹🩷
i’m disappointed lala didn’t end up punching aurora, which would’ve been fully deserved. we don’t find out anything ab lala besides the fact that she was left alone w aurora after eva left to stop jacks. and it’s clear that she wasn’t punched since she was able to leave lala and distract jacks from finding evangeline. i wonder what’s gonna happen with lala now that she’s done her part helping eva find jacks in their last quest? i feel like it was only a happy conclusion for evajacks and not anyone else who helped them along the way. also i’m so sad she didn’t get a happy ending even after meeting her true love. she truly deserves one and i hope stephanie garber does end up writing another series for her.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
once upon a broken heart - 4.5 stars
the ballad of never after - 4.5 stars
a curse for true love - 3.5 stars
pre-review
i can’t believe i finished this series. i just know i’m gonna have the biggest hangover over these characters and the world stephanie garber has created 🥹 rtc soon 🤍 but for now i just have to say ‘say don’t go’ by taylor swift is soo evajacks coded
reading review
i’ve been waiting for this day for FUCKING FOREVER and i’m so excited!!
pre-read review
3 DAYS LEFT!! and i’m going crazy !!!
after reading tbona
no words will ever describe how badly i NEED this book. i understand everyone’s pain now. i desperately need evajacks to be endgame and i’m not accepting anything else.
before reading tbona
i manifested that this book would come sooner and instead the date levitated farther away
“Where are we going?” she asked.
A dimple appeared just below a cut on his cheek. “We can go wherever you want, Little Fox.”
jacks is the leader of the sassy men epidemic and i’m living for it. and him wearing olive green trousers and a plain white shirt half-buttoned with his sleeves rolled up.. that man has style & he’s just perfect 💘💓💝💞💓💖💕
warning: this review is going to be super long. i cannot truly express in words how sad i am to give this book this rating.
okay i’ve heard a lot of takes about this book and i’m gonna be so fucking honest this was disappointing in a lot of aspects with the plot. the ending was so open ended, which i didn’t mind, but there were so many plot holes. that being said, i still liked this book but i truly wanted more from it. i saw the same problem with finale, so i don’t know if stephanie garber genuinely doesn’t know how to wrap everything up or she left everything open on purpose. (i’ve heard that take and i can’t bring myself to accept it, there’s a limit for how much u can leave open ended and there was A LOT in this book.)
spoiler alert !!
let me elaborate on this take - i saw this tiktok talking about how there were so many questions bc it’s metaphorically supposed to represent the story curse and how no one truly knows what happened, in the case of the valley arch and what happened to the valors themselves. however, i feel like it would’ve been suitable had it not been the last book in this series. this is very conflicting to rate bc on one hand i feel like the romance delivered but on the other hand it feels like the plot wasn’t completely thought out. and i did expect so much more from the romance still. jacks loved evangeline so much that he rewrote history but we still can’t get a love confession out of him? 😭😭
end of spoilers
i’m not gonna be the first to admit i love stephanie garber’s writing. i’ve been very vocal about it ever since i first read her other series ‘caraval’ earlier this year. i don’t have a problem with her writing, i think that it can be very magical and i’m glad it hasn’t changed much. one thing that has changed is the plots of her books. when i read the caraval series, the romance stayed a subplot but with this series, everyone fixates on the romance and i think stephanie garber did the same. at the end she doesn’t clear anything up and i think it might be a way to appeal to the audience bc let’s admit - a lot of ppl read fantasy for the sprinkle of romance.
i had a few problems with caraval, but overall i loved it and it was very magical. i will stand by this - i love caraval for the magical world building, where the world goes more into depth and is much more magical, and i love ouabh for the romance. don’t get me wrong, the romance in caraval was almost impeccable. however the characters and their background in this series varied very differently. there was so much depth to these characters and jacks was so much more mysterious. his backstory and everything had me bawling. this is why i truly wanted a better ending for evajacks. i feel very conflicted about this book bc i love the characters so much.
unfortunately there are going to be spoilers for the rest of this review. i cannot express a lot of my thoughts without mentioning spoilers
the 2 main villains in this book were aurora and apollo. and like i mentioned before, there was no clarification for the other “villains” in the previous books. i am so confused why we never find out what happens to all the other villains in the other books. marisol and tiberius had absolutely no role. she leaves it open ended in the other book about tiberius and we never find out what happens to him but apparently in this book we don’t find out either!! even luc was mentioned once but he never once appeared. it felt as if stephanie garber thought it would be good if she introduced a new villain rather than addressing the previous ones but no!! i expected tiberius to make his comeback but he was only mentioned a few times in the beginning. the fact that he was pretty much all talk no action is prominent in this book lmaoo. and marisol wasn’t even mentioned. does she just rot in jail..? either way i have hope for stephanie garber. she is still one of my favorite authors and even though i didnt like this book as much, her writing shows promise and i hope that it only improves from now.
my thoughts:
i’m ngl i have mixed feelings about chaos, or castor. i felt so sad after that ending with evangeline last book (like everyone else ofc) but i wonder how chaos would’ve reacted if he found out he killed eva. he seemed apologetic in the last book but he ran away (probably bc of fear). but this book he’s helping eva bc he believed jacks is going to make a huge mistake. i think chaos is overall a good person (even if he went on a whole mf blood rampage 😭😭) but i don’t blame him after he was forced to wear a helm.
And he loved her.
He loved her.
He loved her.
He loved her.
He loved her so much he’d rewritten history. He’d given up what he had believed was his only chance at love. And now he had finally broken the spell that he never thought he’d escape.
jacks has my whole heart. don’t u dare try and start with him not deserving a happy ending he has been through so much and he deserves the world. he’s been through so much pain, and when he talked about how he felt whenever he thought about how evangeline died i lowkey teared up 😭💘 and when he told her oh my god i was dying. that entire scene is engraved into my brain now. HE ALSO KEPT HER NOTE ABOUT HIM CLOSE TO HIS HEART everything he does is just perfect and amazing<33 every single little detail is forever engraved in my heart.
evangeline has been everything throughout this entire series. her dumb decisions kept the book entertaining i’m not even gonna lie. but also her love confession to jacks had me sobbing my eyes out it was so sweet. she has been through so much and i’m so so happy she ended up with jacks. she has been through so much and i love how she learned not to be as naive for the most part. she also learned to be more sassy and stand up for herself her character development has been everything. and her slapping apollo after she got her memories back was QUEEN SHIT 👏👏 eva is my girl 4eva and i absolutely love her. even if she was delulu at times but who isn’t? honestly i love how she still had so much hope but didn’t feel like it was enough like omg girl 😭😭 i felt so bad for her.
i feel like this book went completely off script. it introduced new villains (besides apollo), didn’t even clarify anything in the previous books, and the ratio of romance changed drastically. i wanted more angst, more JACKS (!!), and a much more deserved ending. i feel as though she just forgot about the other books and decided to change it up. there was so much angst in the previous books and i thought that it would build up in this book into a huge love confession of jacks part but nope. this does not mean i like jacks any less. these characters mean so much to me and i’m happy that they ended up together.
there are spoilers for the caraval series mentioned in this paragraph!!
the least disappointing aspect was the romance. but that’s not to say there was no disappointment bc my expectations were through the roof after tbona. there were sprinkles of it which i didn’t mind bc it’s a fantasy book, it’s not always going to focus on the romance aspects. but i still don’t understand how their relationship is gonna work with jacks being immortal and evangeline being a human. i mean dante gave up his immortality for donatella 🥹 i rlly expected a grand gesture from jacks, or anything. the best we got was an “i love you” and even though im happy he said it, it was the bare. fucking. minimum. and it hurts me to say that, trust me. the romance was through the roof with this series, but it drastically changed in this book. their love expanded to every universe and we couldn’t even get a love confession out of jacks? i will never get over that.
the plot twist about the truth of jacks curse? i’m ngl my heart broke a little after hearing donatella never loved him which was why she survived his kiss. this is not me in any saying i ship them. but when you think about their history and how it applies then knowing the info now, it makes me feel for jacks. he dyed his hair dark blue, it was clear he was heartbroken. and to learn she never had any feelings for him made me feel a bit of nostalgia. also i have another question - does jacks ever find out the truth of his kisses and how they’re only deadly if someone who will never love him kisses him..?
the ending with apollo becoming part of the tree actually made me laugh. another thing that has me laughing was how stephanie garber talked in an interview about how the tree on the cover is important in the book AND ITS LITERALLY THE TREE APOLLO GOT TRAPPED IN 😭😭 she rlly knows us!! i’m so glad he got what was coming to him. that scene frustrated me so much and I’M SO GLAD JACKS GAVE HIM WHAT HE DESERVED!! i waited 2 books for jacks to finally punch apollo and it happened, and i’m so satisfied with that !! and him cursing at apollo had my entertainment reaching its peak. i will say she had me in the first few chapters feeling sympathy for apollo but that quickly went away after everything happened. i’m still upset he killed the guards that only followed his command ☹️
—the rest of this review is going to be talking about things that were mentioned/i still had questions about after the ending.
would you guys believe me if i said this book was going to previously by 4.5 stars? maybe u won’t, but it’s true. during the beginning, it was rlly slow bc apollo made so many appearances and i was bored out of my mind. but every time jacks showed up it made everything better. at one point, i was contemplating on giving it 4.75 stars. can u imagine my disappointment at giving it the rating i’m giving it now?
speaking of the apples, i didnt mind that as much simply bc she explicitly stated that we would know, and even addressed it which was what i wanted the entire time. if she addressed any of the plot holes, i would’ve been happy. the point of a finale is to wrap everything up and maybe if she wrote another book in this series i’d be happy but this is the end of THIS series so i don’t get why so many things were alluded. the fan theories for the apples have me squealing, i’m kinda glad she didn’t explicitly state it simply bc letting us gather our own conclusion lets us be delulu.
another thing - the broken heart scar? i don’t understand why it was never used. was it just a way for eva to sense whenever jacks was nearby since it glowed? i expected more from that. i read the bonus epilogues, and it’s clear that stephanie hasn’t forgotten about it. she mentions it but doesn’t even tell us what’s gonna happen. i really expected something when it was first mentioned in the beginning while i was reading this book. i thought the mention of the scar was going to be foreshadowing but i was disappointed to find out it wasn’t. it’s basically used as a tell tale sign that jacks is nearby.
something i’m curious about is how evangeline didn’t die when she kissed jacks. i think the obstacle of apollo helped show how he would meet his end eventually but also i think it helped show that there were other forms of consequences? idk i can’t wrap my head around the fact that it was so easy for them to finally kiss after not kissing for over 2 books. there’s no confirmation, just guesses evangeline has made which makes it all the more confusing. she talks about how his love might help break the curse but i wish stephanie garber confirmed at least something. i finished reading and i honest to god had to think about this book for a long time. it was so bittersweet finishing this series. but the scene where jacks had a scare and he was scared she was dying but she just forgot to breath was so cute i was laughing through my tears at that 🥹🩷
i’m disappointed lala didn’t end up punching aurora, which would’ve been fully deserved. we don’t find out anything ab lala besides the fact that she was left alone w aurora after eva left to stop jacks. and it’s clear that she wasn’t punched since she was able to leave lala and distract jacks from finding evangeline. i wonder what’s gonna happen with lala now that she’s done her part helping eva find jacks in their last quest? i feel like it was only a happy conclusion for evajacks and not anyone else who helped them along the way. also i’m so sad she didn’t get a happy ending even after meeting her true love. she truly deserves one and i hope stephanie garber does end up writing another series for her.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
once upon a broken heart - 4.5 stars
the ballad of never after - 4.5 stars
a curse for true love - 3.5 stars
pre-review
i can’t believe i finished this series. i just know i’m gonna have the biggest hangover over these characters and the world stephanie garber has created 🥹 rtc soon 🤍 but for now i just have to say ‘say don’t go’ by taylor swift is soo evajacks coded
reading review
i’ve been waiting for this day for FUCKING FOREVER and i’m so excited!!
pre-read review
3 DAYS LEFT!! and i’m going crazy !!!
after reading tbona
no words will ever describe how badly i NEED this book. i understand everyone’s pain now. i desperately need evajacks to be endgame and i’m not accepting anything else.
before reading tbona
i manifested that this book would come sooner and instead the date levitated farther away
December 7, 2023
↠ 4 stars ✩
spoilers are marked *ੈ‧₊˚
evajacks are the definition of heartbreak. from the start of once upon a broken heart, i've read about their tension and longing, the push and pull between them, and been completely mesmerized about how they've always cared for one another. this world has taken me on such a journey, from the magical descriptions about the feeling of love to overanalyzing literally every single sentence from the ballad of never after to see if i could get any clues for the next book! i've always adored tropes and plots that have a sense of poetry to them, so "a fairytale-loving girl + a prince who had sworn to never love?" perfection <3
୨୧ a little spoiler section, skip to the end of the paragraph ୨୧
this book smashed my heart into a million pieces, i could go on for hours about how much this series in general means to me, but i'll start with the flaws. i'm confused about a couple things, what happened to marisol? i thought we'd at least see where she ended up, and what about aurora? she was the antagonist here, and i was almost completely sure we'd get some closure about her. to be quite honest, even though aurora was the villain in afctl, her asking eva why jacks couldn't love her, i cried a little bita lot. whenever someone doesn't love you back is incorporated into a storyline, it's almost guaranteed to make me sob into my pillow. i don't really think this rating expresses my true feelings about the book, i have so many more little irks but just the characters, their happy ever after, i had to give this 4 stars!
fantasy writing is my favorite, the whimsical descriptions, and the world building is mesmerizing. so you can imagine how much i love stephanie's style! her way of phrasing sentences, instead of saying that a moment was delicately balanced, she writes: instead of being carved in stone, this moment felt like a fragile sort of tapestry that could unravel with one tug on a thread—or one pull of a leaf. i'm in love ♡
⤿ evangeline. our heroine. i get emotional just thinking about her story, i'm so proud of how far she's come. her and lala are such a fun and chaotic duo, their conversations nearly always made me laugh, they are so protective of one another. "what's the point in having friends if you're not there to support their bad decisions?" i've always had a soft spot for her because, regardless of what stood in her way, eva never wavered; she's so strong and believes in herself.
⤿ jacks. stephanie garber heard our complaints about why he couldn't be in the series more than he already was, jacks' pov made me giggle so much, my sister actually stopped by my room and threw her weighted blanket at methose things are heavy. his love for eva is expressed so beautifully in this book, from his quotes about how he could read her mind just by looking at her to their banter, which i wanted more of! to me, he is simply flawless.
~ spoilers from here ~
⤿ apollo. i could go on and on about how much i hate this man. i once heard that the author was going to make him a main character in the first two books, like evapollo? doesn't have the same ring to it. somehow, apollo always seems to appear whenever something exciting and new actually starts to happen! i saw his pov at one point, and then did not read for a day after. why did garber feel the need to throw his point of view at us literally every single chapter? it gave me a headache. however, i enjoyed reading about why he was the way he was, even his backstory. i highlighted the entire page where he died because of the tree of souls, a seamless conclusion by the way.
i read the b&n alternate ending, which i then cried over for multiple hoursdays. it's so precious and just exactly what i imagined for them, i loved the way aspects from even the first book were incorporated into it, and wish it was the ending!
i read a curse for true love with tanya and roro, which was the most fun and i loved talking with them! they waited 2 months to read this with me, if that doesn't say "kindest people ever," i don't know what does. you can see their reviews here:
tanya's
roro's
a little side note - to irha, who i spammed with my thoughts and feelings the minute after finishing acftl, it's the best talking to you and you're perfect, i'm convinced <3 this is her review. also to siffie, whose review makes me just want to click *copy paste*
my favorite quotes
~ spoilers ~
“you told me it would take the life of the person i love the most.”
“it is,” wolfric replied. “it’s taking you.”
“i am jacks’s true love. i believe it with the same confidence that i believe that water fills the oceans and morning follows the night. i believe it with all my heart and soul. and there has to be some sort of magic in that.”
“he loved her so much he’d rewritten history. he’d given up what he had believed was his only chance at love. and now he had finally broken the spell that he never thought he’d escape.”
“the story could have ended there, with the villain defeated and the happy couple about to go off to some ambiguous happily ever after.”
“you shouldn’t stare at me like that.”
“then how should i stare?”
“you shouldn’t stare at me at all.”
pre-review
my copy finally arrived!
spoilers are marked *ੈ‧₊˚
💌 “once upon a time, a girl who believed in fairytales stole the heart of a prince who had sworn to never love.”
evajacks are the definition of heartbreak. from the start of once upon a broken heart, i've read about their tension and longing, the push and pull between them, and been completely mesmerized about how they've always cared for one another. this world has taken me on such a journey, from the magical descriptions about the feeling of love to overanalyzing literally every single sentence from the ballad of never after to see if i could get any clues for the next book! i've always adored tropes and plots that have a sense of poetry to them, so "a fairytale-loving girl + a prince who had sworn to never love?" perfection <3
୨୧ a little spoiler section, skip to the end of the paragraph ୨୧
this book smashed my heart into a million pieces, i could go on for hours about how much this series in general means to me, but i'll start with the flaws. i'm confused about a couple things, what happened to marisol? i thought we'd at least see where she ended up, and what about aurora? she was the antagonist here, and i was almost completely sure we'd get some closure about her. to be quite honest, even though aurora was the villain in afctl, her asking eva why jacks couldn't love her, i cried a little bit
fantasy writing is my favorite, the whimsical descriptions, and the world building is mesmerizing. so you can imagine how much i love stephanie's style! her way of phrasing sentences, instead of saying that a moment was delicately balanced, she writes: instead of being carved in stone, this moment felt like a fragile sort of tapestry that could unravel with one tug on a thread—or one pull of a leaf. i'm in love ♡
“the greatest love story ever told: the true and unabridged history of evangeline fox and the prince of hearts.”
⤿ evangeline. our heroine. i get emotional just thinking about her story, i'm so proud of how far she's come. her and lala are such a fun and chaotic duo, their conversations nearly always made me laugh, they are so protective of one another. "what's the point in having friends if you're not there to support their bad decisions?" i've always had a soft spot for her because, regardless of what stood in her way, eva never wavered; she's so strong and believes in herself.
“i am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, i’m your monster, evangeline.”
⤿ jacks. stephanie garber heard our complaints about why he couldn't be in the series more than he already was, jacks' pov made me giggle so much, my sister actually stopped by my room and threw her weighted blanket at me
~ spoilers from here ~
⤿ apollo. i could go on and on about how much i hate this man. i once heard that the author was going to make him a main character in the first two books, like evapollo? doesn't have the same ring to it. somehow, apollo always seems to appear whenever something exciting and new actually starts to happen! i saw his pov at one point, and then did not read for a day after. why did garber feel the need to throw his point of view at us literally every single chapter? it gave me a headache. however, i enjoyed reading about why he was the way he was, even his backstory. i highlighted the entire page where he died because of the tree of souls, a seamless conclusion by the way.
i read the b&n alternate ending, which i then cried over for multiple hours
i read a curse for true love with tanya and roro, which was the most fun and i loved talking with them! they waited 2 months to read this with me, if that doesn't say "kindest people ever," i don't know what does. you can see their reviews here:
tanya's
roro's
a little side note - to irha, who i spammed with my thoughts and feelings the minute after finishing acftl, it's the best talking to you and you're perfect, i'm convinced <3 this is her review. also to siffie, whose review makes me just want to click *copy paste*
my favorite quotes
~ spoilers ~
“you told me it would take the life of the person i love the most.”
“it is,” wolfric replied. “it’s taking you.”
“i am jacks’s true love. i believe it with the same confidence that i believe that water fills the oceans and morning follows the night. i believe it with all my heart and soul. and there has to be some sort of magic in that.”
“he loved her so much he’d rewritten history. he’d given up what he had believed was his only chance at love. and now he had finally broken the spell that he never thought he’d escape.”
“the story could have ended there, with the villain defeated and the happy couple about to go off to some ambiguous happily ever after.”
“you shouldn’t stare at me like that.”
“then how should i stare?”
“you shouldn’t stare at me at all.”
pre-review
my copy finally arrived!
January 4, 2024
i am unwell. how am i supposed to move on from them?
~•~•~
depending on how this book goes, this could be my villain origin story.
~•~•~
depending on how this book goes, this could be my villain origin story.
February 24, 2024
➵ ♾️ stars
i know there’s already a spoiler warning on the review, but if you haven’t read this book / series yet, i highly suggest not reading this review, because it will have spoilers and quotes <3
souls were healed, hearts were put back together, and happiness was found.*deep breaths*, i feel empty, and yet so full. empty because evajacks are my everything, and now i’ve finished their beautiful story. and full because evajacks endgame was everything i needed and more. i cannot express my love for evajacks with words, but i swear if y’all could see my heart right now, you’d see flowers blooming. whoever said magic doesn’t exist, truly hasn’t read evangeline and jacks’ story. because i’m one hundred percent sure this is exactly what magic feels like. i get goosebumps just thinking about them. i feel everything when i’m thinking about them. am i crying while writing this review rn ? yes
funny side note; i was on a call with my mom, while waiting for this book to come through to my kindle app. and when it came through and i saw the book being there right in front of my eyes, i started cryingit was happy tears ofc.
characters:
evangeline fox / little fox 🦊
there’s a lot of mixed opinions about her. but honestly, i’m so in love with her. she’s determined, positive, kindhearted, caring, etc. there’s no denying that i loved her more in this book, than the first two tho. she was more girlboss, stood up for herself, etc. in this book, and i absolutely loved it. i’m so proud of my girl <3 and the way she never gave up on jacks has my heart smiling and cheering istg. eva’s character is the color pink, she’s such a lovergirl. i’m sure all my fellow hopeless romantics out there relate to her character. all she ever wanted was love, and her happily ever after, with the man who’d love her forever,the man being jacks makes it so much better, ahh i can’t get over them omfg. if there’s any character who deserved their hea, it’s evangeline <3 (off topic, but evangeline would actually be the best mom ever. i could just see her reading the fairytales her mother read to her when she was young, as bedtime stories to her own child, while jacks the father obviously is standing in the doorway looking and adoring the two people he loves the most cuddled up in bed, looking all sleepy and happy)
jacks / the prince of hearts 🏹
i mean there’s a reason he’s called “the prince of hearts”, the reason being that he stole every girl's heart while reading this series. jacks is my precious angel. i love him so much, and he deserves all the love in the world. i’m honestly so happy it was someone like eva who ended up with him ! because eva is just the perfect girl, with the perfect heart for him. she could love him, like no one else could. jacks character is the perfect “villain”(imo), he starts off as this very cold character, who doesn’t care about anything except for himself, and then you get to know him, and you realize how deep his character actually is. he’s sad, broken, misunderstood, etc. and all you want to do after getting to know his character is to hug him till his lungs give out istg, just like eva’s lungs did, lmao… too early ? yeah okay sorry. there could not have been a more perfect man for evangeline, than jacks ! and honestly, the man cries blood, gets shy, rewrote his story because he loved eva so much, etc. how tf am i supposed to not fall for that ? nah i was doomed from the very start.
apollo acadian 👹
you know i thought apollo was bad before, but he was an actual psychopath in this book. i’m not gonna say much about this piece of shit, because it would take up space from where i could be talking about evajacks, hehee <3 i absolutely hated his guts, he’s just such an annoying, pathetic, selfish, insecure, little man. i’ve seen people starting to sympathize with tamlin (from acotar)if you’re one on those people respectfully get a therapist, but if people seriously start pulling something like that with apollo i’ll kms. and if anyone start thinking about him as the “misunderstood villain” i’ll actually lose my shit istg. okay but can we talk about his ending for a minute ? because i was crying laughing at that, the little fucker got what he deserved ! major spoiler incoming apollo; “You told me it would take the life of the person I love the most.” wolfric; ”It is. It’s taking you.” stop because i’m actually rolling on the floor rn, plsss that was so deserved !
evajacks brainrot: 🍎
i could talk about these two for days, and never get tired of it. they are so perfect and yet so imperfect, which i think is the beauty of evajacks. it’s unexplainable. everyone should know the story of evajacks. i see them everywhere e. g. whenever i look at an apple, whenever i listen to a love song, whenever i see the color pink, etc. i love them to bits. to say obsessed with them, would be an understatement. i have an evajacks album in my photos and on my pinterest, made an evajacks playlist, etc. it’s safe to say i’ll never get enough of them.
this book doesn’t truly deserve that rating, but evajacks are my entire heart, and i couldn’t give their endgame any less than infinity stars <3 the writing was as beautiful as always, and i have no complaints there. but i’m kinda sad we only got 5 of jacks’ pov’s and so many of apollo’s, and i don’t mean that i would want to be without apollo’s pov’s, because they were necessary, and entering. it’s just that we got so little from jacks and so much from apollo. the ending ngl we were robbed with that ending, it was way too fast and rushed ! and i wasn’t satisfied with the epilogue at all. after that fast ending, i was expecting an epilogue with them ! the original epilogue should’ve been the second epilogue and not the first, if you know what i mean. even tho the ending was bittersweet and perfect for a whole new story to begin, it wasn’t enough ! thankfully sab was a lifesaver again, and she sent me two of the alternative ending <3 i’m kinda praying that stephanie writes an evajacks novella tbh, that would save the ending of this book a little. in all conclusion, this book wasn’t perfect, but evajacks is.and like on a whole different topic wtf happened to luc ?
i don't wanna see a single suggestion of a movie / series adaptation about evajacks. you can't bring out this type of love with acting. this story should stay in the books, where it belongs.
moments that’ll forever be imprinted on my soul:
“It was shortly after this, when Evangeline’s arms were being measured for gloves, that she noticed the scar. It was on the underside of her right wrist, thin and white, shaped like a broken heart.”
“What’s your name?”
“You already know, Little Fox.”
“What are you to me?”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you lying?”
“Yes, I am a murderer. I enjoy hurting people. I like blood. I like pain. I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.”
“Please, Little Fox, remember.”
“I lied. I do wish that we could have had a different ending.”
“Being yours does not make you mine.”
“But I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
“She would recognize Jacks’s heart—she knew Jacks’s heart. His heart was wounded like hers, but it was strong, it wouldn’t flinch or shy away from her. It would beast faster, harder, in concert with hers.”
“I’m broken, I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.”
“Then break me, Jacks.”
“It was a kiss like a prayer, quiet, almost pleading, made of tremulous lips and nervous fingers. It felt like reaching out in the dark, hoping to find a light.”
“Don’t cry, my love.”
“But you were dying.”
“No. I just forgot how to breathe.”
⤷you and me both girl, you and me both
“You know, I’ve always loved your dimples.”
“I know. You were so obvious with your love at first sight.”
“It was not love at first sight. I only said I liked your dimples at the start. I didn’t even like you. I thought you were terrible.”
“And yet. You kept starring.
“Jacks ran across the cavern and punched Apollo in the face.”
⤷lmao, we finally got what we’ve all been asking for
“Tell me about the apples.”
“Next question.”
“You said I could ask whatever I wanted.”
“I didn’t say I would answer. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need them anymore.”
song; apocalypse by cigarettes after sex
♫ “Your lips, my lips”
“Apocalypse” ♫
⤷ evajacks - chapter 41🫀
and a thank you, to my beautiful girl vivie for the br, and for obsessing over evajacks with me <3
spotify playlist; evajacks brainrot
(the link only works on laptop tho)
------
pre-review:
did i buy this on my kindle app, because i didn’t have patience enough to wait for it to arrive, and because i have absolutely no self-control when it comes to evajacks ? yupp
br with my gorgeous girl vivie
“𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙀𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨.”
i know there’s already a spoiler warning on the review, but if you haven’t read this book / series yet, i highly suggest not reading this review, because it will have spoilers and quotes <3
souls were healed, hearts were put back together, and happiness was found.
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩—𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥, 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚.”
funny side note; i was on a call with my mom, while waiting for this book to come through to my kindle app. and when it came through and i saw the book being there right in front of my eyes, i started crying
characters:
evangeline fox / little fox 🦊
there’s a lot of mixed opinions about her. but honestly, i’m so in love with her. she’s determined, positive, kindhearted, caring, etc. there’s no denying that i loved her more in this book, than the first two tho. she was more girlboss, stood up for herself, etc. in this book, and i absolutely loved it. i’m so proud of my girl <3 and the way she never gave up on jacks has my heart smiling and cheering istg. eva’s character is the color pink, she’s such a lovergirl. i’m sure all my fellow hopeless romantics out there relate to her character. all she ever wanted was love, and her happily ever after, with the man who’d love her forever,
“𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.”
jacks / the prince of hearts 🏹
i mean there’s a reason he’s called “the prince of hearts”, the reason being that he stole every girl's heart while reading this series. jacks is my precious angel. i love him so much, and he deserves all the love in the world. i’m honestly so happy it was someone like eva who ended up with him ! because eva is just the perfect girl, with the perfect heart for him. she could love him, like no one else could. jacks character is the perfect “villain”
“𝙀𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤, 𝙝𝙖��𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙨.”
apollo acadian 👹
you know i thought apollo was bad before, but he was an actual psychopath in this book. i’m not gonna say much about this piece of shit, because it would take up space from where i could be talking about evajacks, hehee <3 i absolutely hated his guts, he’s just such an annoying, pathetic, selfish, insecure, little man. i’ve seen people starting to sympathize with tamlin (from acotar)
“𝘼𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨.”
evajacks brainrot: 🍎
i could talk about these two for days, and never get tired of it. they are so perfect and yet so imperfect, which i think is the beauty of evajacks. it’s unexplainable. everyone should know the story of evajacks. i see them everywhere e. g. whenever i look at an apple, whenever i listen to a love song, whenever i see the color pink, etc. i love them to bits. to say obsessed with them, would be an understatement. i have an evajacks album in my photos and on my pinterest, made an evajacks playlist, etc. it’s safe to say i’ll never get enough of them.
“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚.”
this book doesn’t truly deserve that rating, but evajacks are my entire heart, and i couldn’t give their endgame any less than infinity stars <3 the writing was as beautiful as always, and i have no complaints there. but i’m kinda sad we only got 5 of jacks’ pov’s and so many of apollo’s, and i don’t mean that i would want to be without apollo’s pov’s, because they were necessary, and entering. it’s just that we got so little from jacks and so much from apollo. the ending ngl we were robbed with that ending, it was way too fast and rushed ! and i wasn’t satisfied with the epilogue at all. after that fast ending, i was expecting an epilogue with them ! the original epilogue should’ve been the second epilogue and not the first, if you know what i mean. even tho the ending was bittersweet and perfect for a whole new story to begin, it wasn’t enough ! thankfully sab was a lifesaver again, and she sent me two of the alternative ending <3 i’m kinda praying that stephanie writes an evajacks novella tbh, that would save the ending of this book a little. in all conclusion, this book wasn’t perfect, but evajacks is.
i don't wanna see a single suggestion of a movie / series adaptation about evajacks. you can't bring out this type of love with acting. this story should stay in the books, where it belongs.
moments that’ll forever be imprinted on my soul:
“It was shortly after this, when Evangeline’s arms were being measured for gloves, that she noticed the scar. It was on the underside of her right wrist, thin and white, shaped like a broken heart.”
“What’s your name?”
“You already know, Little Fox.”
“What are you to me?”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you lying?”
“Yes, I am a murderer. I enjoy hurting people. I like blood. I like pain. I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.”
“Please, Little Fox, remember.”
“I lied. I do wish that we could have had a different ending.”
“Being yours does not make you mine.”
“But I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
“She would recognize Jacks’s heart—she knew Jacks’s heart. His heart was wounded like hers, but it was strong, it wouldn’t flinch or shy away from her. It would beast faster, harder, in concert with hers.”
“I’m broken, I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.”
“Then break me, Jacks.”
“It was a kiss like a prayer, quiet, almost pleading, made of tremulous lips and nervous fingers. It felt like reaching out in the dark, hoping to find a light.”
“Don’t cry, my love.”
“But you were dying.”
“No. I just forgot how to breathe.”
⤷
“You know, I’ve always loved your dimples.”
“I know. You were so obvious with your love at first sight.”
“It was not love at first sight. I only said I liked your dimples at the start. I didn’t even like you. I thought you were terrible.”
“And yet. You kept starring.
“Jacks ran across the cavern and punched Apollo in the face.”
⤷
“Tell me about the apples.”
“Next question.”
“You said I could ask whatever I wanted.”
“I didn’t say I would answer. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need them anymore.”
song; apocalypse by cigarettes after sex
♫ “Your lips, my lips”
“Apocalypse” ♫
⤷ evajacks - chapter 41🫀
and a thank you, to my beautiful girl vivie for the br, and for obsessing over evajacks with me <3
spotify playlist; evajacks brainrot
------
pre-review:
did i buy this on my kindle app, because i didn’t have patience enough to wait for it to arrive, and because i have absolutely no self-control when it comes to evajacks ? yupp
br with my gorgeous girl vivie
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2023
Still torn between a 4 ⭐️ & 5 ⭐️ rating!! This book was perfection & I already can’t wait to re-read this amazing, magical series 💘🍎🗡️🐉🔮✨ Jacks x Evangeline 4Life!!!
October 27, 2023
My heart is broken, and not for the right reason.
This was my most anticipated read and I'm really disappointed, and it's not even because my expectations were too high. I love Stephanie Garber and I would read anything from her since I love the way she tells stories. And this story was not it for me unfortunately!
Like this is the last book, so many loose ends to tie up and so many juicy secrets to finally discover, and somehow it was so boring 😭 half of the book is flashbacks as Evangeline is busy ✨️remembering✨️ and it's often just PARAGRAPHS cut and pasted from TBONA or OUABH. Maybe it's because I read both so recently, but it felt repetitive really quick.
There was no clear plot. I don't know where the story was going half the time and like something would happen and I'd think, okay let's go!!! but then that plotline would just randomly be abandoned??😭 We never see Luc, Apollo doesn't continue trying to woo Eva for an heir and instead starts killing people unprovoked?? Why is Castor just killing people?? What happened with Robin and Lala??? Byron and Petra?? WHERE IS MARISOL? That Garrick guy?? I feel like so many things were introduced but weren't properly fleshed out that I don't see the point in mentioning it in the first place?? The most offensive was with the last heart scar, SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. Garrick and his posse hunting Jacks and Evangeline owes him a debt, like that's SPICY TEA. But then it's never important again 😭 it's just so frustrating!!
Like I said, I thought half the book was slow and boring and awfully repetitive and the only thing I LOVED DEEPLY was Jacks’s POV and anytime he was actually on the page. Mind you, my prince only had 5 chapters 😭😭 The evajacksie fandom always joke that Jacks is so mysterious (and he is!!!) so finally learning about him was the highlight!!! The pining for Evangeline in the early chapters, UGH PURE GOLD!!! I wished his story wasn't just lightly brushed over and I wished he could have been the one to tell Evangeline everything instead of just hearing it from Castor, LaLa and Aurora. I think that plays a role into why it just felt so disconnected. And then, I don't get Jacks motivation at all. At first, yes he's training Eva so she doesn't die, then he wants her to get her memory back so bad...? I dont think I caught why?? Then he wants to keep her away so he doesn't hurt her... okayyy, then why did he come in the first place?? Why did she need her to remember?? It felt very whiplashy😭
Still, Jacks was the best character. Everyone else felt cartoonish. I was upset at most of the plot twist because COME ON!! It's the last book and THIS is what you give me😭😭 It felt so cheap?? Also!!! How did Jacks become a Fate? Aurora's curse?? No, LaLa said he CHOOSE to be one and he said it was so that Castor wouldn’t be alone. Then how did it actually happen? The Tree of Souls? Who did he sacrifice to be immortal then? And from Caraval, didn't that lady (cannot remember her name) and the Fallen Star create the Fates???😭😭 Like, I shouldn't be having this many questions in the LAST BOOK.
My thoughts are everywhere, but I don't think we needed this book. Yes, all the EvaJacks fluff was my LIFE but it could have been a novella😭 we could have had like a story of the North type thing to just tell us everything about Jacks past and how he's in love with Evangeline. But half of this book felt like fan service, and the other was boring and uneventful plotlines.
IT'S JUST SO FRUSTRATING!!!! We could have deleved into the Valors more!! Aurora literally being the one to curse Jacks shouldn't have just been a passing line!! We could have cut down half of the Evangeline ✨️remembering✨️ scenes and Apollo being unhinged to go deeper into that storyline. But instead, it was rushed and glossed over ???? There's just something off about this book. I dont know, it doesn't have the essence of Once Upon A Broken Heart.
Stephanie did say she rewrote it, but I honestly would have preferred it if she postponed the release longer to make it flow better because right now it's clunky and feels like a shell of a story. It's just upsetting because Stephanie had SO many options to make this the greatest love story of all time and it just fell flat💔💔
🏹🍎🦊
[27 October 2023 ]
UPDATE on this! Firstly, no one ever reads my reviews so I wasn't expecting anyone to see this or agree with me but omg!! YOU GET ME😭
There's been a lot of discourse on evajacks twitter and I wanted to share more of my 2 cents🥰 obviously reviews are for readers and people should NOT be going under Stephanie Garber's Instagram posts and not only spoiling the book for everyone else, but also complaining about how much they hated it??? Hello???
That being said, I don't think it's fair to be upset at anyone who criticises ACFTL and shame negative opinions just because Stephanie worked hard and we're not writers so we don't know anything 😭 Please be serious. This series is my favourite and it literally hurts that I didn't love it, I so desperately wanted to love it and buy multiple copies for decoration and make it my entire personality for the rest of my life, but now I can't because I cannot just pretend I love it for the sake of it! Like let me be upset in peace!?!?
I've had a couple of days to sit on it and let my thoughts marinate even more, but like I said, I don't think my expectations were too high? Like I've read the Caraval books, OUABH and TBONA, I know what to expect from a Stephanie Garber book, hence why I love Stephanie Garber books. The only thing I was "expecting" were things she mentioned that seemed important (and some were very important) but were either ignored or rushed.
The thought that prompted me to make an update was the ✨️love confession✨️. My favourite thing about Evangeline was that she was just like me and she so desperately just wanted to be loved and wanted to be chosen. As per my favourite quote;
"This was why parts of Jacks’s story had twisted so painfully inside her. It wasn’t because she wanted Jacks. She didn’t want Jacks. She just wanted someone to want her the way Jacks had wanted this girl. And she didn’t want it to be because of a spell or a curse. Evangeline wanted a real love powerful enough to break a spell, which was exactly what Jacks wanted, too."
Girl just wanted someone to go above and beyond for her like Jacks wanted to do for Donatella and I don't think she got that. Sure, Jacks went back in time to save Evangeline’s life, but then he wanted to be as far from her as possible. He didn’t fight for her. He didn't try again with Honora to break his curse (because if it's a curse that little old Aurora put, how is it that her mother can't break it?) He didn't try to find a back door for his own curse, or through the debt she still owed. NOTHING. He chose to leave to protect her and Evangeline practically begged him to please just TRY for her😭 Even then, HE STILL DIDN'T TRY AND PUSHED HER AWAY!
So when the love confession scene comes and Evangeline is pouring her heart out and Jacks just says "I love you"??????? The debate around this is that, well it would be out of character for Jacks to give a big grand love confession and I disagree! Of course, if he gave the typical Apollo lovesick cursed confession then yeah that's odd, but NO ONE WAS EXPECTING THAT. I thought that his POVs revealed his true feelings and if those were put into dialogue with an "I love you" at the end, THAT'S LITERALLY THE MOST PERFECT LOVE CONFESSION! My issue is that we as the audience know how he feels, but Evangeline doesn't since she wasn't in his head with us!!
So yeah, Jacks didn't fight for Evangeline, she fought for him. He only fought for her AFTER she was already safe and when there was no longer a threat🤠 "HE WAS TRAUMATISED! SHE DIED IN HIS ARMS!" BOOOHOOO!!!!!!😒 You are a villain, ACT LIKE IT!!!
Anyway I will probably reread ACFTL sometime soon and maybe my opinions will change!
This was my most anticipated read and I'm really disappointed, and it's not even because my expectations were too high. I love Stephanie Garber and I would read anything from her since I love the way she tells stories. And this story was not it for me unfortunately!
Like this is the last book, so many loose ends to tie up and so many juicy secrets to finally discover, and somehow it was so boring 😭 half of the book is flashbacks as Evangeline is busy ✨️remembering✨️ and it's often just PARAGRAPHS cut and pasted from TBONA or OUABH. Maybe it's because I read both so recently, but it felt repetitive really quick.
There was no clear plot. I don't know where the story was going half the time and like something would happen and I'd think, okay let's go!!! but then that plotline would just randomly be abandoned??😭 We never see Luc, Apollo doesn't continue trying to woo Eva for an heir and instead starts killing people unprovoked?? Why is Castor just killing people?? What happened with Robin and Lala??? Byron and Petra?? WHERE IS MARISOL? That Garrick guy?? I feel like so many things were introduced but weren't properly fleshed out that I don't see the point in mentioning it in the first place?? The most offensive was with the last heart scar, SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. Garrick and his posse hunting Jacks and Evangeline owes him a debt, like that's SPICY TEA. But then it's never important again 😭 it's just so frustrating!!
Like I said, I thought half the book was slow and boring and awfully repetitive and the only thing I LOVED DEEPLY was Jacks’s POV and anytime he was actually on the page. Mind you, my prince only had 5 chapters 😭😭 The evajacksie fandom always joke that Jacks is so mysterious (and he is!!!) so finally learning about him was the highlight!!! The pining for Evangeline in the early chapters, UGH PURE GOLD!!! I wished his story wasn't just lightly brushed over and I wished he could have been the one to tell Evangeline everything instead of just hearing it from Castor, LaLa and Aurora. I think that plays a role into why it just felt so disconnected. And then, I don't get Jacks motivation at all. At first, yes he's training Eva so she doesn't die, then he wants her to get her memory back so bad...? I dont think I caught why?? Then he wants to keep her away so he doesn't hurt her... okayyy, then why did he come in the first place?? Why did she need her to remember?? It felt very whiplashy😭
Still, Jacks was the best character. Everyone else felt cartoonish. I was upset at most of the plot twist because COME ON!! It's the last book and THIS is what you give me😭😭 It felt so cheap?? Also!!! How did Jacks become a Fate? Aurora's curse?? No, LaLa said he CHOOSE to be one and he said it was so that Castor wouldn’t be alone. Then how did it actually happen? The Tree of Souls? Who did he sacrifice to be immortal then? And from Caraval, didn't that lady (cannot remember her name) and the Fallen Star create the Fates???😭😭 Like, I shouldn't be having this many questions in the LAST BOOK.
My thoughts are everywhere, but I don't think we needed this book. Yes, all the EvaJacks fluff was my LIFE but it could have been a novella😭 we could have had like a story of the North type thing to just tell us everything about Jacks past and how he's in love with Evangeline. But half of this book felt like fan service, and the other was boring and uneventful plotlines.
IT'S JUST SO FRUSTRATING!!!! We could have deleved into the Valors more!! Aurora literally being the one to curse Jacks shouldn't have just been a passing line!! We could have cut down half of the Evangeline ✨️remembering✨️ scenes and Apollo being unhinged to go deeper into that storyline. But instead, it was rushed and glossed over ???? There's just something off about this book. I dont know, it doesn't have the essence of Once Upon A Broken Heart.
Stephanie did say she rewrote it, but I honestly would have preferred it if she postponed the release longer to make it flow better because right now it's clunky and feels like a shell of a story. It's just upsetting because Stephanie had SO many options to make this the greatest love story of all time and it just fell flat💔💔
🏹🍎🦊
[27 October 2023 ]
UPDATE on this! Firstly, no one ever reads my reviews so I wasn't expecting anyone to see this or agree with me but omg!! YOU GET ME😭
There's been a lot of discourse on evajacks twitter and I wanted to share more of my 2 cents🥰 obviously reviews are for readers and people should NOT be going under Stephanie Garber's Instagram posts and not only spoiling the book for everyone else, but also complaining about how much they hated it??? Hello???
That being said, I don't think it's fair to be upset at anyone who criticises ACFTL and shame negative opinions just because Stephanie worked hard and we're not writers so we don't know anything 😭 Please be serious. This series is my favourite and it literally hurts that I didn't love it, I so desperately wanted to love it and buy multiple copies for decoration and make it my entire personality for the rest of my life, but now I can't because I cannot just pretend I love it for the sake of it! Like let me be upset in peace!?!?
I've had a couple of days to sit on it and let my thoughts marinate even more, but like I said, I don't think my expectations were too high? Like I've read the Caraval books, OUABH and TBONA, I know what to expect from a Stephanie Garber book, hence why I love Stephanie Garber books. The only thing I was "expecting" were things she mentioned that seemed important (and some were very important) but were either ignored or rushed.
The thought that prompted me to make an update was the ✨️love confession✨️. My favourite thing about Evangeline was that she was just like me and she so desperately just wanted to be loved and wanted to be chosen. As per my favourite quote;
"This was why parts of Jacks’s story had twisted so painfully inside her. It wasn’t because she wanted Jacks. She didn’t want Jacks. She just wanted someone to want her the way Jacks had wanted this girl. And she didn’t want it to be because of a spell or a curse. Evangeline wanted a real love powerful enough to break a spell, which was exactly what Jacks wanted, too."
Girl just wanted someone to go above and beyond for her like Jacks wanted to do for Donatella and I don't think she got that. Sure, Jacks went back in time to save Evangeline’s life, but then he wanted to be as far from her as possible. He didn’t fight for her. He didn't try again with Honora to break his curse (because if it's a curse that little old Aurora put, how is it that her mother can't break it?) He didn't try to find a back door for his own curse, or through the debt she still owed. NOTHING. He chose to leave to protect her and Evangeline practically begged him to please just TRY for her😭 Even then, HE STILL DIDN'T TRY AND PUSHED HER AWAY!
So when the love confession scene comes and Evangeline is pouring her heart out and Jacks just says "I love you"??????? The debate around this is that, well it would be out of character for Jacks to give a big grand love confession and I disagree! Of course, if he gave the typical Apollo lovesick cursed confession then yeah that's odd, but NO ONE WAS EXPECTING THAT. I thought that his POVs revealed his true feelings and if those were put into dialogue with an "I love you" at the end, THAT'S LITERALLY THE MOST PERFECT LOVE CONFESSION! My issue is that we as the audience know how he feels, but Evangeline doesn't since she wasn't in his head with us!!
So yeah, Jacks didn't fight for Evangeline, she fought for him. He only fought for her AFTER she was already safe and when there was no longer a threat🤠 "HE WAS TRAUMATISED! SHE DIED IN HIS ARMS!" BOOOHOOO!!!!!!😒 You are a villain, ACT LIKE IT!!!
Anyway I will probably reread ACFTL sometime soon and maybe my opinions will change!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2023
Evajacks ❤️🔥
“i no longer think love is a guarantee of victory or of happily ever after. But I think it's a reason to fight for those things.”
I have so many thoughts yet feel like I’m at a loss for words in describing what I felt which was so many different emotions. I can’t deny I was conflicted with my rating but more so for the plot lacking certain elements than the characters because I adored them wholeheartedly and in my eyes they were perfect even if this wasn’t.
4 stars ✨ even though in my heart they deserve ♾️ stars
*no spoilers but maybe don’t continue reading if you don’t know who evangeline & jacks are*
evangeline I was so much more in awe of her here. THE GROWTH. Idc what anyone says, I thought her character development here was actively felt. she had a better sense of awareness (compared to ouabh) and all while she remained herself with the belief she has in everything working out and that hopeful loving heart of hers. A heart I’m so glad she has because without it— I’m not sure she would’ve been able to endure all of the challenging obstacles. Our little fox stood up for herself and how she felt and didn’t back down and I was so proud and admired her strength in doing so.
jacks finally we got his pov and it was everything to see how he felt while it lasted. there’s much to say about him despite him having all of 5 chapters and i refuse to believe that’s it?! i truly treasured what we did get of him and was the happiest when we got his first pov. He definitely had most of our hearts here. Anyways, getting to know how he felt was much needed even if it was the fear and anguish he felt in putting Eva in danger. it was clearly easier for him to deny himself and deliberately destroy any chance to be happy as he felt he wasn’t deserving of it. I know how tormented and haunted he felt and it crushed me as we all know he enjoyed inflicting pain but not receiving it himself. I’m really gonna miss his ravishing and animatedapple eating scoundrel self
“It’s you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I’ll fight fate or anyone else who tries to tear us apart—including you.”
evajacks they are the epitome of enchantment and curious wonder. I don’t remember any of the ones most of us grew up with that shared the exact qualities these two had—especially their banter. What did it for me was: the tangible yet intangible little touches between them, the subtle hints of romance in each and every word that they said and didn’t say with their hearts, jacks best day, the note, the little banter and angst between them, chapter 41 (forever ingrained in my heart and mind), eva & jacks protectiveness and unrelenting determination in not giving up on each other—all of that is what I loved from this. I’m gonna miss these two precious characters so much as I’ve truly enjoyed their journey in all that they weren’t to what they became and it’s been utterly bittersweet
My issues with this:
Starting with Apollo and all I’ll say is that I’m glad he got the ending he deserved—it was very fitting to the joke that he was lol. While I was annoyed with how many POVs we got from him, (as I feel like it overshadowed in some way Eva and jacks POVs) I do see how it worked for the story and for the dramatic effect of this. However, I wish Stephanie compensated in giving us more of jacks POVs as well as it made the most sense to given this is the conclusion to their story and from all the build up in the previous books since it felt in someway disappointing. Aside from giving us the jacks we got in tbona as he was missed here. Definitely validate each rating given to this because of the loving yet conflicting things felt about it.
I’m greedy and wanted more of them as it didn’t feel enough once things finally happened 🥲 I’m sad their story is over as they’re now permanently etched into my brain and I’d love more of jacks and Eva with more domestic scenes in a novella. I wouldn’t be opposed to any fanfics honestly lol as these books brought back the spellbinding fairytale feels we all enjoy. I’m hoping this universe continues with lalas and chaos’ story as I saw the potential
The bonus epilogues of alternate endings were so endearing and gave me what I felt the ending to this lacked as it felt rushed. this book in general felt like it was missing so much. But as Evangeline says ”every story has the possibility for infinite endings” to which held true here.
OUABH
TBONA
I highlighted practically every encounter and word spoken between them so here’s 4 quotes:
“I’m your monster, Evangeline.”
“I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
“love was more than a feeling. And it didn’t have to be the safe choice, because love was also more powerful than fear. It was the ultimate form of hope. It was stronger than curses.”
“Evangeline knew he would carry her through more than just freezing waters. He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds.
——
The nerves and excitement I feel rn is so real 🥹 bingeing this all I can tonight but I’m already seeing how difficult it’s gonna be not being able to speak about it for now. Anyways, happy reading to everyone reading it now and tomorrow!! 🫶🏼
“i no longer think love is a guarantee of victory or of happily ever after. But I think it's a reason to fight for those things.”
I have so many thoughts yet feel like I’m at a loss for words in describing what I felt which was so many different emotions. I can’t deny I was conflicted with my rating but more so for the plot lacking certain elements than the characters because I adored them wholeheartedly and in my eyes they were perfect even if this wasn’t.
4 stars ✨ even though in my heart they deserve ♾️ stars
*no spoilers but maybe don’t continue reading if you don’t know who evangeline & jacks are*
evangeline I was so much more in awe of her here. THE GROWTH. Idc what anyone says, I thought her character development here was actively felt. she had a better sense of awareness (compared to ouabh) and all while she remained herself with the belief she has in everything working out and that hopeful loving heart of hers. A heart I’m so glad she has because without it— I’m not sure she would’ve been able to endure all of the challenging obstacles. Our little fox stood up for herself and how she felt and didn’t back down and I was so proud and admired her strength in doing so.
jacks finally we got his pov and it was everything to see how he felt while it lasted. there’s much to say about him despite him having all of 5 chapters and i refuse to believe that’s it?! i truly treasured what we did get of him and was the happiest when we got his first pov. He definitely had most of our hearts here. Anyways, getting to know how he felt was much needed even if it was the fear and anguish he felt in putting Eva in danger. it was clearly easier for him to deny himself and deliberately destroy any chance to be happy as he felt he wasn’t deserving of it. I know how tormented and haunted he felt and it crushed me as we all know he enjoyed inflicting pain but not receiving it himself. I’m really gonna miss his ravishing and animated
“It’s you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I’ll fight fate or anyone else who tries to tear us apart—including you.”
evajacks they are the epitome of enchantment and curious wonder. I don’t remember any of the ones most of us grew up with that shared the exact qualities these two had—especially their banter. What did it for me was: the tangible yet intangible little touches between them, the subtle hints of romance in each and every word that they said and didn’t say with their hearts, jacks best day, the note, the little banter and angst between them, chapter 41 (forever ingrained in my heart and mind), eva & jacks protectiveness and unrelenting determination in not giving up on each other—all of that is what I loved from this. I’m gonna miss these two precious characters so much as I’ve truly enjoyed their journey in all that they weren’t to what they became and it’s been utterly bittersweet
My issues with this:
Starting with Apollo and all I’ll say is that I’m glad he got the ending he deserved—it was very fitting to the joke that he was lol. While I was annoyed with how many POVs we got from him, (as I feel like it overshadowed in some way Eva and jacks POVs) I do see how it worked for the story and for the dramatic effect of this. However, I wish Stephanie compensated in giving us more of jacks POVs as well as it made the most sense to given this is the conclusion to their story and from all the build up in the previous books since it felt in someway disappointing. Aside from giving us the jacks we got in tbona as he was missed here. Definitely validate each rating given to this because of the loving yet conflicting things felt about it.
I’m greedy and wanted more of them as it didn’t feel enough once things finally happened 🥲 I’m sad their story is over as they’re now permanently etched into my brain and I’d love more of jacks and Eva with more domestic scenes in a novella. I wouldn’t be opposed to any fanfics honestly lol as these books brought back the spellbinding fairytale feels we all enjoy. I’m hoping this universe continues with lalas and chaos’ story as I saw the potential
The bonus epilogues of alternate endings were so endearing and gave me what I felt the ending to this lacked as it felt rushed. this book in general felt like it was missing so much. But as Evangeline says ”every story has the possibility for infinite endings” to which held true here.
OUABH
TBONA
I highlighted practically every encounter and word spoken between them so here’s 4 quotes:
“I’m your monster, Evangeline.”
“I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”
“love was more than a feeling. And it didn’t have to be the safe choice, because love was also more powerful than fear. It was the ultimate form of hope. It was stronger than curses.”
“Evangeline knew he would carry her through more than just freezing waters. He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds.
——
The nerves and excitement I feel rn is so real 🥹 bingeing this all I can tonight but I’m already seeing how difficult it’s gonna be not being able to speak about it for now. Anyways, happy reading to everyone reading it now and tomorrow!! 🫶🏼
November 11, 2023
ONCE UPON A DELULU GIRL
thought this was gonna be A BALLAD OF CUTE ROMANCE
but it ended up being A CURSE FOR ALL THE HEART ATTACKS
This was a perfect ending to a wonderful series. And I must admit, this book was magnificent on its own. It made me fall in love with fantasy and romance and fairytales all over again (like I spent a day in my life not loving those three but let's not get into details). This is my favorite installment in this series and I'll list a few non-spoilery reasons why I loved it so much:
1) IT WAS FAST-PACED As we all know by now (I sound like a broken record), my reading hasn't been great lately and I struggle finishing ANYTHING! This book, I flew through it! From the very first to the very last page, it kept my attention, it was atmospheric, action-packed. I must admit, not as many twists as in the previous books but those are not neccessary for a book to be good or enjoyable. Miss Garber is a fantastic storyteller and even though her characters and stories aren't my "Roman Empire" (I tend to think more about darker and sadder stories, yes I'm crazy and those stick with me), but in the moment, when I'm reading them, I feel like I'm in a Disney movie. The atmosphere is something this author is very good at creating and the feeling of escaping reality is something most of our readers look for. What we need, she delivers!
2) A PERFECT ENDING As we all know, once again, book 2 ended on a terrible cliffhanger and I was very curious on how would this end, especially since the book is not that long and there was MUCH to unfold. I didn't predict the exact ending we got but I'm satisfied with it, it was along the line of what I thought it would be like... It wrapped up the story beautifully, all the characters stayed true to their nature, and THE VIBES WERE VIBING.
3) THE WRITING WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL I'm a huge fan of this author's writing, it's perfect for fantasy, especially romantasy. I thought I forgot details about the plot and I would need a good reread, but that turned out to not be the case. Garber eased us back into the story as an expert she is, reminded me of the little things I forgot about without any big info dumps or any dragging in the terms of plot. There were so many sappy moments and that one quote about having two hearts, one that breaks and the other one that beats and keeps you alive, MY BRAIN WILL COME BACK TO THAT ONE SOMETIME AROUND MINDNIGHT TONIGHT I JUST KNOW IT
4) EVAJACKS DELIVERED This is but it doesn't need to be a point. I expected them to be perfect and they were indeed perfect. I loved their story in previous two books, but the tension, the yearning, their love really got to shine in this book.
I don't want to make this review any longer. I'm pretty afraid I'll repeat myself or spoil anything. I was incredibly scared going into this but it turned out to be a wonderful reading experience. STEPHANIE GARBER WE NEED MORE BOOKS IN THIS UNIVERSE, THANK YOU (something about Chaos perhaps???)💕💓💕💓
thought this was gonna be A BALLAD OF CUTE ROMANCE
but it ended up being A CURSE FOR ALL THE HEART ATTACKS
This was a perfect ending to a wonderful series. And I must admit, this book was magnificent on its own. It made me fall in love with fantasy and romance and fairytales all over again (like I spent a day in my life not loving those three but let's not get into details). This is my favorite installment in this series and I'll list a few non-spoilery reasons why I loved it so much:
1) IT WAS FAST-PACED As we all know by now (I sound like a broken record), my reading hasn't been great lately and I struggle finishing ANYTHING! This book, I flew through it! From the very first to the very last page, it kept my attention, it was atmospheric, action-packed. I must admit, not as many twists as in the previous books but those are not neccessary for a book to be good or enjoyable. Miss Garber is a fantastic storyteller and even though her characters and stories aren't my "Roman Empire" (I tend to think more about darker and sadder stories, yes I'm crazy and those stick with me), but in the moment, when I'm reading them, I feel like I'm in a Disney movie. The atmosphere is something this author is very good at creating and the feeling of escaping reality is something most of our readers look for. What we need, she delivers!
2) A PERFECT ENDING As we all know, once again, book 2 ended on a terrible cliffhanger and I was very curious on how would this end, especially since the book is not that long and there was MUCH to unfold. I didn't predict the exact ending we got but I'm satisfied with it, it was along the line of what I thought it would be like... It wrapped up the story beautifully, all the characters stayed true to their nature, and THE VIBES WERE VIBING.
3) THE WRITING WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL I'm a huge fan of this author's writing, it's perfect for fantasy, especially romantasy. I thought I forgot details about the plot and I would need a good reread, but that turned out to not be the case. Garber eased us back into the story as an expert she is, reminded me of the little things I forgot about without any big info dumps or any dragging in the terms of plot. There were so many sappy moments and that one quote about having two hearts, one that breaks and the other one that beats and keeps you alive, MY BRAIN WILL COME BACK TO THAT ONE SOMETIME AROUND MINDNIGHT TONIGHT I JUST KNOW IT
4) EVAJACKS DELIVERED This is but it doesn't need to be a point. I expected them to be perfect and they were indeed perfect. I loved their story in previous two books, but the tension, the yearning, their love really got to shine in this book.
I don't want to make this review any longer. I'm pretty afraid I'll repeat myself or spoil anything. I was incredibly scared going into this but it turned out to be a wonderful reading experience. STEPHANIE GARBER WE NEED MORE BOOKS IN THIS UNIVERSE, THANK YOU (something about Chaos perhaps???)💕💓💕💓
Read
October 31, 2023i'm certainly not the target audience for this but i bet this will be disappointing for fans of the series.
the romantic tension is lacking, the villain is one dimensional... and i stg there are characters who just ceased to matter? where the step sister bitch go? whole series is a bit of a mess tbh.
the romantic tension is lacking, the villain is one dimensional... and i stg there are characters who just ceased to matter? where the step sister bitch go? whole series is a bit of a mess tbh.
January 26, 2024
3 stars
After reading this last book, I seriously think it's overrated. The book lacked a lot of things, and I thought the last book would make up for not giving us cute scenes of EvaJacks in previous books, but there was nothing. NOTHING.
❝I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.❞
I really tried to love it, I do like some of its scenes, but this one didn't live up to its hype. TBONA had some cute scenes of EvaJacks, but mostly it was Jacks saving Eva's life again and again, and her realizing her love for him. In this book, Jacks however, felt like a side character. In fictional books, even if the main hero is not on the pages, he still has enough importance or, I don't know, JUST SOMETHING that you still remember him. But here I was constantly waiting for Jacks' POV to come, otherwise, there was no scene of Jacks in the first 60 pages. Apollo was there, and his POVs are the most useless things ever.
This book just dragged and dragged, and the slow-burn was nearly nonexistent when there were barely interactions between Eva & Jacks in this book. Instead of giving them a proper ending and some domestic scenes and filling the blanks of the last two books and revelation of some minor cute details we missed, WE GOT APOLLO'S POV??? 🤡 EvaJacks literally have one kiss throughout this whole trilogy, and literally zero confession scenes? That "I love you" moment made me feel nothing. I was numb by the point I reached there.
• Basically, Eva lost her memory in this book, and Apollo made Jacks seem like the villain after he was the one who wiped her memories. Apollo tried to rewrite the history, but Eva was still determined to get her memories back, and she felt that something was WRONG. It's not what she wanted. Jacks came into her life again but this time as Archer, and she was immediately drawn to him again.
Now the whole Archer thing didn't last much, I expected self-defense lesson scenes, but Jacks disappeared after that. He came back just to save her and went again. Apollo and Eva kissed more than Evajacks did, and Apollo is such a bitch? I WILL NOT FORGET THAT MF LOSER PATHETIC PERSON. He legit killed a 14-year-old boy like whyyyyyyyy????? That boy was traumatized and survived, and he was like 'he's too trusting, I did him a favor' 🖕🏻 I thought Apollo was more like a Tamlin-Adam Kent type of character, but he's literally the worst. THEY were at least better and weren't entirely selfish, they wanted the girl, that's why they did questionable things, but Apollo was just a stuck-up narcissist who was delusional as fuck and believed that he would get Evangeline because he's better than JACKS.
Well, fuck you, got to be kidding me 😒 and even though I might have thought that he would become better and I might not hate him, his character was getting worse, and he died such a horrifying death that I'm actually glad for it. I suspected that he would be the one who'll die because if he had truly loved Eva, he wouldn't have tried to sacrificed her to become an immortal.
The Valors suck! They were useless, petty, whiny, pathetic creatures except Castor 😌, but yeah, I hated them. They were here for page fillers, and their entire existence was as useless as Apollo's POV. Aurora was the actual VILLAIN – a shitty one at that – and she was the one who put the fatal kiss and the archer's kiss curse on Jacks like WHAAAATTT- I thought she was one of the good guys. Everyone sucks, and I hate them sfm!
❝Jacks had so badly wanted to tell her that he couldn’t even remember what Donatella looked like, that Evangeline’s face was the only one he saw whenever he closed his eyes, that he would go with her anywhere . . . if he could.❞
Jacks' past was truly sad, even tho he did do questionable things, we literally GOT 0 CONFESSION (as in I DID THAT BECAUSE BLAH BLAH AND I DIDN'T MEAN THAT BLAH BLAH), but he stayed true to his character. The vulnerability throughout this book was the main thing why I still liked it. Evangeline's love and her hope that it would be enough to break the curse and Jacks sacrificing his beating heart just to get the cuff that'll protect Evangeline forever, and she won't get hurt were literally the best parts. I love Jacks so much, and Eva had good character development. It's just her BLUSHING at everything was unnecessary just like Apollo's POV. Nvm this book didn't give us any cute scenes!
Marisol's ending was left out, and I doubt she'd get her own book. Luc didn't make any appearance, and he should have apologized. Evangeline is human, and Jacks is not quite immortal, he's ageless, so obviously, Eva will become older. There should be a scene where Jacks gifts her a YOUTH STONE NECKLACE so that she stays young with him forever, but obv we got NOTHING. I'm just happy it's a HEA.
FFS NO APPLE CONFESSION? I figured it was just so he could stop himself from hurting anyone and not kissing anyone. He needed so many apples with Eva because if he didn't have them, he might kiss her and all. The colors were just a unique touch. Now I do hope the author gives us Lala/Chaos, and she leaves Dane for good and realizes that she was wrong to hold on to her love for him him forever.
• Once Upon A Broken Heart – 4 stars
• The Ballad Of Never After – 3.75 stars
After reading this last book, I seriously think it's overrated. The book lacked a lot of things, and I thought the last book would make up for not giving us cute scenes of EvaJacks in previous books, but there was nothing. NOTHING.
❝I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.❞
I really tried to love it, I do like some of its scenes, but this one didn't live up to its hype. TBONA had some cute scenes of EvaJacks, but mostly it was Jacks saving Eva's life again and again, and her realizing her love for him. In this book, Jacks however, felt like a side character. In fictional books, even if the main hero is not on the pages, he still has enough importance or, I don't know, JUST SOMETHING that you still remember him. But here I was constantly waiting for Jacks' POV to come, otherwise, there was no scene of Jacks in the first 60 pages. Apollo was there, and his POVs are the most useless things ever.
This book just dragged and dragged, and the slow-burn was nearly nonexistent when there were barely interactions between Eva & Jacks in this book. Instead of giving them a proper ending and some domestic scenes and filling the blanks of the last two books and revelation of some minor cute details we missed, WE GOT APOLLO'S POV??? 🤡 EvaJacks literally have one kiss throughout this whole trilogy, and literally zero confession scenes? That "I love you" moment made me feel nothing. I was numb by the point I reached there.
• Basically, Eva lost her memory in this book, and Apollo made Jacks seem like the villain after he was the one who wiped her memories. Apollo tried to rewrite the history, but Eva was still determined to get her memories back, and she felt that something was WRONG. It's not what she wanted. Jacks came into her life again but this time as Archer, and she was immediately drawn to him again.
Now the whole Archer thing didn't last much, I expected self-defense lesson scenes, but Jacks disappeared after that. He came back just to save her and went again. Apollo and Eva kissed more than Evajacks did, and Apollo is such a bitch? I WILL NOT FORGET THAT MF LOSER PATHETIC PERSON. He legit killed a 14-year-old boy like whyyyyyyyy????? That boy was traumatized and survived, and he was like 'he's too trusting, I did him a favor' 🖕🏻 I thought Apollo was more like a Tamlin-Adam Kent type of character, but he's literally the worst. THEY were at least better and weren't entirely selfish, they wanted the girl, that's why they did questionable things, but Apollo was just a stuck-up narcissist who was delusional as fuck and believed that he would get Evangeline because he's better than JACKS.
Well, fuck you, got to be kidding me 😒 and even though I might have thought that he would become better and I might not hate him, his character was getting worse, and he died such a horrifying death that I'm actually glad for it. I suspected that he would be the one who'll die because if he had truly loved Eva, he wouldn't have tried to sacrificed her to become an immortal.
The Valors suck! They were useless, petty, whiny, pathetic creatures except Castor 😌, but yeah, I hated them. They were here for page fillers, and their entire existence was as useless as Apollo's POV. Aurora was the actual VILLAIN – a shitty one at that – and she was the one who put the fatal kiss and the archer's kiss curse on Jacks like WHAAAATTT- I thought she was one of the good guys. Everyone sucks, and I hate them sfm!
❝Jacks had so badly wanted to tell her that he couldn’t even remember what Donatella looked like, that Evangeline’s face was the only one he saw whenever he closed his eyes, that he would go with her anywhere . . . if he could.❞
Jacks' past was truly sad, even tho he did do questionable things, we literally GOT 0 CONFESSION (as in I DID THAT BECAUSE BLAH BLAH AND I DIDN'T MEAN THAT BLAH BLAH), but he stayed true to his character. The vulnerability throughout this book was the main thing why I still liked it. Evangeline's love and her hope that it would be enough to break the curse and Jacks sacrificing his beating heart just to get the cuff that'll protect Evangeline forever, and she won't get hurt were literally the best parts. I love Jacks so much, and Eva had good character development. It's just her BLUSHING at everything was unnecessary just like Apollo's POV. Nvm this book didn't give us any cute scenes!
Marisol's ending was left out, and I doubt she'd get her own book. Luc didn't make any appearance, and he should have apologized. Evangeline is human, and Jacks is not quite immortal, he's ageless, so obviously, Eva will become older. There should be a scene where Jacks gifts her a YOUTH STONE NECKLACE so that she stays young with him forever, but obv we got NOTHING. I'm just happy it's a HEA.
FFS NO APPLE CONFESSION? I figured it was just so he could stop himself from hurting anyone and not kissing anyone. He needed so many apples with Eva because if he didn't have them, he might kiss her and all. The colors were just a unique touch. Now I do hope the author gives us Lala/Chaos, and she leaves Dane for good and realizes that she was wrong to hold on to her love for him him forever.
• Once Upon A Broken Heart – 4 stars
• The Ballad Of Never After – 3.75 stars
December 5, 2023
[CARS CRASHING] [BUILDINGS FALLING] "GOOD GOD" [CRYING] "WAAHAHAH" "WAAAA AAA" "WE LOVE U EVAJACKS" [YELLING] "BREATHE" WEEE WOO WOOO [COPS HELICOPTERS NEWS TRUCKS] "...WE'RE REPORTING LIVE FRO-" [LOUD COMMOTION]
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