The spellbinding allure of emotions in Stephanie Garber's writing

A spell for true emotions is an enchanting novel written by Stephanie Garber. This book is woven with magic, romance, and mystery, capturing the hearts of readers from start to finish. The story revolves around a young enchantress named Scarlett who is desperate to find her sister, who was taken captive by a mysterious and dangerous man known as Legend. Garber paints a mesmerizing world filled with elaborate costumes, Venetian palaces, and daring adventures. In this enchanting setting, Scarlett must navigate a treacherous game called Caraval in order to save her sister. However, there is more to Caraval than meets the eye.

However, there is more to Caraval than meets the eye. **At the heart of the novel is the theme of true emotions**. Scarlett has always been taught to keep her emotions hidden, to not reveal her true feelings.

Once Upon A Broken Heart Book Review

Anyone who's interacted with us or, hell, kept up with our content outside the blog (*cough* follow us on social media *cough, cough* subscribe to our newsletter) knows what major fairytale nerds Kori and I are. So I was ecstatic to receive this very fairytale-esque edition of Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber as part of the Broken Hearts theme from Fairyloot.

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Category: Candy Book

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RATING: 2/5 Stars

Characters: 2/5 stars

PLOT

A spinoff from the widely popular Caraval trilogy, Once Upon a Broken Heart follows a periphery character Jacks, a Fate whose kiss is deadly to all but his destined true love (whom he will purportedly spend eternity searching for) and an all-new protagonist Evangeline, a small-town orphan who grew up running a magical curiosity shop with her father.

It doesn't take much to pique my interest when it comes to fairytale elements. So despite not liking Caraval or reading the next two installments, I was eager to try this book after the description hit all the right notes.

I spent forever trying to make sense of this plot. Vaguely fairytale aspects that weren't fleshed out at all were smooshed with a childlike fever dream and topped with an overdramatic soap opera cherry.

NOTE: I apologize for how spoilery this review will be, but I know not how else to process my thoughts on this book. If you wish to avoid spoilers, please skip ahead to the character and world sections!

The story begins well enough with a broken-hearted Evangeline locating a magical door that only reveals itself to desperate souls like herself. She stumbles into a church and calls upon a Fate, the Prince of Broken Hearts.

Fates are capricious creatures who act as gods in this world; making a deal with them is akin to making a deal with a fae: it never ends well. Evangeline knows this, yet strikes a deal with Jacks: she must kiss three people of Jacks' choosing in exchange for him stopping the wedding between her lover Luc and stepsister Marisol, as Evangeline is certain Luc is cursed.

Jacks stops the wedding, but by turning everyone to stone. Evangeline is horrified; Jacks points to a chalice of poison and tells her she can save everyone by turning herself to stone (How? Why? We'll never know). Evangeline drinks.

Six weeks later, she awakens to the Fate Poison, who has cured her (compliments of Jacks, we're later told). Following her glorious return, she's famous for saving her family and has to beat off unwanted suitors vying for the hero of Valenda.

Luc, however, was severely injured by a pack of wolves and has disappeared (. ). Oh, and Evangeline missed out on the Week of Terror, wherein all the Fates returned to the world and, uh, rained chaos upon the land (How? Why? We'll never know).

After an indeterminable amount of time moping, Evangeline is called to the palace by the Empress (the protagonist of Caraval), where she's asked to attend Nocte Neverending in the Empress's stead (because Evangeline is a hero?).

Her mother had told her all about Nocte Neverending. [. . .] Secret ballrooms were built for it in forests where fallen stars had once landed, leaving everything laced with bits of enchantment. [. . .] every night during Nocte Neverending, the current crown prince would watch from a hidden location until he picked five ladies to dance with. Night after night, he'd follow the same routine, watching and then asking ladies to dance until he found the perfect bride.

Evangeline skips off to the Magnificent North (no joke, that's what it's called) with her stepsister who is now brokenhearted over the same boy (Luc, supposedly off in the world horrifically scarred and maybe still cursed—RIP to my homie). There, the hero of Valenda and Cursed Bride attend the lovely night ball, where Evangeline is immediately smitten with the sullen prince Apollo and hopes she'll be his chosen princess.

Which indeed happens. After Jacks forces her to kiss the prince and Apollo jumps from clearly disinterested to suddenly, all-consumingly in love.

And Evangeline is shocked, nay scandalized, when she [way too much later] discovers Jacks placed a spell on her new fiancé.

Now she couldn't help but wonder: Was Jacks the reason for this engagement? What if the blood Jacks had painted on her lips had infused her kiss with magic that made Apollo fall in love with her?

She didn't want to think it. [. . .] But if Jacks had done something to Apollo, it would explain Apollo's over-the-top behavior.

After going through with the wedding in spite of Apollo's feelings not being real (because, ye know, giving up is so much easier than being a proactive main character), Jacks once again paints Evangeline's lips with blood and tells her the wedding night kiss will break the spell.

Jacks escapes the palace with Evangeline, who is poisoned to never stop crying (How? Why? We'll never know). After saving her, the Fate and bumbling damsel team up to track down Apollo's real killer—who is not, apparently, Jacks.

This involves, among other boring trips I'll skip over, a visit to a vampire den, the coolest part of the entire book—because they are real, murdery vampires.

They were actually in a balcony overlooking a small amphitheater [. . .] where a gathering of vampires and humans stood on a massive black-and-white checkered board.

[. . .] Evangeline's hands clutched the marble rail as she watched the vampires cross the checkered floor in blurs of speed. Bloodred collided with white as each vampire found a human.

Nice! In two more cool twists, Jacks is bitten and shall become a murdery vampire if he tastes blood before dawn and—what ho! There's Luc! In a cage! He traveled to the North to be turned into a vampire and rid of his hideous scars. And he was cursed!

"I didn't realize it until tonight, until the vampire venom was in me and suddenly my head cleared. [. . .] All I know was that your stepsister was all that I could think about. She was the reason I came here—I needed to be perfect for her. After I got mauled by the wolf, my scars weren't sexy scars—"

O-okay, so Luc gets left behind as a vampire (RIP to this fucking dude). Jacks averts vampirism by not biting Evangeline, despite getting all seductive and lick-y for a moment (don't ask).

Evangeline pulls Classic Damsel Trope #1 and rushes off to the palace to save the day on her own—with no help or plan. She tracks down her stepsister who is set to marry Apollo's brother, who shall inherit the crown.

And Evangeline is shocked, nay scandalized, when she learns her stepsister is behind all the cursing and poisonings! Despite literally everyone asking her from the beginning, "Dude, are you sure it's not your stepsister?"

"If your stepsister is reading that [spell] book, I would agree with Jacks. She is far from helpless, and she is probably up to something."

ANY-WHO, Evangeline miraculously saves the day by giving the spell's cure to Apollo's brother—by placing the vial in the room and just hoping he'll drink it.

"How did this get in here?" [. . .] He picked up the bottle with two fingers and brought it toward the fire.

[. . .] But instead of throwing it in, the bottle worked its magic. Tiberius stopped, took another look at the concoction, popped the cork with his mouth, and drank.

Crisis averted. The guards apprehend the stepsister and reinstate Evangeline as princess—effective immediately; she's just in charge of the kingdom now. Huzzah?

Apollo was lying down on his back, but he didn't look right. He didn't look alive.

[. . .] "Apollo is in a suspended state."

[. . .] "We've been trying to revive him, but we think that you might be the only person who can bring him back."

For those who skipped over the plot (don't blame you), the main character is beyond gullible and childish. I get being sheltered, optimistic, and having your head in the clouds. But after repeated reminders as to why she shouldn't trust everyone around her, Evangeline is still appalled by any deviation from purity. In addition, she passively bumbles along the entire book, pushed and prodded by everyone who has more of a clue than she does.

Standing out from the two-dimensional cast is Jacks, who is (thankfully) precisely who he says he is: wicked, cruel, sarcastic, manipulative, and selfish. There's a hint of a broken heart under his harsh exterior, which we all know is candy for readers looking for a layered antihero.

Sadly, he isn't the focus of this book. If he'd been the protagonist rather than Evangeline, I might've given the book more stars.

While the world sounds whimsical and full of cozy fairytale vibes, the book never delves beneath the surface. There are pretty castles, fantastical foods and potions, sentient objects, and immortal Fates with magical powers—

That's pretty much it. It feels as though the magic system was made up on the fly, with barely-there rules and hazy allusions that are never quite pinned down. I wanted to know more about the lands, the creatures, the customs. The world didn't need comprehensive lore, but I wish something had set it apart from, well . . . Disneyland?

Though the cute, fairytale atmosphere and Jacks' snark and hilarious quips pulled me through to the end, I just could not get on board with the airheaded protagonist and nonsensical plot. I came away from this book disappointed at the lost aesthetics and frankly unsure of what I just read.

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Stephanie Garber Yes! I actually wrote part of Finale from Legend's POV--these chapters were cut from the final draft, but my publisher is using one of these chapters as bonus material for the barnes and noble exclusive edition :)

However, in the midst of Caraval, she is forced to confront her deepest desires and confront her own fears. Throughout the story, Scarlett learns that true emotions are not something to be feared, but rather something to embrace and celebrate. **Garber expertly explores the complexities of emotions** through her well-developed characters. Scarlett's journey is not only one of finding her sister, but also one of self-discovery. She learns to trust her own instincts and to listen to her heart. The relationships she forms along the way and the emotions she experiences add depth and richness to the story. The spellbinding atmosphere of the novel is enhanced by Garber's beautiful and lyrical writing. Her descriptive language brings the world of Caraval to life, immersing readers in a world of wonder and enchantment. Garber's writing is both poetic and engaging, making it hard to put the book down. A spell for true emotions is a captivating read that will transport readers to a world of mystery and magic. It explores the power of emotions and the importance of being true to oneself. Garber's storytelling and exquisite writing make this novel a must-read for fans of fantasy and romance..

Reviews for "Discovering the hidden depths of emotions in Stephanie Garber's novels"

1.

Name: Samantha

Rating: 1/5

Review: I was really disappointed with "A Spell for True Emotions" by Stephanie Garber. The plot was incredibly predictable and cliché, with no originality or unexpected twists. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult to connect or care about their journey. The writing style was also lacking, with simplistic and repetitive language that felt like it was trying too hard to be poetic. Overall, I found the book to be dull and uninspiring, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and well-written fantasy read.

2.

Name: Tyler

Rating: 2/5

Review: I had high hopes for "A Spell for True Emotions" but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The concept had potential, but it was poorly executed. The pacing was slow and the story dragged on without much excitement. The romance aspect felt forced and lacked chemistry, making it difficult to invest in the characters' relationships. Additionally, the world-building was lacking and left me with more questions than answers. While Stephanie Garber's writing style can be beautiful at times, it was overshadowed by the book's other shortcomings. Overall, I found "A Spell for True Emotions" to be a disappointing read that failed to deliver on its promising premise.

3.

Name: Rachel

Rating: 2/5

Review: As a fan of Stephanie Garber's previous works, I was eagerly anticipating "A Spell for True Emotions", but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The plot felt convoluted and confusing, with too many subplots that never fully developed. The characters were also underdeveloped, and I found it hard to care about their fates or motivations. The writing style was overly descriptive and lacked substance, making it difficult to stay engaged with the story. Overall, I was left feeling disappointed and unsatisfied with this book, and I would not recommend it to fans of the author's previous works.

Diving into the depths of emotions in Stephanie Garber's novels