Book Review :: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
ISBN: 1529380979
Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart #2
Also in this series: Once Upon A Broken Heart, A Curse for True Love
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
on 13 September 2022
Pages: 416
Source: Hachette Publishing NZ
Goodreads

Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she'll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can . . .

Last updated on 13 February 2023

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What is The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber about?

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber continues the story of Evangeline Fox as she wrestles with the Prince of Hearts, discovers her own magic, and now has to deal with a life-threatening curse.

The last time she was wound in a curse it was a love curse. This time? A murderous spell, entwining her life with her husband Apollo’s. Except all he wants to do now is hunt her down. While she thought she could walk away from Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, it seems she was sorely mistaken. The two, much to Evangeline’s horror, need to pair up again to break the spell and save both her husband’s life and her own.

“Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away.”

My thoughts on The Ballad of Never After

Cast your minds back to my review of the first in this series, Once Upon a Broken Heart, and you may recall how much I loved that story. I said in that review that “one of my favourite things about Stephanie Garber books is the creative ways she uses conventions that we all know – magic, dragons, fairytale elements, Fates, lore – and somehow turns them into something fresh and new”.

I stand by that.

Perhaps even more so than before.

I simply adored this book. I love the characters that Garber has created, and the world she draws us so vividly into. The stories are so magical – set in a magical land, how could they not be? – and I always feel so invested in the tales and the characters that are both introduced and that are familiar already.

“Dark was for stars and dreams and the magic that took place in between days.”

There were honestly so many twists and turns in this story and while some things I called along the way (even if I didn’t have a good reason for doing so – it be like that sometimes, ya know?), there were definitely shocks along the way and OOF that ending! I won’t say anything but jeepers.

If you’re into fairy tales, magic, romances, tension, great banter, exquisite characters and a breathtaking world, then this is the series for you! I cannot wait for the third (and final?) book in this series. But at the same time, I don’t want it to end.

Have you read The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber? Or the first in the series? What did you think?

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Thank you to Hachette NZ for this review copy, which I received for free. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.