Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

 Hiii friends! 

I'm so excited that one of my favorite books of the year is finally here! 

The Ballad of Never After

(Once Upon a Broken Heart #2)

by Stephanie Garber 

Goodreads / Amazon

5 stars!

First, thanks a MILLION McMillan/FlatironBooks for my early copy of this book. I've never been more appreciative to have the ARC on hand to read right after the first book in the series, Once Upon a Broken Heart. All my opinions and fangirling are honest and come from my booklover heart. :))

Now, I gave my first impression right after I read it on my bookstagram, here's the post.

Weeks later, I'm still as enthralled and in awe of this masterpiece. I named it then one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read and it was not an exaggeration. People who have been here for a while know how picky I am when it comes to 5 stars ratings (I work in the wedding industry my friends, everything in my life has to be a love story to perfection. Every detail counts).  

But I digress. Back to the story. This book would make more sense if you read the Caraval series first. Because Jacks is a villain (is he?), a morally grey hero and all his actions, subtle words and tricks are more understandable if you know his history (let's just say I was not a fan of  Tella in this one. Grr!). Everything he does or says hides a deeper meaning. By the end, my heart ached for him. And for Evangeline, who is one of the best heroines ever. She can be strong and resilient but with a pure heart at the same time. Everything she does is because she cares.

The "I'm going to kill him for hurting you" vibe is everywhere (despite Jacks doing his fair share of hurting, but he is after all, in Evangeline's words, "her villain, not her hero"). His possessiveness, jealousy and care were staggering.

There is a lot of character development in this story and all the angst, love, adventures, tension, touches, looks were masterfully done. Everything in this world has a magical, fairytale vibe that transforms, uplifts and break your heart at the same time. 

Absolutely superb. I can't recommend this series enough! 

P.S. I refuse to acknowledge the epilogue and I'm impatiently waiting for what comes next. BECAUSE THERE HAS BE A NEXT STORY OR I RETRACT EVERYTHING I JUST SAID. (just kidding, I loved it anyway).