Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Once Upon a Broken Heart

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

28 reviews

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I cannot express how much I love this. Jacks x Evangeline's dynamic just works. He is mean and dark and full of desire, but in a way that makes you know there's a reason he is the way that he is, which gives you hope for him as naive as Evangeline's. He's a fully fleshed out character. She is as well, good-hearted and smart but fully capable of making mistakes. She's like a sweet fluffy pink frosted cupcake. They make every scene interesting. I hate Marisol's character though - she's very much like Taryn from Folk of the Air. And the plot does not disappoint. It is crisp and new, an almost-redo on old fairytales and prophecy stories. So much of the worldbulding/lore and plot twists here are fresh. And I adore the descriptions of all the dresses!!

I give Rebecca Soler's performance 4.5/5⭐️. She gives a steadily good performance in which the listener can tell the difference between the characters. However, sometimes her vocals are far too loud/unequalized.

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latibluee's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

part 1 of this book was a disappointment but i pushed through and it did get better in parts 2 & 3.

the interactions (arguments, flirting, banter, yearning, etc.) between eva and jacks saved it for me for sure.

i might continue this trilogy later on but i've heard some spoilers about

a possibly heartbreaking cliffhanger at the end of 2nd book and then 3rd book being by far the worst

?? so i'm in no rush and will get to it... someday... in the future... if im really bored...

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reminiscences's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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margaretwaltemath09's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i loved this silly little book
its a unique little YA fantasy full of classic tropes and i ate it up
its for the disney girlies, the once upon a time girlies, the vampire girlies, the peasant/royal girlies

I love how it plays around the idea of fantasy kingdoms and has all the classic Disney fantasy vibes of baroque fancy colorful buildings and towns with friendly bakers and neighbors and evil step family with orphaned naive heroic girls who think they'll be saved. I loved how the MC is that classic damsel in distress believing in wishing on stars and true love and I can't wait for her to be slowly crushed by the realization that there is no prince coming to save her lol

It was also super fast-paced which was fun and also very solidly in the area of "YA" its clean romance with fun little silly kisses and romance.

I thought it was perfectly tropey with interesting world-building. Classic tropes include: peasant/royal, hurt/comfort, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, miscommunication, etc
The world-building was a mix of classic fairytale fantasy kingdoms with pretty ball gowns and princely looks with some magic sprinkled in. I liked the Fates aspect which essentially functions as Gods but have tarot cards vibe base.

not gonna lie when I say I picked these up for the beautiful (UK) covers but stayed for the dumb tropes
that had me kicking my feet and giggling all the way through 10/10

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emmieanna's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Objectively, this is not the best written book I have ever read, the world building is pretty basic and I do wish that certain aspects were more elaborate. This is definitely a plot over anything else kind of book (which are my faves I will say) but character development is a consequence of the plot, not what drives the plot.

However, I was HOOKED. I was making notes on my kindle like nobody’s business and was really rooting for the characters. I am so undecided with who my favourite is at this point, (LaLa is winning so far, then probably Apollo) and I will definitely be continuing the series.

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