5.0 out of 5 stars Jacks Forever!

H.R. · November 18, 2023

5 ♾ INFINITY Captivating Stars!OH. MY. GOD. - MY HEART!This was my most anticipated book of the year, and Stephanie Garber did not disappoint!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...Jacks had been the moon and she'd been the tide, controlled by his impossible force.What a glorious ride that was. I am so in love with this series and all of the characters! This is the type of story telling I love! The reason I love reading! I laughed, cried, chewed off some finger nails (I'm not even an actual nail biter) , got so angry, and was on the edge of my seat to see how this epic tale was going to come to a close.Let me just get out of the way how well Garber wrote these characters, and I want to touch on ApolloI really can't remember the last time I despised a character so much, I mean EVERYTHING this guy did had me ready to jump into my kindle and just take off his head myself.Bastard. Murderer. Monster.He gives major Tamlin Tampon vibes through the entirety of this book and it gets to be enraging - or well maybe that's just me, but when you read it .. lmk. 😉But let me just gush a little bit about our main man and our main girl here for a min...So, I have seen many people post about Evangeline and how she is so stupid or whatever, but she isn't supposed to be a feisty/stabby character.This is a fairytale setting and she is a character who believes in hope and happily ever after and of true love. I only bring this up now and not in any of my previous reviews because it felt more prominent in this book, her naivety. I do think that for me personally it's because of her lost memory. But all the same I love her and all of her hope. And her growth is amazing."I know I seem naive," Evangeline pressed on."I know my faith in love might appear foolish.I also know it might not be enough. But I'm not doing this because I believe I'll win. I'm actually a little afraid I'm going to lose.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 know my attempt to save Jacks could end in a fiery explosion, but I'd rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns"Jacks wasn't safe. He came with no promises of a happily ever after. If anything, he guaranteed the opposite. He didn't believe that heroes got happy endings. 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 the safe choice, because love was also more powerful than fear.It was the ultimate form of hope. It was stronger than curses.Of course, saving the best for last... Jacks *SWOOOOOOON*" 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."He'd been brokenhearted. Not in the same sense that most people thought of, as if one person had broken his heart. Jacks's heart had been broken over and over again until it was no longer capable of hope and care and love.This story was so wonderful from the first page until the last, not just this book ... but the entire trilogy. The world building was astounding, the writing spectacular, magical, dreamlike and a total page turner.I can without a doubt say that I will read ANYTHING that Stephanie Garber writes. This review is a whole hot mess , considering I'm trying to convey all of my emotions after just finishing the book lol I'll have to come back at a later time to edit.HEAVY SPOILERS BELOW, DON'T READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK!⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ⊹ ۪ ﾟ｡⋆☾ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ｡⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐖⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ⊹ ۪ ﾟ｡⋆☾ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ｡⊹ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ━☆・*。　　・゜　 °。+ * 。　　　　　.・゜　　　　　゜｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ。　　　　　　ﾟ。　 　｡ﾟ　　　　　　　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ"I used to wonder if fate was real," she said gently "I used to fear it meant that I had no real choices. Then I secretly hoped fate was real and that you and I were fated, that by some miraculous chance I was your true love. But now I don't care i fate is real-because I don't need it to decide for me. I don't need it to make this choice. I've made my decision, Jacks. 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. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine. And you are not going to be the end of me, Jacks."His eyes bled more tears, but his hand held tight to the jar. "I'm broken. I like to break things, Sometimes I want to break you.""𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒎𝒆, 𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔.""So you'd rather live without me?""I'd rather you live.""I am living, Jacks, and I am not going to die anytime soon."Evangeline closed her eyes and then she kissed him."I already told you. You are the love of my life. You are mine, Jacks of the Hollow. And you're not going to be the end of me.""But you were dying""No," she said, a little embarrassed. "I just forgot to breathe."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.

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 Stars

S.F. · April 14, 2025

Oh my heart. After the cliffhanger ending of The Ballad of Never After I jumped into A Curse for True Love immediately. Like, I finished and almost simply flipped the next page found book 3 on my Kindle, and just kept reading. I highly recommend having A Curse for True Love to read lined up if you plan to read The Ballad of Never After.So we start with Evangeline having just lost her memory of the last year. She doesn't remember anyone she's met in the Magnificent North. She wakes up to Apollo telling her that he's her husband (true), and then he proceeds to fill in minimal gaps with a few historical rewrites. Evangeline doesn't know the difference. She does have some instinctual, residual feelings. I think this is actually a scientifically proven thing in some ways. Our brains can remember when we've left a task incomplete even if we can't always remember what that task was., Evangeline feels an urgent sense that she needed to tell someone something very important. But she can't remember who and she can't remember what. She has some instinctual feelings about Apollo. She has some instinctual feelings about other characters as well--some she's met before and some she hasn't. I was annoyed that she didn't trust her instincts as much as I wanted her to, yet I could see why she wouldn't.Jacks is heartbroken. He knew Time would take something from him, but he didn't think that something would be taken from Evangeline instead. He blames himself. Yet he's just so relieved that she's still alive--considering he witnessed Chaos murder her out of bloodthirst. He wants so badly for her to remember him and her feelings for him. Yet he also knows that her forgetting is actually less painful for her. But not less painful for him. At the same time, he can't have gone through all of that just for someone else to kill her. And yet it seems she's still being sought after by multiple people trying to harm her. Jacks has a fulltime job trying to keep her alive. And thus they keep getting thrown together.Evangeline has the smallest sparks of remembering when she's near Jacks, and that makes her want to be near him more. I wondered how long the memory loss would drag on. And thankfully, they all came back in one whoosh eventually rather than trickling out over the course of the entire book. But that's all I'll say about that before we spoil too much.Favorite quotes:-Her heart still hurt, as if it had been broken and only jagged bits remained. She put a hand on it, as if to keep more pieces from breaking off. And once again, she was struck with the inescapable feeling that among everything she'd forgotten was one thing more important than all the rest, more important than anything.-...but some things were worth hurting for...-"I do understand, and I hope you understand that as long as you treat me like an untrustworthy captive, I will act like one instead of like your wife."-Instead she was exhilarated. It felt as if she'd found a bit of her old self. And it was one of her favorite pieces. It was the part of herself that loved to hope.-But she wasn't supposed to want to kiss him. It wasn't fair of [...] to hate her a little for it. But feeling hateful was the only thing that made it possible for him to leave. And he really needed to leave.-...the curse had been cast out of terror, and curses that come from a place of fear always turn out a little twisted or become far more terrible than intended.-"I've seen you try before. I've seen you want something more than anything else in the entire world. I've seen what you're willing to do. How far you were willing to go. You haven't even come close to that now."-"There is never necessary evil, just poor choices, and I fear you're about to make one, boy."-"Being yours does not make you mine."-"I don't believe you, [...]. I might not remember everything about you. But I know you. I know that I know you, and I don't believe there is anything you can't do."-"I know I seem naive," Evangeline pressed on. "I know my faith in love might appear foolish. I also know it might not be enough. But I'm not doing this because I believe I'll win. I'm actually a little afraid I'm going to lose. 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 know my attempt to save [...] could end in a firey explosion, but I'd rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns."-"I'm not going to hurt you." "I feel as if that's what people always say just before they hurt you."The rest of my favorite quotes spoil too much so I won't include them.A Curse for True Love is a good ending to a fun trilogy. I enjoyed all of the fairytale vibes. I liked the story curse, which was still present and working through this story. I loved Evangeline and Jacks and Lala. And I was happy with how everything ended. My only wish is that we had a little more time where the characters were happy together before it was over. Of course, the ending was left open for other stories in this world, and I'm 100% here for them. A Curse for True Love gets 4 Stars. Have you read A Curse for True Love? What did you think? Let me know!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magical and Heartfelt Finale You Will Not Forget

B. · August 18, 2025

I absolutely loved A Curse for True Love. This third book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart series is magical, romantic, and full of twists that kept me completely hooked from start to finish. The characters are so well developed, and I felt like I was right there with them through every challenge, heartbreak, and moment of joy.The story perfectly blends romance, adventure, and fantasy, and the plot is full of surprises that kept me turning pages late into the night. I also appreciated the way the author explored themes of love, sacrifice, and trust, which added real emotional depth to the story. The writing is beautiful and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the world of magic and intrigue.Overall, this book is a fantastic conclusion to the series. I loved every moment, and it left me satisfied but wishing the story could continue. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves fairy tale-inspired romance with strong characters and a gripping plot.IN SUMMARY:A Curse for True Love is a magical, romantic, and gripping finale to the series. The characters are well developed, the plot is full of surprises, and the writing is immersive. Perfect for fans of fairy tale-inspired romance.

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N.A. · May 14, 2024

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E.K. · September 25, 2025

Perfect condition

Beautifully written

L. · November 17, 2024

Fell in love with this trilogy the moment I started reading the first book. The storytelling captivated me from start to finish. It is truly a breathtaking story and one can tell the author put a lot of time and effort into crafting this story. The book kept me at the edge of my seat and it is so beautifully written. I also loved the tension between Jacks and Evangeline. This trilogy will take you on a roller coaster of emotions so you’ve been warned. The complexity of the characters made them relatable and it is one of the things that drew me to this trilogy. If you’re into complex characters, fairytale folklore, royal core and enemies to lovers trope, I highly recommend this book.

To love and to curses

N.C. · July 22, 2025

Each chapter draws you in. Was excited for the other two books.

Excellent serial book to read

S.R. · February 1, 2024

This is a brilliant sequel.Great characters, interesting storyDefinitely worth a read