Once Upon a Broken Heart follows the Caraval series with the Prince of Hearts reappearing. It follows the story of Evangeline Fox, who lost her mother when she was young, and her father, who had remarried, has recently passed away. While being mistreated by her stepmom, Eva was also getting her heart broken by the guy she thought she loved. Eva looks to Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, and an immortal fate, in her desperation for help getting her love back. Jacks decides to help her, but she can’t understand what is in it for him and can’t shake an uneasy feeling off. Did Eva put herself in danger and make a mistake by trusting him?
I enjoyed this book, especially the moments of confusion between Jacks and Eva. Although Jacks is a cold and cruel person, you can see moments of softness in him throughout the book, which are heartfelt. Even though they both supposedly hate each other, there is still romance, humor, and lots of fantasy in their world. Their banter was entertaining throughout the book as they understood each other more and more. I like how well-written the book is, and their world is described so well with all the magic and supernatural beings. I also thought it was nice how they brought up some past characters at the beginning of the book to help with the continuation of all of Garber's books and this series. I would recommend reading the Caraval trilogy first, as it will help everything make more sense. There is a cliffhanger at the end of the book, as it is part of a trilogy, but the rest of the books are equally as good, if not better. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.