What I Liked:
The Ballad of Never After the tale is the continuation of the Once Upon a Broken Heart series set in the same world as the author Cararval Series. Book two is more solid and accessible to fall into the story than book one; I felt book one was a jumble of several novels, and this one focuses more on the quest of finding the valroy stones and what is hidden inside the valroy arch. Stephanie Garber knows how to grow her characters into strong, likable heroes or heroines, and Evangeline matures while remaining innocent and connecting to the readers of her story. Jack is my favorite fate. He is multi-faceted, cruel, but delicious, and he carries the level as he endures a wide range of emotional turmoil throughout the story.
Final Verdict:
The ending is one I had to re-read a few times to grasp how evil and brilliant it is. Is this the end of the story hard to say? Did I think the ending was brilliant by far? Of course, it was, and I did not see it coming, which always makes me smile. The Ballad of Never After is an extraordinary tale delivered by a genuinely talented author.

#TheBalladofNeverAfter #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review.

The Ballad of Never After is the perfect sequel to this whimsical, heartsick series by Stephanie Garber. For anyone obsessed with the character of Jacks, this book delivers on all your pent-up desires for more, more, more! Enough twists and turns to keep your head spinning while your heart swoons over and over again. Without giving too much away, there are some superb angsty "will they/won't they" moments that fans of the series will shout for joy about. I CANNOT wait for Book #3. Living in Garber's worldbuilding is such a treat. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for sending me an ARC of The Ballad of Never After in exchange for an honest review.

Evangeline swears she will never trust Jacks again after he continually fails her. She promises she will never open the Valory Arch. But promises were made to be broken especially when a brand new murderous curse is placed upon Evangeline. Unwillingly, she has to team up with the Prince of Hearts again to find a way to break the curse. Evangeline and Jacks travel to new places where they deal with new enemies and old friends. Evangeline continues to learn that those she places her trust in are not as friendly as she thinks.

This book is definitely a bridge book.. I was not as bought in as I was with the first book, but it definitely was still interesting. I liked the character development and world building. We are continually peeking behind the curtain of who Jacks really is while still being reminded that he is not held to same ethics as mortals. I am intrigued to see how the big twist continues to play out into the next book!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice follow up to "Once Upon a Broken Heart". I loved learning more about Jacks and what makes him act the way he does. Evangeline continued to be a strong character, despite always thinking the best about everyone.

Stephanie Garber is back again with the next book in this enchanting series. Readers fell in love with ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART last year, where Eva's softness with Jack's conniving nature enacted a spell bounding romance. THE BALLAD OF NEVER AFTER has upped the stakes between these two with the result being a truly fantastic sequel. Garber's mystical writing immediately transports readers to this magical world from the very first page and whips them away into the storyline. I am so blown away by this book and cannot wait for what Garber puts out next!

Oh this is a review I am not excited to write. I did not love this. I did like it, but I felt it was a bit disjointed compared to the enjoyable Once Upon a Broken Heart. I even read it twice, just to be sure I didn't miss anything, as there is a LOT going on. But, some plot points are just...messy.

Evangeline has promised herself that she won't trust Jacks again, knowing all he did to deceive her in OUABH. She's determined to find a cure for Apollo and try to pursue a real marriage with him, as Evangeline's main goal in life is still love, sweet love.

I can't even begin to explain how many crazy events happen in this book before it's even a quarter of a way in. To detail would be to ruin the fun, but suffice to say that Evangeline is about the unluckiest person alive, and she and Jacks continue to have their destinies entwined, whether she likes it or not.

Part of my disappointment is that I was expecting resolution...nope. Turns out this is a trilogy, and so we are left with more questions than answers - not uncommon for Book 2 of a trilogy, but frustrating nonetheless. I continue to enjoy both Evangeline and Jacks, despite their many character flaws, and the world building, as always, is detailed and descriptive. I just felt there were a few mistakes made with plot holes. Perhaps these will be resolved in the third book, but they seemed to have been swept aside and no longer of importance. We will see. I will definitely keep reading this trilogy and anything else Stephanie Garber writes, this is just my least fave of all her books.

Wow…this book started out a little slow and redundant for me but by the end, my heart is completely ripped from my chest. I don’t know how I am going to wait for the next book. This is one of those books/series that will leave you hungover for days. I loved the writing style used and this magical word that is created completely pulls me in each time. A great read and can’t wait for the next!!! Thank you so much for the advanced read for my honest review!

I was OVER THE MOON to see The Ballad of Never After available to request. I was so sad when I finished
Once Upon A Broken Heart, and leaving Evangeline after Jacks betrays her.

After discovering magic of her own and a new curse is revealed, she has to engage in a partnership with Jacks and trust him to help her break it.

Stephanie Garber is such an incredible world-builder and her characters are built out so well and you get attached really quickly. Going back to Evangeline and Jacks was cozy and exciting at the same time. Perfect escape from real life and easy to not put down once you start.

This was a fun and magical further exploration of the North! Full of beautiful dresses, more mysteries, magical creatures, stories, and betrayal. I loved getting to know more about the lives of the Fates and their background (especially JACKS!). THe last 1/4 of the book I couldn't put it down and was a wild ride! I'm still SHOOK at that ending!

I started this book earlier this month and then kept putting it down. Today I finally sat down to read it again and ended up binge reading it. Really enjoyed this book and now I need the next one. Overall I think four stars, taking one star off bc a few scenes are a bit overdone but I still really enjoyed this one.

Where do I even begin with this? Stephanie garber had my heart bursting with so much joy and then eventually pain as I read this. Stephanie’s previous serious caraval is nothing short of pure magic, so magical that when I heard she was going to be writing a spin off series on one of my favourite characters in the series, I was both over Joyed and nervous. Garber has destroyed me and put me back together and destroyed me all over again as I read this. Ever since caraval, I knew that if there an author I’d trust with absolutely certainty and confidence it would be garber. From watching scarlett and Julian learn to love and trust one another to seeing the gradual acceptance of fate and love between tella and legend, I knew Evangeline and jacks were going to be nothing short of what I’d want. This is garber’s best book to date. I absolutely loved everything about this. From the very first page to the very last. The amount of emotion and emotion I felt between Evangeline and jacks the entire book was phenomenal. Jacks and Evangeline stole the show in this book. It’ll be one I’ll be keeping close to my heart for years to come by!

This just might be my favorite release of 2022. I absolutely adored this book, and it was amazing. Stephanie Garber always does such a great job at world building, her magical system is unique and I would just love to be able to exist in one of her worlds. This book starts off where the last one ended with Evangeline trying to remind herself all the reasons why she cannot trust Jack. But oh the chemistry between these two is everything, I love the trope when the Villain gets the girl.
"Don't fret, I won't tell your husband that you're obsessed with me."
We finally get to learn more about Jack and his backstory, it was very interesting to see who he was before he was the villain. I also love to see their relationship evolve and for Jack to take on some more human qualities "I know, love. I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Their relationship is absolutely everything, and the tension/slow burn between those two. The ending of this story broke me, and I wanted to cry so hard (in the best way). I'm hoping for another book in the series. Overall this was an amazing sequel to Once Upon A Broken Heart. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great fantasy read.

What an enchanting story, I was drawn in yet again by Jacks and the story of the fox and the archer. I’ve been rooting Jacks on for the past two books in this series. I love him and hate him at the same time. The ending was shocking but please tell me there will be another book!

Never in my wildest dreams I could have predicted that ending. My jaw dropped and I felt my soul leaving and re-entering into my body. My god, this was soo good!!

Thank you SO much, Netgalley for a copy of this arc.
I was beyond excited to get my hands on a digital copy of this book, and when I say it exceeded my expectations, I mean I have no words otherwise. I knew in Once Upon a Broken Heart that I would looove Jacks (even though I'm not into the whole "bad boy" vibe) but I did not think I'd fall in love with him that much more in the sequel. The Ballad of Never After was amazing and beautiful! There is something in it for everyone, and I am not ashamed to say I read it in one sitting. I definitely wish I'd read it slower because now I feel the book hangover coming on. Eva and Jacks are OTP goals, and I haven't loved a character's development such as theirs in such a long time. I will recommend this book to all of my book nerds, and I cannottt wait until the next book comes out (please let it be soon!!). Miss Garber, you've outdone yourself with this work of art.

A seamless transition from the first book in the series!!! The Ballad of Never After picks up within hours of Once Upon a Broken Heart.

I am such a fan of Jacks and was so excited for another book that he’s a main character in! How is he such a favorite of mine… I don’t know. The Prince of Hearts has made his way into my heart.

Evangeline can’t catch a break and has to make such big decisions in the run. She’s got guts that’s for sure! Big tasks keep coming and she’s always up for the challenge.

Without spoiling the book.. it’s full of adventures, lies, misplaced trust, fates, love?, magic, curses,catastrophes, and soooo much more!

Every time life go in the way of reading this book… I was looking forward to the next time I could pick up this book. A curse or a fate’s doing?!?

The ending…
Well I can’t give it away but whew

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

5+ stars
This is probably the best of Garvers books to date! However, WTF??? She is quickly becoming queen of the cliff hanger. I can’t wait another year, this series is just too good! I NEED more Jacks in my life.

this is hands down one of my favorite books of all time. i adore jacks and evangeline so much. i could scream about this book for months on end

I adore this author, and the world of Caraval…but so help me, if there isn’t a third book to heal my wounds from this one, I will riot!