The Ballad of Never After was one of the most fun YA Fantasies I have read in quite some time and my favorite novel in the Caraval universe by far.

Garber has done an incredible job of creating a universe that truly feels like story book. Everything about the setting and characters is absolutely magical and I really felt like everything she has created came together so well in this novel. I'm honestly really hoping she continues to expand within this universe. Personally, I'd love to learn a little more about Chaos.

Check out this book/series for:

- poisonous kisses
- more of the deceitful fates we grew to love in Caravel
- twisted fairytale vibes
- lots of twists and turns
- one girls search for her own happily ever after
- enemies to (?)

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Stephanie Garber outdid herself with this book, and Rebecca Soler was the perfect narrator as usual!
I never know what to expect from sequels, they can either make the whole story or ruin it, and this one elevated it. Evangeline’s journey was exciting and intriguing and learning more about Jacks was a delight in the most unexpected way. I can honestly say I love this book more than Once Upon a Broken Heart and that’s hard since I had given that one 5 stars.

F#@k!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s how I feel. I loved it. I was so happy to be brought back into this world and I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK FOR BOOK THREE. I know, it’ll be a while. I need more immediately. I’m trying not to put any spoilers, this book exceeded all expectations. Normally the second book in a trilogy will be slower or more filler or just not as good but wow this book is not like that. Absolutely no lull here.

I don't understand how each of Stephanie Garber's books just keeps better and better.

The Ballad of Never After is one of those books that is impossible to put down. I carried it with me everywhere until I could finish it, it was that good. If you're a fan of fairytales or retellings, you need this series. The more I crawled into this world, the more questions I have but the less I want to leave.

As always her storytelling, world-building, and character development is just next level. Jacks is a small character in the Caraval series and we learned more about him in the last book but so much more about him in this one. Let me tell you, there is so much STILL to learn about him and his past.

I loved learning about the Valors and the history of the North. Uncovering it with the main character Evangeline made it feel like peeling layers of an onion. Writing like that has to be an art form.

The ending is wild. There has to be another one and I can't possibly wait that long.

The same narrator Rebecca Soler is back and she brings the audiobook up a notch. She is one of my all-time favorite narrators so I expected nothing but the best and she delivered.

I can’t even believe this book was better than the first one. Also this series has captivated me more than Caraval and it’s an all time favorite.

The angst and tension between the characters.

Honestly Stephanie Garber’s descriptions and magical story telling just blow me away. The fates, the curses, the romantic nature, the story telling, the suspense and surprise. It’s all absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

I listened to the first audiobook AND read it but this one I fully listened to. I believe it’s the same narrator and I love her enthusiasm reading the book. She is Evangeline and I love it.

Okay so this story starts right where the first book leaves off so you might need a refresher if you don’t remember. We learn even more about the Vallory (I am unsure of spelling because I was listening not reading) arch. And the Valors. Some of the twists I could see coming and yet THERE IS STILL SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN.

Jacks is a villain we love to love. Honestly he’s the perfect example of me falling for the villain and not even being mad about it. Time and time again he reminds us that he is the villain. Basically he’s not a hero, he’s not going to save everyone, but he will burn down the world for the one he loves. Watching Jacks torment Evangeline and himself and go back and forth was frustrating and amazing. I couldn’t put this book down and now I know I’m going to suffer waiting for the next book.

Sigh. Stephanie Garber you are an epic story teller. The whimsical writing and beautiful tales she weaves seriously take up your whole mind. The way she describes everything literally leaves you feeling like a magical fairytale. There really wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. It just takes over everything and entertains all your senses.

Book 3?! I cannot wait to see what happens after ANOTHER heartbreaking ending.

Holy Hannah this book was a trip!!! I feel like I’m going to be emotionally processing it for the foreseeable future. There were just so many twists and turns. And the ending! Gah! But I will keep those thoughts to myself because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. In short, in The Ballad of Never After, Stephanie Garber has once again cultivated an incredible story filled with gorgeous descriptions and wonderful characters. And the audiobook is a fantastic way to experience this story. Jacks is the ultimate morally grey hero and his character arc in this book is incredible. I still adore Evangeline and her optimism and determination. And of course, the dynamic between her and Jacks makes this story the magical reading journey that it is. If you’re a fan of Garber’s other books, you need The Ballad of Never After in your life! Just be ready to devote your life to it for the next day or so because you will not want to stop reading.

*Thank you to Stephanie Garber, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for an advanced audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This book chewed my heart up and spit it right back out multiple times. I had the opportunity to listen to The Ballad of Never After and, wow, I wish I had the physical copy. There were so many moments that my brows rose, where I wondered did that really just happen or did a character really say that. So many times, I skipped back and bookmarked scenes. Jacks, as always, was frustrating but the moments with got with him and Evangeline were everything. The plot twists, the tension with Jacks, and the overall story was amazing. The ending the best part no matter how many times I cried. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for my preorder to come in. This seems like a story I could read over and over.

Caraval is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time so it's always nerve wracking when the author of your favorite book starts a new series, especially if that series is a spin off. What if it's not as good? What if it ruins my love for my favorite book?

It was SO good!!! Even better than Once Upon A Broken Heart! I was lucky enough to listen to an ARC of this amazing story and was approved the day before a 20 hour road trip so I got to listen to it in one sitting. Worth it!! I loved every second of it!

Jacks is hands down my favorite morally gray character ever. He wants so badly to be good but he's wounded and jaded and keeps himself sealed off from everyone. He is just begging to be loved and saved.

Evangeline and Jacks are so good together. I love their chemistry and banter. The love/ hate back and forth that just leaves to miserable with wanting for them to just finally admit their feelings.

There are still so many unanswered questions about Jacks, LaLa, Luc, Chaos, and even Apollo. It's so frustrating! But in a good the-author-did-an-amazing-job kind of way.

I can't wait for the next book! It's going to feel like the longest wait ever but I know it will be worth it. That ending was just....agh!! So perfect! I'm dying!

The story took me on such an adventure. Vampires and curses and magic. It has all the good things you want in a YA fantasy. This just solidifies Stephanie Garber in her place as my favorite YA fantasy author.

Content: some minor sexual innuendo, some minor language, mild fantasy violence.

I am struggling to review this book without spoilers… so will just say, it was a wild ride. Lots of twists and turns. We see a lot of familiar characters and meet several new ones as well.

I’m pretty sure no one in this story tells the truth. And we have no idea what many of the characters actually are. And the ending. 🤯

Aaaand now I’m mentally struggling with the fact that I have over a year before I will get answers. The familiar torture of starting series before they’re completed. 🤣

Excellent audiobook, just like the first book. Very well done.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to enjoy the advance audio copy of this book.

Thank you so so much to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC of this book, especially since this was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year. And this book was 100% worth it. I absolutely loved the first book, Once Upon a Broken Heart, but this sequel lived up to it, and in my opinion, was even better than the first! And I can truly say this with confidence, but I genuinely think that this is Stephanie Garber's best work yet, and it's absolutely broken me.

The plot picked up right from where Once Upon a Broken Heart left off, and was so addicting from the start. I could not bring myself to stop listening as it was filled with such suspense and mystery, and pulled me right into its pages. Each chapter was filled with plot twist after plot twist, until I just had no idea what would come next. And I'm telling you, my heart could not handle this much, especially because my emotions were an absolute wreck. Not to mention THAT ENDING. Like, I really need to go to therapy now, and I will 100% be mentioning this book.

As for the characters, in the first book, I didn't connect with Evangeline as much as I wanted to, and it took a while for me to understand her. But in this book, you can really see how much she's developed and grown as a character, and I love just how kindhearted, sweet, and determined she is. And from page one of this book, I was rooting for her to succeed and wanted her to get the happily ever after she deserved. As for Jacks, I've always loved him from the Caraval days in Legendary. His arrogance, flirtations and wit is something I will always enjoy. But in this book, we not only get all of that, but we also see a different side of him that is much more vulnerable and emotional, and I'm really glad Stephanie Garber showed us much more of this, especially because it was limited during the first book, and the Caraval series. Another thing I really enjoyed was the fleshing out of the side characters, which a) added SO much to the plot, and b) was so fascinating to read about. We didn't know that much about Lala or Chaos, and I'm glad we got to see so much more of them.

For the worldbuilding, one of the things I liked the most was how much it had expanded from the first book. We see so much more of the Magnificent North as we are whisked away onto Jacks and Evangeline's story. I love the way Stephanie Garber describes her fantasy worlds, as they are always so vivid and lush, and filled not only with magic, but also deceit. It was definitely a very unique experience, and I adored the entire ride.

Now I'm saving the best for last, which is the romance between Jacks and Evangeline. We were DEPRIVED of it in book 1, but I am happy to say, that book 2 made up for it. I'm telling you, sexual tension EVERYWHERE. But what I really love about this romance, is how much you see Jacks and Evangeline connect with each other before they are ready to admit their feelings about each other. But GOD it hurt so much. The forbidden love? The enemies to lovers? If you can't tell by these tropes alone, this romance HURT. But Jacks and Evangeline are such a beautiful couple together, and I love them with all my heart.

All in all, this deserves no less than a 5/5 stars, even though I'd like to give it 10. THE BALLAD OF NEVER AFTER is a tragic, yet powerful tale of true love, filled with a high-stakes narrative, and a romance you will instantly fall in love with. This book in short, truly reminded me of why I love fantasy in the first place. THE BALLAD OF NEVER AFTER releases SEPTEMBER 27 and it's something you will not want to miss!

***4.5 Stars***

Overall,

The sequel to Stephanie Garbers Once Upon a Broken Heart, The Ballad of Never After starts off directly after the events of the first book. A quick read (or listen as this is what I did) it’s fast paced adventure once again follows Evangeline Fox as she navigates her fairy tale world. This book was a bit more adventurous then the last and the twists and turns keep you engaged the entire time. Evangeline is too trusting and yet doesn’t know who to trust if that makes any sense. Her chaotic relationship with Jacks who goes from hot to cold in a matter of paragraphs does give you a little whiplash, but I understand (I think) why that is. Though we only get the story from Evangeline’s perspective for the most part. Overall, I think this was an excellent second book in this story and that ending is going to stay in my mind for months to come, what a cliff hanger!

Audio,

I listened to an Audiobook version of this book and really enjoyed it. The Narrator is the same person who did the first book and I enjoyed the life that she brought to the story.

Cover,

As with the first book in this series there are several different covers, the US Version, the UK version and several special editions. I think I more partial to the UK version because it shows more of the book’s personality.

Recommendation,

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA Fantasy. If you read the first in the series I encourage you to continue with the story, it is truly fun. As far as romance goes, besides for a few kisses there isn’t any spice.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. HOW DOES IT END LIKE THAT? You really had to go and run me off that cliff when I was so invested. OK. Fine. This book was delicious. It was so well written and the characters were divine--I loved their growth since the first book and I'm sooooo invested in where this series is going it is actually insane. The audio narration was brilliant and executed so well and I was on the edge of my seat to find out what was about to happen next. LOVED IT.

Thank you for Netgally and Macmillan Audio

Okay. Let’s start with the fact that I went into this book thinking this series was a duolody and the fact that it’s not didn’t really make me happy. For me, I have a different mind set when I go to book 2 in a trilogy vs last book. Because I thought this was the last book, I spent the whole book waiting for a resolution which obviously never happened.

I went like the first 80% all we got is the same issues, conversations and lots of confusing fairylates. Usually, I am a huge fan of fairytale books but in this case, I felt like because there were so many different references to so many stories, by the end you honestly couldn’t say which one was important. I went like Stephanie was trying to do the same storyline that she did for Legend in Caraval but the writing just made everything more confusing.

Now, let’s talk about the relationship before Evangeline and Jacks. This book literally starts with Evangeline writing herself a letter telling herself not to trust Jacks. But somehow she forgets about it pretty fast. And Jacks… There is a difference between having a love interest who is the villain but you still love him and just a guy who is mean in every scene. And Jacks was definitely a little too villany in some of the scenes. Another thing that bothered me (and again, maybe it’s just a me thing) I really didn’t like the fact that Evangeline is still very much married and her husband is very much cursed.

I liked the reveal about what was behind the door that Evangeline opened and I liked Jacks going back in time to save her. But that was about it.

Definitely wasn’t a good as I hoped

Stephanie Garber is a master of lush storytelling. I've thought this for years - I've been a fan since the first Caraval book was released, and I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book since.

Evangeline and Jacks are the MOST intriguing duo. I loved Scarlett and Julian. I loved Tella and Legend. But I burn for Evangeline and Jacks.

ONE OF THE MOST FANTASTIC BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ IT WAS AMAZING!!! I wish I could read it again. Sure it left me feeling a little dead inside because I want to know what happens next but I loved every second of it.

Also not sure if anyone actually reads this but the ending of chapter 43 is quite abrupt. I went back 3 times cuz I thought I missed something (and I may have) but it just cuts off making it sound like they’re gonna say something. There’s no pause and it just right into the next chapter.

I absolutely loved this book! The continuation of the story just twists and it’s so hard to predict where it’ll go — and as a person who constantly sees the ending, I greatly appreciate this! The writing is simply beautiful. It’s a whimsical, yet twisted fairytale. Great for all those who loved princesses when we were young, but now realize HEAs are not real life. I cannot wait to see what is next for Stephane Garber because this has raised my expectations tenfold! If you were waiting to read her books, this is your sign to do so!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me an ARC audiobook for this! It is greatly appreciated!!!

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s official this is my favorite Stephanie Garber book so far!!

I read (listened) to this book in one sitting! I could not put it down! Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart are some of my favorite series of all time! So when I got an ARC copy of this I was so excited and couldn’t wait to dive right in!

The ending broke my heart but left me hopeful for the next book and I can’t wait!!

I will definitely be buying a copy for my physical bookshelf!