Stephanie Garber

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

Once Upon A Broken Heart #3

A Curse for True Love

anya

The not-quite-human-boy leaned in closer... And the story curse decided to stop watching. It was time to leave these two alone and let them have their ever after. Other stories were brewing in the Magnificent North.

"Get your hands off her, you son of a bitch!" Jacks ran across the cavern and punched Apollo in the face.

Then she heard the applause. Three loud slaps, followed by a bitter voice. "That was a rousing show!" Evangeline pulled away from Jacks's lips to see Apollo standing just a few feet away, his stance wide, his head tipped high.

"No," she said, a little embarrassed. "I just forgot to breathe."

“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."

Her pretty eyes hardened and her musical voice struck a bitter chord as she looked up at Evangeline and asked, "What did you do? Why did Jacks fall for you?”

"Well, she's not a raging bitch like you," said LaLa.

"Don't you have virgin blood to drink or somethin?"

"Virgin blood?" Castor smiled one of those devastating vampire smiles as he shoved a hand through his hair in very devil-may-care fashion. "What kind of stories have you been reading about me?" 

"I don't read any stories about you," Lala huffed. 

Evangeline didn't even see where Jacks had taken the rope from. Suddenly it was just there in his expert hands, as if he always carried it around, in the event he needed to take a girl and tie her up. "How could I have ever been in love with you?"

There in freshly printed black and white was a drawing of Archer. He wore a devil-may-care grin and tossed an apple in one hand, looking nothing like a murderer--and everything like what Evangeline secretly wanted.

She looked up again. For a second, he looked almost shy and incredibly young, barely older than her. Blond locks of hair fell over his eyes as he slowly leaned in closer.

Apollo clapped him on the shoulder. "I truly am sorry for your loss," he whispered, "but soon you won't feel any pain at all." Then Apollo took his knife and stabbed the boy in the heart. Shock and pain briefly crossed the boy's face before he fell back on the bed, as dead as the rest of his family. 

But Evangeline had given him no choice. She'd refused to believe that she was in danger. 

He knew she wouldn't remember it, and he needed to make sure he didn't forget it. "You can call me Archer."

see now i thought we were quite modern alas we have this bitch

"Get her pregnant with an heir," said Lady Casstel without pause. "It's not just for the sake of the kingdom, but to protect you.”

And yet he'd never felt more human, more vulnerable, or more miserable

"Evangeline." Apollo lightly squeezed her hand. "The last thing want is for you to be in pain, and I can see how much it hurts you to have forgotten so much. But if you never remember, it will be all right. We'll make new memories together."

"Your memories were stolen by someone who's been trying to tear us apart." 

girl rlly put him thru loosing her twice just for her to wake up and say this 😀

Luoyi

“No”, she said, a little embarrassed. “I just forgot how to breathe.”

Lea Labat 

He loved her so much he'd rewritten history,

surtified™

Couldn’t you have found an easier way to get rid of the prince?” Jacks asked. “Like maybe just shoving a sword through his stomach or chopping off his head?” All three Valors flinched at the mention of chopping off heads. Jacks grinned.

“Get your hands off her, you son of a bitch!” Jacks ran across the cavern and punched Apollo in the face. Then he punched him again and again. He punched until he stopped feeling his fist, breaking Apollo’s bones. When blood spewed from the prince’s nose, Jacks felt it spray his cheek.

“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.”

Her pretty eyes hardened and her musical voice struck a bitter chord as she looked up at Evangeline and asked, “What did you do? Why did Jacks fall for you?” “Well, she’s not a raging bitch like you,” said LaLa

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE, the breathtaking conclusion to Stephanie Garber’s #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after. Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

A Curse For True Love

Annabella

Everything that needs to be in a fantasy book is in this series, and maybe it won’t be everyone’s type of romance but it was amazing and insanely addicting for me. Setting is amazing, the ambiance, and it’s delightfully easy to read. 

For book 3, there are bits that I hated but they’re more towards some of the characters or some turn of events. Everyone is stubborn and I both love and hate it. The chemistry between Eva and Jacks is out of this world, and if you don’t agree with me or don’t appreciate it THEN SUCKS FOR YOU- am just kidding (maybe) 

The last of this series! My initial thought is “woah I finished it, it’s done!” and now it’s “how do I move on from this?” I officially declare that I will always be jealous to anyone who’ll be reading this series for the first time! 

Everything that needs to be in a fantasy book is in this series, and maybe it won’t be everyone’s type of romance but it was amazing and insanely addicting for me. Setting is amazing, the ambiance, and it’s delightfully easy to read. 

For book 3, there are bits that I hated but they’re more towards some of the characters or some turn of events. Everyone is stubborn and I both love and hate it. The chemistry between Eva and Jacks is out of this world, and if you don’t agree with me or don’t appreciate it THEN SUCKS FOR YOU- am just kidding (maybe) 

The last of this series! My initial thought is “woah I finished it, it’s done!” and now it’s “how do I move on from this?” I officially declare that I will always be jealous to anyone who’ll be reading this series for the first time! 

still only finished the series for the mmc. One of the few blonde morally grey men I root for

Abigail F

I only wish there were three VA's instead of two. I love all the twists and turns and the plot twists at the end?! Well damn. 

Although that last death was kinda anticlimactic ngl; but I'm so biased with these books that I don't mind. 

Tsu 💙

I only wish there were three VA's instead of two. I love all the twists and turns and the plot twists at the end?! Well damn. 

Although that last death was kinda anticlimactic ngl; but I'm so biased with these books that I don't mind. 

loved the ballad of never after and was hoping this final book in the trilogy would have the same impact as ballad but unfortunately it did not😞 it was still good but i didn’t feel as into the story as i was during ballad. maybe it’s cause i was reading it more than a year after i read ballad??? just didn’t hit the same but was still endearing and im happy with it 

ariana :)

Tied things up nicely while leaving the door open for future tales for other characters.  I love the setting of these books (both these 3 as well as the 3 Caravel books) - slightly grown up fairy tales that feel lyrical to my brain.  😍

Jeanne L Collier

Honestly kinda all over the place and random? Felt like a lot of the overall storyline was just rushed and not fully answered about certain things 

Jazz

I loved it and am satisfied with the ending... however, I feel like there's a lot of plot holes or more potential for all the characters. For instance, Evangeline has the ability to open doors but would it be possible to extend beyond that? What's the history of the fates? What are the Valors planning? What happened to Luc and Marisol? So many questions! I wish they extended to a 4th book or made the last book at least 200 pages more. Loved it overall but I will always hope for more in this universe!

hillary pebworth 

shiya

rara

estaba bueno, ojala hubiera leido el 2 antes para hacer un refresh

Piliii

Gabriela Kondratyuk

First time i didnt get in a depressed state after reading a book in this series!! (thank you)

Martine Hulleberg

great way to end a series. stephanie garner writes so beautifully 😭

Piper Palmer

AAAAAAAAA MY LOVESSSS MY BELOVEDSSS AAAAAA I LOVE THEM
they way i finished this in just a few hours ots crazy how i just could NOT put it down (i miss them already)

nany

stephanie always gives us such wonderful characters and I know I'll miss them all. Evajacks will always live in my mind

Jennifer Gosnell

4.5 stars, rounded up. 

An excellent ending to the trilogy! I flew through this one, and felt like the pacing was excellent. And I liked how all of the main characters’ stories finished up.

Nala

LaLa the Violent was my precious, I do love friends that support bad decisions so me and her could be besties. Eva *you'll always be my babeyy *

apollo somehow managed to construct his own graveyard dig his own grave and lower himself into it all while believing he loved evangeline. if there’s ever been a case of self gaslightation x narcissism it’s here

Amazing read but i feel like there was too much content focusing on Apollo in the first half of the book and the fact that Jacks didn’t even appear that much until in the later half of the book made it a bit frustrating to see Evangeline piece together memories that were manipulated by Apollo. I NEEDED MORE EVAJACKS 😭

I have so many questions still ??? like i need explanations for why the curse didn’t kill Evangeline? what happened to the stepsister or Luc? Aurora is a menace wtf?? what happened with the four stones after it was used to turn back time?? ….

The ending was definitely sweet and I loved the personification of the story curse which also appeared before in another book. 

Amazing read but i feel like there was too much content focusing on Apollo in the first half of the book and the fact that Jacks didn’t even appear that much until in the later half of the book made it a bit frustrating to see Evangeline piece together memories that were manipulated by Apollo. I NEEDED MORE EVAJACKS 😭

I have so many questions still ??? like i need explanations for why the curse didn’t kill Evangeline? what happened to the stepsister or Luc? Aurora is a menace wtf?? what happened with the four stones after it was used to turn back time?? ….

The ending was definitely sweet and I loved the personification of the story curse which also appeared before in another book. 

- also Lala and Chaos?? hello what??🫢 

Overall, I loved this series sm and would highly recommend! 

I do think this one started off a tad slow for me but once it got going it was super good. The last few chapters really had me stressing though! The ending was super good of course. 

Hannah Williams

5 ⭐!!!!!

I did love this. Immediately my favorite thing about this book was how Stephanie's writing has greatly improved in the sense that everything is just so much more captivating. Blame it on my familiarity with the world or her improvement but now when things happened I wasn't just "this makes no sense" but I was like: right, duh, because this is the Magnificent North!

Like Kat mentioned to me I do think TBONA is also my favorite because there are scenes that just jump out as more striking and that I'll remember (the hollow, the crypt, the cliff). And while this was a five star read for me I still believe there could've been more and the rating is probably caused by my undying love for Evangeline and Jacks.

clau☁️

my heart is shattered i can’t believe this is over😭 and jacks is over💔💔💔
the love story is a 10/10 and more buuuut… i have some unanswered questions about this world and i’m a bit confused so im hoping we get some kind of spin off or novella with some answers

Greer Andersson

3.5 ⭐️
Ok, first of all let me say that this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. Unfortunately it just did not hit home for me. 

I’ll start off with the good parts. I always appreciate Garber’s writing as it is just so easy to digest and fly through which is why I will always recommend this series for people wanting to get into fantasy. Also - EvaJacks, they’re my babies and I love them. The moments they had in this book were just top tier.

On to the bad: THERE WASNT ENOUGH JACKS. Like he wasn’t even reintroduced until like 25% in? Also, the overall story just seemed way too rushed to me, the ending was abrupt and admittedly the plot was just all over the place. There was way too much Apollo for my liking, like sir i don’t care about you. I just wanted to see more of Evajacks together towards the end where they could actually be happy :( 

There were just so many plot points left unexplored and so many things left unanswered. Marisol and Luc just apparently don’t exist anymore, and whatever happened to Eva’s scar?

I don’t say this about many books, in fact, it’s usually the opposite, but I think this book could benefitted from an extra 50-100 pages.

While I still enjoyed it overall, sad to say that this let me down as an ending to the series.

A Curse for True Love Once Upon A Broken Heart #3

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