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A review by readwkit
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
2.0
I was so terribly excited for this book, because I have no self control and I spoiled multiple parts of the second book by looking up aesthetics and quotes on Pinterest. My dedication towards ensuring a book is GOOD before I start it is always at a 100, and with fantasy you best believe I'm going an extra mile to crosscheck.
I knew the plot of OUABH was going to be fantastic, especially given the whimsical and magical world that Garber had already created from Caraval series (again, I haven't read a word of that trilogy but my research was pretty hard-core). And I was right! The plot was great! The elements of magic in Garber's world are so Fantastic-Beasts and Wonderland reminiscent, and I loved every bit of that. The references, the aesthetics, the creativity---they were all so much fun. Picture a cross between Diagon Alley from Harry Potter series and Wonderland: that's what the Kingdom and the North felt like.
Now, all of this would be deserving of a rating more than 2 stars if the writing was not so juvenile. I could let go of Evangeline's doe-eyed forever-confused personality because to a large extent I can understand where it stems from, but what I absolutely could not digest was the mediocrity in the writing of this book. The book was SO rushed, with a lot of 'this happens...and then this happens...and then that happened!' type of pacing. I felt like we never truly got to immerse ourself into the World as deeply as it was necessary. World building isn't just introducing new elements and hoping that the readers will buy into it. It's a lot to do with giving those elements legitimacy by making them feel real and authentic, preferably by adding greater descriptions and introducing layered writing.
Every character, and this includes Eva, was so wattpad-ish. Don't even get me started on Marisol, Eva's stepsister. It's not that I don't like her HotNCold persona, it's just that she was written like a one dimensional character to such an extent that reading her felt like I'm reading about a caricature. The characters were so underdeveloped that I ended up speed scrolling past some of the characters I knew I could never expect much from (aka Luc, Marisol, Agnes, and Apollo).
Now onto Jacks. Since OUABH is an independent series, I was expecting to get the full understanding of his character from this book. Yeah....no. I still have no proper idea about wtf Fates are, and why they're doing what they're doing. And since Eva is a such a delulu queen, she has no idea too. So guess what? The entire book had a Trust Me Bro dialogue between these two, and you can't possibly convert that to angst without giving me a good enough transition.
of course I understand the need to keep some plotlines a mystery for the effect, but this is beyond that. The book failed to establish Jacks as a put-together character...he just felt fake and pretentious most of the times.
Anyway, I was not planning on reading the second book but since this book ended on a cliffhanger---and I hear that there's better angst in the second book---I'll be tuning in for this goddamn series. Good lord.
I knew the plot of OUABH was going to be fantastic, especially given the whimsical and magical world that Garber had already created from Caraval series (again, I haven't read a word of that trilogy but my research was pretty hard-core). And I was right! The plot was great! The elements of magic in Garber's world are so Fantastic-Beasts and Wonderland reminiscent, and I loved every bit of that. The references, the aesthetics, the creativity---they were all so much fun. Picture a cross between Diagon Alley from Harry Potter series and Wonderland: that's what the Kingdom and the North felt like.
Now, all of this would be deserving of a rating more than 2 stars if the writing was not so juvenile. I could let go of Evangeline's doe-eyed forever-confused personality because to a large extent I can understand where it stems from, but what I absolutely could not digest was the mediocrity in the writing of this book. The book was SO rushed, with a lot of 'this happens...and then this happens...and then that happened!' type of pacing. I felt like we never truly got to immerse ourself into the World as deeply as it was necessary. World building isn't just introducing new elements and hoping that the readers will buy into it. It's a lot to do with giving those elements legitimacy by making them feel real and authentic, preferably by adding greater descriptions and introducing layered writing.
Every character, and this includes Eva, was so wattpad-ish. Don't even get me started on Marisol, Eva's stepsister. It's not that I don't like her HotNCold persona, it's just that she was written like a one dimensional character to such an extent that reading her felt like I'm reading about a caricature. The characters were so underdeveloped that I ended up speed scrolling past some of the characters I knew I could never expect much from (aka Luc, Marisol, Agnes, and Apollo).
Now onto Jacks. Since OUABH is an independent series, I was expecting to get the full understanding of his character from this book. Yeah....no. I still have no proper idea about wtf Fates are, and why they're doing what they're doing. And since Eva is a such a delulu queen, she has no idea too. So guess what? The entire book had a Trust Me Bro dialogue between these two, and you can't possibly convert that to angst without giving me a good enough transition.
of course I understand the need to keep some plotlines a mystery for the effect, but this is beyond that. The book failed to establish Jacks as a put-together character...he just felt fake and pretentious most of the times.
Anyway, I was not planning on reading the second book but since this book ended on a cliffhanger---and I hear that there's better angst in the second book---I'll be tuning in for this goddamn series. Good lord.