From the Bookshelf of ༊*·˚ Stuck On The Book ♡₊˚ 🦢・₊✧…

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2)

Stephanie Garber

Start date: December 4, 2024

Finish date: January 1, 2025

Discussion: BOTM

Discussion leader: Alexia･ﾟﾟ･｡༉‧₊˚. ❧

Why we're reading this: DECEMBER Romantasy BOTM
[close] DECEMBER Romantasy BOTM

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By Alexia･ﾟﾟ･｡༉‧… · 1 post · 55 views

last updated May 09, 2024 12:16PM

MARCH BOTM!-romantasy suggestions ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
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last updated Apr 07, 2025 03:34PM

What Members Thought

Apr 12, 2023 autumn ✶ (ia) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

i'm at a loss for words.

⋆°.•⋆↬ 5☆
Stephanie Garber's books take me back to a time where I was able to read for hours. This is something that I think a lot of readers can relate to: when we were young(er), we were able read for an eternity long. Nowadays it is hard to focus on what we're reading and our phone is constantly in the back of our minds.
So far all the books I've read by Stephanie Garber were 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴! I can't even say 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 kept me so glued to the pages. T̶H̶E̶ ̶R̶O̶M̶A̶N̶C̶E̶
I see tha ...more

64 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2024 scar! . *. ⋆ (Rhysand and Johnny kavanaghs version) rated it it was amazing

: ̗̀➛ ˗ˏˋ ࿐ྂ ·̟ “𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦” ⋆.*.⋆
‘𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. “𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀—𝗜’𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱.” 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀. “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘅, 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁.”𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒

୨⎯ "𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!- 📖" ⎯୧-
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 ✧˖°.

5 ★ ──˙ ̟🎀 !!

DUDE WHAT.

*imagine me swinging my arm* WHEN I CATCH YOU APOLLO, APOLLO WHEN I CATCH YOU.

I’m not even lying I finished this book 4 hou ...more

47 likes · Like · see review

Aug 22, 2023 Jett of the hollow 🏹 rated it it was amazing

∞/5 ★

“In the morning, you can forget it. You can go back to pretending you don't like me, and I can pretend that I don't care. But for tonight, let me pretend you're mine.”

“They are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run. Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love.” -Taylor Swift

𐙚⋆♥˚ᡣ𐭩.𖥔˚𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖⋆୨୧˚★ *:･ﾟ✧

NO ONE TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT OKAY. I may have read this book three times but the ending will never fail to get me rolling around sobbing on the floor like a toddler having a te ∞/5 ★

“In the morning, you can forget it. You can go back to pretending you don't like me, and I can pretend that I don't care. But for tonight, let me pretend you're mine.”

“They are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run. Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love.” -Taylor Swift

𐙚⋆♥˚ᡣ𐭩.𖥔˚𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖⋆୨୧˚★ *:･ﾟ✧

NO ONE TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT OKAY. I may have read this book three times but the ending will never fail to get me rolling around sobbing on the floor like a toddler having a temper tantrum 💔.

The Ballad of Never After is the brilliant sequel to Once Upon a Broken Heart, and dare I say the best sequel of all time?? In this book, we follow Evangeline as she and Jacks collect the magical stones needed to open the Valory Arch. Stephanie Garber’s writing style is by far my favourite due to how whimsy and magical it is. She is able to create a beautifully enchanting setting in each and every one of her books, and I will always love how ethereal the Magnificent North is!! Garber’s writing style likely will be more for a teenage audience or someone who loves whimsy and magic and fairytales, and I am exactly that!!

Stephanie writes her characters incredibly well. I love how well-rounded they all are, especially the Fates. One of my favourite details about the Fates is how they have ways of dealing with their emotions differently than humans. They don’t exactly have the same morals as humans do, but as we see with LaLa that even though she has done some bad things she still does have morals. She’s not a bad person, she just does some bad things. LaLa’s character is so complex and severely under appreciated. Jacks is also similar to this. He doesn’t have the same morals as Evangeline and most other humans (one could argue that he doesn’t have any at all) but he’s not completely emotionless. He still cares for Evangeline and you can see that all throughout the series, and especially at the end of this book. He’s not a good person and he does bad things, but not everything he does is horrible. He’s also so fine like I swoon every time he opens his mouth 🤭🤭. Evangeline is the most loving, golden-hearted sweetheart ever. She can be naive and too trusting at times, but that’s what makes her such a good character. She’s not perfect and she has made some bad choices and it’s what makes her so well rounded and complex. Her relationship with Jacks will always be my favourite fictional love story.

Stephanie Garber always has such good plots in her books. The way she writes her stories and paces them always keeps my attention. Her books are perfect for those who are stuck in reading slumps because of the steady pace and captivating plot that all of her books have. BUT I STILL WILL NEVER FORGIVE HER FOR THE ENDING OF THIS ONE BECAUSE YOU GUYS DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW PAINFUL IT WAS WAITING SO LONG FOR ACFTL JUST FOR IT TO BE PUSHED BACK A MONTH 💔.

There is only one issue I have with this book, and I’ve only noticed it on my third read of it. It’s not really even an issue since it doesn’t make me love the story any less, but it’s more just something I noticed. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it yet!! The thing I noticed is that Chaos and LaLa are surprisingly okay with letting Jacks go back in time. We all know that initially Jacks wanted to go back in time to try and redo things with Donatella, and that’s why he wanted the stones. Chaos is 100% aware of Jacks’ plan to go to the past, and even though he doesn’t think it’s a good idea he wasn’t planning on stopping him. I think it’s safe to assume that LaLa knew about Jacks’ plan too. Chaos wanted in the Valory Arch to remove his helm, and to see his family after centuries of separation. LaLa wanted to open the Valory Arch so that she could be reunited with her first love. I really don’t understand how they were just going to let Jacks go back in time after them opening the arch because then it would have all been reversed?? Like even though Chaos wouldn’t remember it he would still have his helm on and he would unknowingly just have to do the whole process all over again. The only one who would really be gaining anything from it would be Jacks in the end, if he did end up going back in time to Donatella.

In the end, this book is in personal opinion one of the best books ever written. I am incredibly excited for anyone who gets to read this for the first time and I hope they enjoy this lovely piece of art as much as I do 🫶🏻 ...more

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Mar 28, 2023 Holland rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, physical-library

I loved once upon a broken heart and this one was 1000000x better!!! I’m obsessed with the setting of these books. It’s cute whimsical fairytale vibes without being childish. And JACKS. I would have loved more from his pov but sometimes that ruins a good enemies to lovers so I won’t complain. The way the ending was written was so clever and left off on the worst cliffhanger(in the best way) I cannot believe I have to wait until September to know what happens!!!!!
There were a couple things that ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2023 Erin (Rhys’s Version) rated it it was amazing

I WANT TO JUMP OFF A CLIFF. WTF WAS THAT ENDING? LIKE WHAT IF I JUST ENDING IT ALL RN. IM THROWING STEPHANIE GARBER IN A PRISON CELL ISTG

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2024 nora ʚїɞ rated it it was amazing

this is so unfair omg why 😭😭😭
i can’t even type actual things my brain is like pure sadness and i don’t even know
i’m in shock

3 likes · Like · see review

May 14, 2023 🎀Piper🎀 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-5-stars, may-2023

I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW 😭😭 please I’m going insane and feral
The fact I’m actually sobbing rn. I’m going to go insane until October, and have to make up endings in my little head. I’m so upset rn I need the next book, it better be like 800 pages long please 🙏
How am I supposed to move on and read another book? This legit ripped me apart, and EvaJacks >>>> but like I need the next book nowwwww i need it to be sent to my door step in at least 5 days or I will rip my hair out. My friends should now ...more

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Oct 23, 2023 liv🍒 rated it it was amazing

um ouch??
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t cry, like I could feel my heart aching but I didn’t cry surprisingly anyways, The Ballad of Never After was so good, it was so well written. I legit love all the characters and the way the story was put into place, I’m so happy the third one comes tomorrow, I can’t wait to see how this story ends!!😬🤞🏼 (I’m also now a proud Apollo hater☺️)

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