Off the Shelf: The Ballad of Never After

Summary:

Not every love is meant to be.

After Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, betrays her, Evangeline Fox swears she’ll never trust him again. Now that she’s discovered her own magic, Evangeline believes she can use it to restore the chance at happily ever after that Jacks stole away.

But when a new terrifying curse is revealed, Evangeline finds herself entering into a tenuous partnership with the Prince of Hearts again. Only this time, the rules have changed. Jacks isn’t the only force Evangeline needs to be wary of. In fact, he might be the only one she can trust, despite her desire to despise him.

Instead of a love spell wreaking havoc on Evangeline’s life, a murderous spell has been cast. To break it, Evangeline and Jacks will have to do battle with old friends, new foes, and a magic that plays with heads and hearts. Evangeline has always trusted her heart, but this time she’s not sure she can…

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In the continuation of a story full of betrayals, false endings, and deadly kisses, Stephanie Garber picks right up where she left off in Once Upon a Broken Heart. Evangeline is on the run and doing everything she can to not deal with Jacks and his kissable lips. With danger at every turn, our main rose-gold-haired heroine is met with mysteries and half-finished riddles she needs to solve in her limited time.

Without trying to spoil much of the first book let me try to do my best to share my thoughts. I’m not sure which of the two novels I’ve enjoyed most so far. Perhaps this one since there was a lot I was left wanting after book one, and this novel has opened up many opportunities. (Though Caraval will always be my favorite and unmatched with the magic and plot). Besides the fact that we get to experience a rose-haired character (and now I want someone with light violet hair), I love Evangeline’s spunky personality, though I am often frustrated with wishing she’d communicate more (yet when is this not a struggle for most readers with books). But despite this, she is always trying to do her best and take on the challenges she is facing, and has come far from the young naive character she once was. I was also quite excited to see more of Jacks in this series and learn more about him, though personally, I wished for more. He is such a mysterious character and I am dying to find out his full backstory and current plans and goals; to know what he really truly wishes to use Evangeline for because it isn’t quite clear to herself or us.

And wow. What an ending full of endings. I had heard some rumors drifting about from the author and readers before The Ballad of Never After was published that it would probably go in that direction, but even still I greatly enjoyed it because of what I hope to see in the final book.

The Ballad of Never After is like tasting a sip of glittering liquid in a glass goblet that seems to show one thing and then another from each side it’s viewed. It is a journey where love is undefined and happy endings are being rewritten. Whether the heroine is in the midst of unveiling a curse or a welcomed prophecy has yet to be revealed to both character and reader alike.