Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
Once Upon a Broken Heart #1
Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating:
Synopsis
For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings…until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.
Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy….
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Review
I should preface this by saying that Jacks is one of my all-time favorite characters. So I was either going to love Once Upon a Broken Heart or hate it. Good news, I loved it!
Jacks is probably one of the best anti-heroes ever written. He’s so charming but also so manipulative. You can’t trust anything he says, and I love him even more for that. This Jacks is even worse. Because this Jacks has been burned and he is not going to let himself be burned again. But just as in the Caraval series, he isn’t truly a bad guy. Out for himself, sure, but he doesn’t actually want to hurt anyone.
Evangeline wants to believe in love and see the good in people, but she’s also a realist. Like Jacks, she has been burned. But unlike Jacks, she hasn’t given up. She’s a good person but not in a boring way. She’s complex and does things that might not be technically “right,” but for the right reasons. I think she is a very fitting equal to Jacks.
The story is interesting, and though set in the same “world” as Caraval, it is a different story. Though there are still many mysteries left to uncover, this book sets up the rest of the series and gives us just enough to feel satisfied. I can’t wait to continue with this series!
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