The Ballad of Never After continues Evangeline Fox's tale through the Magnificent North as the second book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber. Unable to stay away from the Prince of Hearts, she breaks a deal with herself to continue trying to help him. This time though, she has the possibility of more to gain. Evangeline delves into the histories of the land and its people, including Jacks, Apollo, and, most notably, the Valor family. She is forced to puzzle through if Jacks is telling the truth about Evangeline simply being vital to his plan, or if he does truly care about her. Through several twists, discoveries, curious questions, and meaningful whispers, Evangeline continues on through the rich and gorgeous world that Stephanie Garber weaves.
A note unrelated to the writing, but the care that Stephanie Garber puts into her books as art is incredible. I think the maps she includes are my favorite of any book; they are extremely detailed and whimsical and help give a sense of the amazing setting she has created for both series. And I chose to preorder the Barnes and Noble edition, so I got the beautiful purple dust jacket as well as the metallic engraved cover that, just like Once Upon a Broken Heart, shows the title of an important book within the story.
The attention to small yet significant details truly sets this book, as well as the rest of Stephanie Garber's writing, apart. I absolutely melted when I first saw the adorable little dragon on the map and did so all over again when our little friend actually showed up in the story, "The only creature who entered was a lost-looking little dragon, coughing tiny gold sparks as he hopped inside. He was blue and shimmering and so adorable, Evangeline couldn't help but smile at the sight of him looking curiously around" (Garber 303). We didn't need a tiny dragon for the story. He didn't come in at the last second and save the day. But I love it so much more because of his cameo.
There were so many lines and passages that I marked in this book that I want to take a slightly different format and mostly include those quotes, and then my thoughts on them.
She didn't want another story; she wanted to fix this story (Garber 64)
I definitely have a soft spot for stubborn characters. I always enjoy seeing what lengths they will go to for whatever it is they are so tenacious about. And this sentiment stands out even more for Evangeline because of her setting. In a place where she could quite easily choose many different stories, from the plethora of Fates and other magical influences around her, the fact that she doesn't give in and choose some other fantastical journey really shows a lot about her character. It really makes the reader think: if given the choice, would you keep your story-no matter how broken-or choose a new one?
... where he stood, looking like eternal heartbreak (Garber 83)
What do you picture, when someone is looking like eternal heartbreak?
Freedom tasted cold. (Garber 96)
The image that comes to mind when reading the word "freedom" is a warm sunrise over a grassy hill, with characters who have just made it through an adventure with their prospects set on what comes next. Cold to me is restricting. So this really stuck out to me, both how this specific example differed from what I would have thought of before, as well as bringing up the beautiful concept of how reading widens our views and perspectives on just about anything.
She'd come to the Magnificent North in search of love. But maybe she just didn't want to be alone, didn't want to be untethered. She didn't want to be a person who could disappear without anyone knowing she was gone. She wanted to be important to someone. If her heart stopped, she wanted someone else to feel it--the way she could feel Jacks's heart now, as she let herself rest her head on his chest. (Garber 111)
This was the passage where Evangeline came alive to me. Until now, she felt likable, curious, kind yet plucky, not forgettable, but not an outstanding protagonist. This passage breathed something into Evangeline that brought her anew to me. All of her idiosyncracies and foolish or brave actions fell into place here. I went from riding along to see the sights of the North to fully rooting for her.
The air shifted as Evangeline entered, redolent of old paper pages that called to her like a siren's song. Like all admirers of fairytales, she'd always loved the scent of books. She loved the paper dust in the air, the way it swirled in the light like little sprinkles of magic. And most of all, she loved the way that fairytales always made her think of her mother and endless possibilities. (Garber 125)
I will always love lines that romanticize books and stories. Both of these things, along with magic, mysteries, and fantasy were always present and encouraged in my family growing up so I am able to fully understand where Evangeline stands with this. The lines beautifully capture a feeling and a mindset that I didn't know I wanted put into words.
She tried to take comfort in the books. Stories had always felt as if they were her friends. But all these stories felt like distant relations to the tales that she knew. (Garber 129)
I think it goes without saying that I would agree with the sentiment expressed here. It also made me want to create a family tree of how my favorite books relate to me, and to each other.
It might have been all the wine coursing through her, but for a moment, Evangeline didn't feel as if she were in a ballroom, she felt as if she were in the center of a hundred stories. Love stories and tragedies and tales with endings lost to time. And suddenly, her worries felt lost as well, swept away by a feeling that her life was one of those stories. She'd known it vaguely, but it wasn't until then that the enormity of it hit her. (Garber 244-245)
I believe everyone deserves to have this moment for themselves. Not many of us will have the exact brand of magical adventure to becoming a princess that Evangeline is able to but the feeling of being in the midst of hundreds of stories, including your own, doesn't have to take place in a ballroom. Stephanie Garber is able to take this very ethereal feeling moment and allow readers to take it to their own lives.
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him smile. And for a second, nothing hurt. (Garber 269)
My hope is that everyone has a person that comes to mind when they read this. And that that person brings you a better balance of joy and complications than Jacks currently brings Evangeline.
And it struck her how intimate words could be, how they could be spoken only once, for only one person, and they would never be heard again, they would disappear like a moment, gone almost as soon as you realized they were there. (Garber 311-312)
This sentiment is partially why sharing writing is so difficult for me. Writing words down captures them, instead of never being heard again they can continue on for every reader. I love and hate how sometimes the moment where spoken words feel the most precious sneaks up on you, not realizing it until the words are already out. The way Stephanie Garber is able to describe moments and ideas like these, in a way that is both comprehensive and lovely, is truly incredible.
Evangeline hated the choice that Jacks was making, but she didn't want it taken away from him. Instead, she hoped, one final time, that he would make a better choice. (Garber 387)
I felt this was an incredibly important facet of Evangeline's character. She feels and wants things so strongly throughout these entire two books but nothing about the way she feels about Jacks could impact her morals that even he deserves to make his own choices. Despite all that Jacks has put her through, all the power he holds both in the way he maintains relationships with others as well as his supernatural abilities as a Fate, Evangeline still holds that she will not try to force him to act otherwise. It is also a beautiful moment since the reader already knows the choice Jacks is making is not what Evangeline thinks it is.
Context from Once Upon A Broken Heart is needed for this next thought...
A gripe I had with this book was that when Luc follows Evangeline to the tomb, she is way too casual about seeing him. After spending just about the entire previous book trying to get him back only for Luc to trick Evangeline and turn into a vampire, she should not have just had tired, flippant comments for him. I was expecting sadness, frustration, anger, hurt, or at least some shock at seeing him suddenly appear in her life again with much more self-control than their last encounter. Although I would have liked and enjoyed this growth of the relationship with a previous love, it felt out of place when I felt like we didn't really see her getting over those feelings and readjusting to Luc's new character.
I thought this book was overall even better than its predecessor. We delve even further into the Magificent North, see complications and developments in both Eangeline and Jacks' characters individually, as well as their relationship, and the stakes are ramped up throughout the book up through the cliffhanger at the end. Definitely worth continuing the series beyond Once Upon a Broken Heart, and definitely will be preordering the third installment as well.
Comments