This is my third listen from bestselling author Stephanie Garber and the final installment of the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy.
The storyline of Book 3 picks up immediately after the events of Book 2. Evangeline Fox has been stripped of all of her recent memories and now believes she is the happy wife of her doting husband, Prince Apollo. She has no idea of the price she’s paid for her fairy-tale life, and Apollo has now convinced her that Jack, the Prince of Hearts, intends to kill her and must be taken out. As a hunt for Jacks ensues, Evangeline begins to have flickers of old memories return and starts to question her husband. When she is suddenly attacked one evening, a mysterious guard named Archer comes to her rescue, and she is immediately drawn to him. Unbeknownst to Evangeline, Archer is, in fact, Jack. As Evangeline’s attraction for Archer grows and more lost memories begin to surface, she realizes the treacherous acts Apollo has committed against her, and she soon takes matters into her own hands. What follows is a harrowing journey for Evangeline to seek true love and revenge!
The storyline in this final installment is quite straightforward and simplistic compared to the previous two books, which makes it a tad bit disappointing. The author provides enough backstory that this book could be listened to as a standalone, but it is a much more captivating listen if you are already familiar with the characters and their full histories. One possible criticism of the book would be that there are several newly introduced characters and storylines that don’t reach their proper conclusions, particularly with the Valour family. On the positive side, this could potentially set up a spin-off series in the future.
Narrators Dan Bittner and Rebecca Soler deliver very strong, complimentary performances, accurately portraying the wide range of emotions and drama that unfolds between Evangeline, Jacks, and Apollo. If you’ve listened to the previous books in the trilogy or are looking for a romantic series that is highly entertaining, don’t hesitate to give this book or the entire series a listen!
