Praise for the #1 NEW YORK TIMES and #1 INDIE BESTSELLING Caraval Series:

“The Hunger Games meets The Night Circus.” ―Entertainment Weekly

“I lost myself in this world and never wanted to come out.” ―Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

“Impressive, original, wondrous.” ―USA Today

“A fantastic world reminiscent of Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley...Addictive.” ―Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Beautifully written.” ―Renée Ahdieh, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn

“Mesmerizing.” ―Us Weekly

“Fantastic in its spectacle and intrigue.” ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

“A tour de force of imagination.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Magnificent. A spellbinding tale of love, loss, sacrifice, and hope.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Like stepping into a living dream.” ―Stacey Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl

Praise for the #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING Once Upon a Broken Heart Series

"Edgy, dark, and gorgeously written—this takes the fairytale trope and turns it into something heart-pounding, fresh, and addictive." —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“An explosively rich fairy tale that takes place inside an intricate world that’s weaved with fast-paced plot and intriguing twists. Garber continues to show up with lush, atmospheric writing and charming characters that we can’t help but want to journey with until their final scene.” —BuzzFeed

“A sugar-crusted, poison-spiked romp through a vibrant world of fairy tale intrigue, tangled romance, and forbidden magic.” —Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Shimmering with magic…A wondrous story about my favorite thing: kissing. Not only is Jacks the swoony villain you’ve always dreamed about, but the decadent world will leave you breathless.” —Isabel Ibañez, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Garber enchants readers with exquisitely imagined worldbuilding and her trademark heady romance.” —Publishers Weekly

“Enchanting, intriguing, and delightfully whimsical, Once Upon a Broken Heart grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Evangeline is a cunning heroine, and Jacks never stopped surprising me. I couldn’t put it down.” —Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author

“It’s hard not to be enchanted by any tale Stephanie Garber chooses to write, with her masterful storytelling and her infuriating way of fooling with our pulse rates. A guileless, heartbroken heroine plays with fate incarnate—the bad boy Jacks—in the dreamy, topsy-turvy world of the Magnificent North. Once Upon a Broken Heart casts a spell that you won't soon want to be broken.” —Stacey Lee, New York Times bestselling author

"Garber has created a lush fairy tale world and each book in this series expands the lands and the Fates who torment them...A delight." —Booklist

“A wildly imaginative, romantic story where true love and deadly kisses collide and bargains with the Prince of Hearts come with a steep price. Once Upon A Broken Heart is an unputdownable fairy tale where Garber’s imagination sparkles like the magnificent North. Readers will delight in each whimsical and thrilling page.” —Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A dazzling mix of mystery, romance, and magic.” —Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Once Upon a Broken Heart confirms that Stephanie Garber is the queen of fairy tales. I stepped into her world and got happily lost in the delicious magic, deceit, and passion.” —Mary E. Pearson, New York Times bestselling author

“The lush worldbuilding Garber is known for is on full display here. . . . No one will be complaining about the opportunity to revisit this intricately imagined world.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.” —Kirkus Reviews

02/07/2025

Gr 8 Up—This holiday novella takes place after the "Caraval" trilogy. Empress Scarlett is throwing a huge, over-the-top Great Holiday celebration for the city of Valenda, chock-full of yummy treats and picturesque decorations. Meanwhile, her sister, Princess Tella, is anxious about finding the perfect holiday gift for her boyfriend, Legend, who claims to be uninterested in the Great Holiday or any possible gifts. This triggers Tella's insecurities about her relationship with Legend, and she sets off on a well-meaning but foolish adventure to catch a man posing as Legend and stop the imposter's fake Caraval auditions. The story ends with an unrealistic and questionable tussle and an anticlimactic twist that readers will see coming. The plot is somewhat nonsensical and falls flat of hitting its mark. There are many gorgeous illustrations peppered throughout the novella that highlight the holiday enchantment that the prose is full of. But, otherwise, this novella is lacking the magic of the "Caraval" series. VERDICT Huge fans of the series may delight in the holiday enchantment and a chance for a glimpse at the characters' lives, but this novella is mostly fluff that the series could do without.—Candyce Pruitt-Goddard