Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

Book title: The Ballad of Never After
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: September 13, 2022
416 pages
My rating: 3.5/5

“Some of her ideas about love might have changed since coming North, but she still believed it was the most powerful force in the world. If two people really loved each other and they were willing to fight for that love, if they were willing to go to war for each other, day after day, then it didn’t matter what they were up against. Love would always win as long as they never stopped fighting for it.”

The Ballad of Never After is the second book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy Once upon a Broken Heart. I’m trying to be as spoiler-free as possible in my reviews, but inevitably the following synopsis will contain spoilers of the first book. Proceed with caution.

After Evangeline Fox learns that her husband Apollo is still alive, she swears she will save him – and without the help of Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, who has betrayed her. But when Apollo wakes up from his magical sleep and tries to kill her, Evangeline has to turn to Jacks again and ask for his help. To break the murder curse, she agrees to collect the missing stones to open the mysterious Valory Arch.

The Ballad of Never After picks up right after the end of the first book. I found the plot of this instalment a lot more interesting. We finally get some action instead of all the set-up of the first book. However, the action is stalled in several places in favor of the romance plot. There’s a lot of pining and uncertainty, as Evangeline fights against her feelings for Jacks. Evangeline has some character development, but for the most part, she is still very naïve and trusting.

Book Review: Once upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Once upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Book title: Once upon a Broken Heart
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: September 28, 2021
408 pages
My rating: 4/5

All stories are made of both truths and lies, she used to say. What matters is the way that we believe in them.
And Evangeline had a gift when it came to believing in things that others considered myths—like the immortal Fates.

Evangeline Fox has always believed in happily ever after – but then the love of her life chooses to marry someone else. Desperate to stop the wedding, she strikes a deal with Jacks, an immortal Fate known as the Prince of Hearts. In exchange, he wants her to give three kisses to three people of his choosing. Evangeline agrees, but after the first kiss, she learns that Jacks wants more from her than she is willing to give.

Once upon a Broken Heart is the first book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy. The novel is set in the same world as Garber’s Caraval trilogy which I read last year. For some reason, I expected this series to be a prequel to Caraval, but I must have misread some review. It’s actually a sequel and the events take place immediately after the end of the last book of the Caraval trilogy, Finale. Nevertheless, you can easily follow the plot of Once upon a Broken Heart even if you haven’t read the other trilogy, although it is easier to understand some aspects of the world building if you’re familiar with the world and some of the recurring characters.

January Wrap-Up and February Hopefuls

January Reads

January Wrap-Up

• Finished: 5
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 1,145
• Average rating: 4.333

I had a very slow start to the year and finished only one novel in January, but when it comes to ratings, I had a great month. The novel was Andy Weir’s science fiction novel Project Hail Mary (5/5 stars). You can find a longer review behind the link.

I also finished two high school biology textbooks and a “memoir” of a Samoyed dog Tunski. The latter was a cozy comfort read while I was recovering from the flu. I’ve read it several times, and it never fails to make me happy.

Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Book title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science fiction
Published: May 4, 2021
476 pages
My rating: 5/5

“I penetrated the outer cell membrane with a nanosyringe.”
“You poked it with a stick?”
“No!” I said. “Well. Yes. But it was a scientific poke with a very scientific stick.”

Ryland Grace wakes up from coma on board of a spaceship and finds out his other crewmates have died during the voyage to a different solar system. As his memory slowly comes back, he realizes he’s on a desperate mission to save the Earth from star-eating microbes called astrophage. And he has to do it alone… or does he?

Project Hail Mary is a science fiction novel by Andy Weir. I had previously seen the movie version of The Martian, which is based on Weir’s debut novel, but I had not read Weir’s novels before. Science fiction can get technical and difficult to understand, but Weir’s writing is very accessible. You can easily follow the plot even without deep knowledge of all things astrophysics and microbiology.

2026 Writing Goals

I know, I know, I’m really late in posting my writing goals! But I have already started working on them; it’s only this blog post that is late. So let’s talk about how my writing went in 2025 and what my goals are for 2026.

2026 Reading Goals

Goals for 2026 in my reading journal

January is almost over, but it’s never too late to set reading goals for the new year! In 2026, I want to:

• Read 50 books. I’ve had this goal for several years now. I usually have no problems reaching it, so I see no reason to change it.
• Fill out book bingo. I’ll talk more about my bingo board below.
• Review all books. I want to review all books in my reading journal, and I also want to write something about them in this blog, even if it’s just a short mention.
• Take part in Jane Austen July. I’ve joined the Jane Austen readathon two years in a row, and I’ve had so much fun! I already have some plans for what I want to read.
• Read at least one e-book. I had this goal last year as well and failed spectacularly. I didn’t read a single e-book. This year, I want to make the goal easy and try to read just one e-book.
• Read at least two library books. Last year, I read twenty library books. Reading two should be no problem!

 

2025 Reading Wrap-Up

Some of my favorite reads in 2025

It’s late January and I finally have time to write my 2025 reading wrap-up and talk about my favorite books I read last year. Better late than never!

 

2025 Reading Wrap-Up

• Total books read: 84
• Total pages read: 27,529
• Days read: 354
• Average rating: 4.14
• New books bought/received: 26

My goal was to read 50 books, so I definitely surpassed that goal! I did pretty great with my other reading goals as well. I took part in Jane Austen July as planned, read a lot of library books, and wrote a review of every book that I read at least in my reading journal.

Then there were the goals I didn’t quite reach. I had hoped to do a buddy read, but that didn’t happen. I also wanted to read e-books from my Kindle app, but I didn’t read a single e-book. Oops. The final goal was to fill out a book bingo, which I almost accomplished. I didn’t fill three squares out of twenty-five, as I didn’t read an e-book, an indie book, or a romance novel.

Let’s talk about my ten favorite books I read in 2025 next! The links lead to a longer review of each book.