Once Upon a Broken Heart Summary: A Fairytale of Kisses, Curses, and Deadly Prophecies
Introduction
Every so often, a story arrives that blends the shimmer of fairytales with the sharp edges of betrayal.
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is exactly that kind of book.
Set in a world where immortal Fates walk among mortals and magic hides in every corner, this novel follows a seventeen-year-old girl who makes a desperate choice—one that spirals far beyond anything she could have imagined.
The result is a tale woven from bargains, prophecies, and kisses that carry deadly consequences.
Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval trilogy and the Once Upon a Broken Heart series.
Before writing fiction, she worked as a resident director in California and taught creative writing at a private college.
Explore more Stephanie Garber book summaries on URSummary to discover how her interconnected stories fit together.
TL;DR: A Bargain With the Prince of Hearts Changes Everything
Evangeline Fox strikes a deal with Jacks, an immortal Fate known as the Prince of Hearts, to stop her first love from marrying her stepsister.
The price: three kisses, to be given whenever and to whomever Jacks chooses.
What begins as a simple love story quickly transforms into a deadly game involving a bewitched prince, an ancient prophecy, a secret society of assassins, and a trail of manipulation that frames Evangeline for murder.
By the final page, she discovers the true depth of Jacks’s deception and resolves to fight back on her own terms.
Once Upon a Broken Heart Summary: The Complete Story Unfolds
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: This section recounts the entire plot, including the ending.
Evangeline Fox lives in the Meridian Empire, raised in her father’s curiosity shop after her parents’ deaths. She has rose-gold hair and a stubborn belief in happily ever afters.
That belief shatters when she learns her secret love, Luc Navarro, is engaged to her stepsister Marisol Tourmaline.
Convinced Luc is under a curse, Evangeline seeks out a hidden church dedicated to Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. Jacks is one of the Fates—immortal, dangerous beings recently freed from a deck of cards. His kiss is fatal to everyone except his one true love, whom he has been searching for across centuries.
Jacks agrees to stop the wedding. His price: three kisses from Evangeline, given to whoever he chooses, whenever he decides. Evangeline accepts.
Jacks stops the wedding by turning the entire party—Luc, Marisol, and Evangeline’s stepmother Agnes—into stone statues.
To save them, Evangeline drinks poison offered by another Fate named Poison, taking their place as a statue for six weeks. When she revives, she is hailed as “Valenda’s Sweetheart Savior.”
But her life is ruined. Luc was attacked by a wolf and fled the city. Her father’s shop was sold. Agnes attempts to auction Evangeline’s hand in marriage.
Seeking escape, Evangeline accepts an invitation from Empress Scarlett Dragna to represent the Meridian Empire in the Magnificent North at Nocte Neverending, a ball where Crown Prince Apollo Acadian will choose a bride.
Evangeline travels North with Marisol, hoping for a fresh start. The North is a land of mist, tiny dragons, and stories that blur the line between history and fairytale. But Jacks is already there, serving as a confidant to Prince Apollo.
Jacks collects his first kiss by marking Evangeline’s lips with his blood and commanding her to kiss Apollo. The kiss bewitches the prince, who immediately becomes obsessively in love with Evangeline and proposes marriage publicly. She accepts, believing in a fairytale ending.
At Wolf Hall, the royal palace, Evangeline realizes Apollo’s love is artificial—a spell, not genuine feeling. Jacks admits he orchestrated everything because he needs Evangeline to fulfill the Valory Arch prophecy.
The prophecy describes a “key” conceived in the North and born in the South, “crowned in rose gold,” who is “both peasant and princess” and a “fugitive wrongly accused.”
The arch supposedly contains either the North’s greatest treasure or a terrible abomination.
To free Apollo from his hollow obsession, Evangeline agrees to marry him so Jacks will lift the spell. On their wedding night, she kisses Apollo to break the magic. He immediately collapses and appears to die. Guards arrest Evangeline for murder.
Jacks rescues her from the dungeon and takes her to LaLa, a Fate known as the Unwed Bride, who provides an antidote to poisoned tears slowly killing Evangeline. The two go into hiding and seek help from Chaos, an ancient vampire lord.
During their investigation, Evangeline discovers Luc has been turned into a vampire. She also finds that Marisol possesses forbidden spell books and has been using love potions.
Most critically, Evangeline brews a truth serum and tricks Prince Tiberius, Apollo’s younger brother, into drinking it.
Tiberius confesses he killed Apollo by mistake. He is a member of the Protectorate, a secret society sworn to kill the “key” to the Valory Arch.
He meant to poison Evangeline with his tears but accidentally poisoned Apollo instead.
In the final pages, Evangeline learns Apollo is not truly dead—he is in a suspended state of living death. She realizes Jacks likely poisoned Apollo’s wine with his own bitter blood to ensure Evangeline became a “fugitive wrongly accused,” fulfilling the prophecy.
Recognizing Jacks views her only as a tool, Evangeline vows to save Apollo and find a way to stop Jacks forever.
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Summary by Chapter
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: This section breaks down the book’s major narrative arcs.
The Bargain of Blood & Stone (Chapters 1–10)
Evangeline Fox discovers her love Luc is marrying her stepsister Marisol. Desperate, she finds Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, and strikes a bargain for three kisses in exchange for stopping the wedding.
Jacks turns the wedding party to stone.
Evangeline sacrifices herself by drinking poison to save them, remaining a statue for six weeks.
Upon revival, she becomes a public hero and receives an invitation from Empress Scarlett to attend a royal ball in the Magnificent North.
The North & The First Kiss (Chapters 11–24)
Evangeline and Marisol arrive in the mist-shrouded North for Nocte Neverending, where Prince Apollo will choose a bride. Jacks reappears and forces Evangeline to kiss Apollo with blood-marked lips.
The prince falls instantly and obsessively in love, proposing marriage publicly. Evangeline accepts, hoping for a genuine fairytale ending.
The Obsessive Engagement (Chapters 25–31)
Inside Wolf Hall, Evangeline discovers Apollo’s love is a magical bewitchment orchestrated by Jacks.
She negotiates with Jacks, who reveals her role in the rose-gold prophecy.
During a visit to the vault of House Fortuna, Evangeline unknowingly demonstrates the ability to open ancient locks, confirming she is the “key” to the Valory Arch.
Read Also: The Shattered King Summary: A Fantasy That Mends the Broken
The Wedding & The Fall (Chapters 32–36)
Evangeline marries Apollo to save him from the curse. Immediately after she kisses him to break the spell, he collapses and appears dead.
Guards arrest her for regicide.
Jacks breaks her out of the dungeon and takes her to LaLa, who administers an antidote to poisoned tears that are killing Evangeline.
Shadows, Vampires, and Truths (Chapters 37–48)
Evangeline and Jacks hide in an underground vampire kingdom ruled by Chaos.
She discovers Luc has been turned into a vampire and that Marisol used love potions on Prince Tiberius.
Evangeline finds Jacks’s collection of storybooks and brews a truth serum to expose the corruption within the royal family.
The Prophecy Revealed (Chapters 49–54)
Evangeline confronts Marisol and tricks Tiberius into drinking the truth serum. He confesses to accidentally killing Apollo while targeting Evangeline for the Protectorate.
Though cleared of murder, Evangeline learns the full prophecy and realizes Jacks manipulated every tragedy.
She discovers Apollo is alive but suspended, then resolves to save him and stop Jacks on her own terms.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Evangeline Fox | An orphan with rose-gold hair who becomes the key to the Valory Arch prophecy. |
| Jacks (The Prince of Hearts) | An immortal Fate whose kiss is fatal to all but his true love; he manipulates Evangeline to open the Valory Arch. |
| Luc Navarro | Evangeline’s first love, turned into a vampire after being cursed and attacked. |
| Marisol Tourmaline | Evangeline’s stepsister who uses forbidden magic to steal Luc and later pursues Tiberius. |
| Prince Apollo Acadian | Crown Prince of the North, bewitched by Jacks to love Evangeline, now in suspended animation. |
| Prince Tiberius Acadian | Apollo’s younger brother and a member of the Protectorate who accidentally poisons Apollo. |
| Agnes Tourmaline | Evangeline’s cruel stepmother who resents her and manipulates Marisol. |
| Poison (The Poisoner) | A Fate and palace potion master who revives Evangeline from her stone state. |
| LaLa (The Unwed Bride) | A Fate who creates wedding gowns and becomes an ally to Evangeline. |
| Chaos | An ancient vampire lord and the Lord of Spies and Assassins. |
| Scarlett Dragna | Empress of the Meridian Empire who sends Evangeline North as an ambassador. |
| Havelock | Apollo’s personal guard who helps Evangeline discover the prince is alive. |
| Phaedra of the Damned | A girl who can steal secrets from the dead or suspended; she hides Apollo’s body. |
Similar Books Worth Exploring
“Caraval” by Stephanie Garber — The preceding trilogy set in the same world, where the Fates first appear and the magical rules governing them are established.
“The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black — A dark YA fantasy centered on faerie court intrigue, manipulative bargains, and a morally gray male lead who mirrors Jacks’s dangerous charm.
“Sorcery of Thorns” by Margaret Rogerson — Features magical libraries, demonic contracts, and a central mystery in a whimsical yet dangerous fantasy setting.
“Kingdom of the Wicked” by Kerri Maniscalco — A young witch makes a bargain with a Prince of Hell to solve a murder, combining romance with dark magical consequences.
“Serpent & Dove” by Shelby Mahurin — Uses a forced-marriage trope alongside forbidden magic and ancient prophecies that drive the central conflict.
“A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas — A high-fantasy romance involving bargains with powerful, capricious immortals and the gradual unfolding of a grand destiny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens at the end of Once Upon a Broken Heart?
Evangeline discovers Prince Apollo is not dead but suspended in a living death, realizes Jacks manipulated every tragedy to fulfill the Valory Arch prophecy, and vows to save Apollo while finding a way to stop Jacks forever.
Who is Jacks in Once Upon a Broken Heart?
Jacks is the Prince of Hearts, an immortal Fate whose kiss kills everyone except his fated true love; he uses Evangeline as a tool to open the Valory Arch by engineering events that match the lines of an ancient prophecy.
Does Evangeline end up with Jacks or Apollo in Once Upon a Broken Heart?
By the end of this first book, Evangeline is not romantically paired with either character—she marries Apollo to break his curse, then discovers Jacks has been manipulating her, and she resolves to act independently.
Is Once Upon a Broken Heart connected to Caraval?
Yes, Once Upon a Broken Heart is set in the same world as Stephanie Garber’s Caraval trilogy and features the Fates who were introduced in that series, including Jacks and several other immortal characters.
What is the Valory Arch prophecy?
The prophecy describes a “key” with rose-gold hair, born in the South but conceived in the North, both peasant and princess, who is a “fugitive wrongly accused” and whose blood will open the Valory Arch—which contains either a great treasure or an abomination.
How many books are in the Once Upon a Broken Heart series?
The Once Upon a Broken Heart series consists of four books total, with this first installment published in March 2023 by Flatiron Books.
What genre is Once Upon a Broken Heart?
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a young adult fantasy romance with strong fairytale elements, blending magical bargains, immortal Fates, and a prophecy-driven plot.
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