Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Ballad of Never After Review

Stephanie Garber continues to astonish me in this epic sequel. All I can say is wow. I thought the plot was so well crafted. Garber drops so many hints and foreshadowing, but you won’t even realize until you get to the twist. Like the last book, the stakes are high, really high. Poor Evangeline just can’t catch a break.

In addition to Evangeline and Jacks’ tumultuous relationship there are many other sub plots, one of the important ones is Evangeline’s quest to find the missing stones in order to open the Valory Arch. This quest brings Evangeline many challenges, and hard decisions to make. It really pulls readers in.

Along with Evangeline’s quest, there is immense world building that occurs. You will be able to learn more about the Great Houses, Valors, and the history of the Magnificent North. The plot flowed smoothly, and you’ll find yourself finishing the book right away. 

I always love Garber’s characters, and I’m happy to say you will find that previous characters make their way in The Ballad of Never After. Readers will continue to see the same characters from the previous book: Evangeline, Jacks, Lala, Chaos, Apollo.

What I really enjoyed about this book was how much Evangeline and Jacks’ relationship had grown (especially in that Hollow scene…iykyk). There’s so much tension and unspoken feelings in their relationship, and that’s what makes this plot so addicting. Plus, it’s apparent how much their relationship with each other has improved themselves. Evangeline brings a little good out of Jacks, and Jacks allows Evangeline to become more confident. 

Speaking of Evangeline, she is a dreamer as always. She continues to believe in her Happily Ever After, and continues to see the good in people and Fates alike. However, in this book, she begins to learn what’s really at stake. 

For Jacks, he’s as charismatic and mysterious as ever, nonetheless, his past starts to haunt him. While I don’t want to give too much away, I will just say I was absolutely heartbroken when a few things were revealed…As a Fate, he believes himself as a villain, someone who’s not a good person, but we do see glimpses of good in him.

As for other characters, their stories do continue. Readers will learn more about Chaos and his past, as well as Lala’s. However, Apollo is not seen much in the story, but he does play a very important role in the plot. 

To tie it all together is Stephanie Garber’s beautiful writing. She’s a master at her craft. Not only does her writing allow me to be able to be immersed in the world of the Magnificent North, but it allows readers to be able to understand her characters, their goals, aspirations, motivations, etc. The book is written from a third person point of view, but readers will only be able to experience what Evangeline is experiencing. In my opinion, the book had a steady pacing. It was a little bit slow in the beginning, but it quickened up in the second half of the book.  

TLDR: Evangeline and Jacks are so cute! Intense lore drop!

Notable Quotes

Here are some The Ballad of Never After quotes that I found quite memorable!

“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–.” -pg 111

“Winning at love was less about succeeding in a battle and more about continuing to fight, to choose the person you loved as the one you were willing to die for, over and over.” -pg 151

“Evangeline wanted to give love and be loved and feel love at just the sight of someone. She wanted butterflies and kisses. She wanted it so much that sometimes she thought her heart would burst from it.” -pg 217

“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.” -pg 312