Families who loved Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
A parent would reach for this book when their teenager is grappling with the intense sting of unrequited love or the temptation to make impulsive choices to fix a broken heart. It is a perfect companion for the teen who feels like a romantic outlier and needs to explore the idea that true love cannot be forced or bartered for. The story follows Evangeline Fox, who makes a desperate magical deal to stop the wedding of the boy she loves, only to find herself trapped in a web of debt to a manipulative immortal. Through its lush, fairytale atmosphere, the book explores themes of trust, the danger of shortcuts to happiness, and the necessity of letting go. While it features romantic tension and magical peril, it remains appropriate for most high school readers, offering a safe space to process the complex realization that some people are not who they seem to be and that personal agency is more valuable than a forced happy ending.