3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

And once again, she was struck with the inescapable feeling that among everything she’d forgotten was one thing more important than all the rest, more important than anything.

As with all stories, there is a beginning and an end. A Curse for True Love draws us closer to the end of Evangeline's story and the question that haunted most readers for a year is: will she or will she not live happily ever after? ...and with Who?

Without spilling much, I am already feeling melancholic now that we finally reached the end. Not as spellbinding and enchanting as it's beginning, nevertheless I finally know how it ended.

Evangeline's journey was a peculiar fairytale, but she was a peculiar little thing and I say that with adoration. For a girl that went through so much and experienced losses, she never wavered from her belief in true love and happiness. She never doubted that something wonderful and magical was in the horizon for her. She chased after whatever might have been, not even fear of something going wrong held her back.

She is a kindred spirit and her story felt like a nod to younger me who grew up with dreams and hopes of living happily ever after.

I'll keep my thoughts short and to the point:

There were many missed opportunities.
Many.

I'm saying this because Stephanie crafted such a vivid and brilliant world and characters but she did not dare to expand it.

While I did enjoy the book and could not put it down, I kept thinking about how there were missed chances in some scenes and even the flow of the story felt disjointed sometimes? Meaning at times there wasn't a smooth transition into a plot-twist or a climax, it feels abrupt just to somehow get to the next plot point.

Some plot points had weak resolutions.

Apollo's arc and POV was pointless.

Where are some of the other characters? They just disappeared? We get no information about what happened to them. I'm not sure if Stephanie is keeping it in the dark because she might announce another spin-off series but there should some sort of open ending or brief mention of where they are rather than being kept completely in the dark about their fate and ending.

Questions about immortality and Fates are not even answered and it's worth remembering that Jacks is immortal and Evangeline is human.

There's even one very important question that is left open-ended which I've been eager to finally get an answer for and I didn't really get one.

There were heartwarming and devastating moments that stirred my heart. Some scenes were cut short which was getting annoying. Poor Evangeline didn't get a moment's rest.

I just feel a little unsatisfied over all and it didn't feel like it's the final installment in a trilogy. So many questions left unanswered and so many characters/plot points unresolved to the point friends and readers who finished the book are also asking me if question (x) gets answered and I'm like no was it? Did I miss something?

I don't expect for a final book to answer everything, but an author should not leave readers with more questions than answers after a final installment.

The Ballad of Never After still holds my heart. I love the trilogy as a whole but TBONA was exceptional.

I decided to notch down half a star since I feel it's more accurate to how I feel about the book.

I think we could be getting other spin-offs in the same universe since there are more tales in the Magnificent North to be discovered and characters whose fate is left in the dark. I would be up to returning to this world as long as Stephanie doesn't give us with questions left with no answers.

Also, make sure to read the bonus epilogues!