Once Upon a Broken Heart

A young woman makes a desperate bargain with a dark supernatural figure and spends centuries paying its true cost — same dangerous-deal DNA, with Schwab's precise, atmospheric prose.

If you loved the central premise of Once Upon a Broken Heart — a girl striking a reckless bargain with an immortal being and discovering the price is far steeper than she imagined — The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of the strongest books like it you can find. Addie makes a deal with a god of darkness to live forever but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, and the novel tracks the centuries-long push-and-pull between Addie and the figure who owns her soul. V.E. Schwab writes with the same blend of romantic longing and genuine dread that powers Garber's series, and the morally ambiguous supernatural love interest will feel immediately familiar. This one skews slightly older in tone but is perfect for YA readers ready to step up, and it's already a fan favorite among people searching for what to read after Once Upon a Broken Heart.

A heroine harboring a dark inner entity she can't fully control — same atmospheric fairytale dread and morally complicated supernatural bond that drives Once Upon a Broken Heart.

One Dark Window is one of the most recommended books like Once Upon a Broken Heart for readers who are drawn to the dynamic between Evangeline and Jacks — that electric, dangerous closeness to something inhuman that could destroy you. Here, the heroine Elspeth has spent her life hiding the Nightmare, a dark presence living inside her mind, and the story unfolds as a gothic fairytale full of cursed cards, shadowy forests, and a romance built on secrets and mutual danger. Rachel Gillig's worldbuilding has the same misty, folkloric quality as Garber's Magnificent North, and the tension between self-preservation and desire runs through every chapter. If you liked Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber and you want something that keeps that same pulse of threat wrapped inside a fairytale aesthetic, One Dark Window delivers it with a fresh cast and an original magic system.

Dark, lush, and steeped in supernatural romance — a morally grey immortal antagonist-turned-love-interest and a heroine who refuses to be a pawn, wrapped in gothic fairytale energy.

Readers who gravitate toward books like Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber — specifically for the charged dynamic between a fierce heroine and a powerful, untrustworthy supernatural figure — will feel right at home with Kingdom of the Feared, the finale of Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. The series follows Emilia, a Sicilian witch drawn into the world of demon princes after her twin sister's murder, and the romantic tension with the demon Wrath mirrors the same push-and-pull, enemies-adjacent energy that makes Jacks so compelling. Maniscalco writes with rich sensory detail and a gothic atmosphere that fans of Garber's Magnificent North will recognize immediately. It's slightly more mature in its romance, but the core appeal — a heroine navigating manipulation, power, and impossible attraction — is exactly what fans of Once Upon a Broken Heart are looking for next.

An unstoppable immortal villain, a mortal woman who becomes his reluctant ally, and a slow-burn tension built on distrust — ideal for readers who want more dangerously compelling supernatural romance.

The Book of Azrael is a strong pick for readers who finished Once Upon a Broken Heart and can't stop thinking about Jacks — that particular flavor of immortal being who is genuinely lethal, deeply mysterious, and somehow impossible to look away from. Amber V. Nicole's novel centers on Lila, a former gladiator, and Azrael, a God of Death whose goals are entirely his own, and the story is built on the same architecture of dangerous proximity and withheld trust that makes Garber's series so addictive. The world is lush and the stakes are high, with mythology woven into every corner of the plot. Fans searching for what to read after Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber who want to stay in the lane of morally complicated immortals and heroines who refuse to be helpless will find The Book of Azrael scratches exactly that itch.