The Mirror of Infinite Endings Summary: Jacks & Evangeline Return
Introduction
Evangeline Fox and Jacks have built a quiet life at the enchanted Hollow Inn, preparing for its Grand Reopening.
But when a mysterious letter arrives concerning a magic that can stop a human from aging, and an ancient fairy appears with a bargain, their hard-won peace fractures.
The Mirror of Infinite Endings: A Once Upon a Broken Heart Companion by Stephanie Garber returns to the Magnificent North for a story about love tested across infinite possibilities.
At its center stands a mirror that offers Evangeline a single day in an alternate life — one where her father still lives and a different future awaits.
TL;DR: The Magic Mirror and the Choice That Matters
Jacks secretly bargains with a fairy to grant Evangeline immortality, fearing he will lose her to age.
The fairy’s trial sends Evangeline through the Mirror of Infinite Endings into an alternate timeline where she is about to marry someone else.
She must decide whether to stay in a comfortable past or return to the immortal who let her go.
The story concludes with a shared immortality and a proposal. An epilogue follows LaLa into the Mirror of Second Chances.
Read Also: Once Upon a Broken Heart Summary — the story that started it all.
Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Evangeline Fox | Human innkeeper of the Hollow and the story’s heroine. |
| Jacks | An immortal Fate known as the Prince of Hearts who surrendered his fatal kiss for Evangeline. |
| LaLa Merrywood | An immortal Fate and Evangeline’s closest friend who steps into the Mirror of Second Chances. |
| Chaos (Castor Valor) | A vampire prince of the Magnificent North and Jacks’s oldest friend. |
| The Fairy Queen | An ancient fae summoned by Poison who constructs the trial through the Emporium of Else. |
| The Young Man | The attendant at the Emporium of Else who oversees both mirrors. |
| Luc Navarro | Evangeline’s groom in the alternate timeline and her original fiancé. |
| Marisol | Evangeline’s stepsister in the alternate reality who deals with Jacks out of envy. |
| Mistress Luck | An immortal Fate in the alternate Valenda who confirms Evangeline possesses true love. |
| Maximilian Fox | Evangeline’s father who owns a curiosity shop in Valenda and is alive in the alternate timeline. |
| Donatella Dragna | A young woman in the alternate reality who confronts Jacks at the gambling den. |
| Poison | An unseen Fate and friend of Jacks who writes regarding human immortality and summons the fae. |
| Bruce | A baby dragon at the Hollow who delivers messages and assists Jacks. |
| Kutlass Knightlinger | A journalist whose article brings crowds to the Hollow’s Grand Reopening. |
The Mirror of Infinite Endings Summary: What Happens in the Story
Spoilers follow.
At the Hollow, Evangeline bakes pies for the inn’s Grand Reopening. Jacks receives a green letter from Poison about a potion that can stop a human from aging. Poison warns of consequences and reveals he has summoned an ancient fae.
A windstorm hits the tavern, and a fae child with vined feet appears. When Evangeline steps out, the fae shifts into a crowned queen. She offers to bind Evangeline’s lifespan to Jacks’s immortality, but requires both lovers to pass trials.
Jacks refuses and sends the fae away. Later, LaLa convinces Evangeline to visit a new shop near Merrywood Forest. They find an advertisement for The Emporium of Else and walk through Merrywood Village.
Inside the sugar-and-salt shop, Evangeline discovers the Mirror of Infinite Endings in a misty chamber. Silver script invites her to touch the glass and say, “I’d like to see what else could be,” to spend one day in an alternate life. Intrigued by Jacks’s secrecy, she steps through.
In the original reality, Jacks feels a void as the scar bond on Evangeline’s wrist goes numb. He rushes to the Emporium with Chaos and LaLa, watching Evangeline inside the mirror. The fae queen warns that shattering the glass will trap her forever.
Evangeline wakes in Valenda during the Sun Festival, where her father Maximilian is alive. She is hours from marrying Luc Navarro. A golden hourglass tattoo counts down her remaining time until sunset.
At the garden wedding, Marisol brings Jacks as a guest. He toasts with white apples, freezing the wedding guests. Marisol reveals she dealt with Jacks to ruin the wedding.
Luc flees in panic, and Evangeline pursues Jacks through the streets to his gambling den. She defends hope against his cynicism, asserting that “Hope is like fire.” Inside, she meets Mistress Luck, who warns her not to let the hourglass sand run out.
Evangeline challenges Jacks to blackjack to free her family. Donatella Dragna bursts in weeping over past heartbreak, but Jacks dismisses her. He then reveals the freezing spell was temporary and everyone is unharmed.
As the sun sets, Luc asks Evangeline to complete their wedding. She realizes her feelings for Luc lack brightness and that her true love belongs to Jacks. Minutes before sunset, she touches a mirror, repeats the ritual phrase, and returns to reality.
In the Emporium, the fairy queen announces both passed their tests. Jacks passed by refusing to endanger Evangeline. Evangeline passed by choosing her true Jacks across alternate realities. The fairy gifts them two pale pink sugar cookies shaped like halves of a broken heart, granting human immortality without removing human emotion.
Back at the Hollow, Jacks has fully decorated the inn, painting the clock to point to “Evangeline’s Famous Hollow Pie” with the initials E.O.T.H.
The next morning, crowds arrive for the Grand Reopening, drawn by Kutlass Knightlinger’s article in The Whisper Gazette.
That evening on the lake dock, Evangeline eats the immortal cookie and accepts Jacks’s marriage proposal under the stars.
In the epilogue, LaLa experiences “missingness,” an ache for a lost piece of her soul. At Hollowfest, she meets the young attendant beside two magic mirrors.
He directs her to the Mirror of Second Chances, draped in blooming flowers.
In its glass, LaLa sees a memory of her younger human self meeting Castor Valor before he became a vampire.
Learning that stepping through restarts human life from the past at the cost of all current memories, she touches the glass, says, “I’d like to try again,” and steps into the mirror.
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Who Should Read The Mirror of Infinite Endings?
This novella suits readers who have followed Evangeline and Jacks through the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. It functions as a companion piece rather than a standalone introduction.
The story’s focus on alternate timelines, fairy bargains, and romantic resolution will appeal to fans of romantic fantasy and fairytale-inspired fiction.
The narrative moves quickly and centers on a single day’s countdown in the alternate reality.
Readers who enjoy dual perspectives, whimsical settings, and stories about choosing love repeatedly across possibilities may find this installment satisfying.
The epilogue opens a new thread for LaLa, suggesting further stories in the same world.
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Books Like The Mirror of Infinite Endings
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber — The first novel in the series, introducing Evangeline Fox, her deal with the Prince of Hearts, and the curses of the Magnificent North.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber — A magical fantasy set in the same universe, featuring illusion, grand games, and high-stakes romance.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black — A dark fairytale fantasy with intricate fae bargains, political intrigue, and a complex mortal-immortal romance.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson — A romantic fairytale about a mortal artist drawn into the dangerous world of the immortal Fae and trickster bargains.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer — A fairytale retelling with curses, parallel worlds, and high-stakes romantic choices.
Book Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Young Adult Fantasy / Romantic Fantasy (Romantasy), Fairytale Fantasy
- Core Narrative Tropes: Chosen Love / Fated Mates, Alternate Timelines, Grumpy x Sunshine, Fairytale Curses & Bargains, Immortal x Mortal Dynamics
- Tone & Atmosphere: Whimsical, lyrical, enchanting, romantic, bittersweet, fairytale-esque
- Primary Conflict: Jacks’s secret deal with an ancient fae to grant Evangeline immortality triggers a fairy trial forcing Evangeline into an alternate timeline where she must choose between a comfortable past and her true love with Jacks.
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced, atmospheric, dual-perspective narrative structured around a single day’s magical countdown
- ISBN: 978-1250462039 (Hardcover)
- Pages: 256
- Book Structure: 25 sections total — 1 introductory tale, 23 numbered chapters, 1 epilogue
- Author Background: Stephanie Garber is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages.
