Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mild, cottage-core magic adventure for smitten series fans.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE MIRROR OF INFINITE ENDINGS, Evangeline and Jacks are busy preparing for the Hollow's Grand Reopening and First Annual Happy Hollowfest Holiday. Evangeline is baking mountains of pies and making sure the magical inn is in perfect form for its first customers in years. On the day before the big event, she runs off to Merrywood with her Fate friend Lala to finish a few more errands and is captivated by the Emporium of Else, a small fairy-run shop in the forest. That's where she finds the Mirror of Infinite Endings and finds herself plunged into the past and suddenly far, far away from the Hollow, the immortal she loves, and their happily ever after. Note that there are several alternate endings depending on the edition you purchase; they are short snippets about supporting character LaLa, and do not change the main storyline of Jacks and Evangeline.
Is It Any Good?
This cottage-core mild magical misadventure with dreamy illustrations is a cozy companion expressly for fans of the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. Art by Lotusbubble depicts Evangeline as a less tragic Sleeping Beauty with tiny dragons instead of birds as loveable forest friends. She flits about her thinking-feeling inn on a mission to be the perfect hostess and live the best "happily ever after" imaginable. The cruel edge to the main trilogy is stripped away. Was it really possessive Jacks who used to kill smitten women with a simple kiss? He's busy painting the magical clock now and thinking of more ways to delight Evangeline. How adorable of him.
It's actually Evangeline who strays from the path of perfection when she can't resist a fairy mirror. Her jaunt into the past with no memory of her present life creates most of this brief story's tension—the rest involves a vampire visitor and the worry that there won't be enough pies. The flashback should have been flashier, however. If this is really a mirror of infinite endings there should have been more than one choice to make. But perhaps in this instance, an infinite choice in pie flavors proves far more important.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the past in The Mirror of Infinite Endings. What did Evangeline hope to change about the past? If you found that mirror, would you use it? If so, what would you try to change?
Gifty companion books are often released for series that have a strong fan base. Are you a superfan of the series? How does this book add to your experience?
Cottage-core stories are very popular with teens. How does this book fit into this aesthetic? What other books have you read that you would consider to be in this very specific, very cozy category?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Lotusbubble
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Baking , Fantasy ( Magic )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Flatiron Books
- Publication date : September 22, 2026
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 13 - 18
- Number of pages : 256
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 19, 2026
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