Once Upon a Broken Heart

Jacks is the Prince of Hearts, a Fate whose kiss is fatal to all but his true love. He is often depicted with “vivid blue eyes crying tears that matched the blood forever staining the corner of his sulky mouth” (10). This image paints him as sorrowful and without love, which is something Jacks hides deep beneath a hardened veneer of cruelty. In the world of Once Upon a Broken Heart, this depiction shows how heartbreak is romanticized, disregarding the negative ways its pain can twist someone. It also shows that Fates are not always depicted accurately. From his image, Evangeline postulates that Jacks is sensitive and heartbroken, forever cursed to search with tragic outcomes. In reality, Jacks is ruthless and unafraid to do whatever he must to get what he wants. If “The Ballad of the Archer and the Fox” is truly about him and Evangeline, Once Upon a Broken Heart sets Jacks up to either kill or fall in love with Evangeline by the end of the series.

Marisol is Evangeline’s stepsister and helps develop Evangeline as a Cinderella stand-in. Marisol reveals herself to be the wicked stepsister at the end of the book and nearly thwarts any chance Evangeline has at a happy ending. Marisol’s mother (Evangeline’s stepmother) constantly puts Marisol down or telling her she isn’t good enough. This treatment, coupled with her stepmother believing Evangeline is better than Marisol after Evangeline turns to stone, motivates Marisol’s deceptive actions for the rest of the story. Marisol feels as if she can do nothing right in her mother’s eyes and just wants to be recognized as worthwhile. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to remove Evangeline (the object of her jealousy) and achieve greatness in the hopes that it will make her mother care about her. Marisol’s fate is left unknown at the end of the book, suggesting she’ll play an important role in the sequel.

Apollo is the crown prince of the Magnificent North and has eyes that are “deep brown and amber with tiny flecks of glowing bronze” (113). Until he falls unconscious on his wedding night, Evangeline uses those eyes to measure Apollo’s emotions. For most of his time in the story, Apollo’s emotions are manipulated by Jacks, and so his true self is never realized by the reader. Instead, his only emotion is obsession over Evangeline, and he represents the unhealthy nature of obsessive love. Rather than a happy ending, Evangeline’s few days with manipulated Apollo are full of doubt and questions because his actions are so over-the-top. Apollo is little more than a pawn for Jacks. Evangeline needs to be a princess to open the Valory Arch, and it’s likely Jacks manipulated Apollo to make sure he wed Evangeline to fulfill part of the prophecy.

LaLa is the Unwed Bride Fate, cursed to be left at the altar every time she tries to get married. Despite the fact that she can never find someone to be with, she isn’t a “wilting maid pining away for lost love” (259), and to help her cravings for a wedding, she helps other brides make their wedding days special. LaLa represents how being alone isn’t a bad thing or something to fear. Rather, she supports the idea that being single can lead to a rewarding life and that love isn’t a requirement for happiness. Since she knows she can never have a successful wedding, she doesn’t hope for one, which also helps her cope. By contrast, Jacks knows his true love is out there, and that hope turns him bitter and angry, which emphasizes LaLa’s positivity.

Luc is Evangeline’s first love and the catalyst for all Evangeline’s decisions throughout the book. Luc is the reason Evangeline seeks a deal with Jacks in the first place, and that deal leads to Evangeline traveling North and beginning to fulfill the requirements of the Valory Arch prophecy. Luc represents the dangerous side of wanting. Evangeline spends most of the book hopelessly wishing Luc will love her again. This hopeless love leads her to let him loose when he’s a changeling, which almost gets her bitten by a venom-infected Jacks and later killed by Tiberius. Evangeline’s hope for Luc causes her to make poor decisions wherever he’s concerned and not think about the consequences so long as her decision might lead to getting Luc back.

Tiberius is Apollo’s younger brother and the heir to the throne after Apollo’s believed death. Tiberius is a member of the group dedicated to keeping the Valory Arch closed, and he recognizes Evangeline from the prophecy as soon as he sees her. He argues with Apollo over her, which Apollo ignores. Tiberius never gives a reason for killing Apollo, but it may be that, by killing Evangeline’s royal husband, she will no longer be a princess and, thus, filling the terms set forth in the prophecy. At the end of the book, Tiberius drinks a truth potion, which breaks Marisol’s love spell and forces him to confess his crimes, suggesting that truth is the most powerful magic there is.

Princess Donatella is Once Upon a Broken Heart’s main connection to the Caraval series. Donatella was one of Caraval’s main characters, and her past with Jacks influences events of Once Upon a Broken Heart. Having been at the receiving end of Jacks’s manipulation, she understands what he’s like, and since she refuses to go north because she’s trying to avoid him, she knows she’s sending Evangeline right into his path. It may be that Donatella believes Evangeline is Jacks’s true love and sends her toward him to make sure he kisses her. It may also be that Donatella doesn’t know about Evangeline’s involvement with Jacks and has no reason to think sending her north will cause her problems.