#when acftl comes out!

[jackstheprinceofhearts]

i would like to remind everyone of the great selection of emojis in the magnificent north server that me and @missroller15 own 😏

if you haven't yet, this should motivate you to join purely because of these gems 😍

[onceuponaneverafter]

Let's Talk About Jacks's Apples

...and especially their COLORS. I wanted to figure out what they could mean, so I made a spreadsheet!

First, DISCLAIMERS:

MAJOR spoilers for OUABH and TBONA + the Caraval series!

This post was written BEFORE ACFTL and does not contain information or spoilers from it.

This post is based on my interpretations and observations, all of them may not be perfectly accurate. The conclusions I make are my theories, not necessarily canon information.

When I reference page numbers, they're from my OUABH UK paperback and TBONA UK hardcover - it's possible they're a bit off for you if you have different editions of the books.

This is a long post, so grab a snack and get comfortable!

I hope you enjoy reading! 🍎

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Why Apples?

A Detailed Look Into The Apples (= explaining everything I say I'll explain later)

The Colors

Where Do The Apples Come From

Conclusions/TL;DR

This is a long post, so here you can see what's coming and skip over to what interests you most :)

Introduction

Throughout the OUABH series, there are 14 scenes in total where Jacks is holding an apple in his hand (sometimes eating them, sometimes not) while Evangeline is there to witness it. All of those apples are unnaturally colored. To look for connections between them, I made a spreadsheet:

For sake of clarity, I will be discussing 13 total apples instead of 14 - I believe the "undescribed" apple (its color is not explicitly stated in the scene) is the same as White Apple #5, but it appears in two separate scenes, so both are included here. I will get into this later.

The spreadsheet contains various details about the apples, such as what Jacks does while holding them, when he picks them up (or if he's already holding them when they're described), what happens to them (dropped somewhere etc.), how he feels during the scene, etc. I will discuss these later in this post.

Then I realized he also has some apples in Legendary and Finale, so I made another list of the ones he has while Tella is present:

Here's a summary of all the apples:

That would make 20 apples in total, half of them being white.

Now let's go over some relevant context! Then I will get to analyzing what these colors mean and what kind of connections I found between the apples, I promise.

Why Apples?

Before we do a deep dive into the details, let's go over the basics on why Jacks keeps eating the apples. The most popular theory (if it can even be called a theory, it's basically canon) is based on what LaLa tells Evangeline in OUABH:

"When we [Fates] feel, it's intense and consuming. It devours us and drives us. And the strongest of our feelings is always the urge to be that which we were made to be." –OUABH page 270

She proceeds to explain that when she sews wedding dresses, it helps her with that urge, and to say that for Jacks it's similar – he has the desire to find his true love, and supposedly that's the one person his kiss doesn't kill. So, according to LaLa's logic, the apples help him with that. It makes a lot of sense, and everything he physically does with the apples makes more sense in light of it.

When Jacks is first introduced to the Caraval series, he is described eating an apple. While I believe the theory above is true, it was also interesting to notice that he seems to already be holding the apple when he meets Tella practically by chance. In fact, there are only four times he ever picks up an apple during a scene, and they are all during the OUABH series. I will get more into it later.

In OUABH, Jacks is described to have countless apples and apple cores in his rooms and offices, so we don't know how many he eats and why when Evangeline isn't around him. However, I found that he almost never touches Evangeline while holding an apple. (With sort of the exception of the silver apple, where he touches his dagger to her lips, and the blue apple, which he was holding before stopping Evangeline from taking the luck stone back from Chaos.)

Now, this could just be for practical reasons, but he touches Evangeline in about 21 of the 25 (I focused on the apples so this may not be the exact count) scenes where he doesn't have an apple and only in 6 of the 14 scenes where he has an apple, and in 2 of them the touch is barely there or brief and initiated by Evangeline.

An interesting comparison is how he does touch Tella while holding an apple (like Blue Apple #1 and White Caraval Apple #2), so it definitely isn't purely about logistics. Maybe it's related to him thinking she's his true love, that's the greatest difference I can think of. It is also noteworthy that he doesn't eat any apples while in the Hollow, which Evangeline also notices (TBONA 284).

With the theory above in mind, the way Jacks touches his apples is pretty straightforward:

He tosses them when he's in a good mood or needs to distract himself

Him biting them is practically his version of self-control

He drops them when things aren't so fun anymore or there's a clear mood shift (I will discuss this a bit more later).

He stabs two apples in total: the Silver Apple and White OUABH Apple #4. the first time he tells Evangeline how Apollo would be eternally heartbroken if she called off the engagement, the second time he tells Evangeline that the Archer ends up killing the Fox. And what unites these? Great heartbreak.

A Detailed Look Into The Apples

Or in other words, let's get into everything I said I would discuss later. After this, we'll look more into the apple colors.

The Undescribed Apple

I believe that White Apple #5, the apple Jacks holds in his hand before he and Evangeline leave to LaLa's engagement party, is the same as the apple that he picks up in the next scene, in the carriage as they travel - its color is not described, but the narration leads to the assumption that this apple is already familiar to the reader:

"Jacks leaned back in his seat and picked up his apple" –TBONA page 184

13 is also a more meaningful number than 14 (and the total count of all apples would be 20 instead of 21), so even though the total number might be purely coincidental, it also could be a fun intentional detail.

Caraval vs. OUABH

There are some very interesting parallels between apples in Legendary/Finale and apples in OUABH/TBONA.

First, we have the blue apple (in Legendary) that Jacks ends up dropping into a fireplace (see chart below). The only other apple that he specifically drops into fire is the very last white apple in TBONA. Before he drops the blue apple, Tella says that nothing could make her fall in love with him. Before he drops the white apple, Evangeline suggests that maybe Jacks could find another true love.

Second, every apple is either last seen still in his hand or dropped on the floor/ground (or fire), except for two: the sparkling white one in Finale (in Tella's dream again) and the pink one in OUABH, which he tosses to Tella and Evangeline. He directly encourages Tella to taste the white apple, and he tells Evangeline that she might need a snack. In terms of color, the sparkling white apple is especially interesting – I will look into the sparkling later along with the colors.

"Jacks picked up his apple"

The main difference between the Caraval and OUABH apples - and the one thing that keeps messing up my theories - is that during the Caraval series, Jacks never picks up an apple during a scene, he is always already holding one when the scene begins (see chart above). However, during OUABH and TBONA, he picks up four apples in total. And they are all white.

White Apple #1: Meeting Evangeline for the first time

White Apple #3: Evangeline says she'd stab Jacks if she got the chance to

White Apple #5: Evangeline forbids Jacks from killing people at LaLa's party

White Apple #7: Jacks lets go of Evangeline and shuts off from her, he's about to tell her the truth about planning to go back in time

All of them are different in terms of why exactly he picks up the apple, but there is more or less a shift in tone/topic of their conversation during all of these scenes.

The Colors

White Apples

I think that white apples are the "default" color, and/or they represent focusing on what's important.

They make up half of the apples Jacks has, and all of the apples he spontaneously picks up are white. So, if something like his emotions or circumstances affect the apple colors (which I think is at least somewhat the case), it makes sense for white to be the basic color – and what would be a better "default" apple than the one who reminds him not to get distracted.

Even though the apple he tosses to Tella is sparkling white, I don't think the color represents her because he was holding a white apple before he met Tella. He couldn't have been thinking of her, but he most likely had plans that he was thinking over as he was hoping to take the throne from Elantine.

Black Apples

I originally thought the black color could mean bad intentions or regret, but I'm now quite sure it represents doing whatever it takes to get what he wants. The context surrounding the black apples highlights this:

Black Apple #1: Jacks offers his help in exchange for controlling Tella's emotions. He wants to find true love more than anything, and this is his last attempt to make Tella fall for him.

Black Apple #2: He's controlling Apollo in order to make him propose to Evangeline. He needs it, again, in order to reach his goal – only this time he's planning to go back in time. Still to find true love, though.

Black Apple #3: This one stands out a bit from the other two. Jacks brings Evangeline to Chaos' castle so she can be healed after Apollo shot her. Here the black apple might symbolize doing anything to keep Evangeline alive (he also needs her alive, so that checks out, but at this point I don't think it's just that), and possibly his reluctance to either ask Chaos for help or put Evangeline through being infected with vampire venom.

Blue Apples

Blue apples seem to represent happiness and success, because we tend to see them after something went just like Jacks wanted. This could also be connected to his eye color.

Blue Apple #1: It's the first apple we see after Tella didn't die of his kiss, and he's obviously more than happy about that.

Blue Apple #2. He got into Tella's dream, for the second time, and he had successfully tricked her into the "marriage thing" before.

Blue Apple #3. He is holding this one right after Evangeline agreed to open the Valory Arch, while the apple he held in the previous scene (only five pages earlier) was white.

The Golden Apple

The apples that there are just one of are the trickiest because there's less context to go by, but I think the golden apple represents Tella. It's the first one we see in his hand after the events of Finale, and Tella's hair color is close enough to it. She is also a princess now, which the color gold could also represent.

It's worth mentioning that it could also be tied to failure, heartbreak, or Jacks's own hair color (as it is often described as golden). He also lives in the North now, known as Lord Jacks, and he's "friends" (?) with Apollo, a prince, so it could be related to that as well.

The Silver Apple

I think the silver apple is like a "milder" version of the blue apple, in which case the apple representing happiness would definitely be intentionally the same color as his eyes: The Caraval Wiki describes his eye color as "silver-blue".

When Jacks has the silver apple, Evangeline has got married to Apollo just like he wanted, but everything isn't perfect yet. He's quite content, but it isn't quite as big satisfaction as when he has a blue apple. However, because Evangeline asked him to meet, the apple's color could also represent for example curiosity.

The Pink Apple

Because of Evangeline's hair color, the pink apple seems to intuitively represent her. Not only that, he's just spent the night holding her before he appears with the pink apple in hand, so it just makes a lot of sense to me. This is also the apple he tossed to her.

The Purple Apple

I've had the most trouble with the purple apple. It being the apple he holds after talking with Scarlett and the scene leading to Tella's discovery that his heart beats, and the only purple apple during any book and scene, I don't even know where to start.

While basic color symbolism is connected to the apple colors loosely at most, purple as a symbol for royalty, nobility, and power could make sense if he wanted to emphasize those qualities while talking to Scarlett. Purple is also associated with mystery, and with us and Tella not finding out immediately why he met with Scarlett, it could also be a storytelling element.

Bonus: Sparkling/shimmering Apples

There are some apples that deserve a special mention, and that's the ones that are described as sparkling or shimmering.

White Caraval Apple #3, "sparkling white": This is the apple that Jacks gives to Tella (in her dream), urging her to taste it.

Black Apple #3, "shimmering black": And this apple is in TBONA, when Jacks brings Evangeline to Chaos' castle to be healed.

The only similarity between them that I've found so far is that they both stand out from the other white and blue apples: the sparkling white apple is the only white apple that Jacks gives to someone else, and the shimmering black apple is the third one that stands out to me (see "Black Apples" above).

Where Do The Apples Come From

A very good and for now unanswered question is where Jacks gets the apples from. Does he pick them from a tree? What tree? What color are they, do they start off as natural apples or maybe white? What makes an apple something other than their default color? For these questions, I don't have solid theories yet, only speculation.

We're all obsessed with how intensely Fates feel when they do feel something (*cough* the end of TBONA *cough*), but I also think that it could have something to do with the apples, at least some of them. When Jacks feels something or spends a lot of time thinking of something, maybe it could somehow affect the apples' colors? Some of the apples seem to be connected to his emotions, such as the blue ones. No apples are seen changing colors and some apples seem to not have a direct connection to his emotions, though, so there is little evidence to support this.

Conclusions

To summarize everything I went over above,

There are 20 apples in total that Jacks is seen holding throughout every scene he is in, seven of them during the Caraval series and 13 during OUABH and TBONA.

What Jacks does with his apples (tossing, biting, picking up, dropping) is connected to his emotions.

The apples have different colors that I believe represent different things: white (10 of 20, focusing on what's important), black (3 of 20, doing whatever it takes), blue (3 of 20, happiness), gold (1 of 20, possibly Tella? multiple possibilities), silver (1 of 20, possibly happiness mixed with something else), pink (1 of 20, Evangeline?), and purple (1 of 20, power? nobility? mystery?).

The origin of the apples is for now unknown, as is the reason for each color (both the colors' meanings and how they take on the different colors).

With all that said, there is quite much room for interpretation, especially in terms of the apple colors. My theories aren't the only correct ones, and I do not wish to present them that way. As I stated in the beginning, I might have overlooked details or noted some down inaccurately. The purpose of this post was to share my findings and to have fun theorizing!

Let's hope that we get some actual answers for these in ACFTL and that the books treat us kindly <3 Please do not give me any spoilers, not on the topic of apples or anything else, I'm actively trying to avoid them!

If you read this far, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I poured my heart into this research and this analysis, and I'm so happy if at least one person besides myself enjoys looking at my little findings. <3 Here, have an apple as a reward: 🍎

[sweetingseva]

Thoughts on the 4 chapters and map:

First, I need more! The chapters were so short (in exception to the 4th chapter. It cuts off). Two more months to go! 🥳💖

Unlike my earlier assessment of a few days worth time skip, it appears that it happens directly after TBONA's ending.

Evangeline still has her memories of her life, but some pieces seem to be torn away from her. She doesn't feel safe with Apollo, but he's the only one who appears to actually know her since he's her husband. But I have a feeling that when she sees Jacks or hears him, that her memories will flash back to her just like they did when Apollo wrapped his arms around her. She'd recognize how safe she feels when she's with Jacks.

Apollo is the third unknown POV 👀

The map is the biggest tell on what and where we could be. I mentioned before here that the map seems to be of the olden days. Look at Merrywood Manor. It's no longer destroyed.

Perhaps we'll see Evangeline open up a magical book and "teleport" into it just like Belle and the Beast did in the live-action Beauty and the Beast with the book 🤩

The Valors are back but they now go as Vale from House Vale. I think Wolfric has a plan to regain his throne before Apollo goes ahead with the coronation.

Evangeline wants to speak to the man who stole her memories. Meaning that this could be how Evangeline makes a deal with Jacks (again). Jacks will most likely use this opportunity to help her get her memories back! YAYYY! 💖

I find it very surprising that Apollo even feels guilty about this. He said he took her memories away to protect her. But I keep thinking he did it because he was jealous, too. His jealousy and paranoia will only grow from here on out. Once Evangeline regains her memories and chooses Jacks, he'll go berserk 😳

ACFTL has a total of 49 chapters, however, with one part called IV. Happily Ever After. It's curious that instead of adding new parts starting from Part 1, that it continues on from TBONA's third part called, A Murder of Monsters.

Jacks will find out in real time that Evangeline has lost his memories. Considering the news that Apollo has come back from the dead is spreading, so might the news of Evangeline's condition. Jacks might hear of this first then go to Evangeline to double check. He might not believe it from the papers since they're more of a dramatized piece. But unfortunately this time it's the truth 😭💔

Kristof Knightlinger might be of help, which I love to see! 😁

[hollowinmyheart]

Stephanie Garber surely has a great way of expressing love ,I couldn't help but make a post on some of my favorite quotes from SG's OUABH and Caraval series

-- “In the morning, you can forget it. You can go back to pretending you don’t like me, and I can pretend that I don’t care. But for tonight, let me pretend you’re mine.”“If it’s easier, you can pretend, too, You can pretend that I’m still Jacks of the Hollow and that you want to be mine.”- Jacks [TBONA]

-- “There is nothing of equal value to me.” -Jacks [TBONA]

-- "I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.” - Evangeline Fox [ ACFTL ]

-- "I will love you with every bone in my body, so that even after my heart stops beating, a part of me will remain to forever love you"- Scarllet Dragna [Finale]

-- "Most of my life, I’ve romanticized death. I used to love the idea of something being so tremendous that it was worth dying for. But I was wrong. I think the most magnificent things are worth living for" - Donatella Dragna [Finale]

-- " This is my choice, and I choose you, Donatella. I don’t need immortality. You’re my forever" - Legend [Finale]

-- "I’m not trying to win her hand. I’m offering her mine, and everything that comes with it, hoping she’ll take it and decide she wants to keep it" - Julian Santos [Finale]

-- "She was the moth and Jacks was still the flame "- Apollo Acadian [ACFTL]

-- "He held her so tightly it hurt, but this pain she didn’t mind. She’d let him crush her, let him break her, just as long as he never let her go" - Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "He held her with the type of intensity that only happens when a person wants something that isn’t quite theirs. But she was. She just needed to tell him she loved him" - Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "He’d never understood why someone would watch another person sleep . . . until her" -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds" -Evangeline Fox [TBONA]

-- "She wasn’t nothing to him. That she was everything. That he’d turned back time to keep her alive, and he would make the same choice again." -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "He wanted to keep her pressed to the floor beneath him. He would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this." - Jacks [ACFTL]

-- “Yes, I am a murderer. I enjoy hurting people. I like blood. I like pain. I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evengeline" -Jacks [ACFTL]

-- “To foolish hearts and fire! May you and Jacks only ever burn with passion and desire.” - LaLa Merrywood [ACFTL]

-- "I am Jacks’s true love. I believe it with the same confidence that I believe that water fills the oceans and morning follows the night." - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- “I’m never going to let you out of my sight. This isn’t just for now, it’s for always, Little Fox.” - Jacks [ACFTL]

-- "I don’t care if fate is real—because I don’t need it to decide for me. I don’t need it to make this choice. I’ve made my decision, Jacks. It’s you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I’ll fight fate or anyone else who tries to tear us apart—including you. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine. And you are not going to be the end of me, Jacks" - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- “I’m broken. I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.”

“Then break me, Jacks.” - Evangeline Fox [ACFTL]

-- "He considered setting the room ablaze just so that he’d have a reason to pick her up and carry her out, to save her one last time" - Jacks [ACFTL]

[blue-versace]

Acftl Review 🍎🗡️ Spoilers Included

4 ⭐

Look, I'm happy, thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon, excited, joyous, exuberant, tickled pink, merry and delighted that EvaJacks are together 🩷 (God I love them so much 😩🩷)

BUT... I'm also disappointed.

Acftl felt rushed and anticlimactic which is so ironic because I feel acftl was supposed to be the longest in the series. It felt very different and the pacing was off. I have many questions and not enough answers.

Ouabh and Tbona were so so good and Acftl just kinda fell flat.

Where was the flirtiness? The banter? Why didn't he fight harder?? It was too easy to let her be with Apollo. He's said time and time again that fates are jealous and obsessive. Where was the jealousy?? The obsessiveness?? I wanted UNHINGED behaviour 😭

I needed MORE. SO MUCH MOREEE.

More:

Jacks chapters

EvaJacks content

Pining

Fluff

ANGER (I needed Jacks to set things on FIRE. I needed him to KILL Apollo not some tree. Thank you tree of souls but I would've preferred Jacks)

PAGES (I could've read 1000 pages of EvaJacks and not get bored or tired )

The only thing I needed less of was Apollo (he's literally the main character in this book tbh).

°•°•°•°•°

Thoughts

Where tf were Marisol, Luc and Tiberius?? They all have significant roles in ouabh and tbona. Why were they excluded entirely?

Now, Lala and Chaos do y'all need a room? Cuz damn. I NEED a book about that right now. Lala brushing off Eva's question about Dane was suspicious as well.

The Valors... I'm not even gonna talk about them. I don't like any of them. Let me just say Aurora, you'll get what's coming for you... with your dusty ass ugly purple hair and your stupid face. You manipulative bitc- *takes deep breath* At the end, you didn't get him and I'm content with that.

The quotes were BEAUTIFULLY written and something that made me scream (like actually SCREAM OUT LOUD) was when Eva called Jacks my love. OH MY GOD 😩🩷

Stephanie was tryna be cheeky at the end with the apples question but they were for controlling the urges. He has Eva for that now 🌚

°•°•°•°•°

Stephanie Garber...

I do hope you're planning to write 7,000 novellas because we need them. I NEED THEM, OK?? PLEASE...I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM 🥺😩🩷

Overall it was a good book (not as good as it could've been) but I'm partial for Evajacks 🩷

°•°•°•°•°

That's all I have to say.

[rosesfox]

I feel like jacks seems more in love with tella then evangeline. the scenes he has with tella are so much better. i feel like if acftl was better and had more evajacks scenes it would be so much better, i feel like stephanie at that point should’ve just pushed the date back and had come out later so she could have more time. the kissing scene was not good for waiting 2 whole books for it, and chapter 42 was just lazy. If acftl had better scenes or tella and jacks weren’t even a thing to begin with ouabh would be my favorite series ever.

i strongly disagree. i personally would hardly call jacks kissing tella with the intention of manipulating and killing her a gesture of love. or him manipulating her in a time of grief to trick her into marrying him against her will, or giving her a heart attack to get his powers back.

do they have good kisses? yes, but both jacks had vile intentions that prove nothing other than how much he didn't genuinely care for her.

other than these moments, there isn't a scene between the two in which he shows anything other than his vile side and self-interest. even when he's trying to be with her, it's about him and not about him and tella. we even have a passage in the canon that objectively talks about this:

now, it's also canon that he just loves evangeline. he cares from the beginning, and you can look for posts of mine here that talk, even before acftl, about how i believed he had fallen in love first due to various signs that his behavior showed. there is a world of difference in the way he treated tella and how he treats evangeline.

for me, since ouabh we have great scenes of the two of them together that show how they were falling in love. tbona, then, is the climax of the romance. acftl could be better in many aspects, and how i wish stephanie had worked on it with more care and time. i agree that we needed more scenes of the two of them as a couple and that chapter 42 was lazy.

i don't think the neglect of acftl, however, affects them so much as to erase the two other books, or even the wonderful scenes we have in acftl.

[maisha133]

ACFTL was disappointing

Okay so it is currently 1:41 AM and I have finished reading A Curse for True Love and I have been let down and just wanted to get my thoughts out

Jacks characterization was the biggest down fall; The book is basically about Evangeline pinning for Jack but I wished it was the other way around; Jacks finds out Evangeline lost her memories and avoids him because she believes he is dangerous and he gets pissed off and desperately tries to get her back. I think this change in story telling would have allowed so much character growth for Jacks considering the fact he is so cold and calculating and having him grow desperate to have Evangeline by his side shows how much she had affected him and also showcase his humanity/vulnerability in his desperation to have her by his side as opposed to being cold and indifferent which leads me to the next point

JACKS BEING AN ASSHOLE-Literally every Evakjacks scene starts like this Jacks says a sassy/asshole dialogue>save Evangeline>Evangeline swoons>Jacks goes back to being an asshole again. Now I get Jacks often puts out a cold front because he doesn't want to be too close to Evangeline and hurt her. But we are three books in and it is established that Jacks loves her. So I don't understand the unnecessary rudeness like ie coming in the middle of the night tossing clothes at her face as she is waking up and almost knocking her off the bridge (yes I am well aware he was never going to let Evangeline fall) but dang does he have to be rude all the time???? I wanted Evangeline to tell him off, all she needed to say was something like "Jacks stop being such a jerk and wasting my time " and he would have stopped. But no. Evangeline is constantly talking about how angelic his face is and how blonde his hair is. Jacks treat your girl better pls????

Evangeline and damsel in distress x 1000000 -damn my girl cannot catch a break literally everyone is trying to kill her. Now I am a firm believer that strong female characters don't have to be physical fighters and I am ok with Eva not being a fighter. However, I wish she would have gotten herself out of danger at times maybe just by using her wits or having a strategy? I got tired of seeing Jacks saving her. Yes he did teach her self defense but not much came out of that?

SO MANY MISSING PLOT POINTS- The bite of on Evangeline's wrist-does she owe Jacks a debt anymore? Luc? What about Evangeline's parents, what about her family's shop-does she not want to go back to Valenda?? Probably more I cannot think of right now.

Evangeline is not the first fox? Major disappointment in that. The first two books heavily implied that Evangeline was the first fox and there were so many hints regarding that ie Chaos telling Evangeline she looked like the first fox in TBONA and Jacks having volumes of the archer and the fox in his office (clearly he is not over the fox girl either) Also the fact he is over Donatella just like that?? Didn't she cause him so much heartbreak? Atleast having them talk it out would have helped to bring closure. Also are we never going to figure out who the first fox girl was? If not Evangeline? IDK it takes away the true love/soul mates aspect that drawn me to Evajacks in the first place imo

TOO MUCH APOLLO. I don't know why we got so many chapters of him, I rather had more chapters of Jacks and EvaJacks moments. Especially when it was established that he is the antagonist so I do not know why he was a main character when it really showed have been more about Evangeline and Jacks

No evajacks wedding-I am super bitter that we don't get to see Jacks and Evangeline having their wedding like in her dream

Overall, I think TBONA was 100/10, definitely the best book in the series. I still love this series to death and I am grateful for Stephanie for sharing her story with us. I just feel so underwhelmed from the ending, it sooo could have been better. I think the biggest problem is that the story was too complicated. Stephanie should have kept it straightforward>Evangeline is the reincarnation of Jack's true love and the first fox, Apollo is the bad guy, Jacks fights to be with Evangeline, they win and get married. Not everything has to be sophisticated. It’s okay if stories are predicatable, they just need to be good.

3.5/5

[starbiex]

evajacks kiss hint in ouabh??

So I was re-reading OUABH and there is no way this isn't a hint to the evajacks kiss we'll probably see in ACFTL!!

This scene is written with so much more detail than the previous description and introduction of kiss chess, there's no way it isn't a clue to something! I'd think that the whole description about the girl's trembling hands and the boy being nervous would usually be cut out UNLESS it is important 👀

NOTE: this is a long post, and there's a bit of rambling, but I promise I have a point!!!

the young woman in a paper crown

Hmmm... paper crown? First off, Eva is a princess, so the crown definitely makes sense and would suit her. Paper? On one hand, it's probably because it's kiss chess and it's just a board game, so it being just paper would suit the "game" vibe. But a part of me also thinks that it's more special than just for fitting the vibe of the game, I don't have a strong theory for this part but I do think it has something to do with Apollo, or maybe they get a divorce so she's no longer a real princess, or Prince of Hearts x Eva = Princess symbolism. Probably getting offtrack with this one but I know it means something, I just don't know for certain what it is HAHA

standing on her tiptoes to kiss

THIS ONE!!! I didn't realise this one as quickly as I did the others, but this is such a big clue!! In TBONA, when Eva would kiss Luc's cheek, it would describe how she tiptoes to do that. We already know that Jacks is taller than Eva since she has to tilt her head up to look at him when they're close, so it would make sense that she'd have to tiptoe to kiss Jacks a well!! I thought the tiptoeing was just cute and sweet in TBONA, but now I think it's one big clue that leads back to this part in OUABH!!!!

tall young man (in a black bishop's cape)

This one is pretty self-explanatory I think, Jacks is a tall young man, or at least taller than Eva by quite a bit. Agh! I don't have much on the black bishop's cape but I, again, feel like this would be important, or else it would'nt've been mentioned at all! Maybe the black cape could've gone by just fine, but why bishop's cape??

The girl's hands were trembling, but her cheeks were flushed with excitement

Maybe before the kiss, something big happens? like a fight?? she gets her memories back??? I'm not sure, maybe she's just really excited/nervous! Eva's always big on blushing and of course she'd be excited about the kiss!

and the boy appeared almost as nervous. He stood completely still. 

There are a lot of possibilities when it comes to what's happening in / what happened before the supposed kissing scene. Maybe Jacks knew at this point that the kiss wouldn't kill Eva? But, obviously, whatever it is, he's uncertain about the kiss. After restraining himself for letting a kiss happen between him and Eva for the basically the entirety of the two books, I do think that it's unlikely he would be the one to go for the kiss first, whether he know it's safe or not, so I think him standing still for it makes sense!

Evangeline couldn’t tell if he was afraid of the kiss or afraid that the girl might change her mind.

Ok, this sentence!! I think this is a huge one, personally. This most definitely sounds like something Jacks would think, especially after TBONA. Again, maybe Jacks knows at this point that the kiss wouldn't kill Eva, but he'd definitely still be afraid that it would. For the second part, I think this would definitely apply to Jack's mindset for Eva, especially after what happened at the end of the Hollow scenes. His feelings for Eva basically got rejected when she told him it was all because of the stone, and it was shown that this really affected him afterwards.

There are just so many possibilities for this potential scene! How would they know that the kiss would be safe? And how does Jacks believe in this strongly enough to not back away from it?

I have so many thoughts about this that I just can't really put into words, but feel free to build onto my ideas! <3

(also i had this drafted months ago but never posted it bcos life got in the way but im coming back to share this bcos i genuinely think this is huge :D)

[jimins-left-nipple]

ACFTL SPOILERS

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Things I wanted to see or at least get answers to but didn’t get:

-I wanted to see Eva and Jacks slow dance at least once ever since it was mentioned in Ballad :(

-I wanted a more drawn out scene in the one bed chapter. I felt like it was super rushed 😔 for example, it would’ve been nice to see them wake up in each others arms, feel all warm in cozy etc 🥰. On that note, I also wanted to see what exactly happened when he woke up next to Eva from Jacks pov.

-I wanted to see Eva and Lala beat the fuck outta Aurora, just like we saw Jacks kick Apollo’s ass at the end. I cheered when Lala called her a bitch lmao

-I wished Eva and Jacks first kiss was… different? I don’t know, something about it just didn’t hit the same. It feels like Ballad had more tension between the two of them than in this book.

-what about Lala and Chaos? Is that gonna be a thing? I would love for Stephanie to write a short little spin off on them. I bet the tension would be fun to read!!

-it looks like Chaos was able to stop his hunger from overpowering him when he saved Eva from Jacks but why did he slaughter house fortuna?

-what happened to Tiberius!?? Or Luc? Or Marisol? I wanna know where they all ended up

-does Eva ever write to Scarlett to let her know what went down in the North? I feel like with her nearly becoming Queen that would have been enough for Scarlett to reach out to her 🥴

-is Jacks still a fate? And if so, why? Or is the fact that he’s in love negate his powers since it turns him mortal?

-what great house did jacks belong to when Lyric was still alive? Or did he come from a peasant family? Was he an orphan too? What was his childhood like? Who taught him to be such a great archer?

-what happened to the broken heart scar on Eva’s wrist? Does she still owe him a kiss?

[jadeinretrogrde]

A Curse For True Love Spoilers!!!

SPOILERS! Beware!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🏹🦊🍎💘

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

my thoughts while reading acftl

- apollo you son of a bitch

- oh no eva's hope is gone bc jacks is gone 🥺

- can honestly say I didn't see kristof knightlinger potentially coming in as the hero we needed ~~nevermind he was useless~~

- omg not eva immediately wanting to make another deal with jacks to get her memories back girls got a pattern 💀

- when apollo doesn't even have to lie about some of the terrible things jacks has done 😑😑😑 listen ✋

- the valor's pretending to be the vale’s instead like no we are not giving up that V for victory ain't nobody gonna notice

- the story curse knows the truth! when it changed that book title to eva and “the prince of hearts” instead of “prince apollo” 😈😈

- *me chanting* “get this bitch a dragon roasted apple get this bitch a dragon roasted apple get this bitch a dragon roasted apple”

- not jacks rescuing eva from drowning again 🤤

- jacks: “it's best she doesn't remember me” also jacks “you can call me archer” 💀

- yessss eva with jacks’ dagger again name a more iconic duo

- apollo being all pissed that eva has jacks' dagger 🙄 grow up bro

- ApOlLo HaTeD aPpLeS shut up apollo nobody cares

- oh jacks, what are you trying to do and why won't eva forgive you for it 🫣

- the thing I love about eva is how at first she's all like “ooh I want the fairytale prince with heart eyes” but girl no you don't you want the morally grey baddie with the smoldering glare and death threats, just like the rest of us

- jacks really is bestie goals. he became immortal just so his wicked murdering bff wouldn't be alone, a true friend

- lmao jacks being like, “this is actually really inconvenient timing for you to kill me perhaps we could reschedule until I'm done saving your life?”

- *Ye Olde Brick Inn. Vacancy: One Bed* 😏

- this motherfucking letter goddamn it past evangeline ~~nevermind this letter is the greatest thing that's ever happened well-done past evangeline~~

- eva smacking the shit out of apollo and then pretending it was an accident is a cultural moment™️

- jacks pls stop calling her pet I'm begging you it's illegal 😭😭😭

- he fucking traded his WHAT!?

- apollo wanting to become immortal to fight jacks, embarrassing 🙄

- jacks sending threats to keep eva away like uhhh sorry jacks but your threatening messages are HOT???

- KISS KISS KISS

- wait why are there so many chapters left…

- apollo doesn't love anything more than himself so this motherfucking tree better unalive him 😡

- killed by a tree 😈 excellent

- the epilogue is just for eva asking about the apples girrrrl same

- omg a HEA 😭💖😍

- eva really delulu-ed her way into a hea. she girlbossed, gatekept, gaslighted her way around that curse, like fuck your magic rules and I really respect that of her

- are we getting a castor and lala spinoff??? or maybe a shocking, surprising, life changing book 4???? Idk things don't feel finished here…

[theaologieslibrary]

Okay, some acftl opinions under the cut, since I was asked. By no means all of them and they’re… a bit critical. Not here to ruin anyone’s day, please love it if you loved it, but I’m feeling kind of weird about this one

Obviously the HEAVIEST of SPOILERS FOR A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE

Nothing was tied up except EvaJacks being together. Like! Good for them! But even that wasn’t even… satisfying. Luc? Done. Marisol? Gone. Castor out just MASSACRING PEOPLE. LaLa, neutral toward Dane. The Valors? Just out and about now after like a thousand years of everyone just knowing they were dead for sure. ALL of House Fortuna massacred and basically no one blinked an eye. Jacks apples? Who gives a shit.

Is Jacks mortal now? In theory yes but it was never… really remarked upon? He shouldn’t have his powers anymore, he shouldn’t be a Fate, he shouldn’t be immortal… but not a word of this was mentioned.

What… was the point in mentioned Lysander having the ability to mess with memories if he had nothing to do with any of this? Did Aurora like… distill his powers? Unlikely, as it feels truly unrelated. This is something Jacks, Castor, and LaLa knew- why did none of them bring this up in an effort to restore Eva’s memories? Lysander’s ability, if I’m not mistaken, was not mentioned at ALL in this book, despite it revolving around Eva not being able to remember anything

You want backstory on Jacks? NO. Was Jacks from a Great House? Literally any information on who he was pre Fate besides trying to help people? No. Nothing.

LaLa deserves her revenge against Aurora. No joke. Aurora not being punished whatsoever besides still not getting to be with Jacks (called everything about Aurora no joke). Aurora’s actions were UH kind of the worst by far. Especially when it’s turned around that Aurora didn’t even love Lyric? Y’all.

I know a lot of this ties into the happy for now idea but it was just TOO much. Stephanie Garber has talked about this being the last book in the world for the foreseeable future which drives me NUTS after the ending. The whole book felt so rushed and so weirdly all over the place? With a handful of awkward walk backs chalked up to “well the story curse” and clumsy dropped plots?

“Where do we go now?” “Wherever you want” uh, no, 1) what. What kind of ending is that? After all this? 2) I mean. So long as that doesn’t include the Meridian Empire, I guess?

Idk, I’ve got more, but being left with FAAAARRRR more questions than answers bothers the hell out of me. I’m in the process of listening to the audiobook post reading it and I’ll probably physically read it again when my standard edition from faecrate comes in but for now. Hm. Gonna let this stew for awhile. I will say though it gave me the drive to write the fairytale book I’ve been wanting to lol

[nvanne11]

What comes after ACFTL

*spoilers*

You know what would be great about a book for Chaos and LaLa? Everything! Let me explain:

They’ve got chemistry. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, Eva has seen it. You’ve got the point.

We could see glimpses of evajacks cause they are both friends with Chaos and LaLa (and there’s never such thing as too much evajacks).

Luc could make a comeback! He’s been missed and as he’s a vampire so he should be somewhere near Chaos.

You know who else may come around Chaos? His twin sister! I know we all hate Aurora now, but as @evangeline-and-jacks pointed out, maybe she and Luc could work out at some point. She has been obsessed with Jacks for a long time, and maybe Luc will be just as obsessed with her (in his own funny playful way). I can already see it: he falls in love with her, she’s being a bitch she is, ignores him, and when he moves over her she suddenly realizes she actually has some feelings. Idk, I guess it would be fun.

Dane can come around. I don’t care much about him, and we haven’t seen him much. But he and LaLa have history, so he can come to be Apollo of their story

We could actually see how the Magnificent North will change under the rule of the Valors. We know the Chaos doesn’s seem close with his fam after all and the fact that he rules a court of vampire assassins and spies can add some spice to the story

It’s 2023, we haven’t had a great vampire love story for a while. It’s time for vamps to make a comeback!

[sweetingseva]

Everything to Know About ACFTL ☺️💕📚

Hello, everyone!

With A Curse For True Love coming out next week, I thought maybe creating a compile list of what everything we will be expecting might be helpful to those who want a refresher.

However, if you don't want to be reminded of any of the details that have been shared and want to go in blind, that's cool, too!

All of the information that I have gathered has been from all of the IG AMA's stories, comments, replies, and some from podcasts.

Slight spoilers. Quick refresher below.

Stephanie hasn’t been nice writing this book, but let’s see if the torture is well worth it in the end.

There’s this scene that corresponds to these emoji: 🛏😮🩸🚪🩸🩸🩸😱🍎👑

There are three POVs: Evangeline, Jacks, and Apollo

The answer to why Jacks eat apples is in the book, but according to B&N site, we might get the answer to everything about him!

Q: is there a scene you’ve written that’s made you tear up? A: “So many scenes have made me cry—I don’t tear up, I sob, and writing this series has made me cry a lot more than the Caraval series 💘😭 But don’t be too scared—I’ve put a lot fun scenes in this book. Although, my defintion of fun is a little twisted. 🤭”

Q: Do you already have a favorite scene in “A Curse For True Love”? A: Usually I have favorites but with this book I love every scene. I keep telling my editor to let me know if I’ve gone too far with this story because I’ve had so much fun writing. I keep fearing I must be doing something wrong. 🖤”

There will be more LaLa and Chaos scenes, and apparently Stephanie has gotten carried away with them lol

There will be a few more scenes in the Hollow!!!! YAAYYY!

Her favorite scene has something to with these emojis: 🌳🫀🔥

Stephanie has cried the last time she had read ACFTL.

Q: what’s your favorite scene out of all the books in this series: A: “This is so tough. There’s a scene in CURSE that made me cry and it’s probaly my favorite 💔”

Q: can you tell us who the bonus content povs will be? A: “For B&N and Waterstones, the bonus content is in Eva’s POV. 🦊”

My speculation from the answer above, but this makes me think that the Owlcrate’s edition will be Jacks’s POV if not Evangeline’s.

Q: did u know how acftl would end early on? or did it change as you wrote it? A: “It changed! In January, I hit a wall with the book and after talking with my critique partner @/staceyleeauthor, I realized that I had taken the story in the wrong direction. So I went back, I rewrote, I changed the plot, and I changed a large portion of the ending. This is part of the reason why the book’s publication date was changed from Sept to Oct.”

Q: What three songs come to mind when you think of Evangeline and Jacks? A: “Ooh! It’s hard to pick just three. Here are a few that came to mind first: 1. The Archer by Taylor Swift, 2. You’re Losing Me by Taylor Swift, 3. Religiously by Bailey Zimmerman”

Q: Do you pick the audiobook narrators for your books? A: “I did! @/macmillan.audio is wonderful. They’ve always given me a choice in narrators. The amazing @/rebeccasoleri has narrated all of my audiobooks (so she’s an easy choice). Then for ACFTL I got to choose a second narrator for the Jacks and Apollo chapters and he is also fantastic ❤️”

IMPORTANT TO KNOW ‼️: Q: are there actually multiple copies of acftl with different endings? A: “The book only has one official ending. Which I think is the best ending. However, there are three editions that bonus material in the form of 3 alternate epilogues. The books with bonus epilogues are: 1. Barnes and Noble/Indigo exlusive edition 2. the Waterstones exclusive, 3. the Owlcrate edition. P.S. These 3 bonus epilogues are not canon, they are just for fun! P.P.S. if you get all three, I recommend reading in the order that I shared in this post 😉”

The third map has new locations, along with old ones we have seen like: Merrywood Manor, Merrywood Village, Merrywood Forest, Wolf Hall, Ye Olde Brick Inn: Vacancy One Bed, The Phoenix Tree, Cursed Forest, Tree of Souls, and The Hunt.

ACFTL has 49 chapters with an epilogue. It only has one part titled, IV. Happily Ever After.

The dedication that was revealed says, “For anyone who’s ever hoped for a second chance.”

The tree on the front cover is very important.

ACFTL’s logline: Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

The three words that Stephanie used to describe the book is: Heart-stealing, emotionally-devastating, and painfully romantic.

Stephanie shared the Pinterest board, which could be found here! Some very good hints in there!

The UK editions of ACFTL will have hidden covers. There are four of them and they are: an apple, Jacks’s dagger, a fox paw print, and a wolf in a flower crown.

Fairyloot edition has a special front and back cover that says, "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: Evangeline Fox and The Prince of Hearts" and "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: Evangeline Fox and Apollo Acadian."

Quotes Shared:

“Remember, Little Fox.”

“If you stop fighting, you lose.” His hand moved up to her throat and she felt the cool brush of his dagger against her skin. Evangeline went very still. “ Never imagine you’re safe.” The tip of his blade drew a line over her pulse. Her breath caught. She felt him smile against her jaw.

(Possible Quote) “You have no sense of self-preservation. If someone labeled a bottle with poison you would drink it. You take warnings as invitations. You can’t seem to stay away from all the things that will hurt you … like me.”

Evangeline needed something familiar, something to hold onto that would keep her from collapsing back to the ground. Apollo looked at her as if he wanted to be that. He made her think of a hero from a fairytale.

(Page 21) “No.” “No.” “No.” (Page 100) He wanted a piece of her. (Page 213) “You can’t just tie people up and whisk them to wherever you want them.”

Apollo hated apples.

He enjoyed inflicting pain, not receiving it. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave the shadows of Evangeline’s bedroom.

“I’m glad you came.” “I’ll always come. Even when you don’t want me to.”

He wanted a piece of her. To keep her. To use her for later.

“What are you to me?” she asked. His eyes locked with hers. “Nothing.”

“Im the one who will never let anyone harm you again.”

“I’m your monster.”

He considered setting the room ablaze just so that he’d have a reason to pick her up and carry her out, to save her one last time, before he left her for good.

“This will hurt.”

[paperlit]

Spoilers!

My main thing with acftl more than any of the unanswered questions or undeveloped plot lines or missed opportunities really comes down to personal preference lol

I just really wished that we truly got to see Jacks fight for Eva. Like it was pitched as “May the best villain win.” And “Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.” And I was really hoping it’d truly be a battle between him and Apollo but then they barely interacted (although I absolutely loved the moment he finally punched him in the face).

Like I figured we’d see Jacks maybe not quite as villainous at first and see him more hesitant because he saw her die but I was hoping it would play out that maybe at first he was staying away from Eva to protect her because he thought that she was safer with Apollo and the memory loss was his fault. (And again that’s personal preference some people love the brand of angst that comes with him thinking he caused her memory loss and leaving because he’s trying to protect her. It’s just not my cup of tea.) But then I was hoping he’d find out it was actually because of Apollo much earlier and that it would be a turning point and he’d realize that he is good enough and then we’d really get to see him fight for her. Like the “I am your monster.” Line was so perfect and more of what I wanted to see from him.

And again total personal preference but I didn’t want to see him be noble and give up the girl for her own good at all. I wanted to see him be selfish and then realize that actually no he’s better than Apollo and it’s not selfish and double down. I wanted him to obsess over her and stop at nothing for her. Like honestly I wanted to see more of the side of him that was intent on getting Tella but turned towards Eva.

Like we always hear how horrible and evil and ruthless the fates are I wanted to see him become that horrible fate for Eva just a little bit. I didn’t want to see Eva racing to save him from Aurora I wanted to see him racing to save Eva from Apollo. I wanted to see more of him begging her to remember and fighting to show her that Apollo was evil. I wanted to see his relief and their reunion when she got her memories back. I wanted another scene of him comforting her after she got hurt like in the Hollow. And I wanted a bigger confession and kiss scene.

Idk that’s just me. I’ll always champion the guy fighting for the girl and I’m never a fan of the guy bowing out or stepping down even if it’s because he’s trying to protect her or because he doesn’t believe he’s good enough. Like the guy giving up the girl is never my brand of angst I’ll always take him going too far for her instead.

Again all personal preference and me creating expectations in my head while waiting! It was a good book and despite my criticisms I did have a good time and I do like the book! I’m honestly just glad we got our evajacks endgame!

[archerandthefoxx]

Just random notes since ACFTL comes out tomorrow-even though my book won't be delivered until Friday :(

● p.275/ c.38 of ouabh: "heavier than an apple should have been"

What if that was the unbitten fruit? I mean, how likely is it that Jacks, a Fate, has a fated object? Not unlikely. But the only thing that makes me feel against this is the fact there are occasions when it is noted that there are multiple apples/apple cores. Maybe it multiplies lol?

● p.106/ c.13 of ouabh: "too familiar nickname"

If this doesn't support the Evangeline is the first fox/ reincarnation/ knew each in the past theory, I don't know what does. What if they knew each other and Ap*llo kept pulling some warnette level shit where he erased their memories every time.

● Last page of TBONA: After Evangeline said he doesn't know who he is, Ap*llo 'smiled wider, which seemed an odd response to her confession'

If this does not convince you that Ap*llo is Lysander I actually don't know what will. I think him smiling wider meant that he didn't think it would work, possibly because it was probably a while since he's been able to do this? I think Evangeline opening the Valory arch meant that the Valors woke up such as Honora who probably is 'in charge?' (I don't know how to word it) of her children's magic/powers. Same way that Honora removed Chaos' helm, she removed the Archer’s and mirror curse from Ap*llo and...gave him the ability to use his magic? Or made it possible. (Sorry. I have the ideas and the points but I just don't know how to word them)

[skambel]

⺌ dating:: feat. evangeline fox ɞ

ɞ synopsis: eva x gn! reader, short headcanons, sfw

*lowercase intended.

⺌support creators by reblogging!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

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˚✧ she's incredibly loving and sweet, the perfect girlfriend

˚ · . frequently, she surprises you with a delightful array of snacks and sweets!

˚✧ she loves to shower your face with sweet kisses and gently squish your cheeks

˚ · . driven by her fascination with fairytales, she painstakingly shapes your relationship into a real-life fairytale

˚✧ due to eva's steadfast belief in true love and happily-ever-afters, she deeply treasures this relationship!

˚ · . when you're feeling down, she's a comforting presence, offering you valuable advice and a shoulder to cry on ‹𝟹

˚✧ she firmly supports the idea of taking care of yourself and won't allow you to neglect your well-being

˚ · . she steals your shampoo ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

˚✧ her skin is remarkably tender, and when you caress her cheeks, she blushes, secretly enjoying your affection too much

˚ · . she takes pleasure in the cozy act of enjoying tea while reading her favourite novels to you (mostly romance ones!)

˚✧ eva is gentle and understanding, yet she has no tolerance for anyone who disrespects you

˚ · . eva smells like roses and strawberries ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

˚✧ she has an affectionate nature, adores cuddling, and often craves physical closeness

˚ · . she secretly uses a very sweet sweet lip balm, specifically for those moments when your lips meet. her intention is to make each kiss between you both the most delightful and unforgettable experience

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:¨·.·¨: :¨·.·¨: · . · . · . · . · . · . · . · . · .

꒰ঌ ໒꒱ author's note:

݁      ੭ FIRST POST, was very nervous to post this and to be honest, writing headcanons in points isn't really my style but i've been planning to try it out for a while and here it is, WITH EVAAAAAAA i'm super excited about ACFTL coming out next week ^ㅁ^

jealous of jacks tbh