Title: Heartles
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Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: November 8th, 2016
Pages: 464
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.
Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Heartless is a wonderfully creative book that pulls in elements from the original Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. As a retelling, I really loved the details and pieces from the original story that Meyer brought into her book. I also loved the unique story that she created to explain why our protagonist became the queen of hearts. While I did have some problems with the story she brought into the book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it once I got to the end.
I would definitely recommend this to you if you love retellings (this story is very similar to the original book, drawing in many characters directly from Alice in Wonderland), and especially if you love Alice in Wonderland. Even if you’re not an avid reader, I think someone who enjoys the wonderful world of wonderland would fall head-over-heals in love with this book.
This book has its fair share of romance, action, drama, and world-building, making it a very versatile read. I would recommend reading this book in one or two good sittings. The pacing of this book is really slow in some parts, making it hard to concentrate on over the course of a few days. The overall picture of this book is extremely good, so reading it all at once would definitely make you enjoy it that much more.
On another note, fans of Meyer’s other series, The Lunar Chronicles, probably should not go into this book expecting the same outcome. That is definitely not saying that Heartless isn’t good, because it really is. It’s just not the same ~vibes~ as the TLC.
With saying that, this ends all of the non-spoilery section thoughts. If you haven’t read this book yet, go pick it up, read it and then come back and discuss all the ~feels~ with me! If you have, then let’s dive in!
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