Genre:
Young Adult, information pills Fairy Tale Retelling
Pages:
464 pages
Part of a Series?:
Standalone
Release Date:
November 8th, 2016
You Can Find the Book At:
GoodReads
GoodReads Summary:
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king’s marriage proposal, she 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.
My Review:
From the very first moment that I started this novel, I knew immediately that I was going to love it. First off, I just adore Marissa Meyer and I think she has an incredible way with fairy tale retellings. She did an entire space epic with Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White and it was amazing. I had high hopes for Heartless and they were not let down in the slightest. From the moment that the book started, with fun and silly banter between Catherine and the Cheshire Cat, I knew I was a in love.
Marissa gives a unique twist to the Queen of Hearts story. We only know so little of her from Alice’s adventures and this book opens her up, makes her human, makes you root for her. She’s so real and I love every bit of it. I hate that she feels so forced to marry the King, and be on his arm. I hate that she has so many expectations on her and she doesn’t feel like she can live up to them all. All I wanted for her was to be in love with Jest and open her bakery shop. Knowing how her story eventually turns out…you cling to the pages, hoping and wishing that something will change the story, that it will work out the way you want it to.
But its more than just the twist of the fairy tale we know. Marissa manages to create this new world in a world we already knew. She’s so good at taking the characters we’re familiar with and making them new, fitting them to this story. It was incredible, every single moment of the story. She expanded the world and made it her own and I can’t even begin to explain how much I enjoyed it. I have been in one of the worst reading slumps ever this year but this is one book that held my attention from beginning to end. Catherine is an incredible character, one that I immediately took a liking to, and I was hooked in so quickly, addicted to this new world she created for us. It felt like Wonderland had collided with Victorian England and it was a thrill ride.
There are only 34 days until Heartless is out in the world and I’m urging you now to click the links above and preorder your copy now. Fierce Reads is also doing an epic countdown where you can enter to earn prizes, including signed copies of Heartless so definitely check that out as well. This is an amazing fairy tale retelling and I know that I enjoyed every single moment of it. Marissa Meyer only continues to get better and I think she not only does the Queen of Hearts justice, she takes her story and makes it explode. She makes Catherine a real person, a person that you root for, even as you know she’s heading toward heartbreak and rage. I can’t wait to get my hands on a finished copy!
Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
