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Heartless

Marissa Meyer (Goodreads Author)

4.07 · Rating details · 138,965 ratings · 23,115 reviews

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—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 goa ...more

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Hardcover, 453 pages

Published November 8th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends

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Average rating 4.07 ·

Rating details

· 138,965 ratings · 23,115 reviews

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Dec 22, 2016 C.G. Drews added it

Shelves: read-2016, magical-fantasy, retelling, young-adult

It started off well with immense amounts of baking and the promise of the bizarre and creative nonsense that every Wonderland retelling should hold. But then...disappointment.

I had high expectations due to my love of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. Sadly, Heartless fails.

LIKES
• There is literally so much cake and dessert.
• There IS quite a bit of the goodness of Wonderland's nonsense. Not enough though, which is annoying to me.
• Jest was actually a gift. He's the love interest, in a sort of "forbidd ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Emily May rated it really liked it

Shelves: fairy-tales, arc, 2016, young-adult

“These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl,” he said, vanishing up to his neck. “They happen only in nightmares.”
His head spiralled and he was gone.

This was so good. Meyer's writing and stories just seem to keep improving, and her latest foray into the world of Alice in Wonderland was exactly the right combination of prophecy, romance, Victorian-style female repression, and weirdness. It was unputdownable.

Also: I really really want macarons right now.

I mentioned this before, but I'm st ...more

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Nov 08, 2016 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it really liked it

Cheshire’s yellow eyes slitted as he held her gaze for one beat, two. Then he began to unravel from the tip of his tail, a slow unwinding of his stripes. ‘These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl,’ he said, vanishing up to his neck. ‘They happen only in nightmares.’

Honestly, I didn't have high expectations for this book after reading the "...she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love" blurb. Fortunately, I was wrong. This book was great. Don't get me wrong, it was unexpectedly dark at some points, but it was also adowwwable because only a stone cold dead dying heart can resist the absolutely wuvable talking Cheshire Cat. Seriously, he was so cute. And apparently I do not have a stone cold dead dying heart.

It was magical, and adorable, and I really can't pull out any big fancy words so describe it, because "magical and adorable" describes it so perfectly, and yet it wasn't sickening sweet. It was just right.

I have to admit, I have never read Alice in Wonderland in its entirety. I've watched the movies, of course, but they weren't particularly memorable to me, and so I think that's what contributed to much of this book's appeal. Talking animals and magic everywhere, yet so commonplace that it feels like home.

The beginning of this book surprised me with its frothiness. There is a lot of baking in this book, and the beginning was the equivalent of a strawberry cream puff, it was so lighthearted that the gradual darkening and the development of Catherine (she who is to be Queen of Hearts) almost sneaks up on you.

She stared at the girl in the mirror, the one who looked as though she had never known a smile. Even as she had the thought, her reflection’s lips curled upward, revealing a delirious grin beneath her sullen eyes.

I can't say that this was the best book I've ever read. I feel like this was a very long book, and it could have been condensed without losing much of its content, and Meyer's writing style, while readable, is neither memorable nor special. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. ...more

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Nov 08, 2016 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, young-adult, fantasy-all

Kindle US $2.99 today 11-27-17

OMG! I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND THE WHITE EDITION OF THIS BOOK TO GO WITH MY BLACK ONE AND WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE TO FIND THAT IT CAME IN MY NOVEMBER OWL CRATE BOX! IN THE PICTURES I PLACED THE BLACK ONE NEXT TO THE WHITE ONE THAT WAS AN OWL CRATE EXCLUSIVE, JUST SO YOU COULD SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE TOGETHER! I LOVE THEM BOTH. ALSO GOT OTHER GOODIES IN THE BOX AS USUAL! YAY! OWL CRATE FOR GETTING THE SECOND COVER (white) AND ME GETTING IT TOO. LOL

Lets freaking do ...more

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May 02, 2016 emma rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: alice, retelling, 1-star, fantasy, couldn-t-wait-to-read, unpopular-opinion, reviewed, nope, ya

UPDATE: I think...oh god...I think this book put me in a reading slump.
-------------------------------
At a certain point, I really have to start blaming myself. Do I have no idea of my own interests? Because I truly thought this would end up on my all-time favorites shelf, my first add to an as-yet-nonexistent 2017 favorites list. Is that not a fair expectation? After all, Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book, Marissa Meyer one of my favorite authors. This came in the best Owlcrate subscripti ...more

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Oct 23, 2016 Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, fantasy, retellings

Review/discussion: https://youtu.be/YSd8MDc98_0

Reread January 2017
Bumped rating up to 5 stars.
I decided to reread this in a 24 hour period because I want to write a paper on it (which is of course due in a couple of days). I loved it even more the second time around!

Original reading October 2016
4.5*
I loved this, but I did have a couple of issues. I was sent the audiobook to review (and do a giveaway on my channel soon!) from Macmillan so a big thank you to them! My video review will be up soon b ...more

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Oct 24, 2015 Mikee (ReadWithMikee) rated it it was amazing

❝Now mine eyes see the heart that once we did search for, and I fear this heart shall be mended, nevermore.❞

A big thanks to Macmillan and Fierce Reads for giving me the opportunity to snag a beautiful box and ARC of Heartless at YallWest!

(Review will be posted once we are closer to release day)

Heartless was beautifully tragic. I have no words to describe just how broken this book has left my heart.

That ending... Ugh. HEARTBREAKING.

FANS OF THE LUNAR CHRONICLES:
Beware. You might ha ...more

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Dec 23, 2015 Nat marked it as dnf

Shelves: arc

Source

This review contains *spoilers* for the first half of this book.

Heartless is an epic retelling of Alice in Wonderland, with the focus being on The Queen of Hearts.

All Catherine wants is to be declared the office tart baker of the kingdom. She and her best friend, Mary Ann, dream of launching their very own bakery. Even their friendship hit it off upon discovering one another's mutual love for food:

“One wouldn’t know it to look at Mary Ann, but she had an appetite to rival Cath’s own. ...more

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Sep 24, 2013 Gillian marked it as to-read

Shelves: hardcopies-i-own, arcs-i-own, 2016, tbr-own

I REQUIRE THIS BOOK IN MY LIFE IMMEDIATELY.

Marissa's announcement ...more

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Jun 11, 2014 Natalie Monroe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fabulous-five-stars, lgbtqia-if-you-squint, girl-squad, bittersweet-ending, taylor-swift-like-prose, surf-n-turf

4.5 stars

“When pleased, I beat like a drum. When sad, I break like glass. Once stolen, I can never be taken back. What am I?”

Slow clap for Marissa Meyer for another amazing fairy tale retelling. Looking at the blurb, it's hard to imagine Catherine, who just wanted to open a bakery and fall in love, would ever become the short-tempered, unpredictable Queen of Hearts we all know.

The transformation is incredibly well-done. You know it's coming, that there isn't a happily ever after, but that sh ...more

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Apr 20, 2020 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Seven of my favorite Bookish Villains in one BookTube Video!

Onwards to the written review!

Why is a raven like a writing-desk?

Catherine of Wonderland - the famed Evil Queen - but she was not always the maddeningly cruel creature who ruled the land with an iron fist.

Once...once the Evil Queen was a young girl with a pure heart, a bakery dream and far too many marriage proposals for her liking.

The easiest way to steal something, is for it to be given willingly.

Cath has always drea ...more

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May 17, 2018 Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

”It had been a hazy, beautiful dream, and in it there had been a hazy, beautiful boy. He was dressed all in black and standing in an orchard of lemon trees, and she had the distinct sensation that he had something that belonged to her. She didn’t know what it was, only that she wanted it back, but every time she took a step towards him he receded further and further away.”

And so it begins! The transformation of Lady Catherine Pinkerton of Turtle Rock Cove into the Queen of Hearts! When I started ...more

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May 19, 2016 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ rated it it was ok

Shelves: retelling, genre-fairytales, genre-fantasy, 2016-reads, genre-young-adult

With all due respect to the hatter, I am so mad, that's not even funny. That's what being trolled by a novel feels like, I guess. Above that, I am so, so disappointed. Indeed, it's no secret that my reading time has been seriously reduced over the previous months, making me wonder if I should stay on GR, because what's the point?! Heartless, though? It sounded so amazing that I made room for it, school and politics be damned. I wish I would have loved it, but apparently it wasn't meant to be. Si ...more

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Oct 30, 2020 jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

i picked this up because i had seen a fair amount of reviews telling me this was a book that would make me sob and ive been wanting to feel emotionally invested in a story lately. but i must be as heartless as the title implies because this didnt even make me sad.

and i think it has to do with the pacing, because the characters are fine. i think i could have been more engaged with cath and jest if there was a better flow to their story. its extremely drawn out and slow with very few interactions ...more

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Nov 24, 2016 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Melanie by: Mary

Shelves: fantasy, romance, read-in-2016, signed, young-adult, magic, book-subscription-box, retellings

Heartless blew me away. If you've been following my reviews for a while, you will know that I wasn't the biggest fan of The Lunar Chronicles. Yes, I know, I can barely believe it either. So, I went into this book not expecting much, and maybe that helped, because this book blew me away. It surpassed every expectation I set for a five star book, and it was nothing short of perfection.

Also, regarding The Lunar Chronicles, Fairest was my favorite installment in that series, and the book I gave the ...more

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Nov 13, 2016 Bibi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Arrrgggh... I can feel the knives being sharpened. *gulp*

So, can we talk about this book first before you send the knife my way?

Heartless is an imagined prequel to Alice in Wonderland but with its main focus being the "Queen of Hearts", she of the famous "Off with their heads" quote.

Alice in Wonderland is a fantastical story written in 1865 by Lewis Carrol, who created the glorious dystopian world of Wonderland replete with a talking cheshire cat, a bumbling rabbit, knaves, Jabberwocks and muc

Arrrgggh... I can feel the knives being sharpened. *gulp*

So, can we talk about this book first before you send the knife my way?

Heartless is an imagined prequel to Alice in Wonderland but with its main focus being the "Queen of Hearts", she of the famous "Off with their heads" quote.

Alice in Wonderland is a fantastical story written in 1865 by Lewis Carrol, who created the glorious dystopian world of Wonderland replete with a talking cheshire cat, a bumbling rabbit, knaves, Jabberwocks and much more. I truly liked and enjoyed Alice in Wonderland; the book and the movie.

As this is my first Meyer book, I went into this with zero bias but with an expectation of getting, at the least, a fabulous intro to this best-selling author's work and at most, a thrilling account of the QOH's descent into madness. And yes, there is a good reason. A very tragic one, in fact.

So, who was the QOH? The book blurb -below- does a spiffing job of summarizing the story perfectly. Emphasis by me.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—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.....

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker.......... 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.

Let's talk about the parts that were underlined.

One. (view spoiler)

Two. Desired by whom? (view spoiler)

Three. Gosh, I'd never wanted a pie so badly. (view spoiler) So, yes, mad props to Catherine for her baking skills.

Four. Jest. The mysterious Joker who mesmerizes Cath, both with his talent and his beauty. (view spoiler)

Meyer had taken enough literary liberties with this story and could have done so much more with Jest. So much more. (view spoiler) Their love was supposedly forbidden therefore I expected frothing emotions and escalating tensions. I wanted to feel that heart-pounding despair evoked by young and desperate lovers who could not exist without the other.

Had Meyer not spent more time invoking the spirit of the original AIW, had she not included any and every character from that book, Jest and Catherine may have had more time together building their longing for each other. Between the croquet matches; the uninteresting balls; Catherine's never-will-happen dream of opening a bakery; and the detailed descriptions of the aforementioned endless list of creatures; these two had less than 5 intimate moments. 5! In a book with 450+ pages!

Of the 450+pages, nearly 360 pages were nothing more than a retelling of the original AIW, the story only picks up momentum at the 80% mark but by which point,
I. WAS. FRIGGING. BORED. OUT. OF. MY. MIND.

(view spoiler) And thus, we finally are gifted with the whys of her apparent madness. Ultimately, Meyer does serve up a plausible accounting of the Queen's descent into madness, but like I said, during the entire journey to that conclusion:
I. WAS. FRIGGING. BORED. OUT. OF. MY. FRIGGING. MIND.

...more

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Oct 07, 2015 Simona B rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantastic-lit-and-co, in-english, 2000

4.5

"She would not allow fate to trick her out of this dream."

I almost didn't read this. I thought, Oh well, another retelling. It can wait. I've got more promising things to read at the moment. But when I saw how stunning this hardback was, the shallower half of me immediately decided she had to read it like yesterday.
Have I mentioned how much I love Shallow-Me?

•First of all, I think Marissa Meyer showed great wisdom in the choice of the story. Retelling the Queen of Hearts gave her the possibil ...more

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Feb 29, 2016 elena ❀ rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

They were all a little mad, if one was to be forthright.

BUDDY READ WITH SUNNY, MY FAVORITE CHILD.

Okay so, it's a big surprise I enjoyed this. I knew I would simply because it's Marissa Meyer and she did not disappoint me with her Lunar Chronicles series, so I knew this would happen. Marissa is the only author that is able to write novels that captivate me from the very first sentence. To be honest, I dislike retellings a lot. I won't say I hate them, but we aren't very good friends. ...more

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Feb 10, 2017 Anne marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: fairytale, retelling, read-in-2017, sleep-aid

DNF 53%
I almost never give up on a book, but...
Yikes. Um. Yeah, no.
Sorry this one just isn't for me. I tried. But, it was just too boring for my personal taste.
I should probably mention that I'm not an Alice in Wonderland fan. I've never read it, and I never plan to. In fact, I've never even made it all the way through the Disney movie. I know it's a classic and all, but even the animated version bores me.

description

I'm not saying this story is boring, just that it's boring to me.
Catherine is the daug ...more

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Sep 24, 2013 Tiea Martin marked it as to-read

ANOTHER BOOK BY MY ULTIMATE FAVORITE AUTHOR?!!!??

excited photo: SNL - Excited Trek fans gif STSNLTrekkiesExcited.gif

happy photo: giddy happy tumblr_m28xo63wlL1qcsgf4_zps492932a5.gif

happy photo: happy happy happyhappy_zps3861354c.gif

I NEED IT!
NOW.
TODAY.
AT THIS EXACT MOMENT.
~~NOT IN TWO YEARS.~~

...more

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Nov 09, 2021 Jenna {semi-hiatus} rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-shmantasy, 5-star-reads, ya

I wish I could unread this because it hurts 💔

♠♥♣♦“When pleased, I beat like a drum. When sad, I break like glass. Once stolen, I can never be taken back. What am I?”♠♥♣♦

This was a whimsical and beautifully written love story; one of the best retellings I’ve read that perfectly encapsulated Wonderland and so many of Lewis Carroll’s quirky characters.✨

I think it’s important to go into this one not expecting the most fleshed-out plot and depth in certain characters. It’s purely a re-imagining o ...more

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May 25, 2015 P rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

“Roses are red, violets are blue,
I would even trim my moustache for you!”

This book is magic. I could feel it everywhere when words were recounted, when songs were chanted and when hearts were broken. Other than that, the book made me giggle continually. Catherine has the great development since the beginning. Her character is played out an exact direction as a good girl constrained by traditions. And then she meets Jest, her heart is conveyed out of the path of marrying the King of Hearts. ...more

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Nov 30, 2016 Sophie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I cried.

IN DEPTH VIDEO REVIEW COMING SOON.

I... am speechless.

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Oct 10, 2021 Isabelle Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: booktok, love-triangle, black-haired-hero, otp, i-need-chocolate, lots-of-yearning, comfort-characters, villain-is-the-love-interest, favorites-for-all-of-time, book-boyfriend

“One to be a murderer. One to be a martyr. One to be a monarch. One to go mad.”

In my entire life, only six books have made me cry.
When I started this book, I thought it would hurt. I thought it be would be painful. I thought it would break me.

I was wrong.
It completely shattered me.

I didn’t want this book to end. I wanted those desperate, desperate characters to have a chance. A chance to feel happiness, to feel love, to break the thousands of expectations chaining them.

I wanted them to be mos ...more

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Dec 09, 2016 Debra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books

4.5 stars

A Heart, once stolen, can never be taken back.

Oh how delicious this book was!

Catherine loves to bake. She dreams of owning her own bakery one day. She would love to just bake and bake and bake. It makes her happy and gives her purpose. Her parents, on the other hand, have other plans for her. For you see, the King fancies her. One cannot be Queen and bake delectable pastries at the same time! Not here, Not in Wonderland!

At a Royal ball where the King is expected to propose to her, she m 4.5 stars

A Heart, once stolen, can never be taken back.

Oh how delicious this book was!

Catherine loves to bake. She dreams of owning her own bakery one day. She would love to just bake and bake and bake. It makes her happy and gives her purpose. Her parents, on the other hand, have other plans for her. For you see, the King fancies her. One cannot be Queen and bake delectable pastries at the same time! Not here, Not in Wonderland!

At a Royal ball where the King is expected to propose to her, she meets Jest, the new Joker. He is handsome, funny and catches Cat's eye. She finds the King to be nice, but it is Jest who makes her feel alive. Not wanting to disappoint her family, she enters a secret relationship with Jest.

I had so much fun reading this book. All the Wonderland characters are there: the mad hatter who is not quite "Mad", the Jabberwocky, Cheshire cat. But mainly I enjoyed this re-telling about how the Queen of Heart came about.

"Her rage split her open"

As I stated earlier there is something to so captivating and intriguing about this book. WE all know the Alice in Wonderland Story but what happened before Alice's fateful trip to Wonderland? How can a lovely sweet young woman turn into someone so "heartless"? It is all her laid out for us. I sat down in the reading room of my favorite library and read this book in one sitting. I think I was smiling most of the time and when I wasn't smiling, my heart was breaking for young lovers and those pressured by family, circumstance and duty.

"Over everything, I choose you."

I choose this book! Brilliant and touching. I wanted to shake many of the characters for their bad decisions. This book had a lot of heart and I could see that a lot of love went into writing this book. It is clever, fun, beautiful, heartbreaking, tragic, and captivating. Meyer is a talented writer who brings these characters to life! My heart broke at the end but that was the point.

Highly Recommend! Go out and read this book and if you don't then "Off with your head!"

Find more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com ...more

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May 13, 2018 Charlotte May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: retelling-fairytale, ya, tear-jerker

“These things do not happen in dreams, dear girl,’ he said, vanishing up to his neck. ‘They happen only in nightmares.’

This was great! In the beginning, I wasn’t sure - it was rather cutesy, and I found Cath slightly irritating.
But as I carried on, this book grew darker and darker! I loved being immersed in Meyer’s version of Wonderland, with many characters to be recognised; including the Caterpillar, the White Rabbit, the Hatter, March Hare, Doormouse, Cheshire Cat and even Mary-Ann for any ...more

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Aug 15, 2019 demi. ♡ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-physical

❥ 4.5 / 5 stars

I’m heartless now because this book has just broken my heart❗️

- Deducted 0.5 stars for my love-hate relationship with Catherine. -

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May 31, 2017 Aneela ♒the_mystique_reader♒ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, favorites, fantasy, romance, 2017

My Rating:

Synopsis:

“It was impossible, and she absolutely believed it.”

Catherine Pinkerton lives in Hearts. She is the only daughter of Marquess and Marchioness. King of Hearts fancies her to be his wife and Queen of Hearts. But Catherine has other plans. The throne of Hearts does not appeal her. She is a baker at heart and has a dream of opening her own bakery where she could make delectables that no one has ever tasted. But that is not the only thing she dreams about.

Both her dre ...more

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May 26, 2015 Joelle (Throne of books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-reviews

   *3.5 stars*
Heartless by Marissa Meyer is an Alice in Wonderland prequel set long before the infamous Queen of Hearts was the terror of Wonderland. Back when she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

While being one of the most beautiful girls in wonderland and a favorite of the King of Hearts, as a talented baker all Catherine wants is to open a bakery with her best friend. Unfortunately, her parents such a dream is absurd for someone who could be the next queen.
Not reciprocating    *3.5 stars*
Heartless by Marissa Meyer is an Alice in Wonderland prequel set long before the infamous Queen of Hearts was the terror of Wonderland. Back when she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

While being one of the most beautiful girls in wonderland and a favorite of the King of Hearts, as a talented baker all Catherine wants is to open a bakery with her best friend. Unfortunately, her parents such a dream is absurd for someone who could be the next queen.
Not reciprocating the Kings feelings for her, Catherine meets the mysterious yet handsome court joker, Jest, at the royal ball where the kind is to propose to her. Determined to define her destiny and fall in love on her own terms, she and Jest enter a secret courtship.

The first thing I want to clarify as most people seem to be confused on the matter, is that the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen are not the same person. People often confuse the two but alas they are not the same. They're both evil Queens yes, but originally the queen of hearts was first introduced in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's adventures in wonderland' the Red Queen was introduced in 'Alice through the looking Glass' I do believe all this confusion is due to the mispresentation of them in Tim Burton's popular movie adaptation.

That being said I want to thank Marissa Meyer for writing such a wonderful origin story to one of my favorite villains of all time. I am a HUGE fan of Alice in Wonderland. And I am an even bigger fan of villains. Getting to read Marissa's version of the Queen of Hearts' evil origin was incredible.

Catherine was on many levels, one of the most relatable characters I've ever read about. All she wants is to open up a bakery with her best friend Mary Anne. Baking pastries and delicacies is where her heart belongs. However, her parents want her to seize such silly dreams and focus on other appropriate acts for young ladies such as herself. That includes marrying the King of Hearts. Even though that is not what she wants, Catherine wants her parents disappointment even less. Catherine's parents are infuriating people. Not once do they stop to ask her if she is happy. Not once do they stop and consider that this might not be what she wants. Her mother, is biggest nightmare of them all. Refusing to speak of anything other than her future wedding and queenly status, she hurts Catherine with her words. She often chastised her for eating too much or even considering having another bite. Comparing her to a hefty animal.

Jest, the mysterious new court joker makes her feel -for the first time- what love really is. He is mysterious, handsome and captivating. She feels gers left drawn to him from the minute she first sees him, and something inside her starts to bloom.
   The romance between the two was something that stubbornly latched onto my heart and refused to let go until the very end when it consumed my heart entirely.
I tried not to get hopeful considering we all know how the Queen of Hearts ends up but try as I might, it was impossible.

The plot of the story is well known of course. Unfortunately the pacing was relatively slow for the majority of the book. However, as soon as I began the luscious writing pulled me into the story and I couldn't put the book down. I was drawn in completely. One thing Marissa can really do is write compellingly.

   While I can't discuss much else without spoiling the anything I do want to say that I was CRUSHED by the end. Heartless is such a good title for this book because that is exactly (not really!) what Marissa Meyer is for ruining me the way she did. I'm convinced she should write an Alice in Wonderland retelling because you have to admit, the woman can write one hell of a retelling. And of course, a villains' beautifully tragic origin story.

And the moment everyone's being waiting for (let's be honest here you're all waiting for it) the comparison to The Lunar chronicles. Yes, I know many of you want to know if it's better than her Lunar chronicles series and I'll get right to the point. It's not. In my opinion, it was not. The Lunar chronicles is a far better series and story. While heartless was very enjoyable, it was very slow paced and than RUSHED in the end. Of course, I believe this is due to the fact that it is a standalone. If it had been the beginning of a new series I don't doubt it would have been better paced and plotted out. I do still recommend you give this story a shot if you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland such as myself or if you love Meyers' other works. ...more

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May 18, 2015 alexandra rated it it was ok

Shelves: macmillan, read-2016

***FULL REVIEW ORIGINALLY AT www.twirlingpages.com!

marissa meyer twisted together a tale that is different, and yet familiar.

i had high expectations going on HEARTLESS. marissa meyer is one of my favorite authors and ALICE IN WONDERLAND is one of my favorite stories. naturally, the mix would be amazing. but this book is nothing like THE LUNAR CHRONICLES, and this story is not your ordinary retelling. i came to love the story and its characters, but i do have some minor complaints.

before beginni ***FULL REVIEW ORIGINALLY AT www.twirlingpages.com!

marissa meyer twisted together a tale that is different, and yet familiar.

i had high expectations going on HEARTLESS. marissa meyer is one of my favorite authors and ALICE IN WONDERLAND is one of my favorite stories. naturally, the mix would be amazing. but this book is nothing like THE LUNAR CHRONICLES, and this story is not your ordinary retelling. i came to love the story and its characters, but i do have some minor complaints.

before beginning, i’d recommend going over a wikipedia of what the original ALICE IN WONDERLAND story consists of. i knew a small basis – alice follows a rabbit down a hole and ends up in wonderland – but i didn’t bother with the details. i always imagined wonderland as a sort of place with a plethora of mysteries yet to be discovered. and so, i didn’t remember or care for minor characters. lemme say this again: KNOW THE ORIGIN STORY. not only will it make the book more enjoyable, but you’ll also be less confused. for the majority of the book, i was confused. but i didn’t mind so much because that’s wonderland. marissa meyer wrote the novel in a style that made me feel as if i should already know the world, but i didn’t. there were also (of course) parallels between the original tale.

the writing style was really unexpected – and i loved it. everything from the characters to the setting to plot made the whole atmosphere feel so magical and wistful. i felt like i was IN wonderland and i was watching all the events string together. it took some getting used to – i was expecting something similar to TLC – but by the end i was in love. (and also drooling. don't read this book when you're hungry because the DESCRIPTIONS OF FOOD OMG. the main character is a baker and i just *sighs* I WANT THE FOOD.)

what bothered me slightly about this novel was the pacing. i had a hard time getting into it (see: confusion) and when i did, there’d be chunks of chapters that were so sloooooooooow. there wasn’t much going on, and i couldn’t see where the focus was, and then BAM last hundred pages had me clutching the book like it was a missing arm. suddenly, i realize i love all the characters and the plot clicks into place. BUT i do think the climax could’ve come earlier in the book because it went from snail’s-pace to sofastsofast. although when the climax was revealed, i was an emotional wreck. marissa meyer can be SO HEARTLESS sometimes. (pun intended)

HEARTLESS was a bit of a weird read for me. there were so many aspects i loved about the book – the characters, writing, plot, etc. – but the pacing and world threw me off. however, i also feel it’s partially my fault because i had expectations of what the story might be or “should” be. like wonderland, this book is not one you can predict. there are twists and tricks and turns and flips; so sit back, relax, and enjoy the story – because i’m sure you’ll have sympathy for the so-called evil queen of hearts by the end of the journey. ...more

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Chapter Addicts: Heartless -- March YA Standalone BOTM	3	29	Mar 26, 2022 03:45AM
Chapter Addicts: Heartless by Marissa Meyer - Emily and JMCDC	24	61	Sep 30, 2021 07:57AM
✨The House of YA ...: August Standalone BOTM: Heartless	1	6	Sep 01, 2021 01:12AM
Reader's Book Nook: Heartless {} Kasey and Charanya	22	25	Aug 18, 2021 10:01PM
The garden of books: July - Heartless {activities}	3	17	Jul 27, 2021 05:28AM
The garden of books: July - Heartless {discussion}	8	26	Jul 03, 2021 01:19AM

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About Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer

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I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.

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