From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Heartless

Marissa Meyer

Start date: December 22, 2016

Finish date: December 31, 2016

Discussion: Books of the Month

Why we're reading this: December Young Adult Book of the Month
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Books of the Month

* The Names by Florence Knapp - Sep 25 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 16 Sep)
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* The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - Sep 25 Theme BOM - South and South East Asia (Starts 5 September)
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What Members Thought

Oct 19, 2016 Eveline rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, books-i-own-arc

First and foremost: I recommend you go out and buy (or bake) lemon tarts, before even opening the book. I can guarantee that just a few pages in, you will already be craving them, or any other type of pastries for that matter. There's actually a lot of mouthwatering food descriptions, so maybe not the best reading material when you're on a diet. ;)

I loved the world building in this. It's a strange and whimsical world, full of magical creatures, yet it also feels completely natural. The occasiona ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-books, own

I loved this so much, and I have no idea why I waited so long to read it. This is exactly my type of book, and is a new favorite. It immediately went on the top of my list of books to buy. It was so, so good.

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2016 Yzabel Ginsberg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, good-ideas-but, annoying-characters, romance, arc-netgalley, fantasy, retellings, tales, insta-love

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.]

Hm. I liked the premise (telling the story of the Queen of Hearts before Alice came to Wonderland), however there were parts when I was a little... bored?

Catherine Pinkerton, daughter of a Marchess, loves nothing more than to bake, and dreams of opening a bakery with her maid and best friend Mary Ann, rather than just marrying some rich nobility son that she won't even love. Of course, her plans get thwarted when she catches the attention of the [I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.]

Hm. I liked the premise (telling the story of the Queen of Hearts before Alice came to Wonderland), however there were parts when I was a little... bored?

Catherine Pinkerton, daughter of a Marchess, loves nothing more than to bake, and dreams of opening a bakery with her maid and best friend Mary Ann, rather than just marrying some rich nobility son that she won't even love. Of course, her plans get thwarted when she catches the attention of the King... or are they? When the new Court's joker waltzes into the play, things change again, and this time, Cath may have a chance at true love. Except... We all know how the Queen of Hearts behaves in Carroll's story, so we also know that whatever Fate has in store for those characters, it's not a happy ending.

It's not so easy to write a (re)telling of something whose end is already well-known, and while it was problematic, some aspects I really liked. The beginning had a certain vibrancy, what's with the cake/bakery imagery and Catherine's dreams, not to mention Jest's first appearance during the ball, and the darker parts, including the meeting with the three sisters, were creepy in their own ways.

The main problem I had with this novel were its characters, and I think that had a lot to do with how I knew (or at least suspected) it would end. This time, it's not even a case of insta-love—Cath's and Jest's relationship progresses quickly, but frankly, I've also seen much, much worse in that regard—more a case of characters trying to let their own personality develop and shine through, only to be put back on rails in order for the story to end up where it should. I found this too bad for them, to be honest; I suspect they would've been more interesting had they been able to live their own tale fully. As a result, Catherine especially ended up rather passive and unappealing, stuck between a sort of Regency-like society where noble girls marry noble men and must remain silent and pretty in their corsets, a holier-than-thou attitude (ironically mirroring Margaret's without never realising it), and twists meant to turn her into the Queen of Hearts, yet too predictable to really hit home. The courtship period was infuriating, what's with all her refusing the King but never telling it to his face, letting things happen, then worrying that she'll have to marry him and not be with the man she actually loves, but still not doing anything, until it was too late and whatever she'd do would just end up badly (also it's the others' fault, never hers... great).

Other problems were the writing (not bad, but nothing exceptional either), and the pacing: especially in the second third, the story dragged and felt padded out—that was when I started struggling to keep on reading, before getting to the last/darker part. While the kingdom of Hearts had a 'cutesy' and colourful side that I quite liked, it didn't enthrall me (Chess with its warring Queens seemed more exciting?), perhaps because half the book at least was devoted to parties and balls and a more traditional "arranged marriage" plot, instead of playing on a more Wonderland-like atmosphere.

Conclusion: Well, I expected more, and this is clearly a case of a story whose characters would have been better left to their own devices. ...more

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Aug 28, 2020 Marla rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, audiobook, library-audiobook, barely-finished, award-winner, fantasy, romance, magic, retelling

..Catherine is a beautiful lady, daughter of a Marquess, and admired by the King of Hearts. Catherine just wants to open a bakery with her maid, not be queen. But then she meets the King's new joker, Jest, and she may want to fall in love after all.

I am not a fan of Alice in Wonderland, so that may taint my review of this book. So many secrets and though I wish I could taste Cath's lemon tarts, rose macarons, and pumpkin cake, I didn't really like her or anyone besides Jest, Cheshire and Hatter ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Angie Taylor rated it it was amazing

I seriously hated this book as much as I loved it. Since the story is about the Queen of Hearts I knew from the beginning it would have a tragic ending, so I could have chosen not to read. But reading about an imagined background Meyer created for the Queen was so magical and enchanting. But I totally ugly cried at the end. Because my heart was broken. So good! Yet so dang frustrating!

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Dec 03, 2017 Jen Ifer's Inklings rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, library, owl-crate, read-in-2017

3.5 stars
I was really enjoying the majority of the book, but really disliked the last 25%. The ending felt like a completely different book with completely different characters.

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