February Standalone BOTM - Heartless by Marissa Meyer

[Felicia]

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 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.

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 1 to 10 (view spoiler)[ oh my god I love the first 10 chapters of the book so far. Catherine is so awesome and sassy. feel sorry for her with how her mother acts and the king's unwanted affection. interesting attraction found between catherine and jest. can i hope that she gets to open the shop she wants (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 11 to 20 (view spoiler)[ can i say i hate the king lol.i feel the only reason he wants to marry catherine is for her baked goods.and the chemistry between her and jest is so intense.interesting that we get to see how things lead up to alice in wonderland.but what happens to the city (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 21 to 30 (view spoiler)[ ooo we find out the truth about jest's identity.he is the rook for the white queen,but what is the mission he is on?i find it interesting that half of the things that catherine dreams off will appear in real life.nooo the lion was killed by the jabberwocky? (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Chapter 31 to 40 (view spoiler)[ oh wow i never expected the reason behind jest wanting to steal her heart.I still hate her parents and the king.And yay at least the king did not get catherine. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashy Khaira]

Finished (view spoiler)[ why why why why did catherine have to disregard the sister's warnings on what would happen to jest and the rest if any of them went back through the door?i would love to say she is a bitch and deserved it,and i feel sorry for jest,raven and hatter (hide spoiler)]

[Ritika]

Just starting with this one myself. So excited to begin! :D

[Ritika]

Just completed 25%. (view spoiler)[I think it is a little obvious that she is going to end up marrying the king. The only thing that I noticed is that eh, I found the people of the kingdom to be really weird. I mean, Jest is showing card tricks to real life cards. Won't they be a little offended at being handled and played around like that? Just a thought. xD (hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

I'm just about 10% in but I am loving it so far. Retellings are one of my new favorite genres and it's so fun learning a bit about the history of the Queen of Hearts (kind of like learning about Maleficent).

[Jammin Jenny]

Ashy Khaira wrote: "Chapter 1 to 10 [spoilers removed]"

I know she really has absent parents which probably added a lot to her psychological makeup.

[Ritika]

Jammin Jenny wrote: "Ashy Khaira wrote: "Chapter 1 to 10 [spoilers removed]"

I know she really has absent parents which probably added a lot to her psychological makeup."
+1 to this. The way her mother... I want to say "embarrassed her at the ball" but I will suffice with the way she behaved was ridiculous. Why does she have to be so irritating and unreasonable?

[Jammin Jenny]

I'm at about 50% now - poor girl - the King of Hearts wants to wed her so badly. She really loves the jester - shows how one's life can really affect how you turn out.

[Ritika]

You just gave out a spoiler. Luckily, I had anticipated all that, lol.
I'm done with 20 chapters so I'm at about 39%. (view spoiler)[Just saw Cath attend the mad tea party and I couldn't have been more excited, but the end of chapter 20 was so sad, what with the Jabberwocky and all. I have no idea whether to hate her or love her for rescuing the turtle. (hide spoiler)]

Aah, I just came online only to find that this thread has been frozen. LOL. I wish I had updated my status earlier now. xD
(P.S. The end was predictable. Haha!)

[Jammin Jenny]

79%

(view spoiler)[ So Kat has chosen Jest and not the King as her true love. He tried to confuse them by saying he was under her spell to try and save her. Poor Queen of Hearts... (hide spoiler)]

Finished

I really enjoyed this re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, focusing on the Queen of Hearts. Catherine wasn't always a mean Queen. This story shows how her family and fate led her down her path to evil. Great book.