Heartless

I had to write my review right away after finishing this one. I don't want to forget a thing and yet I have a feeling that I'll write this and then go back thinking about the book more and more and wanting to add other of my rambling thoughts. This is one that I just don't want to leave anything out, yet of course still be vague and not share any spoilers, yet how can I not share all these thoughts....

I Love, Love, Love Marissa Meyer's writing. She creates these amazing worlds that draw me in completely, capture my attention and leave me feeling as if I am there with these characters, living through the glimpses and moments of their time captured on the pages. The characters are wonderful. They have a mysterious appeal to them, they have a sweet all consuming hope, a dream that encourages them forward through the dreary hazy around them, they have sorrow from the lack of dreams/desire and sorrow from monotony, they have such room for growth and depth. There were so many characters within this book that, if like me you haven't read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or Through the Looking Glass(for shame I know-but I honestly have wanted to and I think reading this has peeked my own interest more for doing so sooner rather than later, or not), but know your story of Alice thanks to Walt Disney *blushing* it feels like it flows smoothly and Meyer's world meshes and combines wonderfully with them.

Oh my heavens, honestly the characters and the whimsical and magical and unbelievable and believable and everything, it was all woven together so well that I felt myself falling down the rabbit hole and running around Wonderland.

I loved Catherine, or her nickname in the novel, Cath. Her goodness, her suppressed frustration and dreams, her interactions with everyone she encounters daily-the smart, the idiots, the shy, the haughty, self-absorbed, etc.-her dreams(yes night time sleeping dreams), her expectations from others, her scheming, her adventures, her coming to understand, her lack of understanding, her heart.

I was talking with my husband about this book after I finished it and letting out some of my rambling thoughts and the main thought I had while reading(especially the further in you get and discover and the characters revealed) and explaining to him, was choices and consequences. Those choices allowed and given to everyone, how every little choice unwittingly and unknowingly leaves behind it a trail, or another reaction, another choice and another reaction. With everyone, human, whimsical, magical, animalistic, etc. all having such choices and such reactions reaching out and touching and taking hold of anyone and anything whether near or far, there are so many unseen and unconnected "fates" that come about. Am I making sense, I sure hope so! If not maybe I will after you have read Heartless. Especially nearing the end as all the pieces, or rather all the reactions falling into place, culminate to bringing our dear(maybe I shouldn't call her that for those of you who don't like the Queen of Hearts-which admittedly was me from my Disney filled knowledge and yet I think I might be having a change of heart...) Queen of Hearts, or, umm, er, Catherine to ultimately becoming the Queen of Hearts that is so easily feared and angered and happy at the little things.

I would love to expound on all those interactions but I just can't find myself letting my ramblings out without spoiling something. This is one of those books where you have to start from the beginning and just let it encircle, engulf, encompass you in the wit, the whimsical, the magical, the idiocy, the many well written scenes. There were so many scenes that I just loved, I loved the way that Meyer's imagination added it in and connected it to the world of Wonderland. Ok, fun one I loved...croquet. Ha! It was so fun. I don't think I can think about the Queen of Hearts playing croquet the same way again. The flamingos, they were great! The Chesire cat's scenes and interactions with Cath shed a different light on her character and his as well. I loved all the moments because they built and led so well into the story and characters of Alice in Wonderland. They explained who, how, why, where and what.

I would be remise not to mention anything about one of the main reasons for this book...Cath's love and passion for baking. This passion is all consuming and she is trying everything she can to continue her life in the pathway that she wants and keeping everyone else happy. It all changes the day her mother schemes against her, the day the king sets his sights on her and the day she runs away from it being rescued by the man of her dreams(literally the man of her dreams), Jest. Ah, it was unforgettable and will be an unforgettable story. One I will definitely be returning to at a later date when I start thinking about the magic and beauty behind it. Maybe you think I'm funny applying the word beauty here but to me it was. It was a beautiful creation of a very talented author who allowed her imagination to add to the imagination and story of another well loved author's imagination.

I'm not going to say anything about the love story contained within. Because, yes this story is about that, but it's about so much more than just a love story. Everything that I've talked about earlier and rambled on about is what this book is about. The love story was well written and made a great focal point for the novel but all the threads of each character and choice came together to weave a beautiful tapestry of a heart taken and lost to the kingdom of Heart forever(no that's not a spoiler because you will not guess it until the end).

Some quotes for you in no particular order...just a few amidst the many that I loved, some dark some light.

"With a scream, Cath grabbed a vase of white roses and launched them at Cheshire's head...Cath straightened her spine. 'I despise white roses!'"

"'But we want you to be sure...absolutely sure this is what you want.' His eyes turned wary beneath his busy eyebrows. 'We want you to be happy. That's all we've ever wanted. Is this what's going to make you happy?' Cath held his gaze, feeling the puncture of Raven's talons on her shoulder, the weight of the rubies around her throat, the itch of her petticoat on her thighs. 'How different everything could have been,' she said, 'if you had thought to ask me that before.' She shrugged his arm away and pushed between them. She didn't look back."

"You might be surprised how often I'm compared to a walrus, actually. And walruses do not climb trees."

"To breathe. But she couldn't reach. She was suffocating. She was going to be sick. She was going to faint...She gasped and withdrew her arms. Her heart was thundering as she peered up into the boughs of a white rose tree."

"'Stuff and nonsense,' he whispered, the words cracking. 'Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?...'I haven't the slightest idea.'"

"He didn't set her down. Didn't let her go. 'When will I see you again?' he whispered. A tickle erupted in her stomach. He wanted to see her again. Happiness coursed to the ends of her limbs."

"She was growing impatient. Her hatred was burning a hole through her stomach, and it flared hotter every day that passed. Her fury burbled beneath the surface of her skin, often flaring in bouts of unexpected temper."

"Off with his head."

"The moral of that-she inhaled sharply-is that 'you can't judge a book by its cover.'"

"Cath fell onto the carpet, the pain knocking into her all over again. Her rage split her open."

Content wise, I would say this is a clean read. Some minor battle scenes and fighting with a fantasy creature and a couple little sweet kisses. I would recommend for YA and older and anyone who loves a good fairy tale and fantasy read.

I borrowed a copy from my local library.

Happy Reading!!!

I love The Lunar Chronicles and I love food, so I was pretty excited to read Heartless. Going into the book, it’s best to detach yourself from the Lunar Chronicles, because it’s more of a straight retelling of Alice in Wonderland than a story that’s inspired by fairy tales.

From the Mad Hatter’s tea party, to the invisible Chesire Cat and the rose gardens of the palace, the world and characters are incredibly faithful to the original. We already know what to expect of the quirky characters and the bizarre setting. Because of this, the world building didn’t feel terribly unique to me, even with Meyer’s imaginative storytelling.

We already know what the Queen of Hearts is like. But how did she turn out that way? Cath is a sweet and obedient girl who simply wants to make her parents happy, but also wants to pursue her lifelong dream of owning a bakery. However, when the King pursues her to be his bride and she can’t think of anything worse, she starts undergoing an internal turmoil when it comes to expectations vs reality.

We’ve all struggled with parental expectations and may have rebelled against them, and that’s exactly what happens with Catherine in Heartless. While other girls dream of royalty and marriage, I loved how Cath’s ambitions extended beyond this. However, refusing him is unheard of and she struggles against parental and public expectations when it comes to this. I really felt for Cath as copes with unwanted advances from the King, overbearing parents and disappearing dreams as she tried everything in her power to do the right thing.

I wasn’t surprised when she found solace in Jest, the handsome, charming and chivalrous Court Jester who understands what she’s going through. This is where the book took a dive for me – it heavily centres on the romance and I wasn’t convinced. While his back story had potential, I found him to be a rather bland love interest who we didn’t really get to know well. I’m pretty sure we weren’t meant to, but I also ended up feeling sorry for the King as the two courted each other over stolen glances and borrowed time. Cath was pretty much leading him on at this point to avoid disappointing her parents and it was actually kind of selfish.

Inevitably, the book takes a darker turn with Cath’s descent into evil. While the catalyst to her change felt a bit rushed, I liked seeing her turn and everyone’s reactions to her callousness, especially in contrast to what she was like before. There’s also the sinister threat of the Jabberwock in the background, who threatens to eat the townspeople. It’s the mystery surrounding this that kept me reading; I wanted to know whether it was going to be defeated and the twist was a welcome one.

Heartless definitely made me hungry, as the descriptions of baked goods are abundant and had me drooling throughout the book. I loved how throughout the book, Cath seeks out ingredients for her recipes and how her talent for baking was pretty much her superpower. This book will make you crave everything from spiced pumpkin pies to layered cakes and lemon tarts.

As an origin story of the Queen of Hearts, Heartless stayed faithful to the original Alice in Wonderland and tells us a very different story when it comes to her past. With a mystery, romance that I wasn’t convinced on and delicious baking descriptions, there were parts of this book that I definitely enjoyed and other parts that I wasn’t too keen on. I definitely think if you’re a big fan of the origin that you’ll love this one, but don’t go in expecting it to be the next Lunar Chronicles.

Check out Happy Indulgence Books at happyindulgencebooks.com for more reviews!

My Rating: 4 stars

This was a great read and welcome entry into the wackiness of Wonderland. With characters new and old, I loved seeing how the Queen of Hearts came to be and how she 
once was a girl with a dream. Full of fun and wonderland goodness, I would definitely recommend this read! Read on if you are alright with slight spoilers!

The Good:
Alice and Wonderland is a classic, a setting that is fun and fantastic and entering the world of Wonderland in Heartless was fantastic. Meyer took a world that was already created and established but used it well, creating intrigue and looking more in depth at the characters we know and love. The dreams which came true like the lemon tree and the pumpkins and all those things added to the background and just make it whimsical and fun. 
The characters were great. I loved seeing Cath and her love of baking throughout the story and her interactions with lots of different people. So hard to see her become the Queen of Hearts since at the beginning she was happy and content with baking, despite having ridiculous parents. Jest was adorable and I loved seeing what he brought to the character as the joker and as we learned more about him. 
The additions from the original Alice were welcome. I adored the Mad Hatta and his attitude towards life (snarky characters are so good) and Haigha (Hare) and the Cheshire Cat as well as the ridiculous Red King. Meyer took these characters and didn't destroy them, if anything it made me love them even more. 
The story was doomed and though I knew it from the beginning I still hoped for some silver lining. The plot kept me enthralled from the start and I desperately wanted to know more. The ending was sad and heartbreaking especially when you think of the girl who just wanted to open a bakery. Definitely worth a re-read just to visit all the aspects of Wonderland that I zoomed past in the beginning. 

The Bad:
I feel as though the third act was not up to the standard of the rest of the book. It went by really quickly and sort of snowballed. I suppose that is the way that it was meant to go and how life goes but there could have been more development before it all went wrong. 
Also, in the synopsis it says that there is a secret courtship between Jest and Catherine. I would have liked to see more romance in secret than the two scenes we got before it all went crazy. I love romance and think it would have made more sense for Cath to really get to know Jest before she lost him, resulting in her being the Queen of Hearts. It all happened really fast and I would have like more development of their relationship, especially with how quickly she does a 180. 

The Interesting:
I loved the world of Wonderland, I loved the references to what we know happens in Alice in Wonderland and I love seeing a villain's origin story. It was interesting and compelling and well worth the read. 
I also really found Catherine's parents interesting and how they were so strong in the beginning and awful and then at the end tried to change. It just added a bit of sadness to the characters. "How different everything could have been," she said, "if you had thought to ask me that before."

Recommended for:
If you love fairytales new and old and love to read a book full of whimsy and fun, then this is the book for you. It is a great YA book. 

Quotes (Spoiler Free):
“But hoping," he said, "is how the impossible can be possible after all.” 

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

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

“Perhaps we know each other in the future and you’re only remembering backward.” 

“A heart, once stolen, can never be taken back.” 

“Fascinating, isn't it, how often heroic and foolish turn out to be one and the same.” 

“Her rage split her open.”

Heartless was one of those reads I HAD to have! I have been a huge fan of fairy tale retellings since way back when. They weren’t even popular back then. Which just shows my age, so when I heard Marissa Meyer was going to do one regarding the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, I knew it was going to be something truly wonderful. It was that, and oh so much more. It was epic!

First off, going into this I knew my Wonderland lore. I know very well who the Queen of Hearts is. Disney and Carroll taught me very well. By knowing her story from that point, you can kind of see where her story will go from the beginning. It’s like reading Wicked, you know who that Wicked Witch of the West was, you knew her fate going into the story, so don’t be surprised by what happens. It’s that kind of thing, though one (me being one) still hopes to see something else happen!

Okay, that jazz out of the way, let’s move on! From the getgo I couldn’t help by love Catherine! She’s our fated Queen of Hearts to be, but what she longs for is a simpler life. She loves to bake and her dreams involve owning her own bakery rather than being a queen. It’s bad enough that king has quite the crush on her. And if you know your Disney (and likely Carroll, though I can’t recall as it’s been to many years since I read the book) lore, you’ll recall the king is quite comical and sadly, a joke. He has no fire in him and he’s a little too lenient in his ruling. Cath has no desire to marry him, let alone be with him. But her parents are definitely pushing for an engagement.

Then in walks Jest, the new court jester and right away attraction sparks between these two. And yeah, I’ll admit, I swooned a bit too! LOL! He’s definitely got the whole mystery guy thing going on with him. He’s not as LOL funny you might expect from a jester, but he’s most definitely a performer. And try as they might to fight the attraction growing between them, they find themselves more dallying in secret than not.

This isn’t just a love story though. Cath is determined to live her life her own way despite her parents’ expectations. But life continues to bombard her it seems. There’s a bit of a mystery going on as well. One that involves a Jabberwock! Yeah, we got all the Wonderland peeps here! And it was most incredible! Seeing the Chesire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Hatter, the March Hare, the Catepillar…so many familiar faces and more! Cath herself was a force to be reckoned with and I loved her for it. She was a dreamer and wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. She’s a remarkable heroine!

I think that’s one thing I really loved about this one! All the Wonderland residents and just general madness going on. While you don’t have to have read the original tale to enjoy this one, I will say that it helps to have some knowledge. It’s like finding little Easter eggs as you read when this or that gets mention. Cath is more familiar with the things that gave Alice her wonderment or things that perplexed her.

Heartless was just phenomenal in my opinion. Speaking as someone who looooves fairy tale retellings and origins this book had me written all over it! The ending, while still totally expecting it, still kind of took me by surprise. Which is hard to do, though my head kept telling me what to expect. And naturally, I started devising theory after theory trying to see what the outcome would be. And for some reason, I didn’t let myself think that THIS would be the outcome I got! Guess I’d rather deal with a different kind of “heartless” state of being than what Cath endured. But I will say again, that I absolutely loved this book! I wouldn’t change a thing!

I highly recommend this book for all fairy tale fans! Origin stories are one of the best in my opinion and Marissa Meyer went above and beyond with this story! Now I am eagerly awaiting to hear what her next project will entail. I can only hope it will still be fairy tale related!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

My oh my this book blew my mind! Having a pretty fierce obsession with Alice in Wonderland, I had high hopes for this book. Knowing how self absorbed and hateful the Queen of Hearts is I was pretty interested in reading the tale that Meyer would spin for us.

This is a slow paced story, which I actually loved because I got to meet the characters intimately. I felt like I was able to really get to know and connect with Catherine, which was surprising because I went in with an opinion about her already, but my mind was completely changed! Catherine is just a young girl in Hearts. All she wants to do is continue baking and open up a cake shop, but unfortunately for her, life has other plans. I wanted Cath to stand up for herself! To her parents specifically. I wanted her to fight for her dreams, for her LIFE! When she runs away from a ball she comes face-to-face with the new court joker, Jest!

Jest is strange, and funny, and completely irresistible! He's caring, sweet, and very very cheeky! I can honestly throw out every adjective I can think of to describe him because I love him so much. He was the frosting to Cath's cake! I was definitely digging their unusual relationship. I loved how open he was with her, he wore his heart on his sleeve the entire time. The more I came to know about him the more curious I was about his fate.

Every character was so perfectly described and carefully entwined into the story, including my favorites like Hatter and Cheshire! I was hoping and praying that something else would happen that might change the future for Cath, but we all know the story and even with that I was utterly enthralled the entire time. I came to understand that not all tyrants start off a tyrant, but are sometimes slowly made that way over time, and I feel like I understand and can't really blame Cath.

Heartless is a must read for anyone! Bravo to Marissa Meyer for this flawless story!

The Queen of Hearts is one of the most infamous characters from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" -- a temperamental queen who regularly demands beheadings.

And having given an epic sci-fi spin to traditional fairy tales, Marissa Meyer turns her attention to another public-domain story in "Heartless" -- the story of how a bright young baker became the infamous Queen. It's a rather more orderly Wonderland than you'll find in Carroll's stories (though with many familiar faces), but Meyer makes up for it with richly evocative writing and a well-developed main character at its heart.

Catherine Pinkerton is less interested in showing herself off at court than she is in making the perfect lemon tarts, so she can be the greatest baker in the Kingdom of Hearts. But her mother will not be denied -- and on the very night she's presented at court, the King decides to announce that he's going to marry Catherine, which is only interrupted by an attack from the Jabberwock. But Catherine -- who is intrigued by the elusive, bizarre Joker, Jest -- can't imagine anything worse than being trapped in marriage to the King.

So while the King courts her, Catherine finds herself falling in love with Jest instead -- which is a slight problem, since all of society is pressuring her to accept the King and sacrifice all her dreams. And even worse, the Jabberwock's attacks are coming more and more often. With her options growing slimmer by the day, Catherine finds that she may be trapped into an engagement against her will -- and when she tries to seize the life she wants, she finds that her terrible fate may be immovable.

I tend to find it a bit difficult to read most "Alice in Wonderland"-based fantasy stories, because they invariably have to discard the one thing that sets Wonderland apart from all other fantasy worlds -- the nonsense. Meyer has to jettison the surreality of Wonderland, but she keeps in a considerable amount of weirdness (fruit trees tend to grow in Catherine's bedroom) and humorous nonsense ("Fire her? For being a terrible cook? What cruelty." "But . . . she’s a cook." "Yes. And cook she does.... Just not well").

Her writing is swift and smooth, with little ornate moments ("with white-silver hair that cascaded down her back and skin the colour of milk thinned with water"); the moments when Jest is onstage are particularly enchanting, as he's all bright eyes, quicksilver emotions and raven feathers. Familiar faces from Wonderland are also here (the King of Hearts, the Mad "Hatta," the Marchioness, the Caterpillar, the Mock Turtle, and of course the Cheshire Cat), sculpted into distinct personalities that work well within Meyer's story, as well as the subplots she whips up (a secondary romance between a prudish maiden and a man with a warthog head).

And despite the whimsical setting of the story, its final act takes a distinctly dark turn, entwining the reappearance of the Jabberwock with the terrible prophecies of the Sisters. It's a credit to Meyer's skill that she can make a story in Wonderland so gripping and dark, without a shred of out-of-place whimsy.

It's also a credit that she creates an early version of the Queen of Hearts that is recognizable -- she's a commanding girl with a temper, she has a sweet tooth, she tends towards chubbiness, she develops a violent hatred of white roses -- but thoroughly likable, especially as she wrestles with her own desires versus those forced on her by her parents and the King. But we all know where her story will end, and it becomes clear that only something soul-crushingly tragic could lead to that.

Marissa Meyer gives a haunting new twist to the world of Wonderland in "Heartless," an exquisite and devastating little fantasy that lets you see how the Queen of Hearts came to be. A powerful and clever tale, on either side of the Looking Glass.

I'm going to be honest - I almost didn't read this book. Some friends had read it and really didn't enjoy it, especially in comparison to The Lunar Chronicles. But one day, in the mood for fantasy, I decided to give it a try and I knew within 20 pages that I was going to love it! I will warn you, this is not The Lunar Chronicles. (It's better.)

Catherine is the leading lady of this story and all she wants is to bake with her best friend and maid. Unfortunately, her parents have other plans for her. Catherine meets Jest the joker on the same night that she finds out the King of Hearts intends to ask for her hand in marriage. Together, Catherine and Jest manage to strategically delay the king's advances while they unintentionally grow closer together.

I loved Jest and Catherine, together and separate. Catherine is a strong, independent woman who is determined to live her life in a way that makes her happy. While she does have some issues with indecision, her goal never really changes. There were a few times when Catherine got under my skin. She made a few decisions that were absolutely ridiculous. I know this was done in order to get her from innocent baker to ruthless Queen of Hearts, but there were still some moments that were difficult to read. Jest is mysterious and magical and wholly unselfish. I swooned. The two of them together are so adorable it hurts!

I also adored several of the secondary characters, not least of which was Hatta (the hatter) who was as perfectly (nearly) mad as you'd expect. The Cheshire cat is also there along with the White Rabbit and the Hare (spelled Haiga). And, of course, a Wonderland story wouldn't be complete without the Jabberwocky. Each of these characters is familiar although they all have backstories you probably haven't heard before.

My absolute favorite thing about Heartless is that it is Wonderland. I felt like I had been dropped right back into the world I love so much and Marissa wrote it flawlessly. The world had just the right amount of madness and whimsy that made me want to crawl back to it every single time I got a chance. I loved the world of The Lunar Chronicles but this one surpasses it, in my opinion. Somehow this is the Wonderland we know while also being something unique and exciting with something new around every corner. Although we never get to see it, I also loved hearing about Chess and the war between the Red and White queens.

But let's talk about the plot. From the very beginning I wondered how in the world Catherine could possibly become the Queen we all love to hate. As the story went on and I got more and more invested in her and Jest, I became increasingly nervous about where it would all end up. Although I knew how things must end, I was still shocked more than once. Let me just say this book ripped my heart out but I enjoyed the journey so, so much! Marissa Meyer did a fantastic job of giving this villain a backstory that made her entirely sympathetic, which isn't surprising at all after reading Fairest.

So in case I haven't made it clear, I love this book. I could go on and on and on about all the things I loved, but I don't want this to become a fangirl post! Suffice it to say this is a book I will most definitely be reading multiple times, just to go back to Wonderland and see Jest again. I highly recommend Heartless to any fan of Wonderland who wants to know more about where the Queen of Hearts came from. Don't go into this expecting The Lunar Chronicles though! This is is a whole different animal!

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: November 8, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

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 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.

What I Liked:

This book was incredible! Twisted, a bit dark, fascinating, and very heartbreaking. It is fabulously written, brilliantly told, and wonderfully executed. I know this a standalone but how cool would it be if Meyer wrote a follow up? This novel definitely stands on its own, but I would love to see where Meyer takes the story, if that were possible. More stories from this world would be so interesting!

This is a prequel story to Alice in Wonderland, an imagining of a story never told. Who was the Queen of Hearts before Wonderland? It turns out that she was the daughter of a marquess and marchioness who liked to bake, and dreamed of opening her own bakery one day. But her parents have her on a tight leash. When the bumbling King of Hearts begins to court her, Cath feels despair and desperation like none other. But she also feelings the stirrings of passion, towards the new court Joker, Jest. Jest is magnetic and charming, kind and funny, and there is something that binds them to each other. But even Cath can't run from fate, and we all know the end to this story...

I loved the world that Meyer has created! Since this is an imaginative prequel to Alice in Wonderland, Meyer has drawn a lot of aspects from Carroll's story. However, Meyer has really made things her own. This world resembles a regency London setting, with the ton and the dresses and the rigid control on daughters. But there is so much whimsy and fantastical creatures and happenings that are really cool too, that make this book so non-historical.

I love how casually the fantastical aspects are put into the story! The caterpillar with all of its legs, the talking pumpkins, Cheshire the cat who can turn invisible... nothing seemed out of place or strange. Almost like magical realism in a historical setting! Brilliant.

I admit, I wasn't Cath's biggest fan initially. I liked her, but she's so spineless. Sure, she's a great baker and a good person, and she tries to make everyone happy. But that is her problem - her mother chooses her outfits, her daily outings, her facial expressions, her suitors. There were SO many times that I wanted to shake Cath or yell "grow a spine!" But I think this is all part of the story, all part of the process. Meyer deliberately makes Cath this way initially. But Cath grows little by little. At the end, Cath makes her own decisions (finally! It took the whole book!), and I liked her even more.

So many secondary characters worth mentioning! Jest, the court Joker and Cath's love interest. He is sweet and charismatic, and I liked him. But he felt a little one-dimensional, a little too perfect. I didn't love him in a "book boyfriend" kind of way, but I liked him. I liked Cheshire, as strange as he is. Hatta (the Mad Hatter) is awesome, as is Raven (an actual raven). Cath's parents are awful, and the King is an actual idiot. I thought I liked Mary Ann (Cath's maid) but she's not that great, in the end.

The romance is sweet, and it's very slow. I thought there might be a love triangle, but the King is years older than Cath, and he's also like two feet tall, and basically Cath hates him and does not want to marry him. Jest and Cath are cute together, though not "swoony". I would have loved to see more of what happened in Cath's earlier dreams happen in real life... *wink*

Oh goodness, where do I even start, with the story? There are bake-offs and festivals, weird non-friends and a Jabberwocky. There is an entire subplot involving the other kingdoms (Red Queen, White Queen), and why certain things are in motion. This isn't just a story of how Cath got to where we know she'll be - it's a story of how Wonderland got to where we know it will be.

The ending! Oh my heart. The ending is cruel and heartbreaking and I almost dislike it, except that it is perfect. It is horrendously cruel, but exactly what this story needed. So fitting, for the prequel. You all know how much I like a strong HEA, but this story ended exactly as it should have. Cath transforms into the character we expect the Queen of Hearts to be, which was heartbreaking but also very fitting!

What I Did Not Like:

I would have loved to see more in terms of Cath and Jest's physical relationship! Like in Cath's earlier dreams. More swoon would have been great. I found Jest a little one-dimensional, so that could have contributed to the lack of swoon. The romance itself was sweet, and very shippable, but it wasn't swoony!

Would I Recommend It:

Don't read this if you're dead-set on reading a book with a happy ending. However, this book was excellent. I definitely recommend it if you liked Alice in Wonderland. And if you're like me and have never read/watched Alice in Wonderland, I still recommend the book. It's a great prequel! Just not one with a happy ending (...which we expect).

Rating:

4 stars. The hype is real, and deserved! It would be so cool if Meyer wrote a retelling of Alice in Wonderland from the Queen of Hearts' perspective. I imagine it would be extremely different, and very fascinating!

After a long break from reading, well, ANYTHING, Heartless was exactly what I needed to get back into the reading mood. I had read Cinder by Marissa Meyer ages ago, and absolutely loved it too, but unfortunately for some reason never completed the series. I’m glad this one was a standalone novel though, because I could really just dive in without worrying about having to remember plot and character details for the sequel. Anyway, I love origin stories! I was interested to see how this one was going to be tackled, and Marissa Meyer definitely did not disappoint.

The only other origin story I’ve seen for the Queen of Hearts was briefly in Once Upon a Time, so I was glad that there wouldn’t be other adaptations of the book’s character that influenced my perception. It’s also been a while since I’ve read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, so I was pretty confused when the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen were two different people, but now looking back it makes more sense. It’s because Disney had combined the two characters in their adaptations–the animated film and the Tim Burton films–which is why I found it intriguing to know more about Chess and Hearts, the two different lands presented in the story. While this is a standalone, and as I’ve mentioned previously how I’m thankful for that, I could definitely see this having some sort of spin-off with a tale about the war in Chess and how the Queen of Hearts comes into play with that.

Rather than the characters, I was here for the story. In my opinion the characters could have been a little better–Catherine’s transformation is pretty drastic, and I couldn’t really buy the romance between her and Jest. I loved the supporting characters though; they were all very well thought out. I mean, Mary Ann’s character for instance? Holy moly. I mean, she doesn’t even have too big a role, but I only remembered who she was in the actual book after finishing Heartless, and then the end of her story comes to make sense. It was the attention to detail that completely blew me away, as the author really thought through how these characters start and end up, how their roles alter by the time Catherine becomes the Queen of Hearts.

Having finished Heartless, I’m now desperate to finish Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, as I’m sure she skilfully weaves different fairy tales in her other series as she does in this one with Alice in Wonderland, “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater,” “The Raven,” and other stories. A brilliantly imagined account of a character doomed from the start, Heartless is luscious, dark, and gripping.

Good lord! This is a . . . quite an interesting book! There are many plot twists, and some of them are kind of disturbing, but overall, I think I like Heartless more than the Lunar Chronicles (plus I am more of a fantasy person than sci-fi). Cinder, however, brings back memories of the beach for me. Since I think of summer (and summer is my favorite time of the year) when I first read Cinder, it trounces Heartless in that regard.
Anyway! I am not sure what to make of all the characters in this book! One moment I felt sympathy for them, and then the next . . . and yet it was a good story, in spite of that. The ending made me think of the 1951 Alice In Wonderland. The writing is very gripping, and I could taste the delicacies Cath made, and my mouth watered at their descriptions. As with the Lunar Chronicles, it sort of got on my nerves how the author put down "gulped" and "swallowed" so many times. More-so with TLC. I felt both sorry and not-sorry for Cath. Jest--he receives mixed opinions from me. Otherwise, I found him pretty agreeable. The king may have been a bumbling (sometimes stupid) individual, but he has a good heart. Cath's parents got on my nerves more than once. Mary Ann is a likable character too.
All-in-all, if you are a fantasy fan (and whether you did or did not get into Cinder) then I would recommend this.

Heartless is a prequel to Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, and tells how kind, happy Catherine turns into the "blind and aimless Fury" (to quote Carroll) that is the Queen of Hearts. It all begins with Catherine's dream to open a bakery, but then life becomes immensely complicated: the unappealing King wanting to court her; she becomes attracted to the King's handsome, new Joker; and a Jabberwock appears to terrorize the kingdom. Experiencing, for the first time, love, danger, and dismay, Catherine finds herself faced with a myriad of decisions that will affect not only herself, but many others as well.

Meyer skillfully entwines her original ideas with Carroll's established ideas to create a fully living world. The sprinkling of Carroll quotes, and the visits from Wonderland friends, are a true joy. The characters were fleshed out, with believable actions and reactions. The prose was well-written, and drew the reader into the plot quickly.

The reader knows, before starting the book, that Catherine will become the Queen of Hearts, a passionately miserable individual. The strain of melancholy that is woven through out the book purposefully keeps the reader anxious--it's always in the back of the mind that happiness is not the ending for Catherine. I must say that Meyer did not disappoint, and delivered a heartbreaking ending that left me in tears.

Overall, I can find no fault with Meyer's beautiful, tragic novel, and recommend it wholeheartedly.

_________
Note: I do think, though, that readers will enjoy Heartless most if familiar with Carroll's original tales. I paused a few chapters into the book to reread both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and was extremely glad I did.

Can I just start with, I’m so bummed that this is a stand-alone novel?

I completely understand why, but oh I wish the story would’ve went on and on.
I must admit, I completely forgot that this story was more of a prequel of how the Red Queen became the way that she is, and less of a romantic tale, or good feeling fantasy, even though I wanted it to be the latter.
With the comical complexity of the descriptions of characters, I was able to put myself into the story fully and imagine all of the animals that carried themselves and spoke like humans. I was able to envision Cath’s parents faces of disapproval and Cath’s own expressions, when she was happy, angry, or melancholy. Cath’s character was well thought out, with clarity and concise word building, that let us as the readers fully get to know who she is and why she had chosen the path that she eventually had no other choice to.
Jest was definitely my most favorite character in this story though. With such charm, mystery, and luring features, he drew me in and I was completely consumed, although maybe not by his court joker apparel so much. Though, it was very comical to read about bells hanging off of his hat. One particular scene had me oh so swooning over him and I imagine that I will have to reread this book very soon.
Hatter was more than I knew I could handle. I couldn’t help but imagine Johnny Depp while reading his storylines, but Meyer did an evolutionary job on creating this character. In his Mad Hatter clothes and hats, he was artistically created with a personality like no other in this story. He made you more and more curious of his actions and reactions.
Marissa Meyer doesn’t fail to entertain us in this epic retelling of a well-loved fairytale. She did such a marvelous job with her Lunar Chronicles and I think fans will not be disappointed in the slightest, except for maybe the fact that this one was a standalone. I think it’s safe to say, that we all want more of her writing and we’re ready right now.

I loved, hated, loved this book. That makes for a very good book. I'm not going to go into details about the book in this review because I really don't want to spoil anything at all. The book is so good you just need to get in there and read it for yourself. This review will instead touch on the basics and be a bit gushy.

In Heartless, you meet a whole slew of characters straight out of that wonderful land of wonder you've grown up with, but they all have a bit of a different and unique twist plus there are a bunch of new characters as well. Catherine, our main person throughout the book, is a young woman of impeccable standing who really just wants to run a bakery with her best friend and maid Mary Ann. Of course, when does anything go so smoothly? She has caught the eye of the bumbling King of Hearts, and so begins this tale of woe.

The author is brilliant as usual (if you haven't read anything else by her, her Lunar Series is very, very good indeed), the characters come to life on the pages, and you surely don't want to miss this book! Give it a go, you might just find you like it as much as I do!

I received this book as a Christmas present. I was interested in it just by the cover alone. I didn't read anything about it before I started reading. I was quickly pulled in to the world of Wonderland and some of the most loved characters. It was an interesting twist and I thought it was well done. I found it to be fast paced and the story flowed naturally. It became addicting and it started with I just need to read one more chapter and next thing you know it is 4am and I have to be up in two hours. I will never forget this story because I loved the character of Catherine. She was flawed and loved by me. I don't think I will ever look at Wonderland the same. I adored Jest and he made me believe in impossibilities. I just can't get over how much I loved it. Now I need to read the Lunar chronicles because I love this author's writing style.

Even though I received an advance copy of this book at the ALA Annual meeting, I had loaned it to some co-workers first while I caught up on other reading. I finally got it back a couple weeks ago, and had to stay up late last night to finish reading it!
This book is just as good as everyone says it is! I don’t know that I love it as much as Cinder, but I loved how the author wove in so many great references. Importantly, since this is an explanation/prequel for the Queen of Hearts, the emotions were spot on all the way through the book. It should come as no surprise that this book utilizes a wide range of emotions from love, envy, and wistfulness to disappointment, anger, and hatred. There’s heartbreak built into the story, but it’s craftily done.
If I’m being honest, I was a little disappointed that some of the most iconic bits from the Alice in Wonderland pop culture felt shoe-horned into the story. Most notably the red vs. white roses. I don’t want to spoil anything, just know that when this revelation happened I was mildly disappointed. It made sense, I just was hoping for something different, I guess.
Normally, I don’t pay as much attention to the descriptive text in a first read-through; however, I found myself enjoying the baking and treats explanations. Meyer did a fantastic job at making hungry while reading this book. And far more interested in tarts and macarons than I was previously. I may need to try my hand at something different next time I need to make desserts.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this story. It works well for anyone familiar with the Wonderland story (book or Disney movie) and all those who enjoy a good re-telling or re-imagining. I look forward to reading whatever Marissa Meyer plans on writing next as I can only imagine it will continue to match her amazing skill with words!

I loved the Lunar Chronicles, and when I heard that Meyer was writing a book about the Queen of Hearts, I was thrilled! Catherine wants nothing more out of life than to open her own bakery with her dear friend, Mary Ann. Unfortunately for her, her parents have other plans. Cath has caught the King's eye, and her mother is determined to see Cath become Queen at any cost.

Cath is not in love with the simple minded King and has absolutely no interest in becoming Queen. When she meets Jest, the charming, handsome, witty Joker, who whisks her away to late night tea parties and begins popping up in her dreams, the King becomes more of an annoyance than anything else. At times I almost felt sorry for the poor dolt.

This book will rip your heart out. Yes, I went there. Despite knowing where the story is inevitably heading, you can't help being drawn in. With the cast of familiar Wonderland characters including, Cheshire cat, the Mad Hatta, the White Rabbit, and many more, Meyer did a wonderful job bringing them all to life.

My favorite scene had to be the game of hedgehog croquet involving unruly flamingos with shrimp breath and the bone structure of a noodle being shaken by their scrawny legs.

"We practiced this, you foul fowl!"

I love Meyer's sense of humor, her writing style and her ability to breath new life into old tales. Meyers is great with happy endings, but I was curious to see how she would handle a much darker tale. I was not disappointed! Heartless is heading straight to my favorites list.

This review is also on[...]

Oh boy!
It is no secret to anyone that I absolutely love Marissa Meyer, she is easily one of my favorite authors!
And thanks to some people I was able to get my hands on this amazing story a few months before release!
Which is fantastic because I just could not wait a single moment longer.
MINOT SPOILERS AHEAD!
Steps by steps okay?

The cover, oh boy, that cover, I love covers that are simple but pretty and this one is just downright gorgeous, my phone is FILLED with pictures of it to post on bookstagram , it was hard not to keep taking the book with me everywhere to continue to take pictures of it, if I didnt stop myself my bookstagram simply wouldve ended up looking like a Heartless fan account
Which I wouldnt be opposed to I guess
So many characters from the original story are integrated into the book without it feeling as if it was forced into the story. Questions you didnt know you had where answered and so many things end up making sense about the actions of some of the characters.
Catherine starts off with a dream, a dream to start a bakery with her best friend, and maid and be recognized as the greatest baker in all of hearts.
Title be damned.
At the black and white ball she discovers that the King, the daft King wishes nothing more than to marry her, and that ruins not just her dream of having a bakery but her independence.
At the ball though, she meets the Joker

Not THAT joker, but a court joker, a fool.
The most magical joker anyone has ever seen.
Cath finds herself thinking of about the joker often and one night joins him at a late night secret tea party with the Mad Hatter and company

Catherine knows what she wants, or rather, what she doesnt, and that is to marry the King and become Queen. throughout the story we see her as she struggles with the courage to turn down the King and face the disappointment of her parents
Marissa Meyer does a wonderful job with Catherine not coming out sounding whiny and annoying about the struggles in her life but rather makes it feel like you are struggling right along with her.
The story progresses as things start to slowly fall apart for Catherine until she decides to go through the Looking Glass and effectively leave Hearts behind, there she meets 3 odd sisters who tell her the fate that awaits Catherine, Joker and the Mad Hatter should she make a mistake.
And mistake she does.
I knew something bad had to happen to her for her to become the queen of hearts, but I still found myself shocked at how things ended up going down

From this point on, we see a rapid transformation from her being Catherine the dreamer, to the ruthless Queen of Hearts we know.
I must say this though, the last chapter in the book got me so pumped up, just as much as the last chapter in Fairest, in which we see these girls turn into women, after being beat down by hope and snapping into being completely and utterly
Heartless

I loved this book. More than I can even coherently express! I will say upfront that I am fairly biased, though. I am a longtime fan and lover of Alice in Wonderland and its many adaptations and variations. The fact that Marissa Meyer, author of the incredible Lunar Chronicles, wrote an origin story for the Queen of Hearts is pretty much the best thing I could ask for. This book is filled to the brim with so many details from the original Lewis Carroll stories that every chapter had a detail or reference that made me grin like the Cheshire cat! While I think this story could be enjoyable to those who aren’t super familiar with Alice’s Adventures, I think it’s a perfect fit for those who love it!

That being said, this book is not really a happy one. It’s the origin story of the Queen of Hearts. We all know she ends up rather blood-thirsty and filled with rage. To take a normal and optimistic girl like Catherine and have her end up as the infamous character, a lot of dream-smashing and love-crushing occurs. Even so, it’s a really well done story with a great understanding of Lewis Carroll’s stories. I would definitely love a retelling of Alice’s story told by Meyer!

The cast of characters that Meyer created and utilized from Alice was spot on and really engaging. I enjoyed Catherine’s characterization and her descent into cruelty, the court jester, Raven, Hatta, and I even had feels for the Mock Turtle and the Jabberwock, which isn’t something I would have expected, but Meyer is a professional at her craft. Honestly, this book was 110% delightful and I definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys the lovely mix of crazy and disturbing that Wonderland always manages to bring to tea time!

This book was so lovely but it wasn't at all what I thought it would be like! Marissa Meyer is one of my absolute favorite authors and so obviously I have very high expectations for her work. Her talent was evident in her descriptions of the setting and the clever world building and comical wordplay that she incorporated throughout the retelling.

But I was most disappointed with the plot, which, in my opinion, didn't really exist until 300 pages into the novel. And, yes, I understand that the foundations that were set up in the beginning were vital, essential pieces to reach the finale, but it just took SO LONG to get to the part of the story that held the most interest for me.

A majority of the story read like a very beautiful budding romance and that's perfectly fine--I have nothing against romance--but that's not the main story I was anticipating when I picked up the book (or in the 18+ months prior to the publication when I was waiting for the book.) I shipped the main couple in this book A LOT. But that doesn't deter my opinion that the flirtation and sexual tension just took up TOO MUCH of the content of the book.

That being said, I absolutely adored the last 150 pages or so. The ending set exactly the kind of tone that I had been wanting for the entirety of the book. I guess the issues I had stemmed from the book, overall, not being very dark, (even though when the book is marketed as the backstory to a notorious fairy tale villain and knowing Marissa's precedent from The Lunar Chronicles, not to mentioned the cover and the title) while I expected something much darker. But since this was essentially a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, the darkness didn't exist yet for the most part because the main villain hadn't become a villain yet (and it just took a really long time page-wise for her to become one.)

I think this was probably a very difficult setup, crafting a retelling in a prequel form to the classic story because there is a very real ending in sight. So while Marissa was able to take a good amount of liberties with the setting and the characters, she had to end the story in a way that wouldn't deviate too drastically from the start of Alice. This, I think Marissa did flawlessly.

I truly wish I was able to give this book 5 stars, but unfortunately the plot just took way too long to get to the "good part". I believe Marissa is a brilliant writer and I can't wait to see where her next project will take her. Hats off to you.

(I received an ARC from Macmillan as a part of their Heartless Countdown promotion and this has in no way affected my review.)

This was one of the books I received in my owlcrate and I absolutely LOVED it. I want to say its a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but its not. Rather its a prequel to the story we grew up with and shows us how the Queen of Hearts became who she was. I thought the story was wonderfully written and engaging and I found myself enjoying this story much much more than I ever thought I would. Catherine (the future Queen) wants nothing more than to open a bakery and instead has to endure the advances of the bumbling King of Hearts. As the story advances, she finds herself falling for Jest, the King's new joker. Catherine eventually learns that despite her wants and wishes and intents, her role as queen is fated and her actions bring about that fate she was trying to avoid.
I loved being immersed in the magically quirky world of Hearts, I loved the characters of Catherine, Jest, and Hatta (before he became the mad hatter). I enjoyed seeing how several characters (both major and non major) were before we meet them in Alice in Wonderland, and how they too became what we know. I loved the references to Alice in Wonderland and I especially appreciated that those references weren't overdone at all. As others have said this story doesn't has a happy ending, but if you remember the Queen of Hearts at all than its obvious that there can be no happy ending that would result in that character Alice meets. Would highly recommend.

*note I read this book from the library but all books need all the buzz and such (:

This book was an amazing read. I love when fairy tale retellings are redone. And I just absolutely love the Queen of Hearts origin story.
Some parts were predictable but I think that's just because the type of story this was in general. If you've read or listened to any fairy tale or nursery rhyme some of these things are going to be "duh" moments.
I love the nods to Edgar Allen Poe and obviously the whimsy that is Lewis Carrol.
The progression of the story from light to dark, hope to heartbreak was absolutely riveting. Just small steps here and there and you go from reading the story in tones of pastel to the darkest black.
4 stars because it was a slow read in the beginning and hard to get into.

Heartless by Marissa Meyers gives a different look at the characters of Alice in Wonderland. The book mainly focused on Catherine, an exceptional baker wanting to open a bakery. Catherine’s parents especially her mother has chosen a different path for her daughter and one of royalty. Catherine, a young woman with a dream must put it aside to become the Queen of Heart and solidify her family’s standing in the city of Hearts. I found myself asking what Catherine will do since she has eyes for another man and most important doesn’t want to be married.

Heartless is about a young woman wanting to be independent while choosing her own destiny. This book is well written, which made me connect with the characters. The twist on Alice in Wonderland was marvelous as well as the different characters and their personalities. It gave me a better understanding as to why the Queen of Hearts has a harden heart and in the way she behaves. This beautifully designed book is the first reason I purchased it and the second reason is that I wanted to know more about the Queen of Hearts. I love this story and the author’s writing style. I will definitely be purchasing some more of her work. I recommend Heartless to those who love retellings.

Teresa Beasley
A&RBC Reviews
5 Stars=Non-Stop Page Turner

I've seen this authors name repeatedly crop up and have friends who rave about her Lunar series so when I spotted this standalone story I just couldn't resist. Add in the fact that the author has taken such a well known and indeed respected storyline and added a delicious twist and I'm sorry but it had to be read ! The original Carroll story that inspires this is set in a Victorian landscape that's skewed just enough that any fantastical distortion somehow feels right. Staying true to his ideas Ms Meyer has crafted a vision of what just might have given the Queen of Hearts her slightly kooky and at times infamous bloodthirsty ways.
Without meddling too much with the quirky characters we get to see a young Catherine full of hope and dreams but she's not the only one with ambition. The King is foppish, weak and yet all he wants is a Court filled with gaiety and of course somewhere down the line a suite of his own offspring ! Cath however might have caught the Kings eye but she's met Jest whose irreverence and mischievous ways quickly capture her heart. Yet here the author gets creative and mixes characters we know and adds a singular and painful twist. As a reader I knew something awful was coming and yet the swiftness just made me catch my breath. Yet still the author pulls us further down into this version of Wonderland with its clever play on words and unless I'm mistaken a salute to Poe as well! Definitely not a fairytale but perhaps a cautionary one?
This is a voluntary opinion of an advance reader copy

This was a really fun read. It was whimsical and despite being long it was a very quick read. I really loved Catherine and am completely on board with her origin story. While reading, I was very worried that Heartless would end in a way that would make me unhappy. I was worried that Cath's reasoning for turning into the villain that we know in Alice in Wonderland would frustrate me. I don't want to divulge many details but I was worried that it would go the same way as Maleficent in the most recent film, with a man behind the wheel of her emotions. I am so happy to say that this was not the case at all.

Throughout Heartless the reader grows to love Cath, and her beau, and I can say that I felt her fury and reasoning for who she becomes. I found myself seething as she seethed and feeling satisfied as she came into her own as the Queen. The secondary characters were lovely, I don't think there will ever be an Alice in Wonderland story where I am not a little bit in love with the Hatter. I wish that Meyer showed us more of the land of Chess, as it sounds even more intriguing than the land of Hearts. Though I am thrilled that this was a standalone, and everything was tied up perfectly, I cannot help but wish that Meyer went further with a companion novel telling us of Alice and what happens when she meets the now villainous Queen of Hearts.

Heartless is a whimsical, tragically romantic and fun novel. Highly recommended.

What an amazing novel!!

Let me start off by saying I've never been a fan of Alice and Wonderland. I was terrified of the cartoon as a child, and the new live action film didn't really do anything for me either.
I don't know if I'm a complete idiot or what, but I didn't even truly realize this was the Queen of Hearts backstory until about halfway through the book, so it was fun to not really know until a certain point what all was for sure going to happen.
This book was phenomenal. It completely had me swept up in the world of Wonderland and living it right alongside the characters. If you're like I was & are on the fence about this book - go for it. You'll love it.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

The ending of this book was so utterly perfect and heartbreaking! It was so well done and sudden that I literally re-read THOSE few sentences over and over again, thinking I must've been misinterpreting which character she was talking about. UGH. So painful, so perfect. I was Cath in those last few chapters. Her fury and heartbreak radiated off the pages and onto me. I wanted vengeance as much as she did and was overjoyed when the moment finally came. The entire book was amazing, but those last few chapters - I just can't say enough.
When she met with Hatta after Jest's death and we had his revelation about his feelings for Jest & we watch as he finally goes mad - again, my heart broke.
And her complete disdain for Mary Ann and the King and the entire court of those imbeciles - yep. Right there with ya, Cath.

Okay, now that I've gotten all that out, I can reminisce over the rest of the book.
I loved loved loved the descriptions in this book, from the desserts, to the characters!!
I found myself looking forward to Cheshire's (who thouroughly creeped me out as a child) little quips and spontaneous appearances.
The King was bearable at first but by the end of the book, I was ready to be off with HIS head.
The tea party scene!!! SO GOOD. Loved it.

And Jest.
Wonderful, beautiful Jest.
Their courtship was just a delight. I loved every second of it and the pacing was perfect.

I think Catherine was my favorite character, but honestly, her, Hatta, and Jest were all so well done and different and lovely, that it's nearly a three-way tie.

I just truly lived the journey with Cath, and that's amazing.

Eeeeeeeeh... this one was a letdown for me. The beginning started out pretty interesting- dare I say charming? Once the main conflict is established (Main Character: "The king wants to marry me but I think he's icky, boohoo, poor me! This other guy I've spent ten minutes with is my soulmate; I'm sure of it! Still, I am going to do absolutely nothing about this situation and hope it all works out"), the story drags on and on in the middle. Why is this book 449 pages? Then, after some very heavy handed hints of the tragedy to come, the end is like watching a slow motion car wreck. Yikes. I would recommend reading The Lunar Chronicles instead.

This book for a villains creation story was very good. I'll admit though I am not a obsessed fan of Alice and Wonderland. I read Alice a long time ago when I was a younger and I just didn't care for the weird. Then the cartoon movie just makes me nervous. It honestly wasn't until they made the live action version where I started thinking about caring. This story though....is different. It's about Lady Catherine Pinkerton and how she became a queen in that society. She did not want to marry the king, and fell in love with the court joker named jest. I loved the development of Cath from a fun loving baker to a savage head remover. This book did a very good job of creating vile characters. The jabberwock was in attendance serval times and I love how different fairy tales were used besides Alice. One complaint is you didn't always know who was talking because there was little to no distinction in some places but it happened very little. I loved the hatter story. You got to read as he actually went mad and I loved the insight into his character from someone else's perspective. It was more than just a red queen story honestly. The jest was an awesome character for one not in the original book. I am not fond on the lunar chronicles so I wasn't sure how I'd like this book. Honestly I wasn't planning on reading it until I got it in my owlcrate. I did like it quite a lot though and any Alice fan would like it I would think!

This book was given to me (in physical form) by my best friend. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pissed at her when I reached the end, because I was in absolute wretchedness when I read those last four words.

But it didn't make me feel like my time was wasted, because it was so full. It offered a unique take on the battle with self and love.
The MC, Catherine, starts out in a battle between her own wants, and the wants of her family. She has trouble giving in to her own wants because she loves her parents and doesn't want to disappoint them. At first, her want is a bakery, but that changes when she accquires a love interest.
Near the end, she tries to do what she can for the sake of her love, even at the risk of the disappoint of her family. Even the climax is reached when Catherine's love for someone causes everyone's downfall. And it is only at the VERY end, when Catherine does anything for herself, and noone else, losing her humanity in the process.

This is not a story of good triumphs evil, but a tale of what happens when you give to a breaking point. Because at some point, there will be nothing else to give.

Some people did not like this for the ending. You've been spoiled by happy endings, dears. Stories like this are what allow you to appreciate happy endings, because if every story has a happy ending, there would not be that suspense!
Some people did not like the portrayal of Wonderland, saying it wasn't as wild. First of all, it was the backstory for characters, not Wonderland. Second, Alice was not accustometo Wonderland, so it would be wackier to her. Third, Alice also had a system full of varies drugs. Even wackier.
Some people felt Catherine was shallow. Catherine is a uniquely deep character, who gave of herself, but still showed enough character flaws to be safe of Mary Sue ville. Such as her annoyance for several characters and her accusations regarding the mock turtle.
If you're feeling down or are accustomed to depression, this book is not recommended. But if you hunger for a well told story, of a forgotten villian filled with macaroons, lemon pie, madness, corset strings, nursery rhyme prophsies and devastating sorrow, turn the pages of this deceiving novel, and hold tight to your heart, lest it be stolen……and broken!

This might just be one of my favorite books of all time. I just loved this story explaining how the Queen of Hearts became the Queen of Hearts. I love retellings from the "villains" point of view to explain what made them "evil". The story is just delicious.. with Catherine as a baker and all the dessert references I kept wishing I could actually eat all the yummy treats mentioned! Catherine and Jest had great chemistry and I felt Catherine's anger & heartbreak. When I finished the book I wished there was more. I wished for a different ending (even though you pretty much know how it ends before you even read the book). Meyer did an amazing job of making me empathize with Catherine and making me feel like I took a trip to Wonderland.

What is this woman doing to me?! Now lets be honest this is the prequel story for the Queen of Hearts it can't end well but I surely did not expect that! This was a wild & insane ride. I fell in love with every character whether they were classic's from Lewis Carroll or new. You truly feel like you are in the world of Wonderland. This blends so well with the original Alice story that I can easily see it being what happened before Alice. I loved this book with all of my heart but it also tore me in two. I did not expect to cry & for this story to be this heart wrenching. I also never expected to feel this much for Catherine. If you haven't picked this up yet go do it now! If you love Alice & if you love Marissa Meyers writing you will give your heart to this book.

4.5 Stars

My heart, oh how my heart hurts after reading this book. Of course it hurts in the best possible way as Heartless was such an enjoyable read. This was my first Marissa Meyer book and I was blown away by her writing style and prose. Before I ramble more about why I loved this book so, I will say that I give this book 4.5 stars as at about halfway through the book, it felt like it hit a lull and not progressing that much. I'm happy I kept with it though because boy did it pick up.

When you think of Alice in Wonderland you think of a whimsical magical world and all the characters within that world, the Hatter, Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, etc. Marissa delivers some of these familiar characters in Heartless and brings the whimsy world of Wonderland to life with her words. I was curious to see where she would go with Catherine's character as the Queen of Hearts we all know is such a villain and Catherine was anything but that. Marissa did an amazing job of taking on Catherine's character and giving us a back story on her. I'm trying hard not to give any spoilers away as this is just a book to sit back and enjoy.

Be prepared because this book will reach into your heart and twist it all up.

I will say this was a cross between reading the book and listening to it on Audible, like I do with so many books due to a busy schedule. But despite that, I had a really hard time getting into the book at first, unlike other books I have read by Marissa Meyer.. I love her stories. This one, it took me a while to get to the point where I liked the character and not think of her as a spoiled brat. I know I know, this is a much loved book. But as I got further into the book, I grew to like Catherine or "Cath" for short, and as she fell in love, I grew to love Jest, and found myself rooting for them the whole time, even though I knew this was a villain origin story and knew in my heart it would not end well. I hoped that it would, and some other reason would trigger her. I do love a good villain origin story, and as this progressed when she was sad I was sad and almost wanted to cry towards the end. This story can be fun, it is heart wrenching, and if you love Alice in Wonderland - or like me the Queen of Hearts then you will love this story. It will make you laugh and cry and get angry. So as I am not able to give it a 5 star rating, solely because I could not get into it all the way for much of the first half of the book, I can say, pick it up, fall in love with it, and read it. This is a must read and must have!

(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley.)

“Off with his head.”

This was a YA story about the Queen of Hearts before she became a Queen.

I liked Catherine in this and I liked the way she hung on to her hopes and dreams when everything seemed hopeless. Her determination was quite admirable, and it was nice that she held on to that throughout the book.

The storyline in this was about Catherine’s life prior to becoming the Queen of Hearts, including a romance with the court jester. I really liked the story about how Catherine became the hated Queen that she was, and I actually felt a heck of a lot of compassion for her and everything that she went through in this book. The king came across as a buffoon, and the court jester was a sweetheart, and I really liked the little twists we got thrown as the book went along.

The ending to this was not a happily ever after, but it did set things up perfectly for Catherine to become the Queen of Hearts.

7.5 out of 10

Marissa Meyers has shown as far as I’m concerned that she can retell that crap out of a fairytale or classic. As far as retellings go, I want to recognize the original, and I want the nostalgia of the original piece BUT I don’t want to feel like I’m rereading it….like there’s nothing new. Make no mistake, Heartless is nothing like the Lunar Chronicles, and I’m not going to compare them, but I want to tell you one thing I really admire about Meyers’ work. In The Lunar Chronicles Meyers took well-known fairytales and set them in a completely new world and Meyers did that new world justice. It was well developed and complex…and then she wove in pieces of the some of our favorite tales into this new setting, added some of her own ingenuity and you had this new product…something borrowed but something new. In Heartless, Meyers took an old setting…carved out a piece of it for her to build on and told a completely new story within a story….something borrowed but something new. My hats off to Meyers but she did both wonderfully.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. One of the many strengths that comes to mind right off the back is the descriptive imagery. Whether it was Cath’s baking or Hearts, or a tea party—I could smell it, I could see it, I was there.

I loved the characters. I’m no author (writing is terrifying actually) but I’m always sooooo impressed when not only are the main characters fully fleshed out and developed but when secondary characters are complex and layered as well. No flat characters here you all.

My advice to you while reading this is to have snacks handy (seriously the food descriptions will have you drooling) and guard your feels…this is after all about how the Queen of Hearts became the Queen of Hearts.

Even though I did purchase this title because I really enjoyed it and the cover is gorgeous….
I also received a free digital copy of this title via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Feiwel and Friends and Netgalley for the review copy!

I am currently in a book hangover after reading this. I do not want to jump into the next one because of Marissa's brilliance with words. This world she created made me see the Queen of Hearts of my past in a completely new light. Now I don't know whether to pity her, hate her, be proud of her, or condemn her her own fate because of the inexplicable actions she took to cause her own ending, or in this case the ending of her beginning. Its all rather backwards at times but most things through the looking glass are. This was a well thought out work of art that will, I'm sure, stick with me in my next attempt to break up with this book in order to move on to the next unfair fairy tale. Bravo Marissa Meyer you left me in awe with this one. When a book gives you not just emotions but heightened ones that make you wish more than anything you are a part of the world your reading about...well then this is it and it makes you all the more curiouser and curiouser.

In Heartless, we get to see Cath really try to go for her dreams and just being held back in so many ways by almost everyone around her. While she grows and changes quite a lot through the novel, she manages to stay true to what she wants. The characters all seem to grow and develop really well from beginning to end.

The world of this novel is, of course, Wonderland. However, we get specific details added and built upon specifically for this story. The world building is breathtaking. The details are just enough to make the novel so very immersive while not slowing the storytelling down even for a moment. While reading it, I almost felt as though I’ve lived in Hearts my whole life and could easily recognize the places described.

Given the nature of Heartless, I knew starting out that it would not end nicely but…. Alice in Wonderland. It’s an obsession. I had to read it. I somehow managed to underestimate in my prediction of the feels that would occur as a result of this book. The story was absolutely, heartbreakingly beautiful.

For this review and more, please visit my blog at vicariousbookworm.wordpress.com

This story is set in the Alice and Wonderland world, and tells the tale of The Queen of Hearts, before she became the Queen. Her name is Catherine, and all she wants to do is bake, and open her own bakery. Unfortunately, the King of Hearts sets his sights on her for his bride. Her parents are thrilled and push her towards accepting his proposal. But on the night of the Kings Ball, Catherine meets Jest, the new court joker, and begins to fall in love. With Jest, she can see the future she wants, not the future she is expected to have.

I loved all the Wonderland references in this book. We meet many of the characters from the original books. The Mad Hatter plays a large part in the story, and we get to attend one of his famous tea parties.

This is a bittersweet book, as Catherine and Jest's love is doomed from the start. But it does provide background on why the Queen of Hearts is so mean. The story has it's sad moments, but also some action, as we encounter the Jabberwocky. Fans of the original Alice stories should enjoy this addition to the world.

“What a Queen you will make Lady Pinkerton, cake maker and happiness maker.”

I have attempted to read this so many times. I have tried reading the book and also listening to the audiobook. I was only able to get through a chapter or two and I would put it down. I guess I just was not in the mood for it, until now. I decided to give the audiobook another chance.

I liked how the narrator used different voices for the characters, and I recommend the audiobook as it brought the characters to life. I really enjoyed it. It was fun hearing about some of your favorite characters from Alice in Wonderland.

This started off a little slow, but once it picked up, you will not want to put it down. We all know “Off with your head” but it was fun learning more about how the Queen becomes the Queen.

Overall, this was a fun read and I am glad I finally gave it a chance.

I originally borrowed this book from the library, but as soon as it comes out in paperback, I’m going to get my own copy so I can treasure it forever-- I loved it that much.
I’ve read Meyer’s work before and I’ve loved all of it, particularly Cinder and Cress, so I was definitely expecting a lot from this book.
I can definitely see how some readers would find the book a little slow at the get-go, as it took awhile for me to be able recognize really any correlation to Wonderland. That being said, I did still enjoy the events and storyline in the beginning of the book, I was just having a hard time fitting it into what I know about Wonderland. This characteristic is definitely debunked by the time the book finishes; “Heartless” turned out to be such a beautiful expansion of the world that Lewis Carroll created.
Per usual, Meyer delivers incredible plot twists… there were a couple chapters where I just sat in shock for a couple minutes after I finished, my wheels turning, trying to figure out how the author was going to unveil the rest of it.
I always love Meyer’s characters! They’re so realistic and authentic and lovable and always an aspect of her books I look forward to. This book was no different; I became so emotionally attached to the characters. I got worried and nervous and fearful and angry right along with Cath (who was such a fierce heroine, I thought, although one that was more relatable to those of us who are more timid and don’t possess that invincibility, or intrinsic rebellious nature). My heart broke along with Catherine’s; I felt her anger. And Jest- oh Jest. I totally fell in love with his persona right from the start (fictional character crush?? I think yes). I absolutely adored the banter between Cath and Jest, and it was such an appealing part of the book. I couldn’t get enough of it!!! (And am I the only one who caught onto the irony of Jest’s name? Very clever, Meyer, very clever.)
The only downside I found was how irritating Cath could be when she didn’t stand up for herself- I realize that makes her more relatable and authentic, especially in terms of (as another review put it) "Victorian-era style oppression", but it also bothers me when people in real life don’t stand up for themselves. So the fact that this oppression was typical of the era Meyer set Wonderland in did nothing to deter it from irritating me. Plus, the king was super super spineless and weak. I understand why he was portrayed that way, but it was still mildly irritating. Those are honestly the only negative things I can come up with. Love, love, love. Can’t rave enough about this book.

This was pretty good. I like the Wonderland that she creates; it is whimsical and interesting but it flows so well into the story (the characters aren't shocked by whimsy) that it just seems real. It's very well done. The story was a little slow to develop, and I saw the Jabberwock storyline surprise coming the entire book. But there were enough twists and turns in the last bit to keep it interesting.

I didn't love the change in Cath at the end. She went from being so kind and nice to so vengeful, that I just didn't believe it. I liked the idea better that she became cruel because she gave away her heart. That was creative, but the part between becoming angry and losing her heart, she wasn't the same character. I guess you could argue grief, but it was too much of a leap, I think.

It's a sad book, really, but it is well done in a way that makes sense and seems right. It has to be sad. And it adds some interesting depth behind an otherwise evil character, and I liked that. A villain for a heroine? Fun!

After I read The Lunar Chronicles I was so excited for Marissa Meyer to release more books, retellings or not. I thoroughly enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles. When it was finally announced that Meyer would be releasing another retelling I was so excited. My excitement grew, even more, when I read that the book, Heartless, would be about the infamous Queen of Hearts.

I’m not a big fan of novellas, and Heartless is basically a 453-page novella, that tells us more about who the Queen of Hearts was BEFORE she became the meany Queen of Hearts. And it was absolute perfection. The plot sounded so interesting and it’s such a different perspective.

When I think about the Queen of Hearts, sympathy, and understanding isn’t emotions that I would usually associate with her. After reading Heartless, I’ll never be able to hate her again. I can sympathize with her now.

The characters are fun and colorful and crazy like you’d expect to find in Alice in Wonderland. A lot of the characters from Alice in Wonderland make and appearance in Heartless. From the Hatter to Mr. Caterpillar even the Cheshire Cat. It’s so great to see how all these iconic characters played a part in Cath’s life before she became the Queen of Hearts. Cath now holds a very special place in my heart. I felt her heartbreak and I just want to comfort her!

Marissa Meyer definitely hit it out of the park with Heartless. The book is funny, heartbreaking and has just the right amount of impossible silliness in it. Meyer cleverly worked in some other literary works like Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and even the nursery rhyme; Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater. Heartless is easy to read and get lost in for hours at a time. I’ll be re-reading that book many more times in the future.

“Your future is written on stone, but not in it”.

Lady Catherine Pinkerton, only child of the Marquis and Marchioness of Rock Turtle Grove in the country of Hearts, has caught the eye of the King. He'd fallen for the young woman's baking and then, on some strange level, for her. However, Cath has other ideas. She wants to be a "bluestocking", in charge of her own life and certainly NOT a pawn in a very creepy world of magic and utter mayhem.

It is very hard to review Heartless without spoiling it for other readers. The story might make you dizzy as a Hatter, but it will stay with you.

This book proves, with no doubt, that Marissa Meyer is an author to be reckoned with. I thoroughly enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles after literally (no pun intended) stumbling upon them some time back. Meyer knows her stuff and writes much better than the " other" author, Gregory Macquire ( whose work I do not care for). I will be adding this to my "Best of 2016" list post haste.

If you are a fan of Alice in Wonderland or fairy tales in general and with a twist, then, you will enjoy this book. What I most loved about this book is that it was not just a twist on a classic story but it stood alone as a different story. Yes, there were some of the same characters from the original. However, there were other new characters that kept this story refreshing. So, there was nothing to compare this story to the original.

Although, I must comment by saying that while I liked the romance sprouting between Catherine and Jest, I felt that Catherine could have been fine without any suitors. She is a strong, independent woman with a mind of her own. Therefore, this is the reason I liked her a lot. Yet, the romance between Catherine and Jest was sweet. At least, Jest offered some laughs. Unlike the King. He was spineless. The Jabberwock was a nice addition to making this story a little darker. This is a recommended read! I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Murderer. Martyr. Monarch. Mad.
The story of the Queen of Hearts, her past, and the prophecy and people that changed her life forever.

This was not my first Marissa Meyer novel, and it won't be my last. I am a big fan of her Lunar Chronicles series, and since I love a good fairy tale villain backstory like Wicked, I decided to give Heartless a try.

Heartless is a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, and tells the backstory of the infamous Queen of Hearts. Catherine is the daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove, and is destined for royalty and nobility, except all she wants to do is open a bakery with her maid and close friend Mary Ann. Catherine (Cath) is a talented baker who is known to create the best and most delicious desserts. (Seriously, eat before you read this book. Meyer does a too great job of describing all the sweets and desserts Cath makes.) The one problem holding her back from her dream is that Cath's mother can barely tolerate her baking hobby, deeming it a chore for servants. Cath has an even less likely chance of becoming a baker when she finds out that the good-natured, if idiotic, King of Hearts wishes to marry her. The King is a childish fool, and I can't blame Cath for not wanting to marry and start a family with him. His upcoming proposal gets even worse when Cath finds herself falling head-over-heels for the King's new court joker, Jest. Cath and Jest's romance is sweet and interesting, if a little predictable. I enjoyed their interactions for the most part. However, Jest is a servant and Cath is a noblewoman favored by the King, therefore it's nearly impossible for them to be together. Cath doesn't want to marry the King, she wants to start the bakery and be with Jest, but her parents refuse to fund the bakery, and Cath doesn't know how to say no to the King of Hearts. Then she discovers the reason behind Jest's sudden arrival in Hearts. Enter a monstrous Jabberwocky attacking the citizens of Hearts, a mysterious prophecy concerning important Wonderlandian characters, and you have Heartless.

I enjoyed most of this novel, except the beginning and some parts of the middle. The beginning was a little slow, and the middle dragged on a bit. I did really like reading about Hatta, Chess, the prophecy, and Cheshire's lines. He was a funny, creative character, and I liked him more than others (cough, Margaret, cough). I couldn't quite get the attraction between Cath and Jest, but it was better than several other love storylines. Catherine's final choice nearly killed me, yet I knew it would be her choice from the beginning. It's one of the most heartbreaking effects when you read a really good prequel of a storybook villain.

If you've read any of Marissa Meyer's books before, this is a nice addition to her work. If you haven't, this is perfect if you want a taste of what her writing is like. (Just be warned, Heartless is very different from the Lunar Chronicles, so if you didn't really like Heartless, don't completely eliminate any idea of reading Meyer's other books.)

This is the story of how the Queen of Hearts became truly heartless....

First off, I love anything to do with Lewis Carroll and the "Alice" stories. Love it, love it, love it. Not so far as to have an entire sleeve being tattooed on my arm, but close enough. (Note to self - go back and read my annotated copy of Alice in Wonderland.)

Actually, I am going to claim ignorance of what the book was about. I don't always read the fly-leaf on the cover. I just know I have enjoyed Meyer's retelling of fairy tales in The Lunar Chronicles, so I brought it home with me. And devoured it. Much like the delectable confections Cath prepares in the book. The result - I discovered something special (and cried a bit too).

Catherine is nobility. But all she wants to do is open a bakery, preparing all manner of sweets and tarts. However, the King has his eye on more than her tarts and a new court jester has arrived. Along with the Jabberwoky.

What happens is a romp through Wonderland with all your favorite characters, including a Mad Hatter, who might not be quite as mad...yet.

“Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.” I mean COME ON! How amazing does that sound? Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a standalone young adult fantasy. It is the story of the Queen of Hearts long before she was the Queen of Hearts. It acts a prequel to the Alice in Wonderland stories and it was one of my most anticipated reads of 2016. For a number of reasons. I absolutely love retellings, re-imaginings and stories about villainous characters. Not to mention Wonderland is one of my favorite story book lands of all time. So this one was a no brainer for me. And if you can believe it, this is my first Marissa Meyer book. (I know, I know! I have the Lunar Chronicles sitting on my shelf but I have yet to read them. Be sure to tell me how crazy I am in the comments below. :p) So with all of that perfect sounding hype, I was a little scared to pick up Heartless. I mean it sounds perfect, but…what if I don’t love it as much as I was expecting. So, I put off reading it for a little while. But, I couldn’t put it off forever. every day when I went into my library to pick out my next read, it was staring at me from my bookshelf, telling me that I would rather be reading Heartless. And eventually I caved. And I have to say…it was EVEN BETTER THAN i WAS EXPECTING! Heartless has everything I love in a book- it has amazing characters, it has romance, and it has wonderland! I loved this book so much!

Heartless tells the story of a long Cath- who loves to bake. (it’s how she wins the heart of the King of wonderland- and no that isn’t a spoiler, you can tell that just from the first chapter.) I loved seeing Cath so passionate about baking, and watching her thoughts wander to baked goods and new ideas when she is talking to someone else was so endearing to me. Like when she was thinking about creating salted caramels at the ball. While I was reading and getting to know the young Cath I couldn’t help but stop and wonder how on earth she turns into the ruthless Queen. And that is what made Heartless so magical and wonderful. Marissa Meyer stays true to the wonderland flair in her story and with her characters but she also is so gifted with her character development that Cath turns into a completely different person in your mind. This book has made me want to go straight home and binge read all of Marissa’s other books.

There is a great romance in Heartless as well. As soon as I was introduced to the Joker, I was itching for the romance to develop. This is a really hard romance because I knew it was (most likely- see I am still unwilling to accept it!) be doomed from the start because I know how the Queen of Hearts story ends, but it didn’t stop me from falling completely in love with Jest. Marissa Meyer has such a way with her characters. you can’t help but love them. I wanted Cath so badly to open up her bakery and run away with Jest, even though I know this is a prequel to the wonderland tales. It didn’t matter, I couldn’t let them go.

bottom line: Heartless is an incredible standalone book. I know people will be comparing this to Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles and I have no idea whether they think it is better or not. Since this is the first book I have read from her, I can’t compare them, but I will say this. Heartless is a magical read that will have you thinking about The Queen of Hearts in a different light. I think this is a perfect origin story for this famous villain of Wonderland. I loved it so much. I have an exclusive cover edition coming to me and I can’t wait to buy every cover out there for this story. It is one of my favorites of 2016!

*Disclaimer- I got a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author.

Oh, Heartless is clever, very very clever. So clever in fact, it manages to be both unique and heart-stoppingly familiar at the same time.

Dare to delve headfirst into your childhood memories? To come out with a different view of Wonderland? You’ll find a land as rich as double cream and characters you didn’t know you needed in your life.

It’s whimsical, swoony, fun and fanciful. And there’s cake. It’s full of cake. And Jokers. And Hatters.

I gobbled this book, dreaming of the characters. Trying to savour the flavours but instead gulping it almost all at once – like an unexpected treat that could be snatched away at any moment.

What do I want next? What am I desperate for?… Jest. I would love to hear Jest’s narration. A whole story from his POV. Here’s hoping Marissa Meyer hears my plea!
@crushingcinders

Heartless was one of those books I may not have otherwise picked up if it wasn't picked up for me. I had no previous knowledge of Marissa Meyer’s other books and no particular fascination with Through the Looking Glass/Alice in Wonderland. I am also not generally a reader of books whose plot is primarily based around romance. When I opened this book, I was not sure what to expect since the Queen of Hearts is among the hardest to imagine as the heroine of a novel.

I believe now.

Catherine, the future Queen of Hearts, is just a whimsical teenager with big dreams for her future. She has high hopes of growing up to be a baker with her own shop, despite having caught the King’s eye. Her parents pressure her to accept the King’s advances, very much like a Jane Austen novel, but Catherine’s heart is stolen by another, the King’s mysterious new Joker, Jest. No one seems to know where the Joker is from, or remember hearing of him before his grand entrance at the King’s Ball.

Although the secret flirtation between Jest and Catherine appears to begin with a love-at-first-sight cliche, it is by no means exactly as it seems. In fact, nothing is. The relationships between the entire cast of characters is finely interwoven, so that everything in the story happens for a reason and has an effect on almost everything else. Catherine’s relationship with Jest is complicated by layers of intrigue, with both internal and external conflict, that kept me engrossed throughout the book.

Meyer also did an excellent job of working within the framework of a world that was already created by Lewis Carroll. The end of Heartless was preordained by the person the reader knows that Catherine must become. Rather than making the book boring or underwhelming, at each new turn and bump in the road, I found myself aching for her and hoping against hope that somehow Meyer had found a way for her to make it out of the mess happily ever after. Perhaps my only sadness is that the end of the book wraps up briskly and left me sort of reeling to take it all in after the last page had been turned.

Bravo, Marissa Meyer!

I listened to the audio book, which did not do this book any favors. It highlights the issues with the writing - constant furrowing, grimacing, chewing of cheeks, twitching of cheeks, etc. etc. etc.

I came to this book without much recent or detailed impressions of the Queen of Hearts or original Alice stories, so maybe this book is better for those who do. Sadly, I found it really disappointing. Wonderland is not nearly as fantastical or mad as I would have though. Catherine is terribly annoying, and I listened through several hours of what seemed like the same scene over and over again, until there was some action.

There are some good scenes, enough to demonstrate some chemistry between Catherine and Jest. But it was not enough to overcome the general flatness of the characters and story. I do not recommend this one.

Cath was born to a brilliant world full of balls, tea parties, and flamingo croquet. Unfortunately, that isn’t the life she wants for herself. Despite being one of the privileged Wonderland nobility, Cath feels uncomfortable with her empty life full of frenemies and brainless men. She would rather follow her one true passion—baking—and join the working class by opening Heart’s greatest bakery. With her parents set on having her marry the bumbling King of Hearts, however, that dream seems far out of reach. When a new court jester appears and offers Cath an alluring blue-collar romance, she quickly finds herself falling head over heels. But can a love like this, disapproved of by everyone in Cath’s life, really last?

In the tradition of Gregory Maguire, this Alice in Wonderland prequel tries to provide a sympathetic backstory for the villainous Queen of Hearts. For the most part, I would say that she succeeds. You support Cath in her dream and feel drawn toward the mysterious Jest. Her transformation to become the heartless Queen of Hearts is a little less believable, though. The “off with their heads” theme seems to come from nowhere, and her blind drive for revenge at the end seems extreme. The book also suffers from quite a few Young Adult clichés: a love triangle, an ordinary girl that everyone seems to think is extraordinary for some reason, etc. Despite these flaws, however, the book was definitely a page-turner and no fan of the Lunar Chronicles will walk away disappointed.

Such a fun story! This book tells us the story of a teenage Catherine Pinkerton, who will one day become the Queen of Hearts. Yes, we see folks in this book like the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter, as it's based on the characters from Alice in Wonderland. How does she meet the King of Hearts? And, knowing what we do about the Queen of Hearts, how can someone fall in love with her? Most of us remember her character as being pretty awful, so you'll enjoy this book, which tells you of her hopes and dreams.

A great love story and also one of adventure and mystery. Definitely worth the read! I loved every minute!

Marissa Meyer does it again and in an epic way! Heartless is the story of Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts and boy does Meyer hit it out of the park with this one! I was completely and utterly sucked in from page one. Not only do we get the story of how Cath (a seemingly sweet teenage girl who dreams of falling in love and owning her own bakery) transforms into the short tempered and hateful Queen of Hearts, but we also get to spend time with some familiar characters as well. Heartless is wonderful, romantic, whimsical, scary and fun. I loved every minute of this book, even when it broke my heart.

I enjoyed this creative explanation of why some things in Wonderland are the way we know them to be from Alice’s story. (Similar to the way Wicked explains Oz.) This story is not about Alice but, rather, everyone else from Wonderland. While it was a fun tale and quite ingenious, it felt geared toward the younger side of YA. I think it felt fairly childish due to the world of Wonderland itself, what with animals and plants interacting with humans. The narrator of this audiobook, however, was fantastic. She had a million different voices and accents and was so animated in her roles. I give her, Rebecca Soler, an A+. Between her narrating and the creativity in Meyer’s writing, I enjoyed the novel. However, it’s not as good as her Lunar Chronicles series, in my opinion. If you’re a big Alice in Wonderland fan you would enjoy it.

“Fascinating, isn't it, how often heroic and foolish turn out to be one and the same.” -Marissa Meyer, Heartless

A twist on a classic tale, Heartless is a wonderful, imaginative retelling of Alice in Wonderland and the story of the Queen of Hearts. Cath is a young woman in the kingdom of Hearts who dreams of opening a bakery and living her own life, but is trapped by the expectations of her mother and a possible marriage to the King of Hearts. Then, on a seemingly uneventful night, she meets the mysterious and mischievous new court Joker, Jest, and her life changes forever.

I loved this book! In an attempt to avoid spoiling anything as far as the plot goes, all I will say about the ending is that it is not the traditional “happy ending” that most books of this genre have, which wrecked my heart, but in the best way possible. Because I was so emotionally invested in the characters and their stories, I found myself heartbroken as well after the plot twist.The characters were incredibly realistic, with great dialogue and vivid descriptions, which helps me really get into the plot and be more invested in the story. I really loved the witty banter between Cath and Jest, and the intelligent yet sassy way that Cath interacted with anyone who doubted her. Cath was a well-written strong female character who went against the mold of a typical lady of the kingdom, and while her life was already set before her, she decided to forge her own path.

Marissa Meyer has created a beautiful world with rich settings, reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s original story with fresh perspectives and details that added a new element to the story and characters. I love what Meyer has done with the idea of a backstory to the Queen of Hearts and the new added characters like Jest, the King of Hearts, and Mary Ann, while still intertwining original characters like the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter. Fans of the original Alice in Wonderland book will love the small details and hints at the original story hidden within the book.

Overall, I really loved this book and it is definitely on my favorites shelf, because of the amazing quality of writing, the well-rounded and life-like characters, and the ability of Meyer to write a story that is reminiscent of Carroll’s original story while keeping the plot new and interesting.

*If you have not read the book yet, there will be some major spoilers below*

I really loved the relationship between Cath and Jest. I am not usually one that likes cliche romances, and this one certainly is not. As mentioned before, the banter is simply wonderful in creating tension and by about the middle of the book, I found myself really rooting for Cath and Jest to be together in the end. However, because of the plot twist near the end, I found myself heartbroken and a bit in denial that Jest was not going to come back; while I was a bit torn up by his death, I appreciated that Meyer did not make the story stereotypical and have a so-called “happy ending”. I usually find that books that break my heart are ones that I have the most emotional attachment to, and thus end up on my favorites shelf. A definite must-read for fans of Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland or anyone who wants to read a beautiful, well-written story!

This was delectable.

So much more detailed than her other work, the symbolism and allusions in this book made me swoon and it was still action packed with twists and turns that were certainly unexpected.

You know that The Queen of Hearts turns cold, yet you still hope with every page that the story will turn, because the characters are just that good.

I thought the surprises were excellent and I truly felt captivated like I was on a speeding highway toward the ending. My heart broke for the leader she became, because I understood the path that took her there.

This is perfect for fantasy lovers, adventure lovers and mystery lovers. It's the full package. Superb.

This book was so amazing and beautiful and wonderful and I remembered being so giddy as I read this. The setting really explored the world of Wonderland/Hearts and I thought that there were nice touches. However, all good things must come to an end.
I don't know if that's a real quote or something, but it's true. And if you're the one who said this quote, props (what? that's a real thing people say, right?) to you!

I actually don't really make list/bullet point reviews, but I will.

CHARACTERS: There is great character development in this, but some of it is quite sudden.

Catherine: Catherine's personality and demeanor changes a LOT from the beginning to the end. At first, she's a sweet little puffed potato that just wants to make cake and lemon tarts and pumpkin pie. She had this whole desire not to be rich, and still she's sweet.

Jest: I really, really, really, really love Jest in this. I mean, he's (view spoiler) a magician, a freaking RAVEN (I think, the story doesn't really go into that), a secret agent on a mission (Don't worry guys, it's revealed in the beginning somewhat-ish), and just a stand-up guy. (Yes, I said /stand-up/ FIGHT ME)

Mad Hatter: Let me just say: he is not mad in the beginning. But I think that the whole backstory is very interesting.

Raven: Did he actually have a name? I don't remember, sorry. But he's cool. I think that the whole Edgar Allen Poe-esque theme around him is very interesting.

PLOT:
I absolutely LOVED the plot. In the beginning, it literally starts out with her making tarts- to her screaming "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" at the end. (Don't be shocked. I mean, things didn't turn out too well for the Queen of Hearts in Alice of Wonderland..) I mean, if that isn't a great plot, what is? YOU CAN LITERALLY FEEL THE HEARTBREAKING DEATHS.

Also, I LOVE THE FOOD. It sounds SO GOOD. MY everyday meal consists of burnt Cinnabons.

DISLIKES
Okay, so I actually really love this book but there are a couple things I found odd/weird but THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THIS BOOK IS ANY LESS MAJESTIC THAN IT IS.

- I felt like Catherine's character change in the end was kind of sudden.

- I feel like the book could've gone deeper into the world/magic. There was a lot of beautiful descriptions, but I wish that there was more. And also it gets pretty dark midway, it slowly becomes darker and darker, and I wish that it went more into that.

- Chess. I wish that she went to Chess. Well, I wish that Chess was more explored, and that area was very gray.

I actually have a huge craving for pumpkin pie now but I don’t want to become a Jabberwocky. OH WAIT, I DO.

This is a difficult one. I really grew to love Cath, and hate the queen of Hearts. So conflicted. If you've read the book you probably know what I mean. It's kind of like the first time you watch titanic. The ships gonna sink at the end, right? Then you watch it anyway, and it turns out the be a good movie. The trips more important than the destination. That's how I feel about this one.

Meyer displays her unique writing, and wordplay in this story. Fans of hers will enjoy Heartless just because of the Meyerisms, which make the storytelling unique. She successfully borrows from both Poe and Carroll, while intertwining her own Carrollesque phrasings.

If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland this is a must read. If not, you should give it a read anyway.

Heartless is retelling of Alice in Wonderland but I think this book can stand on its own without mention since I didn't read about Alice, instead we got Catherine. A young girl who loves to bake and dreams of opening her own bakery, but her parent have other plans for her. I love Marissa's writing and the way she described details that brought you back to the story you've heard with each characters dialogue! The description of the scenes and the flow of the story was great not to mention the chemistry between Jest and Catherine, I've never cheered on a couple as much of these two in any other book. But all good thing must come to an end and the last few chapters..ugh they hurt because even if you knew how this story would end you couldn't help but cheer for the underdog!

Firstly, I found this book slow to start. Then, suddenly, I found myself hooked and blew through the last 60% in a day.
Secondly, I have to admit that I preferred the Lunar Chronicles, but I think this might be because I've never been a fan of Alice in Wonderland, while I adore the fairy tales TLC were based on.
Thirdly, Marissa Meyer is a genius. Her original spin on any story is spectacular - well thought-out, creative and colourful. Never once did I think that I would feel pity for the Queen of Hearts, but one again, Meyer got me right in the feels with her characterisation. Her world building in Heartless, in my opinion, is even better than in TLC.

I loved this book until the very end and then I hated it. The first 85% was magical, romantic, whimsical, and everything I love about Marissa Meyer's fairy tale twists.
The ending was horrible and I really want an alternate version that carries on the magic of the beginning of the book.

This is by far one of my favorite books in the world (to the point that I own like 5 total copies of it)! Marissa Meyer is a queen when it comes to putting her own twist on classic stories. This book tells the tale of the villainous Queen of Hearts before she became the cruel, ruthless ruler people nowadays know her to be. It centers around a teenage Catherine Pinkerton (our future Queen of Hearts) and Jest (a magical, mysterious, and swoonworthy court jester) and follows their forbidden love story. While it does focus on romance, that's not all there is to this book. There's humor, there's action, there's mystery, there's romance, there's baking! The descriptions in this book will make your mouth water.

Meyer's writing makes it so easy to fall in love with her characters, to feel for them, to grow attached to them. I went into this without any real background knowledge about Alice in Wonderland, just my own personal curiosity. This book is whimsical and I have heard from others that it does the world of Wonderland justice. She incorporates little easter eggs and snippets of the world into the book flawlessly. I am a slow reader, but found myself so engrossed in this world, the story, the characters, and the book overall, that I finished this in like 4 days (which is super fast for me. I remember going to bed at like 5 in the morning because I just could not put it down, not knowing what to do with myself after the heartbreak I had just endured as a result of this darn book. This was the first book that left me thinking about it for months after. I felt heartbroken, even though it was to be expected as it was sure to have an unhappy ending given what the book is about: a villain's origin story. I kept venting to everyone who would listen. Haha. Regardless of the emotional roller coaster this book took me on, I would do it all over again.

Also, make sure to check out her other series- The Lunar Chronicles. I cannot say enough great things about her writing.

Heartless is a retelling of Alice and Wonderland along the lines of something like Wicked, a prequel to the event of Alice. This book follows the red queen, Katherine, before she becomes the ruthless villain we all know her as. There is nothing inherently wrong with Heartless, the writing the is fast pace and makes you want to fly though the book much like many of Meyer’s other works do. The book is fun and even funny in places. The character’s are well rounded and relatable. The book has all the making of a beautiful retelling but still it manages to fall short.

The main flaw with Heartless is its extreme lack of originality. The book adds no new perspective, little two no truly new characters, and is full of tropes. If you have ever read a book about the red queen or any sort of villainous origin story than you have already read the basics of Heartless. The only truly unique thing abut Heartless is how it manages to use every trope ever seen in a red queen origin.

The book even lacked Meyer’s usual flare for changing or growing a character everyone knows and loves. The red queen was the same as she is always seen in prequels, the Hatter lacks any originality unless you count Meyer slipping in a hint that he may be queer at the very end. Even her so called original character, Jest, just takes the place of the Knave of Hearts. Changing a characters name and status does not an original character make.

When it is all said and done I did not find Heartless to be that spectacular. I found the book to just be a rewrite of every other Alice and Wonderland book out there.

I love Alice in Wonderland.
I love Origin Stories.
What I don't enjoy is the love trope that one character is wishy washy with their affections. I enjoy a good romance, but this I love you yet I'm going to brush you off and look down my nose at you so you are unsure of my feelings.
It was fun to see connections to all the original story and where they came from. Even the unexpected connection. They were like little desserts to the story.
I would say this is a borrow from the library book. I don't see myself rereading this.

(Spoilers!)
I loved the amount of references to the original works and subtle nods to other authors plus the direct quotes. Reading a retelling of the Queen of Hearts, it's only expected to end tragically; but still I became invested and was sad near the end. I also enjoy the symbolism that is clear through the novel and end with the crowning of Catherine to be a Queen of Hearts, yet without one. The only parts that left me a pepper taste in my mouth was the sort of abruptness to Catherine's return to Wonderland. The pacing suddenly shifted near during the end and Catherine's corruption finally began to build up. Reading this is clear to have no happy ending and crushes your heart, but I did not enjoy the pace shift. Though I loved the accurate portrayal of Chesire the Cat and cast of characters. They were all quirky in their own sense and I believe them to be true characters of Wonderland. Catherine was lovely but I wouldn't have minded to see more of her quirks and in depth. On the surface she was a baker and well rounded person, yet she was also witty and sympathetic. Also my concern for the Turtle continues after finish in the book and why Jack continued his rudeness when suggesting he had a liking for her. Jest was charming and endearing; he was a true martyr plus heart thief. And Hatta was one of the most odd and true characters of wonderland, his exuberance hiding the madness before he accepted it in the end. Talking about the ending, unhappy as expected. I can't hate the ending and understand why it was abrupt. Similar to the swing of an axe. I still enjoyed reading this, the writing withdrew emotions from me (it even welled me up). For that spectrum of happiness and emotions I am happy to have read this book and hope everyone else who decided to read this enjoyed it to some degree.

The thing I love the most about this book is that the whole time, you know that eventually, Cath is going to become the evil queen that we all know. But while reading it, you forget this and are wrapped up in the story of a dreamer who desperately doesn't want to marry the king.

My only critique of the book is that in the end, Cath is very flippant in her feelings on whether she wants to marry the king or not. First, she wants to marry Jest, then she's so mad at him that she agrees to marry the king, then she goes back to Jest.

It's unfortunate that people pretty much told the whole story in their reviews. It's like watching the trailer for a movie....and the whole plot and ending are told therein. That said, I loved this book! I loved the evolution of Catherine's character from a girl with dreams and aspirations, (beyond what her parents had planned for her future), to the most evil character in Carroll's Wonderland. I thought this was a well written back story for Catherine, and it successsfully explained the events that could have made her the evil queen she is today. I borrowed this book (and read it in a day!), but plan to buy it for my own collection soon.

The story that I've been waiting for!

This is the story of a daughter of a marquess that dreams of being a baker.

This is a story of love, betrayal, desception, and heartbreak.

This is the story of how a girl in love became the cruel and merciless Queen of Hearts.

Once again, Marissa Meyers has captured the essence of a "fairy tale" in a stunningly descriptive way that pulls at your heart strings. While still true to the base of Lewis Carrol's story, this book spins a story of its own. The characters are all beautifully deep. Even one as simple and cooky as the court joker becomes a character close to your heart.

Quotes like: "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" add even more special moments throughout...almost like a secret hint into what is to come.

Five stars for Heartless!

I’ve enjoyed all of the books from Marissa Meyer, and when I saw Heartless was a Queen of Hearts origin story, I couldn’t wait to get my greedy hands on it.

I mean, you know where the Queen of Hearts ends up, so I was sort of surprised to find how much I loved Catherine. She’s so smart and wants her future so badly, that she’s prepared to do anything to get it. And that’s part of her personality that carried over when we get to Carroll’s Wonderland. This Catherine is sweet and loves to bake. She’s a bit whimsical and it was fun being in her head.

The scene where Jest appears for the first time is perfection and I loved him right away. He’s smart and doesn’t really show it because he knows his place in the kingdom. And yet, there’s maybe something else too…

There is a bit of a slow build up, but in the best way. We have to maneuver around the world that Marissa created and get to know everyone. And then once it starts, it really starts. There’s magic and swoons and danger and fighting and more descriptions of delicious tarts than I knew what to do with. And like I said above, even knowing that Catherine was eventually going to become the Queen we see in Wonderland, I was hoping hoping hoping that something would change. It was amazing and heartbreaking all at once.

**Huge thanks to the lovely ladies at Fierce Reads for sending me the arc and making me scream when I saw the envelope**

First off, Meyer is an excellent writer and storyteller. I wasn't disappointed. The plot was fantastic, and I found myself not being able to put this book down. She has an amazing imagination. She added excellent details that stayed true to the original story. I wouldn't call myself a Wonderland fan, but she might have changed my mind.

However, I found the plot to be slow going at first. It took me a while to get into it. I also couldn't stand the main character or the Victorian England setting. She got better as it went along, but she drove me nuts at the beginning. The queen of hearts is ruthless, not passive.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. I look forward to her next one, though I realize this is a stand alone novel.

This book was AMAZING. She fits a intoxicating delightful storyline I'm 449 pages. You will fall in love with Jest. He's a cross between Aladdin and the Weasly twins.

Through the Looking Glass is tied into this. In a twist you don't really see coming. This was an amazing origin of how/why the Queen of Hearts is so "Heartless."

I wasn't crazy about Catherine but, that's the point. You are not meant to like the Queen. This book is worth it.

This was a very interesting and intriguing take on how the Queen of Hearts came to be. I can definitely believe that losing the man that you loved and the future you were looking forward to would drive a person to anger, revenge and hopelessness. The idea of the Queen of Hearts wanting to own a bakery was awesome, I loved it! And I did not see that the Jabberwock was an actual person although after it was revealed, it was pretty obvious. Marissa Meyer just has this way of changing my perspective on these classic fairy tales and I love it! I can't wait to read her next take on one of my favorites.

This was my first time reading anything from this author, and I loved it! I was skeptical in the beginning, because it started out really cute and sweet, which doesn't really appeal to me. However, the author does a great job of gradually moving into the telling of a darker tale. I loved that there were certain dark quirks in Cath's character BEFORE she experiences the catalyst that propels her into full-on "Queen of Hearts" mode. This meant a lot to me as a reader, since I don't think I would have bought it if a perfect, angelic character became cold and hateful literally overnight. Overall a great read, I can't wait to tackle Meyer's Lunar Chronicles next.

As a fan of the original "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", I knew I had to read this book the moment I heard what it was about. I was first in line to buy the book and I do not regret shelling out the money for it.

All the events in "Heartless" take place long before Alice falls down the rabbit hole. The story serves to give an interesting backstory to The Queen of Hearts as well as many other memorable characters from "Alice in Wonderland", from the Mad Hatter to the Chesire Cat to the Duchess and many others. This book was an absolute page-turner. I was ensnared from the first page and there was not a single point when I wanted to put the book down. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves "Alice in Wonderland" or just loves exploring nonsensical worlds.

I wasn't too sure about this book since I never got into the Lunar series (read three of the books and just wasn't sold.) However, I was totally blown away by Heartless. It usually takes me a few chapters to get hooked, but the unique, detailed writing instantly enthralled me. It was lovely and heartbreaking and beautiful. I stayed up all night trying to finish reading it because I needed to know all of Catherine's story - there was never a good place to put the book down! I enjoyed Heartless for the style of writing as much as the story itself. Five stars.

This book really left me torn. I enjoyed the story so much but knowing what the end result would be was very disappointing as I became attached to the relationships and the dreams of the main character. The ending was devastating yet oddly abrupt. Parts of it felt kind of extreme while other parts just made no sense to me. I read this book on the beach in Hawaii which definitely improved the experience for me.

I've seen a lot of people dock this book because of the ending. I think they missed the fact this is a origin story for the Queen of Hearts. Once I knew that I wasn't expecting it to end well. I went back and forth on how much I liked Cath. She started off as a really strong willed character, and then gradually become a bit spineless. I almost stopped reading because she started to get annoying. I'm glad I kept at it. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings and fantasy i would definitely recommend this book. Meyer did an excellent job with this one. I have not read the Lunar Chronicles, but they are now on the must read list.

I'm not even halfway through the book, and I am thinking of taking this book back to the library. It is so utterly boring that it makes for such a hard read! I read The Lunar Chronicles, and absolutely loved those books, but I don't know what happened here with this book. I don't even know what the plot is, and I am about halfway through the book! It is just not getting anywhere! But, just reading it, reminded me of the Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland... so two-dimentional. Ugh! The characters were not really fully developed to me in this book. I had no emotional connection with them at all, and plus, there are way too many characters to begin with... We are just jumping all over the place and we hardly even know the main characters to begin with. I would not recommend this book at all. Very boring. I'm taking it back to the library. Sorry Marrisa Meyer.

After reading the Lunar Chronicles, I had such high hopes for this. Sadly, by the end, I really didn't care about the characters anymore. I liked Catherine at the beginning, and I know the whole point was to see how she became heartless (sorry, couldn't resist), but the story felt off to me. At times she almost felt as if she was always evil, but just kept it hidden. Other than the characters falling a bit flat, it was beautifully written. I absolutely adored the tiny twists on characters and lines found in the original books/movie.

Loooooved this book!!! A lush tribute to Alice in Wonderland with personal tweaks and nuance by Ms. Meyer to enchant readers of all ages.
Catherine and Jest were mesmerizing. I was their faithful champion. The king was a buffoon who challenged my patience and earned my sympathy. Same can be said for Hatta, the enigma. His character development was seductive; so engrossed in his magic we were. Cath's parents infuriated me with their bottom line.
I loved it all. I could read more!

My friend loaned this to me for finals and I loved it so much I bought myself a copy! This book was quite long and slow paced and it took me quite a bit after my finals were over to complete it.

+Lovable Characters
+Many references to the Alice in Wonderland series and Edgar Allen Poe's "Raven"
+/- Goodish Plot
-2/3 of the book was really slow-paced and the last third of the book felt rushed?
-The main characters make a lot of stupid decisions/don't do anything really helpful!
-Why is the Jabberwocky always the villain in Alice in Wonderland based books? (I mean, it's not even a character in the original AiW series! It's from a poem!)

I will say (Spoilers?) that the ending is very frustrating to read, mostly due to the chain of events that occur to create the scene, it was very rushed, the characters acted stupid each passing chapter, and it was unsatisfying in the end, but due to this book claiming that it's the Queen of Hearts' backstory, it is quite a fitting ending to the QoH's beginning.

Omg I absolutely loved this book until the very end. I love Marissa Meyer's writing and I decided to read this after finishing and loving the Lunar Chronicles. I honestly thought that this book would have a happy ending. Boy, was I wrong. I really wish that everything would've went as planned. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is a MUST READ. I swear that you'll be crying and very mad at the end of the story, because I know I was. I still think you would appreciate this book if you are an Alice In Wonderland fan and enjoy it nonetheless. But I really wanted more and felt like the end was a CLIFF-HANGER!! I NEED a sequel but don't think im going to get it. :-(

This was fun.

Lady Catherine loves to bake and she wants to open a bake shoppe. Her parents want her to marry well. The King of Hearts loves her tarts and wants her to be the Queen of Hearts.
The Jabberwocky might throw a spanner in the works, though.
Jest the Joker is such a card.
The Mock Turtle is just so sad.
The Mad Hatter is determined not to go mad.
And what do the Red and White Queens of Chess have to do with anything?

A retelling of it's own sort of Wonderland. What a captivating read. When her heart was revealed with a crack in it... broken... oh I've changed my view on the Queen of Hearts!!! Oh Cath. Okay I'll say no more, read it!

This books is just... It's so good. I'm not even a big Alice in Wonderland person but this book changed that. the writing style is fantastic and I just loved everything about it. The characters were so realistic and molded to and by the culture of the world its fantastic.
Cath is such a good character and is her own person while being totally relatable. I love all the characters, Jest and the Mad Hatter especially. Jest isn't your usual "Manic pixie dream boy" as I call it, that's in a lot of YA novels. He has the attributes but he has a different feel, I can't exactly put my finger on it but I like him a lot. And the Hatter is just one of those characters that you encounter every once in awhile that makes you feel intensely for them and it just grows the more you know about them.
The world, even though it's weird, it's still so relatable and mirrors our own. It makes it feel weird even though its absolutely absurd and I love it.
The end made me scream(In the best way possible) for about 10 minutes so... be warned.

Honestly, this is the second time I've picked up this book to read it. The first time I just couldn't get into. It's a little slow in the beginning, but once you get going and Jest makes his appearance, boy! I didn't want to put it down! Excitement, love, adventure; all with some of the world's most loved characters. I will never look at the wicked Queen of Hearts the same way again. Loved the story, the creativity. Highly entertaining!

Heartless was everything I expected it to be and more. I read The Lunar Chronicles, a great series, and I expected Heartless not to disappoint, which it didn't. I'm giving this book a 5-stars because a good book should evoke emotion. And for me, that's exactly what Heartless did. It evoked anger, humor, sadness, and at some moments, downright disbelief. I liked the characters the author wanted me to like and hated the ones I was supposed to. And I felt pain for Catherine, for all that she'd been exposed to. As the book progressed, I felt a connection with her that I couldn't deny.
So the question is, did this book have an impact on my emotions? Did it make me feel?
Yes, and for that reason again, Marissa gives a 5/5 from me.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This book was phenomenal! It had a semi slow start but that didn't really bother me. I adored the characters, especially Catherine! I was rooting for her the entire time even though we all know how ruthless and evil she becomes. Marissa Meyer seamlessly weaved together little details from "Alices Adventures in Wonderland" and made the most wonderfully believable backstory! I can't say enough good things about this book. If you love "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" you'll love this story.

Heartless is a young-adult novel which is a prequel to the classic children's book, Alice in Wonderland. It was an interesting change of pace from what I normally read. It is cleverly written and made me want to pick up Alice and read that again. I recommend it highly for teens who are familiar with the Alice in Wonderland story and looking for a good summer read. Catherine's romance with the court jester is totally charming.

This book was not what I was expecting!!!! The first half of the book was a whimsical romance between a woman who just wants to follow her own dreams of opening a bakery and a mysterious magical Joker, and the last half of the book was like... WHAT?! It's so cruel and beautiful and magical and whimsical! It made me a fan of Wonderland when I wasn't before! Her story telling is just amazing!

I really fell in love with this book. I have read other books by Marissa Meyer, and haev been sucked in by them all, but this book has by far been my favorite. I could not put it down, and as I read on, started to slow down, not wanting it to end. I found myself really feeling like I am the main charachter and feeling her emotions along with her :) highly recommend.

Wow! This was Great! I wish the ending was different, but I knew it was not going to be no matter how I tried to make myself think it would lol. I loved Cath and Jest and Raven. Had me hooked from the beginning and right to the end. Every time I had to stop reading I couldn't wait to pick it back up again. Got this from the library, but definitely going to be buying a copy for myself.

Heartless is the maze before the looking glass between the two worlds of Hearts (a.k.a. Wonderland) and Chess; it is also arguably the room with doors leading to infinite worlds, including Ours. So it's only logical that Marissa Meyer is the Hatta herself, using this book as a mirror into Hearts -- where we stumble down the rabbit hole after Cath, and her choices that lead her to become the Queen of Hearts that we know (and furthermore the Red Queen that is constantly alluded to) -- because, as we know, Time is still coming and going, both like the Neverending Story and Nevermore. Carroll would be proud.

I didn't know when I picked this book up that it was the origin story of the Queen of Hearts. I was enjoying it quite a bit until I realized this. If it had just been about a character in Wonderland, that would have been so much better in my opinion. I would have read it over and over again, if there had been a happy ending. I loved the world it was set in, but who wants to read a horrible ending?

This book broke my heart and I may never love another book again.
(Okay that last part is a lie but I swear I really am heartbroken). Cath dreams of opening her own bakery. It's the only thing she wants in life until she meets the mysterious Jest. Soon Cath begins to imagine the possibility of a life with him. However Cath is a lady while Jest is only a fool. There is no way that Cath's strict and controlling parents would accept him. In fact, Cath's parents have already found her a husband- the King of Hearts- and they won't accept no for an answer. While we all know how this book ends, the path to the end was so surprising and heartbreaking. I was in shock once I finished this book and all I could think of was "HOW???"
What I really enjoyed was how nonsensical this book was, much like the original Lewis Caroll work. I strongly suggest that readers brush up on "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Alice Through The Looking Glass" to get the full effect of the book. There are several characters and quotes from the original that appear in "Heartless" and it's fun to see them again. This book fits in so perfectly with the world of Wonderland that it is almost as if this is a companion novel to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".
This book was incredibly well-written and I really enjoyed seeing all of the characters from Wonderland. I also liked how things that made no sense in our world, appeared to be totally normal in this book.
This was an excellent book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings.

I really enjoyed this book and i did not think i would,it was recommended to me by a friend who just loved it and she was right it was a super read and i loved Catherines story.For me it started a little slow and i almost stopped reading it so glad i didn't once it picked up i was hooked.I cant wait to read more of Marissa's book hope they are as good as this one

This book was absolutely amazing!!! I loved every detail of the writing. I knew the endeding would be a evil queen of hearts but damn I wanted a happily ever after for jest. I LOVED his character. The plot, the mix of worlds and retwlling was excellent! I loved the mix of nursery rhymes with the Alice in wonderland remade. I loved everything this story had to offer!

Fantastic prequel. Though we all know how the heroine ends up, the tale leading up to who she becomes is artfully drawn, played out little by little, leaving you wondering how on earth this girl ends up being the Queen of Hearts. You can tell the author is intimately acquainted with Wonderland, and her homages to the original are slipped organically into the story. A great read.

I LOVED this book... I loved the writing, the world, everything was amazing! The only downside is, it was very VERY slow. It took me 3 weeks to read this book because as much as I loved it, it wasn't something that I just couldn't put down. I really didn't get super interested until around page 250. Besides the beginning being slow, this book was great!!!

I really like this type of genre. They take characters from our fairy tales and give them a new spin. This one tells the story of how the Queen of Hearts became so heartless. Its a great tale of love and fantasy. Marissa Meyer has a great imagination and her take on the characters is amazing.

This was a great story!

I mean I knew what became of the Queen of Hearts so I don't know why I was hoping for a happy ending for Cath and Jest.

I guess it goes to show how great the author is to convey the characters. I hoped for a happy ending for Cath. You see her human side and what made her the way she is as the Queen of Hearts.

Where do i begin...just wow....even knowing the ending based of the traditional stories I still wished it was different. I loved jest and kept hope until the last page he would make the impossible possible. i kept my fingers crossed that cath and jest would be able to escape fate. my heart was bleeding and tears were cried for the entire last part of the book. I had to take a break to clear my eyes to finish it. this is not a happy ending book and half an hour after finishing I'm still crying and filled with so much sadness. it affected me so much I don't want to read it again but I know I will. I want a book 2. I want this to be a series. the authors twist on a classic was even better than the original, sorry Lewis Carroll. I love this author and her works are amazing, but please bring me happy endings in the next book, I'll still read either way cause it will be awsome tho

I loved this book. I have always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland and enjoyed reading about Catherine and how she became the queen. I was hoping that there would have been a continuation to this story, since it was written so well.

Marissa Meyer is a wonderful writer that I believe you will truly enjoy. Her take on this story was magical.

3-4 stars. This had a really atmospheric voice and I enjoyed the setup, but I think it was too cartoonish for me. I love fantastical worlds rooted with realistic characters and even knowing this was an Alice in Wonderland retelling I wanted a more modern twist and a different ending

I loved this book. If you know anything about Alice and Wonderland, you know going into it what the ending might be like. It still captivated me through its entirety. I had quiet the book hangover after reading this book! That's a sign for me how good a book is.

First, I knew going in that this book was not going to end well and it still sucker punched me at the end. Devastating ending! The Queen of Hearts in the original stories was horrible, so of course something terrible would happen in her origin story.

I read to get away from this stressful world, so hopping into another stressful world with no happy ending is not my favorite and the only reason I didn't give the book five stars.

That being said, the writing is captivating. I couldn't put it down. I loved the Lunar Chronicles and Meyer does not disappoint with Heartless.

Even to the end I hoped for a happy ending. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Beautiful books. But one of the front paper covers over the hardcover was ripped, by a good two inches down the front. It is a beauitful cover and its sad it has such a ugly rip down the front. I was very disappointed in that.

Now i went into this book having specific ideas about how the characters would be and such. The characters and plot surprised me when they were very original, you could see how much thought has gone into this book. So, I was pleasantly surprised by this and consequently ended up loving the book.

As usual, Meyer delivers a carefully thought out, well-written spin on a fairy-tale. 'Heartless' is the origin story for Wonderland's Queen of Hearts. All the sweetness and sacrifice tugged at my heartstrings, and Raven's rhymes were a delight. This is magical YA young-romance at its finest.

Marissa Meyer's version of Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts’ backstory is fun, creative, clever, and a perfect addition to the world of Wonderland. Lewis Carroll would be very pleased indeed. Another excellent story from a truly exceptional author!!! More please!! <3

Book: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Rating: 1 Out of 5 Stars

Yes, you are reading this correctly. I am giving Marissa Meyer a one star rating. Before anyone starts asking questions, I am a Marissa Meyer Fan. However, Heartless was just that for me: it wasn't lacking any heart. I know Marissa can do better than this. Look at the Lunar Chronicles! It was just simply amazing! Where is that magic in Heartless?

I really thought for sure that Heartless would be one of the books I would end up buying. I thought for sure this would be another five star rating, but I was wrong. It is by one of my favourite authors and is one of the most talked about books. It's a retelling of Alice in Wonderland! It has a high rating, but that's just about everything that it going for it.

First off, there's not really a Wonderland. It's supposed to be place that doesn't make sense and is messed up. Not so much here. Wonderland is actually not all that different than a Victorian high society with tea parties and staff. Yawn....Don't get me wrong, I love reading about Victorian high society, just not in an Alice in Wonderland retelling.

There was no creative juice in this either. We do have some ideas from Carroll, but they just don't any sense. Okay, "six impossible things before breakfast" keeps coming up, but we don't actually get to see it followed through. The Raven is in here, but it doesn't make any sense. There are characters from other nursery rhymes that really don't fit either. All the amazing features of Wonderland have just been sucked out.

Another thing that really bothered me was the Caterpillar. He's supposed to be a wise guy, one of my favourite people in Wonderland and now he's a cobbler. Really? I'm going to say anything more about this matter.

The characters and the romance are just flat. There's no emotion, no nothing. I just can't believe that this is the same author who delivered us the wonderful and complex characters and romance of The Lunar Chronicles. I know this is supposed to be a back story to the Red Queen, but this made her seem like a love struck girl, not one of literature's biggest villains. It just seemed like this was a hurry up and publish another book scheme.

Overall, just a poorly done book. I am not giving up on Marissa, but this a major disappointment.

This book was good, but as I have never been a fan of Lewis Carroll, I can only give it 3 stars. Liked the overall story, but the main character, and the kingdom of Hearts in general, were both annoying.

I will say I loved it, and I'm adding it to my favorites, I love Marrisa Meyer. I will not go into detail to avoid spoilers, but I'm still coming down from the shocking ending and I cannot wait for the sequel.

What an adventure this story was! Beauty, madness, magic and intense heartbreak. I can totally understand why Cath became heartless! This story is very memorable and will stay with me for quite some time.

I really enjoyed most of this book. I really wanted to ignore where the story was headed. When I realized it was inevitable, I put the book down for 3 days and pouted, refusing to finish. I ended up finishing and applaud the story behind the Queen of Hearts.

Awesome, awesome. When I first got the book I was a little put off because I was thinking to myself that I won't enjoy an Alice in Wonderland spin-off but to my utmost surprise it wasn't at all what I expected. Its a must read, you wont be disappointed.

So good!!! I LOVED it!!! The way Marissa writes and how descriptive she is, I could picture everything and felt like I was there! I love when books do this! I can't wait to read more of her books!

Loved it. Couldn't put it down. Fantasy land. I never read Alice in Wonderland but do know some of the references. So go with the story and the characters. Such a lovely girl just wants to be happy.

I loved this book. I found myself forgetting that this was the tale of how the red queen became who she was. I quite liked her before hand but then don't so many of us go through something like this maybe not exactly so but end up bitter because of it. This was a great book that I throughly enjoyed.

I enjoyed the Lunar chronicles so decided to give this a try. Sadly disappointed though. I found this boring and disjointed. I think the author really likes Alice in Wonderland so if you are a huge Wonderland fan/Lewis Carrol fan you will probably enjoy it.

One is a rest for pens and the other is a pest for wrens. Thats my favorite answer anyway. This book is absolutely astounding. Marrisa Meyer once again writes an instant classic, a book unlike any other for all the right reasons. A story unlike any other, this book hits every nail right on the head. A romance story in an unlikelly manner finds itself in a very unlikely place. With a plot twist like a pretzel and an ending that can drive the best hatters mad this book is a must read for all.

OMG this book. It's like a Gregory McGuire but much more intense. It took a bit of building in the first couple chapters, but by chapter 4 I was hooked and finished it in a day. I've loved all the books by Marissa Meyer, but this has BY FAR been my favorite.

I knew what the book was about, yet somehow was still surprised with the ending. Very good book, somewhat different from her other books but still melds the most memorable moments of our favorite fairy tales into a whole new series.

I'm still in shock! So impressed with her keeping an accurate feel of the characters. This book had me on a rollercoaster guessing what was going to happen next. My brain was spinning like I was in Wonderland. This book needs to be made into a movie!

You want to know how great this is? I don't even like the original Alice that much but I loved this book- that's how much magic Meyer puts into this world. The original Alice is very short and doesn't do a lot of world-building, but here in Heartless we get a more intimate look at the Kingdom of Hearts and it's a true fantasy. Not to mention the incredible heroine we come to love in Cath, no matter what her destiny may be. Lots of respect for Meyer!

I absolutely ♡ this book. Marissa did a fantastic job of bridging in the characters we all know and ♡ from the classic, introducing us to new and exciting characters, while letting us get to know the future Queen of hearts. This book would make Lewis Carroll proud. I kept thinking through out the whole book what a great movie this would make, withJohnny Depp as the hatta of course

This was a beautifully written book and wonderfully told story. Meyer's writing shows her appreciation for the original Alice in Wonderland story in every detail. The book was paced well and kept me engaged throughout. I definitely recommend this novel. I liked it even more than the Cinder series.

As a huge fan of the Lunar Chronicles I had to read this book even though I am not a huge Alice in Wonderland fan. And wow you did not disapoint. I had so many emotions throughout this book...I was left heartbroken. Well written and wonderfully magical. I will be recommending this book to anyone and everyone!

I loved this book! My boyfriend got it for me for Christmas and this had me going through every emotion possible! Grav some tissues for the tears that you'll shed! I didn't think I'd like it considering it's based on Alice in wonderland, but I was surprised and ended up loving this book. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it.

I bought this book for my then 14yr old daughter after she read it she pushed for me to read it and I fell in LOVE!! Alice in wonderland is one my all time favorite books the spin and back story Marissa Meyer puts on it took me into the story completely. An absolutely amazing read this book has my heart!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. This is a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, even if you haven't read the book you've surely seen the movie, that focuses on the Red Queen who we all hated. I loved the Lunar Chronicles and it started out well but didn't continue. I expected Jest to continue being smart and sarcastic and Cath to actually get a spine. OK, we know how she turns out but really? I guess she succeeded in me not liking the Red Queen at any age.

Absolutely love Marissa Meyer's fairytale interpretations and this one is my favorite to date... She brings the trueness of the original Land of Hearts and life and sympathy to Lewis Carroll's most fearsome and unlikeable characters. I didn't want it to end. Bravo!!

lately ive been having trouble connecting to reading like i used to. i found this book and became addicted to it. it was funny and heartbreaking and unpredictable. not a single word was wasted. i loved the plot and the characters. although its definitely graphic at times, i couldnt put it down. im devastated that its over.

I wasn't very enthralled at first, as I am not much of an Alice in Wonderland fan, but this book is absolutely amazing. I couldn't stop reading it! I am not kidding when I say that I literally cried finishing this book. I recommend this tale to everyone.

The first 75% of this book was great. I probably read 300 pages in 2 days it was so captivating. Then in the space of about 20 pages the story tanked and spiraled into something deeply disappointing.
I LOVED the Lunar Chronicles and had high hopes for this book. I was very disappointed.

I received this in my Owlcrate subscription box and it was definitely one of my favorite retellings of Alice in Wonderland. It was one of those books I could not put down and finished way sooner than I wanted! Would read again and again.

Couldn't put it down. For an origin story, it did a great job of taking characters we all know and adding depth to their personalities/world. Your heart races, sores, and shatters within moments. Great book!