Heartless by Marissa Meyer: A Book Review

Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: 2016
Pages: 464
Source: My State Public Library
Synopsis: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

My Review: Heartless tells the story of the Queen of Hearts. Catherine Pinkerton dreams of owning her own bakery with her maidservant and best friend, Mary Ann. However because she is the daughter of a marquess, she knows that her dream may not come true because of her station in life. Her dream becomes more impossible when the King of Hearts has his eye solely on Catherine and vows to make her his queen. Repulsed by the King of Hearts, and slowly falling in love with the mysterious Joker, Catherine is willing to do whatever it takes to make the impossible become possible. She will find a way to reject the king, be with the Joker, and have her bakery.

I really liked Catherine’s slow transformation from a bright, optimistic girl to the Queen of Hearts we all know today. It was no easy feat to pull off, yet the author accomplished it with what seems like relative ease. Catherine’s change is slow and gradual. She is hopeful and determined to fulfill her dream. However, she is pressured by all of Hearts to give up her dream and marry the king. She finds that she has no allies who want to help her. There were some moments where Catherine is weak. She doesn't say no to her parents or the King until the end. Still, even though she is weak during those times, each setback changes her into a villain. Her heart gradually turns to ice. Thus, readers will feel sadness when Catherine becomes the infamous Queen of Hearts and wishes that Catherine's fate was different.

Overall, this was a wonderful origin story of the Queen of Hearts. All the characters are faithfully depicted from Lewis Carroll. Wonderland was a great setting. The author was faithful to the setting of a world full of nonsense. The kingdom of Hearts was inspired by Victorian England, and it is very reminiscent of the era. Some things that I didn't like about the novel were that it was slow moving, and wished that there was more of relationship development between the Joker and Catherine. Heartless is definitely a must read for people who want to read backstories on literature’s most notorious villains. I recommend this to fans of Wicked, The Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and I am Mordred.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Here is the book trailer for Heartless:

This is a video of Marissa Meyer about her novel, Heartless:

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Shelley Stratton: Trolley Cars, the Metro, and Bringing Historical Settings to Life

Shelly Stratton is the author of She Wears the Mask . This interesting guest post discusses how she incorporates realistic details and facts about streetcars from the early 20th century, which were common long before her birth. Mrs. Stratton describes her love of these older modes of public transportation as well as how she felt a joy and kinship with those who patronized these iconic symbols of urban transportation throughout the industrial age. Thank you, Mrs. Stratton! Trolley Cars, the Metro, and Bringing Historical Settings to Life By Shelly Stratton Decades ago, whenever I visited my great grandmother and great aunt in NW Washington, D.C., they would always ask me, “Did you drive in or take the trolley car here?” As I removed my coat or stowed away my umbrella, I would politely correct them with “I took the metro.” But after correcting them so many times and both of them persistently referring to the metropolitan transit ...

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath...

Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII's Sixth Queen by Laura Adkins: A Book Review

Kateryn Parr: Henry VIII’s Sixth Queen Author: Laura Adkins Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pen and Sword History Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 185 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Kateryn Parr is mainly remembered today as being the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, the one who 'survived'. Kateryn was not only a wife but a queen, mother, reformer, and author. Kateryn would face a number of events in her lifetime including being held to ransom during the Pilgrimage of Grace, being placed as regent while Henry was in France, a role which only one of his five previous wives held, her namesake Katherine of Aragon, and overcame a plot which would have led to her arrest and execution. While Queen she was able to unite the Tudor family and establish some form of happiness for Henry VIII's three children. Raised by her mother Maud Parr, under a humanist education, Kateryn was intelligent enough to understand her role in life...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Search This Blog