Heartless by Marissa Meyer

by LiterallyLenny - 12:47 PM

What is it about?

"Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. 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 a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans."

My thoughts:

I should start by admitting that I have never been a fan of Alice and Wonderland. There, I said it. I found it creepy and disturbing, regardless whether it was an illustrated book or movie...I have just never been a fan of the story.

That being said, I absolutely LOVED Heartless.

My immediate reaction after finishing via Goodreads Review:

"Oh my....that was INCREDIBLE. Absolutely amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had no idea how the book was going to end, as I was CONSTANTLY trying to figure it out. This book was clever and brilliant and one of the best written stories I've ever read. I cannot say enough about this book."

Now, after having some time to calm down, let's get into the nitty-gritty of the book, shall we?

Characters:

So there was Cath (main character), Jest (love interest), and the King. I thought Cath was portrayed amazingly in this. You can get a full sense and understanding of why she turned evil for when Alice came bouncing into Wonderland. Meyer made you feel pain for Cath because of all she had to go through. Rejection from her parents, not having a say in any matter, and then losing your one true love. My heart hurts just thinking about it. No pun intended.

I don't have much to say about the King other than I had absolutely no sympathy for him because he was obnoxious and creepy all rolled in one. His character was written and portrayed perfectly. I don't think Meyer could have done anything better. The King ended up being my favorite character mainly because he was just so odd and the fact that Meyer was able to show the reader that through just writing is incredible.

And then there's Jest: I am not going to lie, but I am not a fan. He reminded me of Peter Pan (in that obnoxious too-care-free kind of way). I get his whole backstory, but I feel like when his secrets came out, they really were not as mind-blowing as I was expecting. I mean, you meet Jest and he's an extremely mysterious person that you know nothing about. I just expected more from his true reveal.

Storyline:

Storyline was fantastic. I love the simple implication that not everyone is born to be evil, everyone has their reasons for how they are the way they are, you just have to look deeper. And after reading this book, I do not blame Cath (Queen of Hearts) one bit for being the flaming witch that she is portrayed as in Alice in Wonderland.

I will say that the one thing that bothered me, which shouldn't be a surprise considering my feelings towards Jest, was that the insta-love was way too much. And not to mention not even necessary. I feel like there could have been a much more subtle love story in there...the romance between Cath and Jest just seemed forced and fake to me. I wanted more out of it.