❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃

REVIEW: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a wonderful retelling of Alice in Wonderland to review. However it isn’t about Alice, but the Queen of Hearts, who is just a girl who loves to bake. The Wonderland setting is fantastic, making  this book a must-read!

❀ Prequel about the Queen of Hearts

Heartless is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but so unlike other books of its kind. This retelling isn’t actually about Alice, but is a prequel about the Queen of Hearts. There is some really interesting backstory that is so logical, even if it isn’t the way Alice in Wonderland was written. Everything about this book is just so quirky and entertaining to read.

❀ Amazing Main Character

Catherine is such an amazing main character. She is the best baker in the kingdom of Hearts, and the descriptions of the desserts she makes made my mouth water. Catherine is torn between the boy she loves and the king’s marriage proposal, which could offer her a life of fortune.Catherine’s ability to rebel against her parents’ wishes for her future and her desire to create her own happiness is admirable.

❀ Incredible World-Building

The world of Heartless is absolutely incredible. The descriptions are so vivid and really whisk the reader into Wonderland. One of my favourite things about this setting is how the strangest things from the world, like the Cheshire Cat just appearing out of nowhere are written to sound perfectly normal. Hearts seems like such a fun place to live and I really wish it was real!

❀ Highly Recommend

Heartless by Marissa Meyer is an Alice in Wonderland retelling all about the Queen of Hearts, who happens to be an amazing baker. The setting seems so real and Marissa Meyer does a great job of normalizing all Wonderland’s quirks. I would definitely recommend this fantasy book to everyone.

Book Quotes: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

“Thinking a bit of air might help her cheeks recover from the stretched-out smile, she headed toward the balconies. But she hadn’t gone a dozen steps through the crowd of black crinolines and white top hats before the candlelit chandeliers flickered as one and went out.”

EXCERPT: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

The Jabberwock is a character feared by the people of Hearts. Read this short excerpt to find out why and get a taste for this fantastic novel.

Her bedroom door crashed open. “CATHERINE!”

Startled, Catherine pushed back the bedcovers and sat up. A ring of lamplight shone on the walls. “What?”

Her mother shrieked, but it was an overjoyed sound. “Oh, thanks to goodness. Whealagig, she’s here! She’s all right!” With a wail, she threw herself across the room, pausing to set the oil lamp on the bedside table before she collapsed onto Catherine’s bed and pulled her into a stifling embrace. Catherine realized with a start that her mother was crying. “We were so worried!”

“What for?” Cath struggled to extricate herself. “I left the ball early and came right home. I didn’t think you’d be so upset. I wasn’t feeling well and…”

“No, no, darling, it’s fine, it’s just—” She dissolved into sobs as Cath’s father appeared over them, pressing a hand to his heart. His face was slack with relief.

“What’s going on?” said Cath, spotting Mary Ann, too, in the doorway. “What’s happened?”

“We didn’t know where you were,” her mother cried, “and there was … there was…”

“An attack,” her father answered, his voice somber.

Cath stared at him, trying to read his expression in the unsteady lamplight. “An attack?”

“Not just any attack!” Her mother pulled back and squeezed Cath’s shoulders. “A Jabberwock!”

Her eyes widened.

“It attacked the castle,” said her father, looking strained and exhausted. “Shattered one of the windows and took two of the courtiers right from the ballroom floor. Then it just flew off with them…”

Cath pressed a hand to her chest. The Jabberwock was a creature of nightmares and myth, of tales told by firelight to frighten little children into good behavior. It was a monster said to live amid the twining and tangled Tulgey Wood, far away in the country of Chess.

As far as Cath knew, no Jabberwock had been sighted in Hearts for countless generations. Stories told of them being hunted by great knights centuries ago, until the last of the Jabberwock was slain by a king who carried the mythical Vorpal Sword.

About Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Heartless and The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and twin daughters. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg.

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About The Candid Cover

Olivia ❀ Canadian YA book blogger, Starbucks lover, & professional bibliophile.