Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pub Date: US – November 8th, 2016, UK – February 9th, 2017 (with this beautiful cover!)

My Rating: ★★★★☆

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Synopis 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.

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.

Ah, this book is just delicious! The first chapters deliver the most amazing and saliva-inducing descriptions of desserts – lemon tart, rose macaroons, pumpkin pie. I’m hungry and I want a cake!

Heartless tells us a story of Catherine Pinkerton when she was just an innocent teen with a dream – to open a bakery, to sell the most delicate pies, cakes, and cookies in the whole of Hearts. But her mother and her fate, never planned for Cath to become a baker. She was destined to marry the King, and become the Queen of Hearts.

I think the book is just a little bit dragged and could be shorter. At the same time, I understand why it had to be slow paced at times. Because we had to believe in Cath’s love, how strong it is. If there wasn’t this whole build up for us to see how much Cath loves Jest I would be calling it out. I would be saying how unbelievable the ending is because there was no time for us, the readers to see how passionate Cath is. I’m not the most romantic person, that’s why I’d prefer if the romance part was shorter. The last chapters of the book that were leading directly to Cath becoming Queen of Hearts were most interesting for me. Those were packed with action, hatred and revenge. They were strong, and Cath becomes the ruthless queen I’ve been waiting for.

When I’m starting to think more about the book, I do see some parts that I find weak or problematic. But this is just now, after finishing the book and starting to think deeper about why did I felt like giving it four stars. Immediately after finishing a book I just know that I really liked it, and that’s all. It was a fun time reading it, and I didn’t feel like questioning anything while I was reading the book. Which means I was totally immersed in that world, captivated by the story.

I don’t remember ever reading Alice in Wonderland and I cannot say how much the world from  Alice is in this novel. But even without reading the book I still know something about Wonderland and I could recognize those parts in the book which were a clear indication of what’s the inspiration for the story. This book can be enjoyed by as much by fans of Alice in Wonderland as by people who don’t know much about it and never read the story. Heartless stands out on its own.