alindstadtcorbeax
Written on Dec 23, 2020
Just... meh. Kind of a letdown.
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.
- ISBN10 1250148189
- ISBN13 9781250148186
- Publish Date 1 May 2018 (first published 2 February 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Square Fish
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 480
- Language English
Reviews
Just... meh. Kind of a letdown.
Emma (SCR)
Written on May 6, 2020
This book is set before Alice in Wonderland and tells the story of how Catherine became the Queen of Hearts. I liked this different take on a retelling by telling the villains story. This has happened a few times recently in a few Disney films and it's something I really like. I feel like people most of the time there is a reason people have turned evil.
Catherine is young and full of dreams. She is an avid baker and dreams of opening her own bakery. She loves the way her treats make people happy. Catherine was such an endearing character that you really struggle to see how she can become the Queen of Hearts. Marissa does such a good job of making Catherine likeable. I kept hoping that somewhere something would go right for her and things wouldn't turn out so terrible.
I'm not a die-hard Alice in Wonderland fan but it did make me want to read the book (or maybe watch the film!) I loved that some of the characters like The Mad Hatter were in the book. It really made the story feel real.
I'd love this to become a series as I feel there is more that could come from these characters but I equally understand why it's a standalone. If you love a retelling with a twist then I would highly recommend this story. Especially the audio version. Rebecca has such a great voice I could listen to her read to me all day. She does such an excellent job of portraying the story and differentiating the voices.
Brittany
Written on Dec 11, 2019
thepunktheory
Written on Mar 3, 2019
I have a confession to make. I picked up Heartless without having the faintest idea what the book would be about. Honestly, I hadn't even read the blurb.
The Lunar Chronicles were fascinating, so I figured I'd also enjoy this book by Marissa Meyer and added it to my stack.
You can imagine, I was a bit surprised that Heartless is set in Wonderland (as in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland). Once I had settled into the story, I just couldn't stop reading. Marissa Meyer creating a capturing narrative that is unique despite being closely interspersed with something so famous.
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Dec 14, 2018
I'm always game for an Alice in Wonderland retelling, but I've been burned before. This one filled with delightful Easter Eggs and strong characters. I really appreciate the fact that the chosen leads are not our usual fare - no Alice in this one, and even the ever popular Hatter plays a supporting role. The Cheshire Cat is a minor character, but he's perfect. EVERYONE is included from the original stories. EVERYONE.
The plot is a little less exciting - it's not the most original thing I've ever read, and it's a love triangle besides... but the characters and the world-building have so much heart... I forgive it's shortcomings. I really, really enjoyed this book to its core. I think this is a must read for any Alice in Wonderland fan and I absolutely must get it in hardcopy.
anastasia
Written on Jun 14, 2018
I loved this one so much. Omg. Marissa Meyer has become one of my favourite authors and after reading this one, oh my! I'm excited to read more of her books.
I have to admit, I have never read Alice in Wonderland in its entirety. I've watched the movies, of course. The beginning of this book surprised me with its frothiness. There is a lot of baking in this book, and the beginning was the equivalent of a strawberry cream puff, it was so lighthearted that the gradual darkening and the development of Catherine almost sneaks up on you.
"She stared at the girl in the mirror, the one who looked as though she had never known a smile. Even as she had the thought, her reflection’s lips curled upward, revealing a delirious grin beneath her sullen eyes."
Heartless is a well-done and well-written retelling of Alice in Wonderland.
Catherine was on many levels, one of the most relatable characters I've ever read about. All she wants is to open up a bakery with her best friend Mary Anne. Baking pastries and delicacies is where her heart belongs. However, her parents want her to seize such silly dreams and focus on other acts for young women such as herself. That includes marrying the King of Hearts. Even though that is not what she wants, Catherine wants her parents disappointment even less. Catherine's parents are infuriating people. Not once do they stop to ask her if she is happy. Not once do they stop and consider that this might not be what she wants. Her mother, is biggest nightmare of them all. Refusing to speak of anything other than her future wedding and queenly status, she hurts Catherine with her words. She often chastised her for eating too much or even considering having another bite.
"Her husband? Her one and only? Her partner through life’s trials and joys?
She would be queen, and queens ... queens did not open bakeries with their best friends. Queens did not gossip with half-invisible cats. Queens did not have dreams of yellow-eyed boys and wake up with lemon trees over their beds."
I loved Heartless! I liked that it was a retelling of the Queen of Hearts and not about Alice. What made me love this more was that Marissa included so many characters and aspects of the original retelling.
I highly recommend it!
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Liz (Bent Bookworm)
Written on Oct 14, 2017
Heartless is, as everything I have read by Marissa Meyer, beautifully written. However, compared to the Lunar Chronicles, I felt it did start off very slow. I was at 44% (according to GoodReads) before I felt like there was a big, activating event and the story took off. Not that it was BORING, per se, but just…well, I felt like I was wondering around a very brightly colored and rather strange candyland-type world, petrified of what was going to jump out at me (because I was CONVINCED something horrible was going to happen any minute).
I was extremely curious as to how Cath was going to go from our heroine and a sympathetic character, into the horrid Queen of Hearts. I had huge doubts – was pretty sure I would either not like the character at all if it was going to be believable. I WAS WRONG, OK. Because I thought Cath was really sweet (naive, but sweet), and I felt like she was my little sister and wanted to protect her. Her relationship with Jest was predictable but cute. And then as the story progresses and we see her start to unravel…I thought it was actually believable.
The story actually explains very well how the Queen of Hearts came to be who she was, and it shows her in a COMPLETELY new light. In the end I really felt like she was justified, or at least could understand why she became the kind of queen she did. Overall I thought the story could have been a little darker – I was definitely EXPECTING a little more action and darkness and blood, but in the end it all worked really well together.
OH. Let’s not forget – THE CAKE. OMG THE CAKE. This book made me freaking HUNGRY on an ENTIRELY unacceptable level. I am not even sorry for the caps lock. But seriously…there is so much scrumptious sounding baking in this book. Pumpkin cake. Tarts. Cake. Scones. Did I mention PUMPKIN CAKE?!? I think it should have been mandatory to include SOME kind of recipe. Just saying. 😛
Highly recommend if you like fairy tales and especially Alice in Wonderland (also cake). Just don’t go in expecting a fast-paced story like the Lunar Chronicles. This is an entirely different story and style!
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Stephanie
Written on Apr 14, 2017
Jo
Written on Mar 31, 2017
Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.
When I first heard that Marissa Meyer was writing Heartless - a prequel origins story of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland - I was a little nervous. Because it's by Meyer, I was definitely going to read, as I adored The Lunar Chronicles, but I do not like Alice in Wonderland. It's a bit too weird for me, too much goes on, and I worried, because Heartless would be set in that universe, that it would be a bit too weird, too. Thankfully, I absolutely adored it!
Heartless started off a bit on the slow side, but it soon picked up. Lady Catherine Pinkerton is the daughter of Marquess and Marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove. With a love of baking, all she wants is a simple life of owning a bakery and selling the cakes and pastries the kingdom of Hearts already can't get enough of. Her mother, however, has other plans; she is determined that Cath will become the bumbling, giggling, jittery King of Hearts' wife and become the Queen, though Cath couldn't think of anything worse. When the King appoints a new court joker, Jest, Cath's eyes are opened to a new possibility. Jest is charming and flirtatious, and seems to be as interested in Cath as she is of him. But her family would never approve of her courting a lowly joker. While trying to fight for the life she wants, terror has arrived in Hearts; a Jabberwock, the beast everyone thought was a myth, attacks at a ball, injuring people and eating others. But who will rid the kingdom of the monster, when the king buries his head in the sand, pretending nothing is happening?
There were things I saw coming, and things I didn't. Knowing that Heartless is a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, that it's an origin story, you know how it's going to end: Cath will marry the King and become the Queen. You know this from the start, but as you read the story, get too know and care about the characters, the more and more you hope that it doesn't come to pass. Although the world Cath lives in is fantastical, it has a similar societal structure to Victorian England, and it felt stifling. Cath, as a daughter of aristocracy, is not free to do as she pleases. She has a role to play; she is to uphold the family honour, and not disgrace it. Running a bakery? Courting a joker? Her parents would never allow it. And yet, Cath dreams. She dreams so strongly that she makes plans, with her maid, Mary Ann, who she plans to go into business with. They find a shop that's closing down, they try to work out ways to gain the money to buy it. This isn't just some idle fancy of Cath's, it's what she wants more than anything. But she is a girl, and a Lady at that, she will never be allowed to do such lowly work.
And as she and Jest - who at times reminds me of Thorn from The Lunar Chronicles - begin to fall for each other, the more heartbreaking the story gets. It's surprisingly emotional, as Cath dares to dream of a life of her own, and slowly seeing her dreams fall in tatters. It upset me, but it made me angry. There are some serious not-so-subtle feminist undertones to this story, which I love. Cath is controlled by the confines of class, the confines of her gender, and really, it's just as horrifying at the Jabberwock. Really, it's no wonder the Queen of Hearts is like she is. It's so very easy to put yourself in Cath's shoes, and the misery overwhelmed me as it looked like everything would be taken from her two thirds of the way in, then desperately clinging to home when it looked like there was a chance to turn things around, and then the devastation, the anger and the rage. Oh my god, the rage.
I should point out that characters we know from the original story do make an appearance. The White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter (who is quite a prominent character himself, and Heartless could also be considered his origin story), the March Hare. Some only have minor roles and tiny cameo appearances, but others show up pretty regularly. It was strange, but kind of cool to find that I liked most of these characters, while I was pretty certain I would hate them.
If there were any negatives to the story, they're just be small nit-picky things that I would have liked to have seen more of. I would have liked to see Cath and Jest's relationship develop a bit more. It's not instalove, but I don't feel there are quite enough moments between them before they've both fallen. I liked Jest being flirty and skirting along the edge of outrageous, but he soon becomes love-struck and is more soft, sharing how he feels often. Also, I would have liked the sub-plot of the Jabberwock to have had more of a focus, because I loved all those scary, action-filled moments. But because Cath is a Lady, dealing with the Jabberwock - if anyone is going to, what with the King in charge - isn't something that involves her, even when she is being courted by the King. The Jabberwock is attacking the kingdom, and although Cath is present for some of the things that happen, she's not around for everything. I really would have liked to have known more about it, like how? I know why and how the Jabberwock has appeared, but I would like that explanation expanded upon. I have some questions I don't know the answers to. But again, it's only a small thing, and doesn't matter in the great scheme of things. Just tiny, nit-picky things.
I absolutely loved Heartless. It put my emotions through the wringer, and made me care about characters I previously disliked. Such a wonderful, emotional story, and I so wish there were more books to come. Heartless has made me feel a lot less nervous about trying other Alice in Wonderland retellings, so I'm excited to go back to this universe through other authors!
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Books for the proof.
Nessa Luna
Written on Mar 20, 2017
In Heartless we meet Catherine, who wants nothing more than to open a bakery with her best friend. But her parents have other plans for her. They want her to marry the King and become the Queen of Hearts. One night, Catherine meets Jest, the court joker, and falls head over heels in love with him.
I'm going to be honest and say I never really liked Alice in Wonderland. I enjoyed the movies, but I could hardly get through the original story and DNF-ed Through the Looking Glass. When I read the Splintered trilogy, I enjoyed it enough but I couldn't exactly say I loved it. Still, this book was written by Marissa Meyer, one of my favourite authors of all time, maybe that would help?
Unfortunately, I didn't love this story either. Sure, it wasn't a retelling of the AiW story, but it still took place in the same strange world. That wasn't the main reason I didn't love this book, though. I thought the first two-thirds of the story were incredibly slow. I hadn't really expected a lot of action, though the scenes with the Jabberwock were exciting enough, but I had expected more romance.
Yes, I had hoped for more romance in this story, who would have thought? No but honestly, the summary promised a 'secret courtship' between Cath and Jest but literally nothing happened. They kissed maybe two, three times and not until the last part of the book. Before they were just flirting and most of it was Cath pining for him but reminding herself she was promised to the King. Blegh. The book didn't get exciting until the last part, where Cath slowly changed from the happy baker into the Queen of Hearts we all know from the original story.
Of course we all know how the story was going to end, Cath would eventually become the horrible Queen we know from the original story, but I enjoyed seeing how she changed. I did find it rather predictable, though, I knew pretty early on Jest was going to die and that was what would change Cath into a heartless person. Hadn't expected it to be quite so literal, but then again it's Wonderland.
There were probably a dozen references to the original stories in this book, but I caught only a handful of them, and that was partly because of the movies I watched. Still, I enjoyed Marissa's writing very much, and I did honestly enjoy the story, but yeah I think Wonderland is just not my kind of thing.
In the end, I enjoyed Heartless but I can't say I loved it as much as I did with basically everything else Marissa has written. I will still pick up any other book she writes, but I've just decided I will not be picking up any Alice in Wonderland retellings anymore.
My opinion in one gif