| Review | Heartless | Marissa Meyer

I’ve read Heartless a few months back and honestly never thought of reviewing it but because of this crazy challenge I’m doing with Presa Nas Palavras, I will need to share my opinion on every book I read this year, so…

 Here we go.

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.

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.

Review:

When I read Heartless I’d come from a period of time where I read a lot of contemporary, so I was really craving a fantasy book. And what better than a book inspired in Alice in Wonderland, right?

No. This book is a fantasy romance rather than a fantasy book, which was a bummer, because I really wanted to step away from the romance. So, please, take this opinion with a grain of salt (like you should take any review, really) because it was in a state of mind where I was not looking forward for what this book offered.

However, I did enjoy it immensely. Wonderland is just so different from every other world you could visit, that you’re sucked right into that craziness, that world of magic that somehow, is lost to it.

It’s hard to explain because when you see Alice in Wonderland (I’ve never read the book) there’s so much magic in the movies, that you’d expect the book to be pretty much the same, right?

Well, no. And that was something that bugged me a little, because only the people from the other side of the mirror seemed to have magic, that and Catherine, the girl doomed to become the Queen of Hearts.

Catherine isn’t a character you’ll hate, but she’s also not the most likeable character of the book. Some of her decisions and her inability to stand for herself, just made me not like her, just a tiny-bit. Even when I admired her for trying to follow her dreams, no matter what others thought.

The plot is very well constructed, you know from the beginning that Catherine is going to be the Queen of Hearts – it’s pretty much in the synopsis of the book. But throughout the pages, you’re just hoping and praying that your characters find a way to get around the script they’ve been given.

And Marissa’s writing, even if simple, creates a connection with the reader, that had me flying through the pages.

My favourite character was, without a doubt, Jest, the court-joker and our heroin’s love interest. He’s whimsical, he made me feel infatuated by the idea of the tricks he did. I lived for his chapter, because he brought magic and impossibilities and he’s just that character you can’t help but love.

If you’re a hard-core fan of Alice in Wonderland you absolutely need to read this. This is almost a prequel to everything that happens in that book and it will make you pity the Queen of Hearts rather than hate her.

And I almost forgot, ever wondered why the Mad Hatter is Mad? We find out in this book. So what are you waiting for?

Go read it!

Rating:  4 stars.

Let me know if you've read the book and what your thoughts on it were!