Hi everyone! Today I’m going to be reviewing Heartless by Marissa Meyer.
Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯
Heartless is a captivating tale of love, loss and friendship. It follows the life of a young girl named Catherine, who falls in love with the wrong boy, with devastating consequences for them both. Meyer does a truly marvelous job of providing a fresh spin on Wonderland and offering readers a first time look at who the Queen of Hearts used to be.
The romance in Heartless was, quite frankly, to die for. Catherine and Jest’s attraction was absolutely undeniable, and the chemistry between them was incredibly organic and natural… I really appreciated how genuine their connection was and found myself rooting for them to be together despite all the overwhelming odds stacked against them. What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic.
Obviously Catherine and Jest were the main focus of the book, and I felt this was a very wise decision on Meyer’s part. The scenes between them were simply too adorable not to love (take the Tea Party, for example, or the moments after Catherine’s injury) and I found myself longing for my very own Jest. I mean, can you blame me?
The tension between the two also mustn’t be ignored. With the king’s infatuation with Catherine, Catherine’s impossible family and Jest’s job for the aforementioned king, they certainly had their fair share of obstacles to overcome. As the book went on I found myself feeling more and more sorry for poor Jest and the impossible situation he was forced into.
Of course, the beloved characters from Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland also made an appearance, which I truly loved. The most prominent example is, of course, the Cheshire Cat, Catherine’s cheeky and gossipy companion, although we also get reintroduced to numerous other characters in the previously mentioned Tea Party scene, for instance the Hatter, who becomes one of the main characters. I found Meyer’s take on his madness really interesting and the fact that we got to see some of his bizarre hats was just another bonus!
Despite this, there were also a fair few new characters, the main ones being Catherine’s seemingly well-meaning parents (who didn’t really care about what would actually make their daughter happy) and her maid and friend, Mary Ann. I loved Catherine and Mary Ann’s friendship, particularly their shared dream of opening up a bakery together, which was a major part of the first half of the book. Mary also seemed to be the only one who had any idea what Catherine wanted, and I really loved how much she obviously cared about her.
I also loved the mystery of the jabberwock (a mythical creature which emerges again, terrorising the kingdom), which added suspense to the plot and provided an opportunity for Catherine to prove herself and her strength. Meyer really exemplified how brave and determined girls can be, and I loved that Catherine was the one to step up to challenge rather than one of the men, which was a really powerful move.
I know I mentioned earlier how much I pitied poor Jest, but I haven’t really touched upon how much some of Catherine’s actions annoyed me. The fact that she led both the king and Jest on certainly didn’t sit well with me, especially when she knew she wasn’t in love with the king. There were definitely points where I wanted to throw the book across the room and scream at her to “Just dump the king, already!” but deep down I knew that the overwhelming pressure from her family (which is, of course, to be expected from the time) would’ve made that near impossible… I’d like to think I’d have the courage to follow my heart, but of course I don’t truly know what I’d do in her situation.
Overall, I would recommend Heartless to anyone looking for a beautiful retelling of a timeless classic, and, of course, anyone with a passion for fantasy. This book was truly a masterpiece and I don’t think I’m ever going to stop singing its praises (even if the ending did destroy me…).
Have you read Heartless yet? Will you be picking it up soon? Let me know in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed this review!
Ceri
Read And Review It 
Amazing review! I think I’ll have to read Heartless – it sounds so good!!
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Thank you! You definitely have to – it’s amazing!
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hi Ceri very nice Review 😘
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thank you!
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Liked the review Ceri. The dream bit sounded cool. 😘
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Thank you! It definitely is.
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who are u 🤔
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I do enjoy novels that provide the backstory to side characters from fairytales etc. and this one sounds quite captivating. Well done with the review!
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Yeah, I have to say after reading Heartless I went ahead and bought more retellings it was so good! It really was. Thank you 🙂
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This review is great! You really captured my interest and inspired me to give this book a read. I added it to my list. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much, I’m glad you to hear it! I hope you enjoy when you get to reading it! No problem, thanks for commenting!
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This sounds like a great book! I’m intrigued by this spin on Alice in Wonderland. It sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing about it!
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It definitely is, it’s a really interesting take! No worries, thanks for commenting!
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You’ve made this sound really captivating, I love that you provided a little bit of the backstory too. Thanks for the review, it sounds like a great read!
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Thank you so much for your kind words!
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Are Queen’s actually allowed to leave a King without the King’s consent? All I can think of is King Henry VIII when I think about how terrible it is to catch the eye of a King
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I’m not sure to be completely honest with you! Yeah, that was awful.
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This sounds like such a cool book! Most of what I read is from Asia, but I really like Alice in Wonderland’s characters and the Queen of Hearts, Chesire and Hatter the most!
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It definitely is! Alice In Wonderland truly is wonderful – I love those characters too!
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Your reviews always make me buy books!! I love this one all the same. Alice in wonderland is one of my favourite stories. Thank you for sharing, Alicia
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I’m glad to hear that, haha! Thank you! I love Alice In Wonderland too, and this puts a really unique spin on it. Thanks for commenting!
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Love your review, only read Cinder and the one before Cinder by this author
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Thank you so much! I haven’t actually read Cinder, would you recommend it?
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Great review! This book sounds like one my niece would love! Thanks for the gift idea. 😊
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Thank you! I’m glad I could help, hope she enjoys it. Thanks for commenting 😊
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The plot is very interesting. It would be really nice to know what the queen was like before she became heartless. I’ll be checking this book out. Thanks for a great review!
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It definitely is – I loved reading the author’s interpretation of it, it was so interesting! Hope you enjoy, thanks for commenting!
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Sounds like a well written story. I like stories with hearts.
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It definitely is, I’d really recommend!
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Wow you’ve sold this book to me, I loved reading Alice in wonderland and after reading this review I am ‘need’ to read this book. Brilliant review. Thank you for sharing 📚
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I’m so glad to hear that I persuaded you – it really is an amazing book! Hope you enjoy, thank you so much for commenting 📚
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Wow, this sounds like a cracking book! I love anything to do with royalty, but Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books, so this is right up my street 🙂 Great review! I love how it’s centered around the Queen of Hearts and how we get a bit of her backstory as to why she turns out the way she did!
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It really is! I would definitely recommend it if you love Alice In Wonderland, I think you’d really enjoy it! It was definitely really interesting reading an interpretation of why the Queen Of Hearts was the way she turned out – it was super interesting! Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
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Great review! This sounds like a really interesting retelling of the classic and I’d like to check it out!
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Thank you! I think that sums it up perfectly, it’s such an amazing read! Hope you enjoy, thanks for commenting!
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Fab review. Sounds like quite an interesting read. My son is into reading, will recommend it to him. Thanks for the review.
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Thank you – it definitely is! I really hope he enjoys if he ends up reading it, thank you so much taking the time to read and comment!
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Amazing review 💫 Definitely made me wanna take a look at this spin on Lewis Caroll’s universe. Thank you for sharing 🖤
Zinelr, xx
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Thank you! It’s such a great concept and retelling, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend. Thanks for reading and commenting ❤️ xx
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Great review! I’m always looking for new romance books to read, and this one sounds really good, Alice in Wonderland was my favourite Disney growing up and I’d love to know more about the Queen of Hearts! thank you for sharing x
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Thank you! It’s definitely a great romance, the relationship between Catherine and Jest is absolutely adorable! I would really recommend it if you love Alice In Wonderland, I did too and I found this super interesting! Thanks so much for reading and commenting x
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