Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless 

Author:  Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends 

Publishing Date:  November 8th, 2016

Pages: 453
Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

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.
In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I am ashamed to say it took me forever to read this book. I am so ashamed. Meyers is one of my favorites ever authors and I was so excited when I was able to get a signed ARC of this book at BEA. I fangirl ugly cried. Yes, there is an entire story behind it. Anyways. That was in May 2016. Well life happened, I wasn't able to read much for a long time and this book got lost on my shelves. I recently bought the audio to make time for his book and it so did not disappoint. This book rocked. It has the same signature as all her books, you don't know how far you are into it until you are 2am obsessed. Lots of feelings, great writing, and quite an adventure. 

This is the story about the Queen of Hearts before she became the Queen of Hearts. The story of when she was a sweet girl who would do anything for her parents, wanted to own a bakery and fell in love with a court joker. The story before it all went bad and she becomes something else, something evil, something changed. This is the story where heartache and loss breaks a heart that would never mend. 

I know I am late with this read, most have already read this book, but for those that have not or those that just want to know my thoughts... here is my review. I LOVED this book. I think I would love anything Meyers wrote, even her shopping list would make me feel. I really don't think there is anything she writes I wouldn't like. There is something special and beautiful and just heartfelt about her writing. Her characters are so alive and so unique. I feel everything they feel and see all they see. This book, of course, was all that and a dessert too.  

I adored Catherine. She was so brave and smart, and curious, and sweet. I adored the idea of a bakery. I loved how she treated others. She was a sweet innocent girl before she was ruined. She was mistreated by the ones she loved and treated and she put up with it with a smile. I know her parents had the best intentions for her but they didn't take the time to know her, to really see her. This broke my heart, the first of many in this book. Catherine was a sweet soul and she wanted to be loved and to love. To be happy. To be accepted. 

This happened when she met Jest, the court joker. I can't even put into words how much I totally loved Jest. He was fun. Just so much fun. He didn't start off with the best intentions but he fell hard for Catherine, and once this happened all bets were off. They only wanted their happily ever after. 

Now we all now that Catherine is going to become the nasty Queen of Hearts that yells "Off With their heads!" So we all know something is going to happen to see the events that make this sweet girl heartless. I knew it would happen but I was not prepared for it. The entire read, like an idiot, I was still rooting for a happy ending. I loved Catherine so much I just couldn't and wouldn't believe it would all go to hell. Of course, I was in denial. It does and it's heartwrenching and it made me rethink my life. Then the book ended and I didn't, truly didn't, know what to do with my life. 

Tears, yelling, dying inside... it all happened... So many feels! The end!

A favorite and will always be a favorite. I couldn't have wanted anything more from this book. 

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.