Blog Tour Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Hi friends! Welcome to the blog tour for Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I adored this twisted prequel, and a big part of me wishes Meyer would write a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but from Cath's POV. 

Anyway! There are only 44 more days left until the publication of Heartless! Today I'm sharing my review, as well as some information about the cool promotions that Macmillan has in addition to the blog tour. Enjoy!

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: November 8, 2016

Rating: 4 stars

Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (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.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she 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. 

What I Liked:

This book was incredible! Twisted, a bit dark, fascinating, and very heartbreaking. It is fabulously written, brilliantly told, and wonderfully executed. I know this a standalone but how cool would it be if Meyer wrote a follow up? This novel definitely stands on its own, but I would love to see where Meyer takes the story, if that were possible. More stories from this world would be so interesting!

This is a prequel story to Alice in Wonderland, an imagining of a story never told. Who was the Queen of Hearts before Wonderland? It turns out that she was the daughter of a marquess and marchioness who liked to bake, and dreamed of opening her own bakery one day. But her parents have her on a tight leash. When the bumbling King of Hearts begins to court her, Cath feels despair and desperation like none other. But she also feelings the stirrings of passion, towards the new court Joker, Jest. Jest is magnetic and charming, kind and funny, and there is something that binds them to each other. But even Cath can't run from fate, and we all know the end to this story...

I loved the world that Meyer has created! Since this is an imaginative prequel to Alice in Wonderland, Meyer has drawn a lot of aspects from Carroll's story. However, Meyer has really made things her own. This world resembles a regency London setting, with the ton and the dresses and the rigid control on daughters. But there is so much whimsy and fantastical creatures and happenings that are really cool too, that make this book so non-historical. 

I love how casually the fantastical aspects are put into the story! The caterpillar with all of its legs, the talking pumpkins, Cheshire the cat who can turn invisible... nothing seemed out of place or strange. Almost like magical realism in a historical setting! Brilliant.

I admit, I wasn't Cath's biggest fan initially. I liked her, but she's so spineless. Sure, she's a great baker and a good person, and she tries to make everyone happy. But that is her problem - her mother chooses her outfits, her daily outings, her facial expressions, her suitors. There were SO many times that I wanted to shake Cath or yell "grow a spine!" But I think this is all part of the story, all part of the process. Meyer deliberately makes Cath this way initially. But Cath grows little by little. At the end, Cath makes her own decisions (finally! It took the whole book!), and I liked her even more.

So many secondary characters worth mentioning! Jest, the court Joker and Cath's love interest. He is sweet and charismatic, and I liked him. But he felt a little one-dimensional, a little too perfect. I didn't love him in a "book boyfriend" kind of way, but I liked him. I liked Cheshire, as strange as he is. Hatta (the Mad Hatter) is awesome, as is Raven (an actual raven). Cath's parents are awful, and the King is an actual idiot. I thought I liked Mary Ann (Cath's maid) but she's not that great, in the end.

The romance is sweet, and it's very slow. I thought there might be a love triangle, but the King is years older than Cath, and he's also like two feet tall, and basically Cath hates him and does not want to marry him. Jest and Cath are cute together, though not "swoony". I would have loved to see more of what happened in Cath's earlier dreams happen in real life... *wink*

Oh goodness, where do I even start, with the story? There are bake-offs and festivals, weird non-friends and a Jabberwocky. There is an entire subplot involving the other kingdoms (Red Queen, White Queen), and why certain things are in motion. This isn't just a story of how Cath got to where we know she'll be - it's a story of how Wonderland got to where we know it will be. 

The ending! Oh my heart. The ending is cruel and heartbreaking and I almost dislike it, except that it is perfect. It is horrendously cruel, but exactly what this story needed. So fitting, for the prequel. You all know how much I like a strong HEA, but this story ended exactly as it should have. Cath transforms into the character we expect the Queen of Hearts to be, which was heartbreaking but also very fitting!

What I Did Not Like:

I would have loved to see more in terms of Cath and Jest's physical relationship! Like in Cath's earlier dreams. More swoon would have been great. I found Jest a little one-dimensional, so that could have contributed to the lack of swoon. The romance itself was sweet, and very shippable, but it wasn't swoony!

Would I Recommend It:

Don't read this if you're dead-set on reading a book with a happy ending. However, this book was excellent. I definitely recommend it if you liked Alice in Wonderland. And if you're like me and have never read/watched Alice in Wonderland, I still recommend the book. It's a great prequel! Just not one with a happy ending (...which we expect).

Rating:

4 stars. The hype is real, and deserved! It would be so cool if Meyer wrote a retelling of Alice in Wonderland from the Queen of Hearts' perspective. I imagine it would be extremely different, and very fascinating!

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