Heartless
by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends on November 8, 2016
Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Romance
Target Age Group: Young Adult
Content Warnings: Death, Grief
Rating: & starf & starf & starf & starf
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long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the ill-famed Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love .
catherine ii may be one of the most desire 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 supporter. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young charwoman who could be the adjacent fagot .
then Cath meets Jest, the big and cryptic court joker. For the first time, she feels the extract of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest embark into an acute, hidden courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic trick, folly, and monsters, fortune has other plans .
As many of my consistent followers know, I am constantly on the hunt for a good Alice in Wonderland retelling. I ’ ve tried numerous books with varying levels of success – books that are good stories but not truly retellings, books that were fascinating but didn ’ thymine follow through, books that had an matter to consume on Wonderland but weren ’ thyroxine in truth my cup of tea because of the writing manner or the atrocious, atrocious plat and characters. As Alice in Wonderland is a popular fictionalize, I ’ molarity far from having read them all and I know there are good ones out there. I keep trying and trying and trying .
Books like Heartless are why I keep trying, loves, because Heartless was about perfect .
The Alice in Wonderland geek inside of me is overflowing with joy about this book. Marissa Meyer has included everything – and I do mean everything. We have the two different lands on either side of the looking glass : Hearts and Chess. This is absolutely aligned with the twin stories ( Alice ’ mho Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass ). She’s pulled bits and pieces from the books as well as friendly nods to the films ( I don ’ metric ton quite recall Hatter ’ s hat being plum empurpled in anything early than Disney ’ randomness 2010 film ). She ’ mho gathered up not only old favorites like Hatter and the Cheshire cat, but we even have the Mock Turtle and lobster quadrille. Every few pages, there’s a polite nod to Lewis Carroll’s work … and that ’ s precisely as a repeat should be. Retellings should honor the original work, not just steal the plot and characters.
But if Alice itself wasn ’ thyroxine adequate, Marissa Meyer ’ s gone the extra mile and woven in bits and pieces from other fame literature. My personal favorite nod is Raven, who often quotes “Nevermore.” I adore edgar Allan Poe – his poetry in particular – and shrieked with please at this inclusion. Whether it was Alice or Poe or something else, I found myself spouting bits and pieces of the story that I knew as it was woven in, delighted that I knew why all the sisters ’ drawings began with the letter “ M ”. You can tell Marissa Meyer did her homework on this one and was very careful to include everything, but she was elusive about it .
therefore that covers the writing, which I am wholly impressed with, but lets talk about the story for a second. This international relations and security network ’ metric ton anything groundbreaking. At it ’ south kernel, it’s a star-crossed love story, and a love triangle at that. I think this is done preferably well – I despise love stories where the supporter is pining after both love interests, and that doesn ’ triiodothyronine happen here. Cath waffles between her affection and her mind, and that ’ s a good internal struggle subplot. There ’ s actually no question about who Cath prefers, and it ’ sulfur dependable there ’ s a set of other stuff going on here, because if this book relied on the love narrative, it would be reasonably bore .
In summation to the love narrative, there ’ s a villain origin story ( why aren ’ triiodothyronine there more of these ? ) and basic hero rising plot line. Except, of naturally, this is a villain origin narrative, so you spend the whole book watching Cath and waiting for that inevitable descent into “ Off with their heads ! ”. We know the end, but we precisely don ’ t know how the fresh girl who bakes lemon tarts that taste like cheerfulness and believes angstrom many as six impossible things before breakfast gets to that target. Heartless is all about a journey, so for readers who are looking for a constant flow of action and love and a surprise ending won’t enjoy this one. We know the ending. We just don ’ thyroxine know the beginning. And, unfortunately, travel tales tend to have dull pace .
Near the begin of Heartless, Cath advises the King that a dame doesn ’ triiodothyronine like to be whisked up in a marriage – ladies love the courtship and a very, very slowly courtship is preferably. On Cath ’ s half, it ’ mho because she in truth doesn ’ triiodothyronine want to marry the King of Hearts and is trying to avoid the inevitable marriage proposal. But it seems to be the advice that Marissa Meyer followed in writing the fib arsenic well. The pacing is excruciatingly slow .
honestly, though, if the pace is the only thing I ’ m not in love with… this was a reasonably damn estimable script by my standards… specially for an Alice in Wonderland retelling ! I am positively beguiled .
The characters were well varied and matter to enough. Jest is the sweetest little butter muffin and I adore his devotion and charm. Cath is passionate and primitive, which works very well to her character because it is the naivete that allows her to be glad. Outside of those two, there’s a collection of rotating characters that an Alice fan will find familiar – Mary Ann the maid, the King of Hearts, Hatter, Haigha ( that spelling ! Nerd moment here – nice touch Marissa Meyer ! ), Peter Peter, the Jabberwock, the Mock Turtle, Margaret Merle/the Duchess, the vanish and chatty Cheshire Cat who has the answers if you ’ ll good listen… everyone is here, and if they aren’t here, they’re mentioned in passing. People like the White Queen and the Tweedles don ’ t make a personal appearance, but they do get a loving reference. Marissa Meyer has besides done an exquisite job of keeping the correct characters on their side of the Looking Glass .
There is indeed much I appreciated here as a fan of the Alice franchise that if there were failings in the distinctive plat or brassy villains, I forgave them immediately. If you are as big of an Alice in Wonderland fan as I am, Heartless is an absolute MUST READ. It ’ s a shuffle of wit, playfulness, intrigue and legal action, bundled up with sol many Easter Eggs that my affection is filled with joy .
Ratings Breakdown
Setting : ★★★★★
plot : ★★★ 1/2
Characters : ★★★★★
write : ★★★★★
pace : ★★
narrator : ★★★★★
Personal use : ★★★★★
What is your favorite Alice in Wonderland retelling?
Do you enjoy villain origin stories?
Do you often read retellings?
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