About the Book
Title: Heartless
Author: Marrisa Meyer
Series: none
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling
Pages: 464
Edition Read: Paperback
Dates Read: June 24-29, 2025
Blurb: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, 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.
Review
This was our book club pick back in June. I had never heard of it, but I had read Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles and really enjoyed them. Plus, you all know I am a sucker for anything Wonderland related. Something like this was pretty much tailor-made for me. Basically, this is Alice in Wonderland getting the Wicked treatment – a prequel featuring the bad guy from the original source material told in a much more sympathetic light. The Queen of Hearts wasn’t actually evil, you guys! She was just misunderstood! This trope can be annoying if not done well and, thankfully, Meyer does it quite well.
Before she was Queen, Catherine was just a simple girl from a noble family who dreamed of opening her own bakery one day. Of course, this idea does not jive with her overbearing and socially ambitious mother, who is thrilled that her daughter caught the eye of the King of Hearts. It also doesn’t help matters that Jest, a joker with his own mysterious story, is capturing Catherine’s heart more than the King ever could. The kingdom is also facing a great danger that their weakminded King is not capable of handling.
The usual suspects are all present: the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Jabberwocky. I know most people are familiar with the Alice in Wonderland story, from the Disney film if nothing else, but you don’t have to know about Alice to like this book – Alice isn’t in this at all. This book completely stands on its own. I enjoyed it very much. My only complaint was that there were some pacing issues, particularly the ending, which felt very rushed. I wanted to spend more time with Catherine after she became Queen and we didn’t really get to see as much of her in her full power as I would have liked.
Still, a very solid and enjoyable book if you enjoy seeing old stories from new perspectives.
GoodReads rating: 5 stars
Categories: Books I've Read
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