Monday, April 24, 2017

Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

From Goodreads: Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen. At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. 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 a secret courtship. Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

My Rating: Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles, I finally decided to get around to reading Heartless, which gives a backstory for the Queen of Hearts. Now, I’ve never read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, but I grew up watching Disney’s version and always found Wonderland very bizarre. Meyer stays true to that feel by incorporating talking animals and featuring prominent characters like the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar. 

Unlike her previous heroines though, Meyer’s Catherine is a dreamer rather than a doer, which is probably why I didn’t really like her. Cath wishes to have a bakery – the descriptions of the desserts in Heartless will have you salivating! – but isn’t truly willing to go against her parents’ desires, and so just ends up moaning about not wanting to be married and deluding herself into thinking that she’ll become the finest baker in Hearts someday.

Another aspect of the story that I wasn't fond of was the insta-love romance. I found it very hard to believe that Cath and Jest loved each other after only a short amount of time spent together. As a result, although it was no surprise, I found it ridiculous that the explanation given for why the Queen of Hearts is so unfeeling is because Cath couldn’t get over Jest’s death and therefore gave away her heart.

Heartless was released November 2016 by Feiwel & Friends. 

Comments About the Cover: The black and red design, centred by a crown, is perfect for a story about the Queen of Hearts.

7 comments:

  1. I can def see why such a character would be hard to root for. Although it is kind of surprising to hear that because there was a lot of action with her characters in the Lunar Chronicles - it's too bad she decided to try a different route with Heartless because it just worked so well with her other characters. I'm still curious on her take of how she becomes the Queen of Hearts though so I will prob get this from the library sometime.

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  2. I had a hard time getting into this book especially after I burned through the Lunar Chronicle series. At times I felt it got repetitive and I didn't feel the spark between Cath and Jester.

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  3. Cath does seem like a difficult character to enjoy, like Aylee said. I'm sorry this wasn't a favorite. I still need to read Winter to finish the Lunar Chronicles - which I love - and I own this one, so I'll read it at some point.

    -Lauren

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  4. I've heard quite a few people say the romance is insta-lovey and not believable in this one, that's why I've been put off so far. I did love the Lunar Chronicles, but I'm just not drawn to this book as much, though I might still pick it up one day.

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  5. I'm not one for insta-love and though I enjoyed this author's previous series, I didn't love it the way many readers did. I think I'm just going to skip this one, so thanks for such a helpful review!!

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  6. Disney's Wonderland is as bizarre as the Carrol one, don't worry about that haha. All versions of wonderland I've seen are super strange.

    I also had similar feelings about the romance. It developed so quickly, it was very borderline instalove (I think I counted only like 5 or 6 interactions). I did find it an interesting take on the Queen of Heart's background though, especially when it came to explaining some of her quirks like "Off with his head" and painting all the roses red.

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  7. Ugh- This book has bee getting less than stellar reviews. I have it and I think I will read it someday, but I am disappointed that Cath wasn't the fierce heroine we've come to know of Meyer. Oh, well. I am curious to experience her Wonderland though. I also hate Insta-love, like why?!?!

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