YA Review: Heartless [blog tour]

In just 42 days, everyone will have the opportunity to read Marissa Meyer's newest book Heartless!! I cannot wait for y'all to read Heartless!! Why, because it's a dark, twisty prequel to Alice in Wonderland and SO good!!

Heartless by Marissa Meyer, November 8, 2016. 464 pages. Published by Feiwel & Friends. Source: ARC from publisher*.

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. 

First Sentence:

Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine. 

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to discussing Heartless! While it started off a little slow, Marissa Meyer's newest book completely absorbed me as she told the tale of how the Queen of Hearts became the terror of Wonderland and it was brilliant!!

• All be honest here, it took me some time to truly become hooked to the narrative as the story starts out somewhat slowly. I was inpatient to see how this baker, dreamer and whimsy girl would descend into madness as the cruel Queen of Hearts. Yet as the story slowly built up to that moment, I could not help but wish things could have turned out differently for her. As slow as the beginning was, it was that build up that truly made Catherine's story all the more powerful because you saw the before/after moments and it was just so well done.

• As much as I enjoyed reading about Catherine's story, it was the introduction of Hatter that really sold me on this book. I've always thought his character added an interesting dynamic to the story, so, to see him pre-madness was highly fascinating. It really gave the story a different light when you think of those pivotal characters in the before. You know. I guess you could say that seeing so many of the well known characters before they met their fates was, in short, one of the best things about a prequel to such a beloved book.

• Ah, the writing, one of many reasons I found myself enjoying Heartless!! The landscape painted in the Kingdom of Hearts was fresh, in that it spoke of Marissa Meyer's world building, and yet you could feel the influence of Lewis Carroll's the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland rolled into it; and I loved that nod to the original. Seriously though, her writing is one of the reasons I wanted to read it because she does such a wonderful job bringing vivid worlds to life on paper. 

Final Verdict: Heartless- From the crisp feel of sunshine and hope, right down to the dark, twisty fate awaiting the characters, Marissa Meyer's newest book does an incredible job bringing to life to the story of the Queen of Hearts before she ascended the throne!

Heartless earns

About the Author:

photo by Julia Scott

Marissa Meyer is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg.

You can haunt Marissa Meyer at-
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | 

* An advanced copy of this book was received in consideration for review. All thoughts are my own.