Heartless ~ Marissa Meyer

Rating: ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After coming out of a forever long reading slump, Marissa Meyer's Heartless was my resurgence. Once I picked this book off of its residing place on my shelve, it barely left my hands for the next twenty four hours: It was that good.

The story takes place in Wonderland, long before Alice arrives, and follows Catherine who's one dream is to open a bakery with her best friend/maid, Mary Ann. But her parents won't ever let that happen, not when the King has recently taken an interest in her. Before Catherine realizes she has become the sweet treat of the King's eye, she meets the court Joker, Jest. And for the first time feels what she's only ever heard of before: love. She soon realizes that this love won't come easy and that there are many barriers keeping her from truly loving someone, living her dream and discovering her identity.

Personally, I didn't feel like this book started off too terribly slow. Yes, there was a lot of background but it wasn't the tedious kind that makes me feel like putting the book down before really starting it. To make the second part of the story full of action and heart-wrenching moments, the first part had to be dedicated to creating character roots and attachments which eventually left me reaching for tissues.

I'll be honest, before reading I did expect a bit more of a dark aspect including blood and crazy fights but I was not disappointed because I did get a little taste of it.

Marissa Meyer did a phenomenal job retelling how the Queen of Hearts came to be. I was a little doubtful in the beginning; I wasn't sure how a sweet and somewhat dainty character, like Catherine, could become someone as horrid and ruthless as the Queen of Hearts. Well, by the end of book I completely understood. No matter how sad it was to see her that way, she was portrayed and written beautifully and it couldn't have been anymore fitting to how I perceived the Queen of Hearts before reading.